LTE

Shared AT&T plans get more LTE data, unlimited international messaging for no additional cost

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

The nation's second-largest carrier, AT&T, said on Friday that it will be increasing monthly data allotments for two of its Mobile Share Value plans.

Beginning Sunday, November 2, Mobile Share Value customers will get three gigabytes of high-speed 4G LTE data for $40 a month instead of two gigabytes.

In addition, customers on a pricer tier will be treated to six gigabytes for $70 a month instead of four gigabytes like before.

Furthermore, all Mobile Share Value plans now get unlimited international messaging for text, picture and video for no additional cost.

Sprint brings Spark to 17 more cities, now available in 46 total

Jake Smith ∙ October 29, 2014

Sprint is expanding its Spark network, what it calls an enhanced version of LTE, to 17 new cities on Wednesday, including Cleveland, Columbus, Denver, Sacramento, and Seattle. The expansion is part of Sprint's plan to expand Spark coverage to 100 million people by year-end, and as of today, brings the network technology to 46 markets across the country.

Verizon says it won’t throttle LTE for unlimited data customers after all

Cody Lee ∙ October 1, 2014

It looks like Verizon Wireless won't be throttling the LTE speeds of remaining unlimited data customers after all. In a statement to The Verge this afternoon, the carrier says it has "decided not to move forward with the planned implementation of network optimization for 4G LTE customers on unlimited plans."

Verizon announced its plan to throttle LTE for select unlimited data customers in July, as part of its 'network optimization' strategy. The decision was met with a large amount of criticism from consumers, as well as FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, who demanded further explanation for the move from the carrier.

Carrier wars: AT&T/Verizon/Sprint doubling LTE data on shared plans until October 31

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 19, 2017

Leading United States carriers — Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint — have responded to the release of Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in literally the same manner, by doubling the amount of LTE data included in shared plans albeit on a temporary basis.

AT&T is doubling cellular data on 15GB and higher Mobile Share Value plans through October 31.

Sprint has responded by changing its 32/40/60GB Family Share Pack buckets to 60/80/120GB ones at no additional charge, also valid through October 31.

And arriving late to the party, Verizon is now getting in on the double-data action by increasing the amount of data available to customers who subscribe to its higher-end family plans. The Big Red carrier's time-limited promotion lasts between tomorrow and — you guessed right — October 31.

Jump past the fold for additional information and the fine print.

T-Mobile will double your data if you add a tablet to your smartphone plan

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

T-Mobile, the nation's fourth-largest wireless provider, on Tuesday announced it's doubling LTE data when you add a tablet to your smartphone plan.

Moreover, the firm said it's increased the number of lines supported by its family plan accounts to ten.

These changes arrive just as the Deutsche Telekom-owned carrier yesterday unveiled a new $5 per month option quadrupling the amount of high-speed LTE data included in the Simple Starter plan from 512 megabytes to two gigabytes.

Verizon begins rolling out Voice over LTE ahead of iPhone 6 announcement

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 26, 2014

With precisely two weeks until Apple's rumored September 9 iPhone 6 announcement, the nation's leading carrier, Verizon Wireless, Tuesday morning announced the official beginning of nationwide Voice over LTE (VoLTE) technology roll-out. The carrier in May laid out plans to deploy VoLTE using the AMR-wideband standard.

VoLTE uses high-speed 4G LTE data network to carry voice instead of the legacy circuit-switched voice network. Verizon says users can expect to enjoy higher-fidelity voice calls ”in the coming weeks.“

Additionally, the Big Red carrier said the feature will be enabled on supported devices via a software update.

T-Mobile announces $5 per month option quadrupling Simple Starter LTE data to 2GB

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Beginning September 3, T-Mobile customers in the United States will be able to boost their Simple Starter plan via an additional $5 per month option giving them a total of two gigabytes of high-speed 4G LTE data.

That's in addition to unlimited talk and text included in the Simple Starter plan, the nation's fourth largest wireless carrier said Monday morning.

In other words, in exchange for five bucks on top of your $40 per month Simple Starter charge (for a total of $45 per month), the wireless carrier will quadruple LTE data.

The new option goes into effect on Wednesday, September 3.

Sprint debuts $60 per month unlimited plan ahead of iPhone 6 announcement

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 19, 2017

With precisely nineteen days until the alleged September 9 iPhone 6 unveiling (notably, Apple hasn't denied the rumor) and three days after refreshing its Family plans, the nation's third-largest wireless carrier, Sprint, has introduced a potentially disruptive and new unlimited plan.

Specifically, the new plan is offering unlimited talk, text and data in exchange for sixty bucks per month. How cool is that?

Quickly, do the math in your head — that's $20 less compared to Sprint's closest competitor T-Mobile. By the way, T-Mobile promptly responded to Sprint's announcement by promising to treat switchers to a year of free unlimited LTE data.

Jump past the fold for the full reveal...

iPhone 6 could feature faster 150Mbps LTE-Advanced support

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

Apple's upcoming iPhone 6 could feature support for faster LTE-Advanced networking which promises theoretical download speeds of up to 300Mbps. A claimed iPhone 6 logic board photo suggests Apple may have opted for the slower 150Mbps LTE-Advanced by replacing Qualcomm's MDM9615 chip in prior iPhones with a MDM9625 part.

Originally announced back in 2012, the MDM9625 chipset supports upload and download LTE-Advanced data speeds of 150Mbps versus the MDM9615 chip found in the iPhone 5s, iPhone 5 and iPhone 5c which tops out at 100Mbps.

A handful of the world's carriers have only recently begun rolling out LTE-Advanced so Apple may have opted to support only the 150Mbps LTE-Advanced in anticipation of the faster 300Mbps roll-out...

FCC questions Verizon’s plan to throttle select data customers

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

Last week Verizon announced a new 'network optimization' initiative to start throttling data users. Beginning in October, the carrier is going to start slowing the speeds of the top 5% of its unlimited LTE customers when they're connected to a busy cell site.

Obviously, VZW subscribers weren't very happy with the news, and apparently neither was the FCC. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler sent a letter to Verizon today saying that he was "deeply troubled" by its new throttling plans...

T-Mobile unveils time-limited $100 per month family plan with 10GB LTE data

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 28, 2014

"Leaving my office last week, I pulled alongside a bus covered with yet another ad for AT&T’s 'Best-Ever Pricing' for families," writes T-Mobile USA's outspoken CEO John Legere in a blog post Monday.

As is his wont, Legere couldn't resist offering a scathing critique of AT&T's family plan, calling it "funny" because "their deal is no deal at all" compared to the pricing of T-Mobile’s Simple Choice Family Plan.

Regardless, Legere went on to announce a new competitive offering which will be launching later this month to give a family of four a total of ten gigabytes of high-speed LTE data (2.5GB each) in exchange for a cool hundred bucks per month. By comparison, AT&T's “Best-Ever Pricing” offers four lines for $160...

Verizon to soon begin throttling select unlimited LTE customers

Cody Lee ∙ July 25, 2014

Back in 2011, Verizon began throttling data output for the top 5% of its 3G customers on unlimited data plans. The carrier had just picked up the iPhone, and was in the process of rolling out its LTE network, so it needed a low-cost way to save bandwidth.

Fast forward to today, and Verizon issued a press release announcing a similar policy for LTE customers. Starting in October, the company plans to start "optimizing its network," which is a nice way of saying it's going to start throttling high-volume users...