AT&T has become the first major US carrier to automatically block fraudulent calls by default.
AT&T will automatically block fraudulent calls in the coming months
AT&T
AT&T announces HBO Max streaming service, with a variety of networks and ‘Friends’
WarnerMedia has been prepping its own standalone streaming service for quite some time, and now we know what it will be called and what it will offer when it launches to the public in 2020.
Your location data may have landed in the hands of bounty hunters and the black market
A disturbing report published Tuesday on Motherboard revealed that the location data US carriers collected from users and sold to legitimate companies might easily land in the hands of bounty hunters and the black market where it could be used for nefarious purposes.
AT&T is raising prices across all DirecTV Now packages come August 1
DirecTV Now, a US-only subscription streaming television service owned by carrier AT&T, is about to raise prices across all its packages by $5, effective of August 1.
Skinny AT&T WatchTV live streaming service arrives on iOS and Apple TV
AT&T has officially launched the company’s new live streaming service, WatchTV. Available to AT&T customers on iOS and Apple TV, the service is a free add-on for those using one of the company’s newest cellular plans, Unlimited &More, and Unlimited &More Premium. It's also available to non-AT&T wireless customers for $15 per month.
Announced earlier this month, the WatchTV offers over 30 channels that you can live streaming, including breaking news and film channels. It doesn’t include sports programming. There’s also 15,000 titles you can watch on demand.
With an Unlimited &More Premium plan, you can also add one of several premium services to your subscription plan for free, including HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, Starz, Amazon Music Unlimited, Pandora Premium, or VRV.
WatchTV comes with three limitations, besides the lack of sports programming. First, it doesn’t offer a cloud DVR feature. Second, you can only stream on up to two devices at the same time. There’s also no local channels.
Besides iOS and Apple TV, WatchTV is available on Android, Amazon Fire TV, and Google Chromecast.
Who's this for? AT&T also owns DirecTV (and DirectTV Now, of course), so it's worth wondering why the company's launching something like WatchTV.
Back in May, just before receiving U.S. approval to buy Time Warner, AT&T CFO John Stephens explained: "AT&T Watch would be a very low end, very thin collection of products."
On this point, I would agree, although I'm certain confusion will still reign, given the increasing number of live streaming packages out there trying to get your business. Still, skinny bundles are gaining in popularity, so AT&T's move does make sense.
For more information on WatchTV, AT&T invites you to its website. You can download the WatchTV app from the App Store.
Will you be sampling AT&T's newest offering? Let us know below.
Chart: TechHive
AT&T gets approval to buy Time Warner for $85 billion
On Tuesday, AT&T got final approval to purchase Time Warner. The acquisition, which was first announced in 2016, had been blocked by the U.S. Justice Department. When the merger is completed, HBO, CNN, and film studio Warner Bros. will be owned by the No. 2 carrier in the U.S.
According to CNBC, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon approved the $85.4 acquisition without conditions. He also urged the U.S. government not to seek a stay.
In 2017, the Trump administration sued to block the merger, believing that AT&T, which owns DirecTV, could charge rival distributors more for Time Warner content, resulting in higher prices for consumers. AT&T said that logic didn't hold up, a position Judge Leon accepted.
The AT&T-Time Warner merger should close later this month. As AT&T General Counsel David McAtee explained soon after hearing the result:
We are pleased that, after conducting a full and fair trial on the merits, the Court has categorically rejected the government's lawsuit to block our merger with Time Warner. We look forward to closing the merger on or before June 20 so we can begin to give consumers video entertainment that is more affordable, mobile, and innovative.
In a statement, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim said the Justice Department was disappointed by the decision, noting:
We continue to believe that the pay-TV market will be less competitive and less innovative as a result of the proposed merger between AT&T and Time Warner. We will closely review the Court’s opinion and consider next steps in light of our commitment to preserving competition for the benefit of American consumers.
CNBC believes this megamerger will spur a wave of deals in the telecom and media industries. Comcast-NBC Universal, for example, is now expected to fight Disney with a competing bid for parts of Twenty-First Century Fox.
Before AT&T's bid, there were rumors that Apple would make a play for Time Warner. However, those rumors turned out not to be true. Instead, Apple is working with content providers to bring original video content to properties like Apple TV and Apple Music as early as next year.
Besides HBO, CNN, and Warner Bros., Time Warner owns TBS, TCM, and TNT.
Image: Variety
Major US carriers unveil cryptographically verified phone number authentication for apps
The big four wireless carriers in the United States—Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint—announced Thursday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain an interesting plan for a new authentication system in apps based on mobile phone numbers.
US lawmakers attempting to stop Huawei from entering US market on national security grounds
Members of Congress are lobbying against Chinese handset maker Huawei's plans to enter the US market via AT&T's discount subsidiary Cricket, demanding that federal regulators stop the move on national security grounds.
AT&T gears up to launch one of the first 5G networks
Today, AT&T has announced its plans to be the “first U.S. mobile company to introduce mobile 5G service in a dozen markets by late 2018.”
iPhones can now connect to Project Loon balloons in Puerto Rico
Apple, wireless carrier AT&T, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Alphabet’s X division have banded together to give iPhone users in Puerto Rico cellular connectivity powered by Project Loon balloons.
AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile will charge $10 per month for cellular Apple Watch service
With some Apple Watch Series 3 models gaining cellular support, the big unknown from Apple's event was the cost of that add-on to users' existing phone plans. We've now had that answer as AT&T and Verizon have revealed to The Street that they will both charge $10 per month. T-Mobile also confirmed to iDB reader Matthew M. that the carrier will also be charging $10 per month.
What’s AT&T Stream Saver and how to turn it off?
Stream Saver is a new feature from AT&T that allows users to save cellular data by automatically streaming higher definition videos at a standard definition (480p). This feature has now officially been rolled out to all AT&T customers that are on a voice + data plan.
While Stream Saver can be a great feature if you're on a limited data plan, it can also be overkill if you have a large data cap, or even an unlimited one. If you fall under that category and want to keep enjoying videos you stream in their full resolution, it may not be a bad idea to disable Stream Saver which has been turned on by default for all eligible AT&T customers.