If your iPhone happens to be running on AT&T's cellular network you might be staring down the barrel of a price hike starting next month, the company has warned.

The carrier has announced details that will affect customers of the now defunct AT&T unlimited plans which some people have remained grandfathered into for some time now. A number of plans will be impacted with AT&T saying that customers with a single line will see their bills rise by $10 each month.

For those who have multiple lines, the company says they'll pay an extra $20 for their entire bill, not per line.

Going up

"We’re increasing the monthly charge on most of our retired unlimited wireless plans," AT&T explained via a new support article on its website. "This change will allow us to provide additional benefits to your plan and continue to deliver the great wireless service you expect."

The press release reiterated that the plans won't be removed and that subscribers will continue to enjoy all of the same benefits that they do today — but with an additional $10 or $20 price hike attached.

Those who continue to use these plans will no doubt already be planning their iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro upgrade, and the additional fees will surely be a disappointment for everyone who has been using these plans for years. AT&T is at least sweeten the deal by giving users additional high-speed data.

• AT&T Unlimited Choice, Choice II, Choice Enhanced, Unlimited &More, and Unlimited Value plans will now include 75GB of high-speed data and 30GB of hotspot data.
• AT&T Unlimited Plus, Plus Enhanced, Unlimited &More Premium, and AT&T Unlimited (with TV) plans will now include 100GB of high-speed data and 60GB of hotspot data.

More from iMore

• New iPhone 16 and 16 Pro case leak highlights the rumored ...
• Apple could look to make the iPhone 17 even thinner, so you may want to skip this year's model
• More iPhone 16 dummy units seemingly confirm new design for the next iPhone

It's that time of year again - it's back to school! Students are thinking of all the things they'll need to grab to make the return to learning a success, and what they can add to their arsenal to come back at the top of their game. This back-to-school AT&T phone deal is offering up to $300 off its unlimited plan over the course of twelve months if you're a verified student with Student Beans - giving you everything you could want in a plan for less.

Unlimited everything for verified students on AT&T

There are a couple of hoops students will have to jump through in order to take advantage of this offer. First off, you'll need to be verified on StudentBeans. Don't worry, it's super easy - just head over to the student beans website and get verified. 

Once you've been verified, you're good to go. To get the full $25 off, you'll need to take a couple of options. This deal is only on the Unlimited Prepaid plan, so you'll still be paying $40 a month for the plan. With just the StudentBeans discount you'll only get $10 off - so make sure you opt-in to the Autopay option to get the full $25 off.

With the plan, you'll get unlimited 5G data, talk time, and texts, along with AT&T's excellent coverage and Active Armor fraud call blocking. You can bring your own phone to help save some money. If you need a new phone, AT&T's website has some great back-to-school deals on new handsets should you need a new best iPhone.

What you need to know

• Users are reporting mobile network outages across all U.S. carriers, primarily with calling.
• Issues spread throughout the U.S., starting around 2:30 p.m. ET.
• T-Mobile's network seems to be the primary culprit, creating knock-on effects to other carriers.

If you're unable to make calls or use mobile data on your phone in the U.S. right now, you aren't alone. User reports directly to us, and on popular reporting site Downdetector, show outages across the country on T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. Depending on the area of the country, customers are seeing issues ranging from intermittent data service and dropped phone calls all the way to completely failed networks with no connectivity.

The first widespread reports of outages started around 2:30 p.m. ET, and only took off from there. We heard from T-Mobile customers first, particularly those in the Eastern half of the country, who were having issues primarily with calls but in some cases also data. At least according to Downdetector reports, the issues ended up being far more widespread — both in areas of the country and number of users effected.

At 5:42 p.m., T-Mobile's customer support Twitter account responded, making it clear that the carrier is aware of a "routing issue" leading to call outages, and encouraging people to use internet-based calling services instead:

Interestingly, reports from T-Mobile customers have peaked and are slowly on the decline, while we're now seeing a smaller number of reports from customers on the other major carriers showing they're experiencing similar issues across the major population centers of the country. Still, it looks like T-Mobile's having the biggest network-wide issues, with far more customer complaints of network disconnects, dropped calls and intermittent data.

And of course with T-Mobile clearly having massive calling outages, anytime calls between T-Mobile and the other carriers are unable to complete, this can often create false-positive results for the person on the other end thinking it's their carrier's problem. That situation can likely be attributed to a good number of the reports of outages on Verizon and AT&T, which have the largest number of customers in the country.

If you're experiencing problems with calls or data on T-Mobile, you can follow some general troubleshooting steps and try to use Wi-Fi calling — but chances are with a network outage this large, you're just going to have to wait for the carrier to fix things on its end.

What you need to know

• AT&T has confirmed reports of an ongoing voicemail outage affecting customers, says it will be fixed with a patch.
• It blamed a "vendor server problem" for the ongoing outage.
• The company has not provided a timetable for when the problem will be resolved.

AT&T has confirmed that its ongoing voicemail outage will be fixed by an upcoming patch, however it has not divulged when exactly the fix is to be rolled out.

According to a report by The Verge an AT&T statement to the outlet claimed:

AT&T users across all platforms have been experiencing voicemail issues for a number of weeks. Much of the information surrounding the outage is fairly nebulus at this stage, as it seems unclear what exactly is causing the problem. As The Verge notes:

A 40+ page thread on AT&T's forums suggests that the problem is geographically widespread, affecting users in Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana and North Carolina to name a few locations. The reports also suggest that users of many different devices are experiencing difficulties. The Verge again notes that whilst the majority of reports seems to be coming from Samsung users, there are also reports from users of iPhone, Pixel and Motorola also. (The thread started in an AT&T Android forum, which may explain higher reports amongst Samsung users)

Given that the problem affects a wide range of devices, it seems pretty likely the problem is at AT&T's end of the line, and the report notes that the reference to the "device manufacturer" in the initial statement may denote that AT&T's servers is the hardware in question.

Whilst no timetable has been offered for the purported fix, there is a potential solution. Customers can of course wait for the outage to be patched, or they can choose to have their mailbox rebuilt. Whilst this may fix the issue going forward, it is reported that this will delete any saved messages or ones received during the outage. So if you need those messages, this is not the solution for you.

What is a SIM card?

SIM cards have evolved a lot over the years. While they have maintained a relative thickness of just under 1mm, their surface area has steadily decreased, from the credit card-sized plates used in the earliest cellphones to the nano SIMs of today's devices.

The nano SIM is the SIM card's fourth size standard since its inception. Designated as 4FF, or fourth form factor, it measures 12.3mm x 8.8mm x 0.67mm, a reduction of over 42 times from the SIM's inception. Most people, however, are more familiar with the 2FF SIM card, known more readily as the Regular SIM card. At 25mm x 15mm x 0.76, it is 3.4 times larger than today's current SIM cards, which offer the same features in a much more compact package. Some manufacturers still choose to use the micro SIM format which, at 15mm x 12mm, is only slightly larger than the nano SIM.

Many carriers offer branded SIM cards with cutouts for all three modern sizes, so users can choose which version they want to insert depending on their device. There are also adapters so nano SIM cards can fit into slots meant for micro SIM or Regular SIM cards.

How does a SIM card work?

Often, a SIM card is provided with the purchase of a phone by your carrier and it is used to store data about your account. Because it has a small amount of memory and a very low-powered processor, the SIM card not only enables communication between the phone and its carrier, but stores information such as phone numbers, security data and more.

In recent years, carriers have begun using specialized SIM cards with so-called Secure Elements to store credit card credentials in order to facilitate mobile payments.

Tip: SIM cards are transferrable. If your iPhone runs out of power and you desperately need to make a call or connect to the internet, you can just swap the SIM into another iPhone and use it with your minutes and data bucket. Check out our how to remove the SIM card in an iPhone or iPad guide to get started.

What are the benefits of a SIM card?

SIM cards are the unseen magicians of today's smartphones. They make connecting to networks and switching phones as easy as removing a small metal tray.

If you buy a new phone, you can simply insert your existing SIM and keep on using your existing service as long as the new phone isn't locked to a different carrier. Likewise, if you travel internationally you can just buy a SIM card from a local carrier — as long as your phone isn't locked to a carrier.

What are the drawbacks of a SIM card?

SIM cards are fairly simple. They have practically no function without an accompanying smartphone and are increasingly reliant on third-party apps to address functionality, such as connecting to multiple networks or using more than one phone number.

Because they are simple pieces of plastic, their benefit is largely subject to the will of the carrier. If you buy a phone that is locked to one carrier, putting a different carrier's SIM requires an unlock code, which is often expensive to obtain and confusing to enter.

Typically, the SIM lock is in exchange for a subsidized phone (so you can't buy a cheap phone on one carrier then switch over and use another before you've paid back the subsidy over the life of your contract).

These days, Apple sells the iPhone SIM-unlocked in most countries, including the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. While customers have to pay more upfront for an unlocked version of the iPhone, they can use the phone with any compatible SIM card, as long as the phone works with that carrier's network.

What is Apple SIM?

In 2014, alongside the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 4, Apple unveiled Apple SIM, a way for the company to offer dynamic network choice to its customers without the hassle of getting SIMs from multiple carriers. Apple SIM allows iPad owners to connect to compatible networks in over 180 countries; in the U.S., those carriers include AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile. Though the Apple SIM is manufactured by Apple, you still purchase plans from a specific carrier using your credit card — there's no iTunes billing option.

You can see Apple's full list on its website.

The beauty of Apple SIM is its ability to interface with multiple networks: If your local providers support it, you can swap between network plans depending on which one makes the most sense for your needs; for example, you can swap between Sprint and T-Mobile if you go from a Sprint-heavy part of the country to someplace where T-Mobile's network reigns. When traveling internationally, you can also use Apple partners GigSky, AlwaysOnline Wireless, and au to purchase per-day or per-megabyte bundles to save on roaming costs.

All current-generation iPads have an empty nano SIM slot and an additional embedded Apple SIM card: As a result, you can use the embedded Apple SIM if you choose, or pop in a new SIM without losing access to Apple SIM's carrier-switching features.

What is eSIM?

The iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR all feature support for a dual-SIM setup, allow you to have two phone lines in one device. Instead of using two nano-SIM card slots, the 2018 iPhone lineup lets you associate one line with a physical nano-SIM card, and one with the new embedded SIM, or eSIM.

To set up a second line on your iPhone, you'll need a couple of things. In addition to one of Apple's latest iPhones, you'll need to have a QR code given to you by your carrier or you'll need to have downloaded your carrier's app. Also, make sure that your carrier supports eSIM.

Yes, your iPhone comes with a SIM card. However, there are times you might want to buy an extra SIM card, perhaps to ditch your existing carrier or when traveling. Here are three solutions.

Nearly two years after initially proposing its acquisition plans, AT&T announced on June 14, 2018, that it had officially completed the deal to purchase Time Warner for a sum of $85 billion.

AT&T first announced these plans back in October 2016, and soon after, was faced with a tremendous about of backlash from all sectors. The company most recently spent six weeks in court to determine if the acquisition violated any antitrust laws, but Judge Richard Leon told AT&T it could move forward on June 12.

It was expected that AT&T would finalize its purchase of Time Warner on June 20 to give the Justice Department proper time to make an appeal, but either AT&T decided to jump the gun or the Department admitted defeat.

Commenting on the deal, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said:

Now that AT&T owns Time Warner, this also means it's acquiring the other brands under Time Warner's belt — including Warner Bros., HBO, and Turner. As part of the deal, Time Warner's former CEO and Chairman, Jeff Bewkes, will be transitioning to a Senior Advisor position.

T-Mobile and Sprint are merging for $26.5 billion: Here are the details

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If you've got an iPhone running on AT&T, you may be experiencing more dropped calls than normal right now. Luckily, there's a quick and easy fix you can perform that might stop your dropped calls in their tracks. Here's how!

How to fix dropped call issues on your AT&T iPhone

1. Launch the Settings app.
2. Tap on Cellular.
3. Tap on Cellular Data Options.
4. Tap on Enable LTE.
5. Tap on Data Only.

That's all there is to it. Using this setting, you will still enjoy fast data speeds with all the benefits of LTE, but your phone calls will not use LTE, but the 4G network instead. Since most of the issues seem to be caused by VoLTE enhancements, this should stop dropped calls until the network is fixed. We'd recommend trying to enable voice and data every now and again to see if AT&T has resolved the problem. If not, just toggle Data Only back on for a little while longer.

This trick should work for anyone that's having dropped call issues due to LTE enhancements in a given geographical area on any network. So if that sounds like you, give this a try and let us know how it works for you!

Peurto Rico is still suffering in the wake of horrific hurricane damage and communication services remain down for a huge number of people on the island. Apple and AT&T are hoping to help by making Band 8 AT&T available through a special carrier update.

Matthew Panzarino, reporting for TechCrunch:

Apple told Techcrunch the following:

The carrier update should become available to AT&T iPhone users in Puerto Rico this week.

Good on Apple. Good on AT&T. And Good on Alphabet and Google for deploying the "Loon Balloons" that, with so many cell towers down, will aid in making these connections possible.

Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and other areas still require massive amounts of money, time, and resources to rebuild, so if you're continuing to give and help in every way you can, good on you as well.

We're all in this together.

Updated to include a mention of Alphabet and Google's Loon Baloon project and the connectivity it's enabling in an area where it's so desperately needed.

DirecTV Now is the TV streaming service from AT&T and DirecTV. Available throughout the United States, the service offers both live and on-demand video from dozens of popular cable channels, while also offering the same for broadcast channels in select cities.

Just like similar services from Hulu and Sling TV, DirecTV Now lets you watch its live content on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV. Here's everything you need to know about this streaming service.

