---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <20180228154047.GA24786@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2018 10:40:47 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Bloomberg: AT&T and Verizon plan to launch 5G hotspots Hotspots will give customers access to 5G speeds before new phones do. By Mariella Moon In late January, AT&T chief Randall Stephenson revealed that the carrier wants to offer customers puck-shaped 5G hotspots before phones that can handle the new speeds become available. Turns out other carriers might do the same thing. According to Bloomberg, Verizon also plans to release a portable 5G hotspot this year for those who can't wait before the first 5G phones come out. Verizon wireless chief Ronan Dunne said in an interview at Mobile World Congress: ` "I would expect that there are a range of handsets available in 2019 and some of those will be in the first half of 2019. If there's anything available in 2018, it's more likely to be a hotspot." https://www.engadget.com/2018/02/27/bloomberg-att-verizon-5g-hotspot-pucks/ -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20180228154849.GA24819@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2018 10:48:49 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: News of Note - Centurylink, Spring, and more by Daniel Frankel * CenturyLink recently surpassed AT&T as the largest domestic U.S. Ethernet carrier, and the service provider plans to advance its status further by using its SDN-based architecture to fuel a new set of services and cloud options for business customers. FierceTelecom article * Sprint's CEO said that he doesn't see anything wrong with charging customers more money in order for them to obtain faster service. "I don't think there's anything wrong for you to eventually charge a higher price for a faster access to your network," Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure said during a keynote discussion here at the Mobile World Congress trade show. https://www.fiercecable.com/cable/news-note-viasat-discovery-centurylink-sprint-more -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <p768ca$4v5$1@dont-email.me> Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2018 07:47:03 -0500 From: Arnie Goetchius <arnie.goetchius@invalid.domain> Subject: Re: Facebook Shows Why SMS Isn't Ideal for Two-Factor Authentication Spyros Bartsocas wrote: >> From: Arnie Goetchius <arnie.goetchius@invalid.domain> >> If you have a prepaid phones such as Tracfone, AT&T Prepaid and >> possibly others, they will not accept a six digit short text SMS IF, >> IF, IF the account is located in a European country. For example, I >> have a bank account in a European country. If I try to login to that >> account using either a Tracfone or an AT&T Prepaid, the bank sends >> the 6 digit code but it is never received by my phones. I personally >> talked to tech support of both services and they confirmed that they >> do not provide SMS short text for International services. (Mexico and >> Canada may be exceptions) > > This issue is mostly likely not about countries, but about agreements: > > 1. Not all companies have interconnection agreements between them > > 2. The bank's agreement with their provider might not cover US > numbers, as the cost of such texts is higher. > > Spyros Bartsocas In the case of Tracfone and AT&T Prepaid, their tech support people said it was a matter of cost. Providing SMS short text from countries outside the US costs them more so they don't provide that service for their prepaid phones. FWIW, with a full service T-Mobile phone, I can receive SMS short text from those countries. ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20180228160049.GA25028@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2018 11:00:49 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: AT&T is killing its iPhone X BOGO deal, unless you live in LA Earlier today, AT&T sent out a press release announcing a series of regional offers - free DirecTV Now for NYC residents, free home internet for Chicago customers, and the same iPhone X buy-one- get-one it's been offering nationwide to customers in LA. Buried at the bottom of the release was something far more sig- nificant: changes to AT&T's unlimited plans, and a pricing change that actually makes its top-tier unlimited plan $10 a month cheaper. Normally, a price cut that significant is something to scream about, so why is AT&T trying to bury the news? http://bgr.com/2018/02/27/att-unlimited-plan-best-deals-vs-t-mobile/ -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20180228160553.GA25049@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2018 11:05:53 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Verizon Closes Hard-Fought Purchase of Straight Path Communications Telecom giant Verizon has completed its purchase of wireless spectrum holder Straight Path Communications in a deal that followed an intense, month-long bidding war between Verizon and rival carrier AT&T last year. Via the terms of the deal, Verizon has purchased Straight Path for $3.1 billion in an all-stock transaction. As of Wednesday, Straight Path is a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of Verizon and its shares are being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. https://www.crn.com/news/networking/300099936/verizon-closes-hard-fought-straight-path-communications-purchase.htm -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20180228173050.GA25399@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2018 12:30:50 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Should You Get a Cheaper Phone? Be Sure to Look Into the Camera By Brian X. Chen The evolution of the smartphone can be summed up by two trends: Phones just keep getting bigger. They are also getting pricier. The chief examples are phones from Apple and Samsung Electronics, the top handset makers. Samsung this week introduced the Galaxy S9, its new flagship smartphone, with starting prices of about $720 and, for a slightly larger screen, $840. Years ago, Galaxy phones started at about $650. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/28/technology/personaltech/cheaper-smartphone.html -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Thu, 01 Mar 2018