Verizon Wireless said today that folks on its Beyond Unlimited ($50 per month) and Above Unlimited ($60 per month) plans can now get free Apple Music as a perk on an ongoing basis.
Carriers
T-Mobile’s new Caller Verified feature offers more protection from scammers and spammers
Carrier T-Mobile on Thursday announced a new feature, Caller Verified, which promises to offer additional, better protections from scammers and spammers than its existing tools.
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.
Apple launches carrier billing for Apple ID purchases in a further seven countries
Apple's carrier billing option for Apple ID purchases has expanded to an additional seven countries around the world. Customers in these countries who don't have or don't want to use a credit or debit card for their purchases can now take advantage of mobile phone billing.
T-Mobile enters mobile banking with a new Money service
Wireless carrier T-Mobile on Wednesday quietly unveiled a mobile banking service of its own, T-Mobile Money, available as a free mobile app for iPhone and Android.
AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon won’t support eSIM until later this year on 2018 iPhones
AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon won’t offer support for eSIM, at least for now. The support is necessary for dual-SIM functionality on the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. The top three carriers in the United States each have different reasons for not supporting eSIM, according to MacRumors and PCMag.
Japan is forcing carriers to end smartphone bundling in a move that could hurt Apple
The government of Japan wants wireless carriers to stop bundling the cost of smartphones into fixed-term monthly service fees in a move that could hurt Apple's iPhone.
iPhone to be “derecognized” from Indian networks if Apple rejects anti-spam app?
Apple was supposed to help the Indian government make an anti-spam iPhone app that would let users mark and report spam callers, but instead faces potential legal trouble down the road because the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has warned that iPhone could be "derecognized" from local wireless networks if the company rejects its software.
Apple carrier billing picks up new providers in UK, Switzerland, Italy and elsewhere
Apple has expanded the iTunes carrier billing option to additional providers in more than a half dozen countries, including the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Italy.
LTE Apple Watch is now supported by local carriers C Spire and US Cellular
You can now connect your LTE-enabled Apple Watch Series 3 to a wireless network operated by local carrier C Spire or US Cellular, with the latter's deal starting as low as $5 per month.
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