See more on DirecTV Now and streaming TV at CordCutters.com!

What is DirecTV Now?

It's a TV streaming service from AT&T, which owns DirecTV. With DirecTV Now, you can watch live programming from cable channels like ESPN, USA, and FX. There are also premium channels that you can add on to your subscription.

Do I need to be a DirecTV customer to use DirecTV Now?

No, DirecTV Now is a separate service with a separate price. All you need for DirecTV Now is an internet connection.

How much is this going to cost me?

You can choose one of four plans at $35, $50, $60, and $70 per month. You can also add the premium channels HBO and Cinemax for an extra $5 per month each while adding Starz is an additional $8.

Before committing your money to at least a month of what DirecTV Now has to offer, you can sign up for a 7-day free trial to see if the service is right for you.

Are there any sort of free options?

Sort of. You can also check out FreeVIEW, DirecTV Now's ad-supported free service that offers content from DirecTV-owned channels like Audience and Otter Media. However, for the standard DirecTV Now channel lineup, you'll need to pay.

So exactly what am I getting for my money?

Here's how all of DirecTV Now's plans break down:

• Live A Little - $35 per month, more than 60 channels
• Just Right - $50 per month, more than 80 channels
• Go Big - $60 per month, more than 100 channels
• Gotta Have It - $70 per month, more than 120 channels

While each plan includes live and on-demand content for most of the available cable channels, content from broadcast channels like ABC and NBC are also available live in select cities.

You can get a full breakdown of which channels are available with each plan right here.

Exactly where are local channels available?

Even in cities where local channels are available, the channels are not available on a consistent basis. Just because, for instance, NBC is available to stream in Dallas doesn't mean that it's available in Cleveland. The channel distribution breaks down like this?

• Atlanta: FOX
• Austin: FOX
• Boston: Telemundo
• Charlotte: FOX
• Chicago: ABC, NBC, FOX, Telemundo
• Cleveland: FOX
• Dallas: NBC, FOX, Telemundo
• Denver: FOX, Telemundo
• Detroit: FOX
• Fresno: ABC, Telemundo
• Gainesville: FOX
• Grand Rapids: FOX
• Greensboro: FOX
• Harrisburg: FOX
• Hartford: NBC,
• Houston: ABC, FOX, Telemundo
• Indianapolis: FOX
• Kansas City: FOX
• Los Angeles: ABC, NBC, FOX, Telemundo
• Los Vegas: Telemundo
• Miami: NBC, Telemundo
• Milwaukee: FOX
• Minneapolis: FOX
• New York: ABC, NBC, FOX, Telemundo
• Oakland: ABC, NBC, FOX
• Orlando: FOX
• Philadelphia: ABC, NBC, FOX, Telemundo
• Phoenix: FOX, Telemundo
• Raleigh: ABC,
• Sacramento: FOX
• Salt Lake City: FOX
• San Diego: NBC, FOX
• San Francisco: ABC, NBC, FOX
• San Jose: ABC, NBC, FOX
• Seattle: FOX
• St. Louis: FOX
• Tampa: FOX
• Washington D.C.: NBC, FOX

Why is the live local channel selection so limited?

The availability of live local channels is dependent on deals that AT&T can make with local affiliate stations in each city. In most cases, the company needs to negotiate with the affiliates directly, rather than the major networks (NBC, ABC, FOX, etc.), in order to show their content on DirecTV Now.

What about DVR?

As of now, DirecTV Now lacks any sort of DVR feature. However, the service points customers toward its on-demand offerings. A beta version is currently in testing which does indeed include cloud DVR services.

Tell me about on-demand

With some exceptions, most of the DirecTV Now channel lineup offers its programming on-demand, letting you catch up on your favorite shows when you're not able to catch them live.

Additionally, you can sign in with your DirecTV Now account in on-demand apps from content providers, including HBO Go, ABC, and the Disney Channel apps.

How many people can watch simultaneously?

Currently, DirecTV Now allows each account to stream to two devices at the same time. Anything beyond that requires an additional account.

What devices can I use to watch DirecTV Now?

DirecTV Now can be viewed through apps on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, along with Android phones and tablets, the Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast (with an Android device), and modern web browsers.

Sounds good. Where do I sign up?

You can sign up on the DirecTV Now website. Unfortunately, you cannot sign up in the app at this time.

Any other questions?

If you have any other questions about DirecTV Now, let us know in the comments.

In the United States, there are a lot of companies that can get you and your phone online, but most people use one of the four biggest: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon. Choosing between them can be difficult. Your first priority should be what service works best in the places you spend your time. It's not worth saving $10 a month if the service is bad. Once you have that sorted, you can look at what each company has to offer and the prices they charge for it.

More: Which unlimited plan should you buy?

Let's take a look at the AT&T Unlimited plan to see what they can give you and what it will cost.

Note: The details of this plan are current as of February 27, 2017.

AT&T Unlimited plan details

Unlimited Plus

• Unlimited talk, text, and data
• 10 GB mobile hotspot (tethering)
• Unlimited talk and text to Canada and Mexico
• Advanced messaging between compatible phones on the AT&T network
• Unlimited talk, text, and data in Canada and Mexico with free Roam North America Feature (if more than 50% of use is outside the U.S. the plan can be terminated)
• Unlimited music and video streaming with optional Stream Saver for less data use
• $25 monthly credit for DirecTV services

Unlimited Choice

• Unlimited talk, text, and data
• Data speeds capped at 3Mbps
• Standard definition video streaming

AT&T's definition of Unlimited Data means that after you use 22 GB in a single month, your service can be slowed down if you're in a congested area. You'll hear the word throttled used here but you need to know that it's only a temporary deprioritization of your data connection when you're in a busy area. It may not happen at all depending on how many other customers are using the same towers.

Advanced Messaging features are only between two capable phones using the AT&T network in standard domestic coverage areas. A limit of 10MB is applied for any attachments. Standard text messaging has a 1MB limit for attachments.

Users who activate the free Roam North America feature need to use their phone in the domestic coverage area (U.S, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin islands) the majority of the time. If 50% or more of your use in a billing period is outside of domestic coverage, your service can be terminated.

You can use any phone that's compatible with AT&T's network. If you bring your own phone you'll pay a $25 one-time activation fee which is added to your first bill. You can also finance a phone through AT&T and the monthly cost will vary depending on which phone you choose. The AT&T Unlimited plan does not include tax and all the other assorted fees in the price.

This plan does not include mobile hotspots (except connected cars), Wireless Home Phone, Wireless Home Phone and Internet, laptops, Timex devices, and ZTE Spro 2 projectors. Users with any of those devices should contact an AT&T representative.

Additional lines can be added to AT&T Unlimited plans. Every line has the same benefits outlined above and the $25 dollar fee applies to each. Here is a pricing breakdown.

Unlimited Plus

• One line of service on an AT&T Unlimited Plus plan is $90
• Two lines of service for $145
• Up to eight additional lines (includes any phone, LTE tablets, LTE hotspots and connected cars) for $20 per line
• Add a wearable for $10 per month

Unlimited Choice

• One line of service on an AT&T Unlimited Choice plan is $60
• Two lines of service for $115
• Up to eight additional lines (includes any phone, LTE tablets, LTE hotspots and connected cars) for $20 per line
• Add a wearable for $10 per month

You can add a tablet or connected car to your AT&T Unlimited plan for the standard $20 monthly fee or through the AT&T 1GB Tablet plan. This plan offers 1GB of data for your tablet for $10 per month, with overages at $15 per Gigabyte. You can add a wearable (Timex wearables are not eligible) to your plan for $10 a month. You can also add a feature phone or messaging phone to your account for $20 per month.

Secondary perks

AT&T offers a plethora of services and apps to use them. Services include AT&T Drive Mode, AT&T Tablet messaging, AT&T Locker and more. You'll find these apps and plenty more in the App Store.

Last but not least, AT&T also offers services tailored to business owners. Business Messenger, Global IP Client and more make it easier to merge your physical office with your virtual office. You'll find them in the App Store and you can get more information by calling 800.331.0500 or visiting an AT&T store.

AT&T has shut down its 2G, and with it has ended the original iPhone's ability to connect to any cellular network in the U.S.

Though the shutdown was no surprise — AT&T announced the impending closure in 2013, and has worked with customers, mainly in the Machine-to-Machine (M2M) space to transition their equipment over to cheaper and more energy-efficient LTE — it does mark the end of a remarkable 10-year ride for the iPhone, which celebrated its ten-year announcement last week.

Back then, AT&T's data network was still marketed under the Cingular name, and was a launch partner of Apple's when the iPhone debuted in June of 2007. Indeed, that exclusivity lasted until January 2011, when the Verizon iPhone 4 debuted to much acclaim and support for CDMA networks.

AT&T's 2G network carried traffic at speeds far lower than what we're used to today; the original iPhone would have downloaded data at an average of 135kbps, less than one tenth the average speed of its 3G network, and around 100 times less than the LTE speeds we're used to today. But AT&T's EDGE network was also subject to considerable criticism when the iPhone debuted, as it was unable to withstand the data-intensive applications the iPhone afforded its growing install base. Because Mobile Safari was rendering the actual web, and not just an approximation of it through the WAP standard, AT&T had to shore up its 2G network in America's largest cities like New York and San Francisco, but performance issues persisted well into the 3G era, and didn't abate until it launched LTE in 2011.

T-Mobile, in an announcement back in September 2016, promised to be AT&T customers' "2G lifeline," claiming that it only plans to shut down its 2G network in 2020. Unfortunately for original iPhone owners on T-Mo, it uses a different spectrum to access that older network tech, and the phone, should it turn on, won't work.

At least there's always Wi-Fi.

Apple has long supported FaceTime Audio for the iPhone, which lets you chat with other iCloud users via Wi-Fi and (if your carrier allowed it) cellular data. Now, some users are getting their first taste of Wi-Fi calling, a carrier-based technology.

What's Wi-Fi calling?

Unlike FaceTime, Wi-Fi calling is carrier-driven, and depends on a technology called SIP / IMS (IP Multimedia Subset). The technology enables your iPhone to make and receive phone calls using a regular Wi-Fi network.

Instead of routing your voice packets through your carrier's closest cell tower, those packets get tunneled through the Internet to a controller used by your cell company, which then bounces them across the network to whomever you're speaking. The net result is that you're talking, but you're not actually using a cell tower to do it. For people who live in areas with poor or inconsistent cellular reception, Wi-Fi calling is an absolute savior.

If your carrier supports Wi-Fi calling, it's also a great way to get clearer, crisper calls when chatting with all your friends — not just those on an iPhone or Mac. Here's how to enable it.

How to turn on Wi-Fi calling for your iPhone

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Phone > Wi-Fi Calling.
3. Switch the Wi-Fi Calling on This iPhone slider to On.
4. You'll see a warning about location data and what your carrier collects. Tap Enable to turn on Wi-Fi Calling.

For some carriers, like AT&T, you may be bumped into a Safari WebView, where you're asked to agree to terms and conditions and provide an Emergency Call address (in case you dial 911 and they can't locate you on Wi-Fi, this gives emergency responders a place to send assistance).

How to enable Wi-Fi calling for other devices

If your carrier supports it, you can give any device on your iCloud account the ability to make and receive calls — even when your iPhone isn't nearby.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Phone > Wi-Fi Calling.
3. If available for your carrier, select Add Wi-Fi Calling for Other Devices.
4. A Safari WebView will prompt you to set up sync for your other devices. After you're finished, you should get alerts on your other devices confirming availability for Wi-Fi calling.

Questions?

Let us know below.

In a world filled with expensive wireless plans and unforgiving multi-year phone contracts, prepaid phone plans are becoming more popular. AT&T's answer to all this is GoPhone. And here's how to GoPhone with iPhone!

How do you use my iPhone on GoPhone?

You need to make sure your iPhone is unlocked. The you can buy a GoPhone SIM card, pop it into your iPhone and boom! You are off to the races!

SIM Card? Ummmmm....?

Okay! Basics:

• What is a SIM card and what does it do?

One more: Unlocked phone?

When you buy an iPhone — or almost any phone — from most major carriers, they "lock" it to their network. That way you can't use it anywhere else and they get to keep your business and your money. That's fine when you're on-contract or paying off the phone. When your contract is done, though, and you're finished paying your phone off, leaving it locked limits your options.

So, an unlocked phone is either a full-price phone that you bought and was never locked to any specific carrier, or a phone you've paid off and gotten unlocked by the carrier.

How do I get my iPhone unlocked?

You can always go to your current carrier and request them to unlock your phone for you. Lots of companies have very strict rules about who qualifies to get unlocked. And, even if you meet their requirements they may still try to say no.

• How to unlock your iPhone on AT&T

What's so good about GoPhone?

Prepaid plans - like all phone plans - have their pros and cons.

• No Contract: No need to worry about being stuck in a multi-year contract.
• No Credit Check: This can be especially helpful if you need a cell phone but have bad credit.
• Often cheaper: Since you aren't paying for the device itself the plan is often cheaper.

• A la carte features: Some features are completely separate from the standard Go Phone plans offered.
• Less data available: Even on the most expensive Go Phone plan, you only get 5GB of data a month.
• Have to re-fill account: Unlike a normal plan you won't get billed each month, you pay in advance, and if you forget, you will be left without service.

What plans does AT&T offer for GoPhone?

There are three main plans for Go Phone that a breakdown by price per month. We will start with the cheapest and work our way up.

• Unlimited Talk & Text in the U.S.
• Unlimited Messaging to Mexico, Canada, and over 100 countries

Those are all that comes with the $30 plan. However, you can get data for an extra five dollars per 100 MB used. 100 MB is almost nothing, and if you use data often, you aren't going to want this plan.

