---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <20190521141634.GA6840@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 21 May 2019 14:16:34 +0000 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: AT&T's 5G E game is even worse than its misleadingly named network AT&T was recently crowned the fastest network in the US, thanks to Ookla speed test results from Q1 2019 (even if that victory may not be quite as impressive as it sounds). Now, the company is celebrating that achievement with a literal victory lap in the form of a new browser game called AT&T Data Drive. The game - playable at www.fastestnetworkgame.com because subtlety is dead - is an 8-bit-styled car game that seems modeled off of Spy Hunter, minus all of the actual fun parts of the original, like the weapons or gadgets. Instead, players are placed into an AT&T-branded car and tasked with completing the course as quickly as possible while dodging obstacles like potholes, water spills, and, of course, slower cars in oddly convenient red, yellow, and magenta color schemes. AT&T Data Drive is also far more simplistic than Spy Hunter, limiting players to just left and right movements, instead of the more strategic options of accelerating or braking, which make dodging cars far more difficult. https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/20/18632457/at-t-5g-e-game-data-drive-spy-hunter-bad -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20190521142653.GA6936@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 21 May 2019 14:26:53 +0000 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Trump FCC prepares to approve T-Mobile-Sprint merger By Margaret Harding Mcgill A Trump administration regulator on Monday moved to bless T-Mobile's $26 billion merger with Sprint, a deal that critics say will reduce wireless competition and raise prices for consumers. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said he would recommend approval of the trans- action, based on a series of commitments the two companies made around rural broadband and 5G. That signals he likely has the FCC's Repub- lican majority lined up to give the green light. The Justice Depart- ment, which is conducting its own review, declined to comment. https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/20/fcc-approve-t-mobile-sprint-merger-2307906 -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20190521142008.GA6871@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 21 May 2019 14:20:08 +0000 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: U.S. Justice Department 'Leaning Against' Approving T- Mobile/Sprint Merger The United States Justice Department is "leaning against" approving the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint, reports Bloomberg. The merger might not be approved because the two companies "don't go far enough" to resolve antitrust concerns raised by the U.S. government. https://www.macrumors.com/2019/05/20/doj-leaning-against-tmobile-sprint-merger/ -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20190521142314.GA6902@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 21 May 2019 14:23:14 +0000 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: T-Mobile and Sprint finally found FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's Price The way to Ajit Pai's heart, apparently, is through rural broadband. The Federal Communications Commission chairman, an eager deregulator who leads the panel's Republican majority, announced Monday morning that T-Mobile and Sprint have promised even greater public benefits if their merger is allowed to proceed. Those steps were enough to satisfy Pai, which probably means the merger won't be blocked by the FCC - the commission's Republicans have moved in sync with Pai. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/enterthefray/la-ol-t-mobile-sprint-fcc-approval-ajit-pai-20190520-story.html -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Wed, 22 May 2019