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Deutshe Telekom, the parent company of carrier T-Mobile, has telecommunications interests all around the world. They’re the largest carrier in Germany, the third largest in the UK, and fourth largest in the U.S. And then they have a presence in eight other countries: Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Poland, and Slovakia. Word comes now, through a tipster to Boy Genius Report, that the company might be moving into Canada. This is in no way confirmed, so should be treated as a rumor for the moment. But it’s a rather large rumor.
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Going green. It’s a phrase I’ve seen at least once a day since last summer. It might sound like a trend — it might even be a trend. But at least it’s one that’s aimed to benefit us all. We’re seeing research done on alternative fuels and energy sources, from powering generators to fueling cars. The wireless industry is getting in on this, too, as a number of researchers are looking into wind and solar power for cell sites. Currently (heh, pun), they run on electric power. However, the bigger development is that of backup power. At least two major wireless carriers have tested hydrogen fuel cells as backup energy sources.
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Last summer, I can’t tell you how many news alerts I saw talking about Verizon and Sprint strengthening their EV-DO network with Revision A. I then heard how fast the network can be, and got real excited, because I knew I was getting a smartphone sooner or later. But it wasn’t until recently that I discovered that no, Verizon and Sprint handsets don’t operate on Rev. A. They operate on Rev. 0. That high-speed Rev. A was reserved for laptop cards, an area which the two companies are trying to expand. Sprint, though, has announced a handset that will work on the Rev. A network.
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It’s just an unlimited kinda day here at Going Cellular. Speaking of, did you know that there’s unlimited browsing of our archives for free? Yeah. No kidding. Anyway — and this is news to me — before Friday or Saturday, you couldn’t use that unlimited calling plan from AT&T on your iPhone. Seriously. You could have spent $400 on your iPhone, and been told “no, you can’t get that calling plan for this phone.” Where’s the justice in that? Well, now you can. And guess what? It’s exactly what you’d expect.
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A little late to the party, aren’t you, Alltel? It’s been a couple of weeks now, and the four wireless companies bigger than you in the U.S. have launched unlimited plans. Not only that, but No. 4 carrier T-Mobile added unlimited texting to the deal, and No. 3 carrier Sprint sweetened the pot with unlimited Web, email, texting, and a few other extras. So what did Alltel, the nation’s No. 5 carrier, do to have itself stand up against the rest of the competition? Nothing, really. Their plan mimics those of AT&T and Verizon, which is unlimited talk for $99, with all extras coming at a cost.
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Welcome everybody to the first edition of Going Cellular.com’s Mobile Week In Review!

Join us every Friday for a weekly wrap up of all things cellular.

This week our lovely host Katie V. touches on the latest Unlimited package offerings from Sprint and breaks down the faulty logic behind Verizon’s claim of offering a similar unlimited package. Check out the last discussion point if you are interested in finding out how AT&T are helping customers safeguard themselves from the predatory “Premium” ringtone and text companies out there who are trying to scam you out of your hard earned money.
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In business, it seems like you have a BlackBerry, you have a Treo, or you have a very comparable model from, say, Samsung. If you’re a hipster looking to impress your friends, you have an iPhone. Apple is looking to change that perceptin. On Thursday, the company announced that it will support push email. This is the system used by BlackBerry, Palm, etc., which makes your smartphone email kind of like your desktop email. The two — your handheld and your desktop/laptop — are normally synced through an Enterprise server. So it looks like Research In Motion, makers of the BlackBerry, have a bit of competition now. They’ve had a stranglehold on the business smartphone market for quite some time.
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So last week we explored the virtues of Verizon acquiring Sprint Nextel. It would make some degree of sense, but in the long run it appears that Verizon can pick off a number of Sprint subscribers free of charge. Hence, they probably don’t have a ton of incentive to make the multi-billion dollar investment that would be required of this deal. However, today we’re hearing, via analysts from Merrill Lynch, that T-Mobile could be the most likely company to take over Sprint. The Lynch guys think that this could avert a price war among the top mobile carriers. Sprint might have instigated one last week when they announced an all-in unlimited plan.
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There’s been much ado about warrantless wiretapping lately. The Protect America Act, which granted immunity to telecommunications companies aiding the government with their warrantless wiretaps, expired in mid-February, and there’s been plenty of time spent on trying to renew that bill. It’s a bit of a slippery situation. The idea behind the act is to more easily catch people plotting against America. However, there is plenty of room for abuse in there. The latest development, though, is that the government not only had/has access to wiretap phones, but it has a “high-speed back door” into a “major wireless carrier’s systems.” So not only can they tap calls, they have access to billing systems and text messaging as well.
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Last Friday, I talked about a story regarding Verizon Wireless and their mobile broadband plans. Since we were talking about that topic yesterday, I figured now was as good a time as any for a confirmation. As you might recall, I wasn’t able to find a provision for overage charges in their press release announcing the cap. Well, now the overages rates are very clear. Thanks to the guys from EVDOinfo.com for bringing this to light. Yes, an overage for your mobile broadband plan will cost you at least 49 cents per MB.
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