• Unlimited Talk & Text in the U.S.
• Unlimited Messaging to Mexico, Canada, and over 100 countries
• High-Speed Data Access 2GB a month
• Rollover Data

Rollover Data means that any leftover data from your 2 GB a month you didn't use will automatically rollover to the next month. So if you used 1 GB in October, that means in November you will have 3 GB to use.

• Unlimited Talk & Text in the U.S.
• Unlimited Messaging to Mexico, Canada, and over 100 countries
• High-Speed Data Access 5 GB a month
• Rollover Data
• Unlimited Talk & Text from the U.S. to Mexico and Canada
• Includes Talk, Text & Data usage in Mexico and Canada

While it's the most expensive plan, the $60/month plan is especially good if calling or travelling to Canada and Mexico is a priority for you.

Are you using an unlocked iPhone and GoPhone on AT&T? If so, let me know how it's working out for you!

If you buy an iPhone from AT&T, it will be "locked" to AT&T's network. That means if you try to put in a T-Mobile SIM, it won't work. Same with an international SIM if you're traveling. Just because you're locked, though, doesn't mean you can't unlock. AT&T has a process in place for you to request a code to do just that. Of course, there are requirements and some restrictions you needed to be aware of first.

• What requirements does AT&T have for unlocking?
• How do I request an unlock code from AT&T?

What requirements does AT&T have for unlocking?

Before requesting an unlock code from AT&T, there are some requirements you'll need to know.

• The phone must be locked to AT&T (of course).
• It can't be reported as lost or stolen (also, of course).
• It can't be associated with fraudulent or illegal activity (see where we're going here?).
• All of your iPhone's service commitments and installment plans are completed, and all early termination fees are paid in full.
• The phone is only active on your AT&T customer's account.
• If you just upgraded your iPhone, you must wait the 14-day "buyer's remorse" period before you can request to unlock your previous device.

There may also be some special circumstances for different AT&T services, like Go Phone and pre-paid customers. Be sure to check out the eligibility of your iPhone before continuing.

How do I request an unlock code from AT&T??

AT&T says it will respond to any request to unlock your phone within two business days.

1. Go to att.com/deviceunlock.
2. Read and agree to the eligibility requirements to unlock your device.
3. Complete and submit the request form.
4. You'll receive a confirmation email with your unlock request number.
5. Select the link in the email within 24 hours of receipt to confirm your unlock request.
6. AT&T will respond within two business days.
7. AT&T sends you instructions to unlock your device if your request is approved.

Important note: Just because you go through this process does not mean you're guaranteed success. AT&T has the right to deny any request and may need you to complete additional steps before they say yes.

Have you unlocked your AT&T iPhone? Let me know how the process went for you, and if you have any tips to share!

AT&T has officially put itself on the side of Apple in its current court fight with the FBI. AT&T stated today that it has filed an amicus brief, or "friend of the court" statement, supporting Apple's position in this case, which involves the FBI asking Apple to unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooting suspects. Apple has refused, stating that such a move could cause others to gain access to the phone via a "backdoor".

AT&T's statement says that the courts are not the place to settle this dispuit, and called on the U.S. Congress to approve new laws on this matter. AT&T's full statement is below:

Today, AT&T filed a "friend of the court" brief with the magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, urging the court to vacate its order requiring Apple to take some fairly extraordinary steps to assist the FBI in unlocking the iPhone used by one of the perpetrators of the San Bernardino shootings.

This case involves two interests that all Americans share: keeping our citizens safe and protecting our personal privacy. As a company committed to both, the critical issue to AT&T is whether those interests will be balanced on an ad hoc basis by judges presiding over individual cases or by Congress providing a clear, uniform legal framework for all participants in the new digital economy. We felt it important to add our voice to this conversation because we believe that, as a matter of law and policy, Congress is the right body to decide this balance.

Technology has changed dramatically since Congress last addressed these issues in 1994. Then, Congress focused on what telecommunications carriers like AT&T may be required to do to assist law enforcement and national security officials. Now, the government seeks data stored by many other types of companies, from device manufacturers to social media, search, and applications companies, among others. But our laws have not kept pace with technology.

Only Congress can address these issues in a sufficiently comprehensive, uniform, and fair manner. All of us—the government, the courts, consumers and companies—need clear and uniform rules that can be produced only through a broadly-informed, transparent and accountable legislative process. In the meantime, we should not consider the All Writs Act, which merely authorizes the judiciary to enforce existing law, as a substitute for that process.

Like all Americans, we were deeply saddened by the tragic events of San Bernardino. Without question, the government should use every lawful means to investigate those crimes, and that includes compelling Apple's cooperation to the full extent permitted by law. In this case, however, the government seeks more than what can be supported under the law as it is written today. The solution is for Congress to pass new legislation that provides real clarity for citizens and companies alike.

Source: AT&T

You may already have a smarthome hub for the inside of your house, and now AT&T and a company called GreenIQ are hoping you'll want a hub for the outdoors as well. GreenIQ has just unveiled the first 3G version of its Smart Garden hub, which is powered by AT&T.

GreenIQ's Smart Garden Hub allows users to better manage the watering of their garden based on "hyper-local weather information." In addition to connecting to your garden's irrigation system, the Hub can connect you your lighting system and other third-party smart accessories like soil moisture sensors and weather reading stations.

GreenIQ already has a WiFi version of its Smart Garden Hub available for purchase, but the company says the 3G variant will be available later in 2015.

• Check out the GreenIQ Smart Garden Hub

Sources: GreenIQ (Market Wired), AT&T

The FCC has voted to approve AT&T's acquisition of DirecTV, just a few days after FCC chairman Tom Wheeler recommended the commission do just that. In its approval statement, however, the FCC has outlined some conditions to which AT&T had to agree in order to receive approval. From the FCC:

The document goes on to mention that the conditions are intended to curb any potential harm that could come from a massive deal that will see an already influential AT&T merging with the nation's largest satellite TV provider.

It will definitely be interesting to see what comes out of this deal, which has been in the works since early 2014. Presumably, we could start to see some interesting mobile video offerings from AT&T, along with an expansion of the company's current internet and television service offerings.

Source: FCC

AT&T's combined revenue for its wireless and wireline businesses in the first quarter was $32.6 billion, which marks a year-over-year bump of 0.3 percent. Additionally, earnings per share were 61 cents—down from 70 cents a year ago.

On the wireless side of things, specifically, AT&T notes that it had 1.2 million net wireless adds, and the quarter represented the company's best first-quarter postpaid churn—clocking in at just 1.02 percent. Additionally, the company's total wireless revenues were up 1.8 percent over the same period last year. Here are some highlights from the report:

• $18.2 billion in total wireless revenues, up 1.8 percent year-over-year
• $14.8 billion in wireless service revenues, down 3.7 percent year-over-year
• $13.7 billion in wireless operating expenses, up 7.2 percent year-over-year
• $4.4 billion in operating income, down 12 percent year-over-year
• 441,000 postpaid subscribers added in the quarter

Source: AT&T

Today at CES 2015, AT&T unveiled the Modio Smartcase for iPad, designed to connect Wi-Fi-only models to AT&T's LTE network. It works like any other mobile hotspot, and there are models compatible with both the iPad Air and iPad Air 2, as well as all three versions of the iPad mini.

The Modio also contains a 4,600mAh battery to provide up to 10 hours of use of the hotspot, along with a microSD card slot for 32GB of extra storage for your iPad via AT&T's Modio Data companion app. Pricing and availability of the Modio Smartcase has not yet been announced.

Press release:

AT&T Modio Smartcase to Provide 4G LTE Connectivity for iPad with Wi-Fi Models

First Protective Smartcase that Provides 4G LTE Connectivity to be Available in U.S. Exclusively at AT&T

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 6, 2015 – AT&T1 will be offering the first U.S. smartcase of its kind that can help you connect Wi-Fi only models of iPad Air 2, iPad Air, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 2 and iPad mini to the network with the nation's strongest 4G LTE signal.2 AT&T Modio™ smartcase will be available in AT&T stores and www.att.com for iPad mini 3, iPad mini 2 and iPad mini with Wi-Fi models initially, followed by iPad Air 2 and iPad Air with Wi-Fi models. The durable smartcase will initially provide 4G LTE connectivity with a Mobile Share plan to iPad with Wi-Fi models only. More information regarding pricing and availability will be announced at a later date.

"The AT&T Modio smartcase gives you the freedom and convenience to connect your Wi-Fi only tablet to AT&T's blazing fast 4G LTE network," said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president, Device Marketing and Developer Services – AT&T Mobility. "Secure and easy to set up and use, AT&T is proud to deliver you another industry first, enabling you to stay connected at home or while on-the-go."

The AT&T Modio smartcase comes with a 4,600mAh dedicated battery providing you with up to 10 hours3 of continuous use and even expands your iPad memory capacity so that you can have and take more of your content with you. It comes with a microSD card slot that supports up to 32GB of storage. You can also monitor and manage your data usage using the accompanying AT&T Modio Data application.4

In addition to being the nation's most reliable 4G LTE network, AT&T's network now also has the nation's strongest LTE signal.2 AT&T's network is designed to allow customers to do the things they love on their LTE wireless devices – such as stream music and videos or surf the Web – with less likelihood of LTE data interruptions due to poor signal strength than the other national carriers.

For more information please visit www.att.com/modiosmartcase.

Starting tomorrow, November 18, AT&T will be running a limited-time promotion to bring more data to its 10 GB Mobile Share plan. For the same price that you would be paying on the 10 GB Mobile Share package, which comes with unlimited talk and text, AT&T will throw in an extra 5 GB bringing the shareable data bucket to 15 GB.

AT&T did not specify how long the promotion will last.

Source: AT&T

AT&T will give its customers an even longer amount of time to pay for their new smartphones with $0 down. The newly unveiled Next 24 plan will allow those folks to take 30 months to pay for their device in monthly installments starting on November 9.

The wireless carrier will still offer its Next 12 and Next 18 plans as well, which gives customers 20 and 24 months, respectively, to pay for their smartphones. As with the earlier plans, the new Next 24 system will allow folks a way to upgrade to a new smartphone if they bring in their current one after 30 months in good condition.

The upside is that customers will pay less per month for their smartphone under the Next 24 plan. The downside is that it will take six months longer to upgrade to a new device under Next 24. AT&T also announced that starting today, anyone who switches to the carrier and activates a new line of service with a smartphone on AT&T Next will get a $150 bill credit.

Which would work better for you: Smaller monthly payments or a faster way to upgrade to a new smartphone?

Source: AT&T

The Federal Trade Commission is suing AT&T Mobility over data throttling on unlimited data plans. The Commission alleges that AT&T's practices regarding unlimited data were deceptive and unfair. The FTC believes that AT&T in some cases reduced unlimited data speeds after certain amounts by up to 90 percent.

The FTC's guiding principle is "unlimited means unlimited". This means that if a carrier offers you unlimited data, they shouldn't be able to throttle you if you exceed a certain amount of usage. The Commission points to AT&T's marketing materials, which heavily emphasize unlimited data.

It is alleged that AT&T began throttling data back in 2011, reducing speeds for customers after they had used 2GB of data in a billing period. The FTC also says that 3.5 million unique customers have been affected by AT&T's practices. AT&T, according to the complaint, received thousands of complaints from customers regarding slow data speeds, with some considering the throttling of unlimited plans a "bait and switch".

Do you think the FTC's case has merit? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Update: AT&T has reached out to us with a statement responding to the FCC's claims:

Source: FTC

While the introduction of what amounts to a universal SIM card in the new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 brought on celebration of an impending future of easier carrier switching with just one SIM, we're only halfway there. Not only does the SIM not support Verizon, but if you try to activate it on AT&T, it will lock the SIM to that carrier.

Per Apple's support documentiaton:

Naturally, T-Mobile CEO John Legere used this as a moment to poke at his rivals, noting that activating an Apple SIM-equipped iPad on his magenta network won't result in any carrier locking. If all else fails and your iPad's Apple SIM gets locked to AT&T or another carrier, never fear — the iPad itself is still unlocked. Swap it out with another SIM, even a new Apple SIM from Apple, and everything will be back to freedom.

Source: Apple, John Legere (Twitter)

AT&T has a new set of international plans, and while they'll still hit your wallet hard, they're an improvement of what came before. AT&T's new plans, dubbed Passport, Passport Plus, and Passport Pro (not to be confused with plans for the new BlackBerry Passport), bring the same data allotments, but at least offer easier billing international data packages than we've seen before from Ma Bell, though heavy users will still find themselves shelling over the big bucks.

All three new Passport plans offer unlimited messaging, including picture and video messaging (though the media itself will count against your data cap) and unlimited use of Wi-Fi at participating hotspots in select countries (AT&T calls out the UK, France, Germany, Japan, and Mexico), which was previously limited to 1GB.

When it comes to cellular data, overages, and talk, here's how things stack out:

• Passport: 120MB data, $0.25/MB data overage, and $1.00/min talk for $30.
• Passport Plus: 300MB data, $0.20/MB data overage, and $0.50/min talk for $60.
• Passport Pro: 800MB data, $0.15/MB data overage, and $0.35/min talk for $120

The biggest change is possibly the addition of data overages. Whereas before hitting the limit on a plan would merely add another matching bucket (you go over 120MB on the lowest plan, you get charged another $30 and get another 120MB of data), now you're charged a per-MB overage fee. Thankfully, AT&T has calibrated these overage rates to match the per-MB cost of the plan, so you'll actually end up paying less in overages than you would have getting a whole new bucket (or two or three).

These plans are available as both a one-shot 30-day plan good for the duration of your trip and expiring after those 30 days elapse, or you can have them as a permanent part of your plan if you find yourself crossing borders on a frequent basis.

Source: AT&T

You've decided to get an iPhone 6 or an iPhone 6 Plus, and now it's time to figure out which carrier to go with. In the U.S., the major carriers are Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint. All of them will carry the new phone, so how do you decide? We've gone over their plans and their coverage, and here are the details.

The Big Four: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint

Each of the big four carriers are the first out of the gate in the United States to offer the new iPhone models. And each are trying to sweeten the pot to get customers to jump at the new iPhones too. Some are giving billing credit incentives, some are offering generous trade-in allowances for working phones, and more.

Regardless of which carrier you choose, the 16 GB iPhone 6 will start at $199 on contract, with $299 on contract the base price for the larger iPhone 6 Plus. Add $100 to increase either phone from 16 GB to 64 GB, and another $100 for 128 GB.

Over the past year all four companies have changed the way they handle phone sales, all with an emphasis on helping you turn over your phone more quickly.

For Verizon, it's called Edge — buy an iPhone in 20 payments. After 30 days and once you've paid off 60 percent of the cost of the phone, you're eligible for an upgrade. Verizon is also giving a $200 credit if you buy a new iPhone 6 (not the 6 Plus) from them, assuming you're willing to trade in an iPhone 4 or newer and agree to a new two-year contract. They're billing this as a "free iPhone 6." Not quite, but a $200 trade-in gift card may be a strong incentive for some customers.

AT&T's program is called Next. It's 20 monthly payments as well, but you're not qualified to upgrade until the 12th installment. (There's a 24 month, 18th installment version available too). Once you upgrade, the cycle starts again. AT&T also incents customers to use Next by offering a $100 billing credit if you sign up. Like Verizon, AT&T's offering a trade-in credit for working phones, with a pretty generous allowance - you can get $200 for a working, unblemished iPhone 4.

Sprint's new program is called "iPhone for Life," and it's specifically geared towards customers interested in the new iPhone models. You can get the 6 or the 6 Plus for $20 per month. And after 24 months, you can trade in your old phone for a new one. It's essentially a leasing arrangement that makes you pay out $480 for the privilege of using the phone, then turning it in when you're eligible for a new one. You can get up to $300 in credit for an eligible iPhone trade-in.

T-Mobile breaks up the cost of the iPhone over 24 months, and your cost depends on your credit (with a 16 GB iPhone 6 starting at $27.08 a month). The company offers a trade-up upgrade called Jump that lets you upgrade as soon as you've paid off 50 percent of the balance of the phone. T-Mobile is also offering its customers a trade-in value guarantee: They'll meet or beat all the other major carriers' deals, and if you find a better deal within seven days, you'll get the difference back plus $50.

Pricing plans

It's enough to make your head spin. There are a lot of different plans available from each wireless company. What you'll pay depends on how many lines you're managing and how much bandwidth you're willing to pay for, but here's a quick breakdown. I'm going to focus on each company's shared plans for now, since so much consumer attention is focused on that right now. All the plans offer unlimited domestic talk and text.

Verizon's program is called "More Everything." A pool of data that can be shared on up to ten devices (smartphones, tablets and so on), personal hotspot support for your iPhone, and some other perks, like cloud storage, international messaging and more. Line access for each phone costs $40, with a fee for data on top of that which varies depending on how much bandwidth you're paying for. Verizon incents its customers to enroll in its Edge program by offering them $10 off per smartphone for the More Everything plan.

AT&T's variation is called Mobile Share. Just like Verizon, up to 10 devices can share a pooled data allotment. International messaging, and 50 GB of free cloud storage using AT&T's Locker service. Plan charges start at $20 per month for 300 MB of data, running up to $375 for 50 GB of data, with lots of stops in-between. Each smartphone costs $40 for line access, though you get a better price break than you do with Verizon if you're in AT&T's Next upgrade program: 6 GB or less data plans knock that line service fee down to $25 per month; 10 GB or more play only $15 per month for each smartphone line.

Sprint's new Family Share plan waives monthly access charges through 2015. Up to ten devices can be connected, with data plans available ranging from 1 GB per device to 6 GB per device. The company is also pushing a single-line unlimited data offer for iPhone customers for $50 per month.

T-Mobile's Simple Choice plan lets you scale savings based on how many lines you need. You can pick and choose data allotments for each line, with 2.5 GB to unlimited data available. T-Mobile also offers unlimited data and text in more than 120 countries, along with music streaming that doesn't count against your data cap, and a recently announced deal that gets you Visual Voicemail and texting capabilities on board airplanes equipped with GoGo Wi-Fi.

Who should get their iPhone 6 on Verizon?

Verizon remains the dominant player in the U.S. market, with the biggest 4G LTE network and the biggest footprint. After focusing on modernizing their network over the past few years and migrating to 4G LTE, They've spent a lot of 2014 building out capacity to improve network congestion in urban areas. However, you will pay for the privilege. Verizon isn't the most competitive on price, simply because they don't have to be.

One problem that Verizon has faced with the iPhone in the past is going away: simultaneous voice and data communication; namely, that iPhones on Verizon's network couldn't do it. That's changing thanks to two factors: Verizon will soon bringing online Voice over LTE (VoLTE), voice call technology that is encoded as data instead of a dedicated radio channel, and the iPhone 6 can do VoLTE. So users in the past who were worried about not being able to access the web while they were talking, or pull up map information and so on, won't need to worry going forward.

Who should get their Phone 6 on AT&T?

AT&T is second to Verizon in terms of customer base, but the company hasn't let that stop it from aggressively building out its 4G LTE network. AT&T boasts better reliability than the competition, with high scores from independent testers for call quality and Internet speed.

While VoLTE will level the voice/data playing field in the future, AT&T's use of the GSM networking standard makes simultaneous voice/data communication the way things have long worked on their network, so you don't need to worry about the switch getting flipped in the future — it works now, just as it always has.

Who should go with Sprint?

Sprint's been playing catchup as they build out capacity and speed on their 4G LTE network. They've tried to make up for it by offering some really good deals to sign up new customers, which makes them an attractive offer for bargain-hunting mobile users looking for the best possible deals.

There's a big glimmer of hope from the iPhone 6 - it's the first iPhone to support Sprint's "Spark" service, which offers faster data speeds on their network. It's something already available on some Android phones, but the iPhone 6 will be Apple's first phone to support Spark.

Who should go with T-Mobile?

shook up the mobile industry in the U.S. a year ago with their "Uncarrier" program. It seems like every month or two they're giving customers a new reason to come, whether it's eating Early Termination Fees (ETFs) for customers switching mid-contract, making music-streaming available without dinging your data allotment, free Visual Voicemail and texting on some Wi-Fi equipped airplanes, and more.

They're also aggressively building out their 4G LTE footprint and really have improved their network over the past year. They still have a long way to go before they'll catch up to AT&T, but their customer-friendly attitude and their simplified pricing plans make them an attractive choice for a growing number of mobile users.

Still undecided?

If you're not sure which carrier to go with, pop on over to our iPhone discussion forums and chat with the fine folks there, or drop a message here and hear what others have to say.

While there's plenty of arguments for and against carrier upgrade programs such as AT&T Next, T-Mobile JUMP and Verizon Edge it looks as though there's at least enough traction there to garner some attention from Apple. According to new information, Apple appears to be readying a significant upgrade to their retail sales plans by firing up a pilot program for customers to be able to purchase a new iPhone through such carrier upgrade programs.

The pilot program is said to be starting in late August, in time for it to be fully ready for the iPhone 6 launch as Tim Cook does not want to miss out on any possible sales for that device, and will skip over the current rules wherein any iPhone purchased at an Apple retail store must also come with a two-year contract or be purchased unlocked at full price.

Previously, Apple was noted be looking to boost iPhone sales through pre-paid and month-to-month phone plans in Apple Stores with the help of AT&T and T-Mobile, so to see them move into using the carrier upgrade programs as well to boost sales wouldn't be any stretch of the imagination. At this point though, it remains unconfirmed.

Source: 9to5Mac

Two months after being snapped up by AT&T as part of the Leap Wireless acquisition, there's a new Cricket in town. The newly relaunched prepaid carrier service is being rolled together with AT&T's home-brewed AiO Wireless prepaid brand, and will eventually transition off Cricket's MVNO agreement with Sprint (that's an awkward position for AT&T, eh?) to devices that run on AT&T's own network.

As a budget pre-paid carrier, Cricket is offering three low-cost smartphone plans. All include unlimited talk and text, which has become the bare minimum for any carrier plan these days. The real money is in the data package, where a Cricket customer could get 500MB of LTE data for as little as $35-a-month (that's including taxes and fees, with a $5 credit if signed up for automatic payments). If that's not enough for you, bumping up to $45-a-month will net 2.5GB of data, while $55-a-month gets 5GB.

Once customers go over that limit their data speeds are throttle back, but access continues, much like T-Mobile's recent elimination of overage charges. If the customer wants more high speed data, they'll have to pay for it. The Aio Group Save family plan discount of up to $90-a-month is carrying over to Cricket, and customers can also get international call plans starting at $15 a month, as well as unlimited international texting plans.

As far as phones are concerned, the new Cricket is offering a healthy selection of devices off AT&T's network, including the Android-powered Moto G at $149.99, the popular and highly affordable Windows Phone Nokia Lumia 520 for $99.99, and even the iPhone 5c ($549.99) and iPhone 5s ($649.99). With the exception of the iPhones, most of the phones in the Cricket line-up are being offered with a $50 mail-in rebate.

As part of the reorganzation and relaunch, all Aio Wireless and Cricket stores will fall under the Cricket brand and receive a floor-to-ceiling redesign.

Source: Cricket

Press release:

New Cricket Wireless Answers Nationwide Call for Network Quality, Value Prices, Great Service and No Annual Contract

Launches service with reliable 4G LTE network, unlimited plans starting at $35 month after $5 Auto Pay credit, and loyalty program, all with no annual contract

Alpharetta, Ga., May 18, 2014 – – Consumers seeking a better wireless experience with no annual contract have a new choice. Today, the new Cricket Wireless launches wireless service on a reliable, nationwide 4G LTE network covering more than 280 million Americans; with easy and affordable unlimited plans starting at $35 a month after a $5 credit for using Auto Pay; a great line-up of phones; a loyalty rewards program; and a fresh, friendly experience in stores and online.

"We kept the Cricket brand name, but one thing is certain, we are stepping up our game. We are giving no-contract consumers the value they have been waiting for," said Jennifer Van Buskirk, president of Cricket Wireless. "Now new Cricket customers can enjoy great prices, popular phones, loyalty rewards, and friendly service on a reliable nationwide 4G LTE network. The new Cricket has more 4G LTE coverage than Sprint, T-Mobile, and Metro PCS, period."

The reinvented wireless experience emerges as a winning combination of Cricket Wireless and Aio Wireless just two months after AT&T (NYSE:T) closed its acquisition of Leap Wireless International, which had operated the Cricket brand. Aio, AT&T's wholly owned subsidiary and no-annual-contract brand, will now be known as Cricket Wireless.

The New Cricket Nationwide Network

The new Cricket has a reliable nationwide network covering more than 97% of Americans and one that offers the ability to talk on the phone and surf the web at the same time. In addition, the new Cricket provides value-conscious consumers access to outstanding 4G LTE coverage. In fact, the new Cricket offers more 4G LTE coverage than Sprint, T-Mobile, and MetroPCS, reaching more than 280 million Americans.

Simple, Affordable Service Plans & Features

Cricket understands that no one likes complicated bills; that's why all of the new Cricket plans include taxes and fees with no U.S. roaming charges. Cricket customers can choose from three simple, unlimited talk, text and data plans at industry leading prices. Service plans and extra features that give customers more value include:

• Rate plans as low as $35, $45 and $55 a month after a $5 credit for using Auto Pay
• Savings of up to $90 a month for multiple-line accounts
• 4 lines for as little as $100 a month with a multi-line account
• Unlimited talk and text plan starting at $25 a month
• International calling plans starting at $15 a month
• Plans that include unlimited international texting

Phones, Promotion, and Rewards

From iconic phones that consumers wait in line for, to those that won't break the bank, Cricket offers a great lineup of new and popular phones from Samsung, Nokia, ZTE, Motorola and more. For a limited time, new Cricket customers can receive $50 off most smartphones after a mail-in-rebate Cricket Visa® Promotion Card. For customers selecting a $49.99 smartphone, the mail-in rebate means they can get a free phone after the mail-in rebate to experience the benefits of the new Cricket.

To thank customers on Smart and Pro service plans for their loyalty, after 12 months of on-time payments Cricket provides customers with a $50 credit every year toward any new phone purchase.

Nearly 3,000 newly redesigned and rebranded Cricket Wireless retail stores are open and ready to greet customers in their neighborhoods—with more on the way. From the bright and inviting look to the easy shopping experience, the new Cricket stores were designed with today's wireless customer in mind.

"We invite anyone looking for reliability, simplicity, and more value in no-annual-contract wireless to sign up today," added Van Buskirk. "Come visit our new stores or www.cricketwireless.com to find out why Cricket is something to smile about."

About the new Cricket Wireless

Cricket is bringing consumers more value with a simple, friendly, and reliable nationwide wireless experience with no annual contract. The power of Cricket is our fast, reliable, nationwide 4G LTE network; easy and affordable unlimited plans with taxes and fees included; annual loyalty rewards; and a great selection of phones customers love. Cricket, Something to Smile About. Cricket is a subsidiary of AT&T Inc.

With AT&T reporting its financial results this week the media is buzzing about comments they (and others) have made to the effect that smartphone subsidies may eventually come to an end. The theory being floated is that future mobile phone buyers will be aware of exactly how much how much their smartphone costs. This new financial awareness will somehow prompt fewer people to pony up for an expensive iPhone.

I find the whole thing laughable. It's a financial shenanigan that really has no effect on the consumer at all.

To explain my point of view I want to invent a scenario where Apple controls all phone sales through its own retail channels. Let's pretend carriers don't sell iPhones anymore, but they are happy to sell iPhone owners a monthly plan.

In this scenario the carriers would have to compete with each other on network quality, monthly service pricing and creative offers. What kind of creative offers? They would buy your loyalty in the form of discounts or cash back.

A carrier might offer you $400 cash back if you sign a two year contract. The carrier gets a guaranteed revenue stream and you get what amounts to a subsidy on the new phone you just bought. It isn't called a subsidy, but it's the same thing.

Another carrier might not offer cash back, but instead offer you a $15 monthly discount over two year period if you activate your phone on their network. If you're thinking that this sounds a lot like the carrier helping the customer finance his new phone, you'd be right.

Let's now turn back to the models carriers are using today. They do sell hardware. And the financing plans have become more complicated such as the AT&T "Next" plan that looks more like a hybrid rental / financing plan. There are only so many ways to skin this cat. A carrier can help you finance a phone by adding a monthly fee to your bill. This fee may be transparent to you, or it may be a built-in premium in return for a device subsidy. Other carriers may offer you a discount on your monthly plan if you bring your own phone, which is the same thing as subtracting the monthly premium the carrier has added to its rates to make up for the device subsidy.

The carriers can spin this any way they like, but I don't think anything has changed. At the end of the day customers are still going to want to use the best phones they can afford, and there will still be financing arrangements that help people spread out the monthly payments to make the phones seem affordable.

Speaking of expensive phones, the Wall Street Journal mentions that the Apple iPhone costs more than a low-end laptop computer. They say this as if to imply that a mobile phone is a lower class of product than a laptop. This is nonsense. Over the last 5 years we have witnessed mobile traffic on the web go from almost nothing to a very significant portion of the total. We are in a world where a large number of people spend more time on their phone than they do on a traditional PC. And the trend is only going to continue.

The more our phones dominate our electronic lives, the more we're going to justify paying high prices for them. Don't get me wrong. There will always be a market for budget phones, and the low-end is clearly growing. But just like any market for any product there is a spectrum of people with differing needs and budgets. The existence of a low-end market does not mean less people will buy expensive products. And the financial shenanigans around hardware prices and monthly rates are unlikely to alter who buys what device.

One day carriers may stop selling phones just as cable companies don't sell TVs. But until that day comes the world of data plans, phone subsidies, financing plans, discounts and rebates will all seem like a big confusing mess to most people.

I think the better journalists out there can help more by educating readers rather than publishing sensational headlines that only serve to obfuscate the truth.

Imagine a boss at a company with a really great salesperson who lands all the best, highest valued customers for the company. Now imagine that boss hates having to pay that salesperson their really high commission, even though it's the salesperson who's closing all those deals and ensuring all that money comes to the company. The boss can't afford to lose that salesperson but they're desperate to find anyway they can to cut that salesperson's commissions. Likewise, the salesperson knows their value and insists on being richly compensated for the deals they close. That's the relationship between the carriers and the iPhone, and between the price carriers pay Apple for the revenue the iPhone generates. It's also why the carriers hate Apple and the iPhone, and why when a new iPhone — like the iPhone 6 — is on the horizon, we get articles like this: "As Phone Subsidies Fade, Apple Could Be Hurt". The Wall Street Journal:

What's meant by "subsidies" in North America is "loan". The carriers front you the phone and then add an extra ~$20 a month to your plan to pay it back. That does hide the true cost of the iPhone — which historically starts at $650 for the base flagship model — but the carriers certainly aren't giving anyone anything for nothing. Some carriers have even double-dipped under more recent plans, keeping the ~$20 "loan repayment" in plans and adding an extra "installment charge" on top of it. Lovely people, they.

As to Apple charging more for their phones than low-end laptops, iPhones are computers, and better ones than low-end laptops. That's how premium products — from Apple, Samsung, or any vendor — are priced. It's how typically un-"subsidized" products like iPads and MacBooks are priced.

And the carriers, spin aside, have zero interest in lowering prices for us. They have complete interest in keeping more of our money for themselves. Witness everything from AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint over the last decade, and the more recent antics of T-Mobile.

• Best iPhone carrier plans (spring 2014)

All things considered, I find paying Apple more in line with my interests than carriers. They're the ones who manufacture phones to exceedingly hight quality levels, who refrain from festooning them with logos and clogging them up with crapware, who provide services like iMessage and FaceTime that work around often exorbitantly priced carrier cash-grabs. It's a glimpse at what a carrier-as-dumb-pipe world could truly be like.

Which, of course, the carriers know and why, of course, they hate Apple even more. Hence why these types of articles — and articles about Apple raising prices — pop up every time new phones, like the upcoming iPhone 6 start working their way towards distribution.

It's negotiation by media. It's theater. And it's absurd.

Or does anyone here really feel sorry for the carriers, and their having to pay Apple a premium for the premium profits the iPhone delivers them every month?

Note: There's an absolutely valid argument to be made that, in an "unsubsidized" market Apple won't sell as many $450-$850 phones as other vendors will sell budget under-$400 phones. Apple will either have to move into lower segments, as they did with iPod, or content themselves with less market share but more profit share, as they did with the Mac. But that's an argument for a different piece and a different day.

Note 2: It occurs to me I pay $750 on average for a new iPhone every year. (Contracts, until recently, were 3-years in Canada.) That sounds like a lot, but it works out to roughly $60 a month, or $2 a day, for a computer I use every day, all day, more than any other object. Yes, I could get a cheaper one, but cheapness isn't always the most important feature.

AT&T on Sunday will reduce the price of their 2 GB "Mobile Share Value" plan from $80 to $65 per month, with one smartphone and no annual contract. Two smartphones cost $90, down from $105.

The 2 GB plan includes unlimited talk and text, 50 GB of cloud storage using AT&T's Locker service, and unlimited international messaging. AT&T (coverage map here is directing customers who need more than two lines to its 10 GB Mobile Share Value plan, which starts at $145 for three phones.

AT&T already had a price edge over competitor Verizon, whose 2 GB More Everything plan costs $90 for one phone and $130 for two (unless you participate in Verizon's "Edge" upgrade program, which makes you eligible for discounts). The news comes on the heels of T-Mobile's recent improvements to its Simple Choice plan, which keeps prices pretty much where they are but increases data allowances. Sprint's pushing their Framily Plan, which scales its savings depending on how many people sign up with you - at two lines, it's $100 a month, with 1 GB of data for each phone.

It used to be that U.S. carriers had the upper hand with their customers by offering select smartphones that everyone wanted. With smartphone use in the U.S. slowly edging towards ubiquity and with carrier exclusive phone models losing their punch, carriers find themselves in the position of actually having to compete on price and features.

I'd argue that T-Mobile's been the disruptive force in the U.S. carrier market that's been driving much of this effort. Regardless if that's true, we smartphone users are beneficiaries of the increased competition, and I think we're seeing only the opening volleys of a very long battle to win our hearts and minds.

Plus, Customers Can Sign Up for 50GB of Cloud Storage at No Additional Charge

DALLAS, MARCH 8, 2014 — Last month, AT&T2 (NYSE:T) announced its best-ever pricing plans for families and small businesses and great international offers. Beginning Sunday, AT&T will extend savings to customers with one and two lines with the introduction of a new lower priced 2GB Mobile Share Value plan starting at $65 a month, which is $15 off the current 2GB plan for one smartphone with no annual service contract.

New and existing AT&T consumer and business customers will see great value in this plan, which includes unlimited talk and text, unlimited international messaging from the U.S. to the world3– all on AT&T’s award-winning 4G LTE network. AT&T customers may also sign up for 50GB of cloud storage at no additional charge.4

Here’s how it works

Additionally, AT&T recently added unlimited international messaging (text, picture and video) to all Mobile Share Value plans for no additional cost. Unlimited international messaging includes messages sent from the U.S., Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands to more than 190 countries for text messages and 120 countries for picture & video messages.

With Mobile Share Value plans, customers can choose to purchase a phone with AT&T NextSM (no annual service contract and get a new device every year for $0 down6), bring their own device or purchase a phone at full retail price. Customers may also choose from a larger amount of data if needed.

“We’re continuing the trend of offering more value to our new and existing customers. Not only are families and small businesses able to save more on their monthly data plans, we’re now delivering that same great value to individual customers on the nation’s most reliable 4G LTE network 7,” said David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T Mobility. “We’re delivering more savings for customers across the board - backed by award-winning customer service - with AT&T the value keeps getting better.”

With 50GB of cloud storage from AT&T Locker, customers can keep more than 30,000 photos8 safe and secure in the network and access them across multiple connected devices. With AT&T Locker’s cloud storage, customers can store photos, videos, music and documents.

And, for a limited time, all new and existing AT&T customers receive a $100 bill credit for each new qualified line of service added – whether a smartphone, tablet, feature phone, mobile hotspot or AT&T Wireless Home Phone.9

To complement these great new plans, AT&T offers customers award-winning customer service. The company recently outperformed competitors for the second time in a row in studies measuring customer service and the wireless purchase experience. J.D. Power awarded AT&T the “Highest Ranked Customer Service Performance Among Full-Service Wireless Providers” and “Highest Satisfaction with the Purchase Experience among Full-Service Wireless Providers” in their 2014, Volume 1 studies.10

If you happen to be on one of AT&T's Mobile Share plans and have friends, relatives, acquaintances, coworkers, or just people you want to message with that happen to live outside of the United States, then we've got good news: AT&T is making international messaging free on February 28th.

In addition to the free messaging, AT&T is rolling out reduced international calling rates. The new World Connect Value package that includes 1¢ per minute calls to "over 35 countries, including Canada and Mexico." Those other countries are located exclusively in the Caribbean and Central and South America, and tiny nations like St. Pierre and Miquelon are counted among them.

Press release:

AT&T Delivers More Value To Mobile Share Customers With Unlimited Messaging To The World

AT&T Also Introduces New International Calling Rates from the U.S. for as Low as 1 Cent Per Minute

DALLAS, Feb. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T* today announced two of its best-ever offers for international messaging and direct dial calling from the U.S., delivering more value to customers who want to connect with family, friends and coworkers living abroad.

On Friday, February 28, all AT&T Mobile Share and Mobile Share Value plans will now include unlimited international messaging from the U.S. to the world.** AT&T consumer and business Mobile Share customers can send unlimited text, picture and video messages. Current Mobile Share and Mobile Share Value customers will automatically benefit from this offer. AT&T is also excited to introduce international calling from the U.S. to any number anytime to over 35 countries, including Canada and Mexico, for 1¢ per minute with our new international calling package, World Connect ValueSM.***

The "penny-per-minute" calling rates also apply to calls made to any number in the majority of Latin American and Caribbean countries: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Saba, St. Barthelemy, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Martin, St. Pierre and Miquelon, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Venezuela.

"Two weeks ago, we introduced our best-ever value plans for families and small businesses, and now we're delivering some of our best offers for international," said David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T Mobility. "When you combine these phenomenal new offers, our leading device portfolio available at $0 down with AT&T Next, the nation's most reliable 4G LTE network****, and our award winning customer service -- there is no comparison -- our customers get incredible value."

World Connect Value will be available to all AT&T wireless postpaid customers, including those who have Wireless Home Phone service, for $5 a month as of Friday, February 28. The package offers low rate calling from the U.S. to over 225 countries. At launch, complete details will be available at att.com/worldconnect.

Review all our international calling plans at att.com/global.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T

**Unlimited Messaging: Includes unlimited domestic and international text, picture, and video messages, received or sent from the US, Puerto Rico and the USVI. Unlimited messaging applies only to AT&T's Short Messaging Service (SMS) and Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and not to any other messaging services or applications. Using such other messaging services or applications will incur cellular data charges, unless used over Wi-Fi. Messages are for direct communication between mobile phones and must originate from your mobile phone number. Messages sent to tablets, laptops, or other connected devices are excluded. Service may be terminated or restricted for tethered messaging, excessive international messaging or misuse.

International Messaging: includes unlimited international messaging to more than 190 countries for text messages and 120 countries for picture & video messages. Messaging capabilities vary by country. AT&T may change countries at its discretion. Visit att.com/text2world for details.

***AT&T World Connect Value℠ Package: Rates are subject to change at any time. $0.01/minute rate applies to calls to wireless and wireline numbers made to the selected countries identified at att.com/worldconnect. AT&T reserves the right to terminate your AT&T World Connect Value Package for excessive usage, and then current international long distance pay-per-use rates will apply to calls you make to those countries. Calls to special services, such as Premium Rated Services, may cost more. Other restrictions and limitations apply.

****Based on data transfer completion rates on nationwide 4G LTE networks. 4G LTE not available everywhere.

Source: AT&T

Late last year saw AT&T adding international LTE roaming in Canada and the UK, and today they're adding 13 mote nations to the list. If the added services are treated in the same way as AT&T's deals with EE in the UK and Rogers in Canada, the rates charged for the "Data Global" add-ons won't change with the addition of LTE services, though AT&T did not say if that would be the case in their press release. AT&T put a full list of the countries where you'll be able to get LTE speeds while roaming starting today:

It's worth noting that there are still hurdles to getting LTE roaming working. AT&T and the LTE carriers in Canada use different LTE bands, so it may be hit or miss whether or not your specific phone will be able to roam onto LTE while abroad. Thankfully, modern smartphones are consolidating more and more LTE bands into single devices (manufacturing is just easier that way), so your chances are much higher if you have a fairly new phone.

AT&T Launches LTE Roaming in More Countries; Remains Only U.S. Carrier to Offer International Data Roaming on LTE

DALLAS, Feb. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- At Mobile World Congress 2014 in Barcelona, AT&T* announced today that it has launched 4G LTE data roaming in 13 more countries, remaining the only U.S. carrier to offer 4G LTE data speeds abroad and expanding the international LTE footprint available to its wireless customers to 15 countries—with more on the way.**

In December, AT&T became the first U.S. carrier to offer LTE data roaming when it launched service in Canada. This milestone was quickly followed by AT&T's launch of LTE data roaming in the UK a few days later. Today, AT&T has expanded its international LTE footprint to now include Spain, France, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, Guam, Hong Kong and Antigua & Barbuda.

AT&T is committed to providing its customers a wider global footprint to enjoy LTE data speeds. In fact, AT&T currently has agreements to allow for LTE roaming in over 200 countries.

AT&T was recently named the "Best Global Phone/Data Provider" in the 2013 Best in Business Travel Awards, conducted by Business Traveler (BT) magazine. For international rates and information on packages, visit att.com/global. To check on LTE carriers and network bands available, visit att.com/globalcountries.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

** LTE data roaming requires an LTE device compatible with available frequency on network roamed. A limited number of devices are compatible.

Source: AT&T

Look, let me say at the outset that I like T-Mobile. They're the scrappy underdog of the "big four" wireless carriers in the U.S. They've shaken things up for the wireless market with their "Uncarrier" plans and they deserve a lot of credit. But I really wish they'd dial back the smack talk a bit, because I think it's starting to get in front of their message.

For years the corporate culture of the U.S. wireless scene was dominated by a bunch of guys in suits and ties who didn't really stand apart from one another. For the most part, they still don't.

Then T-Mobile hired John Legere and all hell broke loose.

This guy has personality to break the bank. He doesn't think twice about dropping f-bombs on stage or telling the competition how much he thinks they suck. And he won headlines at CES this year for getting bounced from AT&T's party. I admit that I thought it was a hoot and wrote about it, too. I get a big kick out of the guy. He's a Boston boy, too (you can hear it in his soft r's sometimes), so I admit that he has some home court advantage with me.

T-Mobile desperately needed a guy like Legere, and a vision and a plan, because without both, they were screwed. The Feds turned down AT&T and T-Mobile's bid to join up in late 2011. T-Mobile's own wireless network was in shambles. Customers were leaving in droves.

A little more than two years later, it's like night and day. Sure, T-Mobile doesn't have the same nationwide coverage as rivals AT&T or Verizon, but they're quickly building a 4G LTE network and packing on hundreds of thousands of new customers each quarter. They've reversed the exodus of customers, and they're growing.

I switched over to T-Mobile in April of 2013 and haven't looked back. In fact, I've been increasingly happy with the service — I've seen coverage and speeds improve quite a bit since then. But it still needs work.

What I like the most, as a former AT&T customer, is the T-Mobile bill that's half of what I paid AT&T. I can live with spotty coverage that still too often drops to EDGE or makes my iPhone say "No Carrier" all together, because I put enough in my pocket each month to fuel up the family minivan.

In fairness, T-Mobile isn't the only carrier that offers patchwork coverage in my region, and when I venture into the city from my exurban home, I get very good LTE coverage. But every time I report on T-Mobile, I can count on a string of comments from people complaining about the same issues that I see, so I know I'm not alone.

You gotta get people to pay attention, and Legere does that in a big way. He's brash and he's loud, just like T-Mobile's TV ads — complete with high-impact black and white video and rock music soundtrack over T-Mobile's trademark magenta logo and type. I'm afraid that extrovert personality may be poisoning T-Mobile's message a bit. Sometimes I think T-Mobile's marketing department takes it a bit too far. Case in point:

On Tuesday T-Mobile posted a fake press release to poke fun of an AT&T promotion that the company launched after T-Mobile's started its own "Contract Freedom" offer, in which T-Mobile will pay your family plan's early termination fee to switch to their service.

The press release includes a fake quote from AT&T Mobility president and CEO Ralph de la Vega, and even refers to AT&T's "dismantling" of its "Death Star." (For the uninitiated, AT&T's spherical logo has long been the source of humor, especially in marketing and branding circles, for its uncanny resemblance to the killer satellite from Star Wars.)

There are also some choice quotes from Legere and T-Mobile chief marketing officer Mike Sievert, congratulating themselves for shaking up the competition so much.

Now, T-Mobile notes that the press release was "written with tongue firmly planted in cheek," but it comes off as adolescent and smarmy. The front of the 1,100 word-or-so press release is a mish-mosh of trash talk and silliness about AT&T, burying the lede about T-Mobile's own plan.

My message to T-Mobile is this: You guys have an attitude and a message, and that's allowed, but stop acting like the cock of the walk, at least for now. Your marketing plan seems to be getting in front of your network buildout, and as one of your customers, that makes me nervous.

What I want to see from T-Mobile is simple: Less talk, more action.

How about you? Have you switched? Are you tempted? Is T-Mobile's take-no-prisoners attitude a turn on or a turn off? Sound off in the comments — I want to know what you think.

EE has today announced a 4G LTE roaming agreement that will allow AT&T customers visiting the UK access to the carriers superfast mobile data. You'll still need to have a device that is capable of roaming on the EE LTE frequencies – primarily 1800MHz currently – but the move is a huge step forward for visitors to the UK from overseas, and more agreements will be announced in early 2014.

One of those agreements will also include the ability for EE customers to roam on 4G LTE abroad, and while no specific details were revealed it is set to launch in the first half of 2014. Perhaps a return agreement for U.S. visitors with AT&T?

While the differences in LTE frequency bands used across the world could be an issue, the importance of this agreement and the recent one between AT&T and Rogers should not be overlooked. Roaming has traditionally been a dreadfully expensive affair and the only way to get on LTE has been to get a local SIM in a supported device.

So, if you're an AT&T customer hitting the UK in the near future, you'll be able to take full advantage of this. What do you think though; finally steps in the right direction for travellers? Drop your thoughts into the comments, and you'll find the full press release below.

Press Release

EE FIRST TO OFFER SUPERFAST 4G ROAMING FOR VISITORS TO THE UK

· EE is the first UK operator to launch inbound 4G roaming for travellers on international networks visiting the UK

· First agreement with AT&T, with more to launch early next year

· EE customers set to benefit from 4G speeds when travelling abroad by the first half of next year

16th December, 2013 – EE, the UK’s most advanced digital communications company, today announced the first 4G LTE roaming agreement in the UK, with AT&T. EE is set to launch additional partnerships early next year.

EE is the UK’s biggest and fastest 4G network, and will cover more than 160 towns and cities by Christmas. This makes EE the partner of choice for international operators looking to offer their customers the best voice quality and the fastest and most reliable internet experience when using their mobile devices in the UK.

With average speeds of 24-30Mbps in major cities across the UK, customers on partner networks will be able to fully unlock the potential of their smartphones abroad – allowing them to instantly load maps, search the best activities and restaurants and post updates on their travels to friends and family back home.

Olaf Swantee, CEO, EE said: “Technology is not just shaping how people book and research holidays; but what they look for when they are choosing a country to visit. From finding their way to local landmarks, to avoiding the Oxford street crowds by shopping on their tablet, tourists are increasingly looking for fast and reliable mobile experiences when they travel abroad.

With the biggest and fastest 4G network in the UK, we can provide our partners’ customers with the best mobile experience to stay connected when they visit the UK.”

The adoption of 4G LTE around the world is happening much faster than 3G as people rely on fast mobile internet to stay connected on the go.[1] In order to unlock the full potential of 4G roaming, EE is working with our Rest of World partners on innovative new wholesale models to ensure customers have access to the data they need to stay connected abroad.

via Android Central

AT&T has announced new Mobile Share Value plans, beginning December 8. The big news is that you can not only share data between devices, but that you'll have a 'no contract' option that can save you $15 a month. Here are the bullet points from AT&T:

• It’s never been more affordable to get on the nation’s fastest and most reliable 4G LTE network. For only $45 a month, smartphone customers can now get unlimited talk and text plus 300MB of data.3 Qualifying smartphones can be added to any Mobile Share Value plan for $25 more a month per phone; tablets can be added for $10 more per device.
• Customers with basic and messaging phones can enjoy a low monthly rate of $40 for unlimited talk, text and 300MB of data.3 For $20 more a month per phone, additional basic and messaging lines can be added to any Mobile Share Value plan.
• In addition to the 300MB option, AT&T Mobile Share Value plans offer data options ranging from 1GB up to 50 GB, all with unlimited talk and text.

There's also a new Next plan with an 18-month upgrade option for people with up to 4 smartphones or small businesses with up to 6 company-owned devices.

If you're wondering whether or not there's LTE in your area, here's the AT&T coverage map. Full details are available in the press release below. Let me know - anyone going to check out these new plans?

Source: AT&T

Plans Set New Standard in Freedom, Choice and Affordability for Wireless Customers Dallas, Texas, December 05, 2013

AT&T’s* new Mobile Share Value® plans will make it even easier for customers to share data and save money while enjoying the nation’s fastest and most reliable 4G LTE network.1 Beginning Dec. 8, new and existing wireless consumer and business customers will have the option to choose from new Mobile Share Value plans. The new plans offer customers more savings and provide ‘No Annual Service Contract’ options.

With the ‘No Annual Service Contract’ options, smartphone customers can save $15 a month on Mobile Share Value plans.2 Customers can receive these monthly savings when they: Get a new smartphone for no down payment with AT&T Next; bring their own smartphone; purchase a smartphone at full retail price; or when their smartphone is no longer under contract and they switch to the new plans. All Mobile Share Value plan customers will benefit from shared data plus unlimited talk and text on their phones. Consumers will have the ability to connect up to 10 devices, including tablets and other wireless devices, while business customers will be able to connect up to 10, 15, 20 or 25 devices, depending on the plan.

It’s never been more affordable to get on the nation’s fastest and most reliable 4G LTE network. For only $45 a month, smartphone customers can now get unlimited talk and text plus 300MB of data.3 Qualifying smartphones can be added to any Mobile Share Value plan for $25 more a month per phone; tablets can be added for $10 more per device.

Customers with basic and messaging phones can enjoy a low monthly rate of $40 for unlimited talk, text and 300MB of data.3 For $20 more a month per phone, additional basic and messaging lines can be added to any Mobile Share Value plan. In addition to the 300MB option, AT&T Mobile Share Value plans offer data options ranging from 1GB up to 50 GB, all with unlimited talk and text.

AT&T is also adding a new AT&T Nextsm plan with an 18 month upgrade option on Dec. 8. It will be available to consumers for up to four smartphones, and to select small business customers, who may provide employees with up to six company-owned devices.3 The new plan will make monthly smartphone payments even lower than the existing AT&T Next option, by spreading payments over 26 months and giving eligible customers a way to get a new smartphone after 18 monthly payments for no down payment, no upgrade fee, no activation fee and no financing fee.

“With our new Mobile Share Value Plans, customers don’t have to compromise,” said David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T Mobility. “Our new no contract option lets customers add a smartphone to the nation’s fastest and most reliable 4G LTE network at a lower monthly cost. Customers want great value and a premium network - and now they can save more and get unlimited talk, text and data to share.”

The new Mobile Share Value plans make it easy for customers to manage their data without needing to keep track of multiple plans. Consumers, Individual Responsibility Users (IRUs), and Corporate Responsibility Users (CRUs) have different options to stay informed about their data usage and can check it anytime online through the my AT&T mobile app, or by dialing *DATA# from their mobile phone. AT&T also sends courtesy alerts to customers nearing their data allowance for the month.

All plans include access to AT&T’s nationwide Wi-Fi network at no additional charge. Customers can learn more about the new plans and determine which plan is best for them at www.att.com/mobilesharevalue.

If you're having issues getting an AT&T data plan added to your iPad Air or iPad mini with Retina display, you aren't alone! Lots of people have expressed frustration with the built-in account management tool that comes stock on all AT&T model iPads. We've reached out to AT&T and done a little homework ourselves. So if you're having issues, follow along and we'll help you get up and running in no time!

Stay away from the built-in account management feature if you can

Back when Apple first launched a cellular model iPad, AT&T was the exclusive carrier and there was only an option for post-paid plans that you managed yourself without any help from AT&T. Since then, the built-in account management tool remains on AT&T cellular model iPads but doesn't seem to play very nicely for some and in a lot of instances, flat out just doesn't work.

Beyond that, if you ever have issues with your service, the tool itself doesn't actually show anything to in-store employees. This means they have very few resources at their disposal to actually help you beyond logging in on your iPad with you and trying to see if they can figure out what you can't. Their system doesn't show them anything about your plan or let them make any changes. To do so, they'll have to change your plan type anyways, which is why we recommend not using it anymore. It just wasn't maintained by Apple and AT&T the way it should have been.

Our advice, and AT&T's - stay away from the built-in tool and choose one of the options below instead that best fits your situation.

Already used the built-in account management feature?

If you've already set up your new iPad and successfully got a data plan added with the built-in account management feature, that's okay. Just keep in mind that you'll need to either have your iPad present or know your login if you ever have to visit a store in order to troubleshoot your account.

If you ever want to merge your session based plan that you've set up through your iPad to a post paid account, you should be able to do so via the following link:

• AT&T DataConnect Account Management Login

Existing AT&T customers with Mobile Share plans

If you currently have an AT&T Mobile Share plan, just add your new iPad to your AT&T account when you purchase it. You should be able to do this at any AT&T location or Apple Store. If you've already purchased it and it wasn't activated, just stop into your local AT&T store.

It's the cheapest option and allows you to simply share the data with all the other devices on your plan for only $10 a month and a one time $36 activation fee. That's it, you're done. Sure, you have to make a trip to the AT&T store, but in the long run, it'll create far less of a headache, and probably save you some cash. Not to mention, employees can actually see your account and help you if you run into issues, unlike the self management tool.

Existing AT&T customers without a Mobile Share plan

If you are an AT&T wireless customer but don't have a Mobile Share plan, that's okay. You can still add your iPad to your account. Since you bought your iPad outright, there is no contract to sign. You're simply adding a data plan of your choice to your existing plan and you pay for it in 30 day increments. For example, if you choose the 3GB plan for your new iPad and your AT&T bill was previous $150 plus tax, your bill will now be $180 plus tax.

If you ever decide you want to cancel it, just call AT&T up or visit a store to remove the data plan for your iPad. You can then continue using your iPad as a WiFi only device. AT&T customers that do not have Mobile Share plans, but an older standard plan instead, have the following data only rate plan options for iPad:

Domestic

• 250 MB - $14.99/month
• 3 GB - $30.00/month
• 5 GB - $50/month

International

• 120 MB - $30/month
• 300 MB - $60/month
• 800 MB - $120/month

Since Mobile Share only costs $10 a month to add your new iPad and also doesn't require a contract if you've bought your new iPad outright, it may be worth taking a look at if you'd save money switching to a Mobile Share plan.

Not currently an AT&T customer?

If you aren't currently an AT&T customer, you can sign up for post-paid data only service with no contract just like AT&T customers can that aren't on Mobile Share. The prices are exactly the same, actually. Just head into any AT&T store to get set up. The rate plans are as follows:

Domestic

• 250 MB - $14.99/month
• 3 GB - $30.00/month
• 5 GB - $50/month

International

• 120 MB - $30/month
• 300 MB - $60/month
• 800 MB - $120/month

You'll simply get a bill in the mail (or email if you're paperless) each month, until you cancel. And just like existing customers, since you bought your iPad outright, there are no contracts to sign. Sure, you could just use the built-in tool and set up your iPad as a new one, but like mentioned above, store associates can not see or edit your account in the event you run into problems or need to change something.

Still need help?

If you're still having issues activating your AT&T iPad or want help deciding what option is best for you, visiting an AT&T store is your best option. You can also jump into our iMore AT&T discussion forums to see if other members have suggestions or have already dealt with similar issues and gotten them resolved.

AT&T is streamlining its mobile calling plan options for new customers. The new program goes into effect on October 25, 2013, according to Engadget.

Existing customers can remain on their current plans and will be able to upgrade phones, activate new lines and more without affecting their rates. Now, however, new customers will only be able to choose one of AT&T's "Mobile Share" plans, all of which include unlimited talk and text, and various amounts of data starting at 300MB per month.

On their consumer blog, AT&T says, "In 95 percent of the new customer scenarios, Mobile Share offers the same or better price with additional value."

Source: Engadget

AT&T has updated both the iPhone and iPad versions of its U-Verse application, allowing customers to watch live TV from iOS devices. Users can stream live TV both in and away from the home, with fewer channels available while on the go. The iPad version also features a new Home tab for featured content, as well as bug fixes and UI improvements.

The iPhone application has received many more enhancements. The live channel guide lets users view which channels are available both on their home network as well as away from it. New parental controls include PIN override and channel locking for a greater degree of control. The app also features improved Retina graphics, as well as performance and bug fixes.

Both the iPhone and iPad applications can be downloaded as separate apps for free from the App Store.

• Free (iPhone) - Download Now
• Free (iPad) - Download Now

The iPhone 5s is here, along with the new Touch ID fingerprint ID sensor, Apple A7 processor, M7 motion coprocessor, much improved iSight camera, and more LTE data support than ever. The best phone in the world is only as good as the carrier it's connected to, however, so for the last few days I've been testing it on AT&T in the U.S., and in several categories including call clarity, data speeds, tethering capabilities, and more. Does the updated LTE support that Apple is calling UltraFast really make a difference on AT&T? Are their any improvements over last year's iPhone 5, and if so, are they substantial? Let's find out!

Network reliability and dropped calls

I haven't see a change in overall dropped calls when on the iPhone 5s over the iPhone 5. I never really experienced very many dropped calls on the iPhone 5 either. I did, however, go back to a few of the areas that had given my iPhone 5 problems and they are still an issue with my iPhone 5s, which leads me to believe it has nothing to do with the actual phone hardware I'm using and is actually a network issue (most people I know complain about service problems in these areas as well). So far, there's nothing the iPhone 5s does that's especially better than my iPhone 5 when it comes to less dropped calls.

As long as you're in an area with good service, your iPhone 5s should be rock solid.

Call clarity

I live in an area that is converting to LTE. Around my house is still spotty, but I can go 10 minutes in any direction and get full bars of LTE. For these tests I spent time in regular HSPA+ areas as well as LTE areas. When I had HSPA+ (which AT&T insists on calling 4G), I noticed no discernible difference when it came to call clarity. However, when I was in a strong LTE area, I noticed that my iPhone 5s seemed slightly clearer. The caller on the other line said they couldn't tell a huge difference, but could almost always pick out when I was using the iPhone 5s.

If you're in an AT&T 4G area, you won't notice much of a difference between the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s. If you live somewhere with excellent AT&T LTE coverage, the iPhone 5s has slightly better call clarity, but only slightly.

Data coverage and reliability

AT&T is a funny thing in my area. We have spots that are really good, and then spots that are really bad. I'm talking spots where I have a full bars of 4G signal but not enough back-haul on the tower for anything to actually download. Because this is a problem on AT&T's end, it's not surprising that they carry over to the iPhone 5s. Most of us have just learned to live with it, since overall, AT&T remains one of the best choices in our area.

From the standpoint of reliability, I've experienced about the same signal strength I've always gotten with past iterations of iPhones. The difference really comes in with data speeds themselves, which I bet is what you're most interested in anyway...

Data speeds

I decided the best way to test data speeds on the iPhone 5s would be to compare them to the iPhone 5 under the exact same conditions. And just for fun, I threw the iPhone 5c into the mix as well. From left to right above, you have SpeedTest results for the iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, and finally the iPhone 5. As you can see, the iPhone 5s consistently pulls in faster data than the iPhone 5. When it comes to the iPhone 5c versus the iPhone 5s, both pulled in similar speeds but I found the iPhone 5s to be more consistent at keeping the tops of those speeds.

When tethering a laptop or other device using the Personal Hotspot feature, I don't see any noticeable difference except the iPhone 5s seems to push consistently faster, as it does on its own. Using SpeedTest on a tethered device, I noticed little difference except that the tethered device clocked in at a few megabits less, which is to be expected.

If you live in an area with LTE coverage, the iPhone 5, 5s, and 5c get blazing fast LTE coverage. But if you want the fastest data you can buy, the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c continually out-performed the iPhone 5 for me when it comes to sheer speed.

Battery life

My iPhone 5s has consistently gotten better battery life than my iPhone 5, particularly on iOS 7. Considering the iPhone 5s has a slightly larger battery, I'd attribute most of this, if not all of it, to that. There isn't a noticeable enough difference to write home about though. I'm not by any means disappointed in the battery life but I'm not particularly wow'ed by it either.

If you're coming from an iPhone 4s or earlier, you'll be impressed by battery life. If you're coming from an iPhone 5, expect it to be about the same. At least if you're on the AT&T network.

• How to fix battery life issues with iOS 7, iPhone 5s, and iPhone 5c

The bottom line

For AT&T customers considering a move from an iPhone 4s or earlier to an iPhone 5s, you'll be blown away by the speed difference if you're in an LTE area. If you have an upgrade, use it. Apple's claims of UltraFast LTE in the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c are very real.

If you're an iPhone 5 user on AT&T, the upgrade is by no means a no-brainer. LTE will only be a factor in other countries where the new bands provide support in places the old bands never did. If you do want to upgrade, the Touch ID sensor and new iSight camera are probably more compelling reasons.

More on the iPhone 5s

We all know that carrier coverage and reliability can change dramatically given geographical location. If you've got an iPhone 5s running on AT&T's network, be sure to let us know your experiences with it compared to your last smartphone via the comments below!

• Complete iOS 7 review
• More iOS 7 tips and how-tos
• iPhone 5s help and discussion forums

It's earnings season, and along with Apple reporting their results for Q3 2013, AT&T's released their earnings results for their second quarter (setting their own corporate calendars and all). For their part, AT&T is reporting $32.1 billion in revenue, up a tick (1.6% to be precise) from the same quarter last year.

AT&T's earnings - the profit - clocked in at $3.8 billion, $100 million less than the year prior. The carrier's expenses for the quarter were up to $26 billion (from $24.8 billion), balancing out the increase in revenue. AT&T chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson said in a prepared statement:

AT&T's subscriber count increased by 630,000, with 500,000 of those coming as contracted post-paid customers. 35% of AT&T's subscribers are now using the carrier's LTE network. That LTE is expected to cover 270 million Americans in 400 markets by the end of the year, but customers still need to upgrade to LTE-compatible devices to push that percentage higher.

The second quarter was a record for AT&T's smartphone sales, pushing to 6.8 billion. That included record Android sales - whether or not that means that AT&T sold more total Android phones or Android accounted for a greater percentage of AT&T's sales is unclear. The previous quarter saw iPhones account for 2/3 of AT&T's smartphone sales at 4 million iPhones.

Full press release follows.

Source: AT&T

AT&T Reports Solid Revenue Growth on Strong Wireless Gains Driven by Quality Network Performance and Continued U-verse Growth

• $0.71 diluted EPS compared to $0.66 diluted EPS in the second quarter of 2012, up
• 7.6 percent. Excluding significant items, EPS was $0.67
• Consolidated revenues of $32.1 billion, up 1.6 percent versus reported results for the year-earlier period, and up 2.6 percent adjusting for the sale of Advertising Solutions
• More than 2 million new wireless and wireline high speed broadband connections

Nation's Fastest and Most Reliable 4G LTE Network Driving Subscriber and Usage Growth

• 551,000 wireless postpaid net adds, best second-quarter postpaid net adds in four years
• 35 percent of postpaid smartphone base LTE capable
• Smartphone data usage per device up 50 percent year over year
• LTE network expected to cover nearly 270 million POPs in 400 markets by year-end
• LTE network build expected to be substantially complete by summer 2014

Strong Wireless Revenue Growth, Record Second-Quarter Smartphone Sales

• Wireless revenues up 5.7 percent, service revenues up 4.1 percent versus the year-ago quarter
• Wireless data revenues up 19.8 percent versus the year-earlier period
• Wireless operating income margin of 27.1 percent; wireless EBITDA service margin of 42.4 percent reflecting record second-quarter smartphone sales of 6.8 million, including record Android sales
• Added 1.2 million new smartphone subscribers; smartphones 88 percent of postpaid phone sales
• Total postpaid ARPU up 1.8 percent; phone-only ARPU up 3.0 percent

Wireline Transformation to IP Continues: U-verse® More Than 50 percent of Wireline Consumer Revenues; Strong Growth in Strategic Business Services Revenues

• Wireline consumer revenue growth of 2.4 percent versus the year-earlier period
• Total U-verse revenues, including business, up 30.1 percent year over year; U-verse more than half of wireline consumer revenues
• 9.4 million total U-verse subscribers (TV and high speed Internet) in service; 641,000 high speed Internet subscribers added; 233,000 U-verse TV subscribers added, topping 5 million
• Total wireline broadband data ARPU up 9 percent year over year
• Continued strength in strategic business services revenues, up more than 15 percent year over year

Note: AT&T's second-quarter earnings conference call will be broadcast live via the Internet at 4:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 23, 2013, at www.att.com/investor.relations.

• Consolidated Statements of Income
• Statements of Segment Income
• Consolidated Balance Sheets
• Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
• Supplementary Operating and Financial Data
• Reconciliation of EBITDA
• Reconciliation of Free Cash Flow
• Net-Debt-to-EBITDA Ratio
• Adjusted Operating Revenues
• Reconciliation of Adjusted Diluted EPS
• Non-GAAP Discussions

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today reported continued earnings gains for the second quarter with increasing revenue growth driven by strong mobile data growth, solid postpaid net adds and continued strong gains in wireline consumer and U-verse services.

“This was a solid quarter for revenue and customer additions across our key growth platforms,” said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO. “Our 4G LTE network is the fastest and the most reliable in the nation, and deployment is ahead of schedule. That contributed to a step-up in postpaid subscriber gains, and strong mobile data revenue growth of nearly 20 percent. Growth in U-verse and strategic business services also continued to be strong — adding to our momentum.”

Second-Quarter Financial Results

For the quarter ended June 30, 2013, AT&T's consolidated revenues totaled $32.1 billion, up 1.6 percent versus the year-earlier quarter and up 2.6 percent when excluding revenues from the divested Advertising Solutions business unit.

Compared with results for the second quarter of 2012, operating expenses were $26.0 billion versus $24.8 billion; operating income was $6.1 billion versus $6.8 billion; and operating income margin was 19.1 percent, compared to 21.6 percent.

Second-quarter 2013 net income attributable to AT&T totaled $3.8 billion, or $0.71 per diluted share, compared to $3.9  billion, or $0.66 per diluted share, in the year-earlier quarter, up 7.6 percent. Adjusted for a gain of 4 cents on sales of América Móvil shares, earnings per diluted share was $0.67.

Second-quarter 2013 cash from operating activities totaled $9.5 billion, and capital expenditures totaled $5.5 billion. Free cash flow — cash from operating activities minus capital expenditures — totaled $4.0 billion.

As part of its Project VIP-related LTE deployment, the company now covers more than 225 million POPs with the nation's fastest, and now most reliable, 4G LTE network, according to independent third-party data. The company's LTE network is expected to cover nearly 270 million POPs in 400 markets by year-end 2013, and its LTE deployment is expected to be substantially complete by the summer of 2014. During the quarter, both PCWorld and PC Magazine named AT&T's 4G LTE network the nation's fastest.

Share Repurchases

During the second quarter, the company completed its second 300 million share repurchase authorization and began buying back shares under its third 300 million share authorization. The company repurchased 89 million shares for $3.3 billion in the second quarter. At the end of the quarter, 272 million shares remained on the current authorization. The company expects to make future repurchases opportunistically.

WIRELESS OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

AT&T delivered solid revenue growth, strong postpaid subscriber and ARPU gains, and continued expansion of its high-value smartphone base. Highlights included:

Solid Growth in Wireless Revenues. Total wireless revenues, which include equipment sales, were up 5.7 percent year over year to $17.3 billion. Wireless service revenues increased 4.1 percent in the second quarter, to $15.4 billion. Wireless data revenues increased 19.8 percent from the year-earlier quarter to $5.4 billion. Second-quarter wireless operating expenses totaled $12.6 billion, up 11.8 percent versus the year-earlier quarter, and wireless operating income was $4.7 billion, down 7.7 percent year over year.

More than 550,000 Postpaid Subscribers Added. AT&T posted a net increase in total wireless subscribers of 632,000 in the second quarter. Subscriber additions for the quarter included postpaid net adds of 551,000, the best second-quarter postpaid net adds in four years and a more than 70 percent increase from the year-ago quarter. Postpaid net adds include 398,000 postpaid tablets added in the quarter. Connected device net adds were 484,000. Prepaid gained 11,000 subscribers even with declines in session-based tablets. Reseller had a net loss of 414,000 primarily due to losses in low-revenue accounts, but revenues increased almost 30 percent year over year.

Phone-Only Postpaid ARPU Increases 3.0 percent. Postpaid phone-only ARPU increased 3.0 percent versus the year-earlier quarter. Total postpaid subscriber ARPU, which includes high margin but lower-ARPU tablets, increased 1.8 percent versus the year-earlier quarter. This marked the 18th consecutive quarter AT&T has posted a year-over-year increase in postpaid ARPU. Postpaid data ARPU increased 17.6 percent versus the year-earlier quarter.

Smartphone Base Continues to Expand. AT&T added 1.2 million postpaid smartphone subscribers in the second quarter. At the end of the quarter, 73 percent, or 49.5 million, of AT&T's postpaid phone subscribers had smartphones, up from 64 percent, or 43.1 million, a year earlier. The company sold a second-quarter record 6.8 million smartphones, including a record number of Android sales, and smartphones accounted for 88 percent of postpaid phone sales in the quarter. AT&T's ARPU for smartphones is more than twice that of non-smartphone subscribers, and about 90 percent of postpaid subscribers are on FamilyTalk®, Mobile Share or business plans. Churn levels for these subscribers are significantly lower than for other postpaid subscribers. More than 35 percent of AT&T's postpaid smartphone customers now use an LTE device. And about 65 percent use a 4G-capable device (LTE/HSPA+).

More Than 70 percent of Postpaid Smartphones on Usage-Based Plan. The number of subscribers on usage-based data plans (tiered data and Mobile Share plans) continues to increase. More than 70 percent, or 35.1 million, of postpaid smartphone subscribers are on usage-based data plans. This compares to 62 percent, or 26.6 million, a year ago and 45 percent two years ago. About 80 percent of customers on usage-based data plans have chosen the higher-priced plans.

More than 13 million connections, or more than 18 percent of postpaid subscribers, are on Mobile Share plans. The number of Mobile Share accounts reached 4.3 million in the second quarter with an average of about three devices per account. Take rates on the higher-data plans continue to be strong with more than 25 percent of Mobile Share accounts choosing 10 gigabytes or higher plans. More than 15 percent of Mobile Share subscribers came from unlimited plans.

Postpaid Churn Shows Sequential Improvement. Postpaid churn was 1.02 percent, up slightly from the year-ago quarter and down slightly from the first quarter of 2013. Total churn increased year over year, due mostly to increases in reseller churn, but was down slightly sequentially.

Wireless Margins Reflect Record Smartphone Sales. Second-quarter wireless margins reflect record second-quarter smartphone sales, strong upgrades and further revenue gains from the company's high-quality smartphone subscriber base. AT&T's second-quarter wireless operating income margin was 27.1 percent versus 31.0 percent in the year-earlier quarter. AT&T's wireless EBITDA service margin was 42.4 percent, compared with 45.8 percent in the second quarter of 2012. (EBITDA service margin is operating income before depreciation and amortization, divided by total service revenues.)

WIRELINE OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

AT&T's second-quarter wireline results were led by strong U-verse TV and high speed Internet gains, solid wireline consumer revenue growth and increasing growth in strategic business services. Highlights included:

Wireline Revenues Grow Sequentially. Total second-quarter wireline revenues were $14.8 billion, down 0.9 percent versus the year-earlier quarter and up 0.8 percent sequentially. Total U-verse revenues grew 30.1 percent year over year and were up 9.0 percent versus the first quarter of 2013. Second-quarter wireline operating expenses were $13.1 billion, up 1.3 percent versus the second quarter of 2012 and up 0.9 percent sequentially. AT&T's wireline operating income totaled $1.6 billion, down 15.8 percent versus the second quarter of 2012 and flat sequentially. Second-quarter wireline operating income margin was 11.1 percent, compared to 13.0 percent in the year-earlier quarter, but flat versus the first quarter of 2013.

U-verse Now 51 percent of Consumer Revenues. Revenues from residential customers totaled $5.6 billion, an increase of 2.4 percent versus the second quarter a year ago and up 1.8 percent versus the first quarter of 2013. Continued strong growth in consumer IP data services in the second quarter more than offset lower revenues from voice and legacy products. U-verse, which includes TV, high speed Internet and voice over IP, now represents 51 percent of wireline consumer revenues, up from 41 percent in the year-earlier quarter. Consumer U-verse revenues grew 28.4 percent year over year and were up 8.2 percent versus the first quarter of 2013.

U-verse Hits 9.4 million Subscribers. Total U-verse subscribers (TV and high speed Internet) reached 9.4 million in the second quarter. U-verse TV added 233,000 subscribers to top 5.0 million in service. U-verse high speed Internet had a net gain of 641,000 subscribers to reach a total of 9.1 million. Overall, the company had a net loss of 61,000 wireline broadband subscribers, an improvement over last year's loss but still reflecting typical seasonal pressures. Total wireline broadband ARPU was up 9 percent year over year. Total U-verse high speed Internet subscribers now represent 55 percent of all wireline broadband subscribers compared with 40 percent in the year-earlier quarter.

About 59 percent of U-verse broadband subscribers have a plan delivering speeds up to 10 Mbps or higher — up from 52 percent in the year-ago quarter. In the second quarter, more than 90 percent of new U-verse TV customers also signed up for U-verse high speed Internet. About 70 percent of AT&T U-verse TV subscribers take three or four services from AT&T. ARPU for U-verse triple-play customers continues to be more than $170. U-verse TV penetration of customer locations continues to grow and was at 20.1 percent at the end of the second quarter.

Business Revenues Grow Sequentially. Total revenues from business customers were $8.9 billion, down 2.2 percent versus the year-earlier quarter and up slightly compared with the first quarter of 2013. Business service revenues declined 2.1 percent year over year. Overall, declines in legacy products were partially offset by continued double-digit growth in strategic business services. Revenues from these services, the next-generation capabilities that lead AT&T's most advanced business solutions — including VPN, Ethernet, hosting and other advanced IP services — grew more than 15 percent versus the year-earlier quarter. These services represent an $8.4  billion annualized revenue stream.

AT&T and Leap Wireless have announced their intention to get hitched, spectrum wise. $15 a share, cash, is the acquisition price, and AT&T will get the Cricket brand and customers along with it. AT&T, in a prepared statement, said:

Of course, that's all subject to regulator approval, which has sometimes favored these kinds of deals, and sometimes killed them dead. If you're a Cricket customer, or an AT&T customer for that matter, what do you think? Will AT&T and Cricket be better together, or should they stay well apart? Get the full press release via the link below.

Source: Yahoo! news

AT&T has announced that it will off a discount off any iPad if you sign up for a new two year data plan. The new offer starts on November 9th and offers $100 off any iPad with LTE. The offer doesn't just cover iPads either, any tablet that AT&T sells can qualify for the $100 discount. Tablets can be purchased at any AT&T store, online or through selected AT&T agents.

This type of buying model is very common place around the world as it makes a lot of sense for carriers to tie you in to a longer term contract. It is actually nothing new and is very similar to buying a new subsidized phone with a new contract. If you are planning on buying a new iPad and will use the data plan over the two year period, you may as well save the $100. If you will only use data on a more casual basis, it may be better to just pay for the iPad outright. At least now you have a little bit more choice.

Source: AT&T Press Release

Until now, AT&T has always made exceptions for early iPhone adopters by qualifying these customers for full upgrade prices before their contract technically allowed it. I took advantage of this when upgrading from the iPhone 3G to iPhone 3GS, from iPhone 3GS to iPhone 4, and from iPhone 4 to iPhone 4S. Not this year. Not for the iPhone 5. Those glorious days are now over.

I learned today that my account is only eligible for "early upgrade" pricing, which is $250 more than "full upgrade" pricing. So a 16 GB iPhone 5 will cost me $450 instead of $200. Ouch.

Before learning of this fact, I was already considering making the switch to Verizon because AT&T LTE is not yet available in my area. I was hesitant, however, because of expensive early termination fees (ETFs). Well, it turns out that the ETF for my line on AT&T is $215. Let's do some basic math.

If I stay with AT&T and purchase a 16 GB iPhone 5, it's going to cost me $450. If I cancel my account with AT&T, I will have to pay an ETF of $215 then purchase the 16 GB iPhone 5 on Verizon for $200. So ultimately, the cost to switch to Verizon is $415 (upgrade fees and activation fees aside).

So for $450 I can stay on AT&T with no LTE, or for $415 I can switch to Verizon and gain LTE. This is a no-brainer.

When I contacted AT&T PR, I was told that there hasn't been a change in policies and the ineligibly of full upgrade pricing is likely due to the fact that it's only been 11 months since the release of the iPhone 4S.

What is AT&T thinking? Why did they choose this to be the year to stop their early upgrades for iPhone customers? I understand that the timing of the iPhone 5 may be playing a role, but why not make an exception by 1 month? This is the year that the iPhone supports LTE and it's no secret that Verizon offers much more LTE coverage than AT&T. Because of this, Verizon is very tempting for current AT&T customers, but ETFs are expensive and typically incentive enough for most customers to stay -- providing that the cost of the iPhone is the same on both carriers. Instead, AT&T has decided to stop early upgrades, making it cheaper for their existing customers to cancel and switch to Verizon. If both the ETF and the upgrade price are meant to offset my subsidy, why aren't these values equal to each other?

When I informed the AT&T representitve of all of the above, she put me on hold to see if she could get an exception made for me, but returned empty-handed. I told her that my decision to switch to Verizon was now an easy one and she replied with "well, it was great having you as a loyal customer for the time that we did". Yeah, ok.

Seriously, does AT&T even want to keep their customers? There is literally no reason for me to stay with AT&T -- and as a very loyal customer who has been with AT&T since I was 16 years old (and it was Cingular Wireless), it's time to give Verizon a shot.

UPDATE: I was able to work something out with AT&T, so I'm not switching to Verizon. You can read about my experience in the forums.

During today's iPhone 5 press event, they made a point of paying special attention to the new radio chip at use in the new smartphone. Like iPhones before it, the iPhone 5 uses a single chip to manage all of the various radios and bands it has to address in order to be used on networks around the globe. Problem is, throwing LTE into the mix makes things a little more complicated. LTE actually adds seven - yes, seven - new bands into the mix, nearly doubling the number of bands needed to be supported between the 4G standard, HSPA, GSM, and CDMA.

Unlike GSM and HSPA networks, which with the exception of the US have all managed to settled on a common and interoperable set of frequencies across international borders, LTE networks around the globe are all on different bands, making building a device that will work on all a pain and a half. Case in point, in the US alone, AT&T's LTE is on bands 4 and 17, while Sprint is on 25 and Verizon takes up band 13. Internationally there's even more frequency flavor, with bands 3 and 7 getting a lot of traffic around the globe, band 4 getting picked up by Bell and Telus in Canada (to maintain compatibility with AT&T LTE devices), and a smattering of other bands.

So how does the iPhone 5 fit into this LTE banding mess? With two different models, one for US GSM+LTE (A1428), and another for CDMA+LTE and global GSM+LTE (A1429). Both support the full range of GSM and HSPA frequencies, but for LTE the GSM version runs on bands 4 and 17 (good for AT&T, Bell, and Rogers - and technically T-Mobile USA, if not for want of an actual LTE network and GSM compatibility), while the CDMA version supports LTE bands 1, 3, 5, 13, and 25. That's band 1 NTT DOCOMO in Japan, 3 for over thirty networks around the globe, 5 for South Korea's SK Telecom, 13 for Verizon in the USA, and 25 for Sprint in the USA. The global GSM+LTE version drops support for the US-specific LTE bands 13 and 25, though for all intents and purposes it's the same device as the CDMA+LTE version (hence the identical model numbers)

To break that down into something easier to understand… the GSM+LTE A1248 iPhone 5 is good for GSM networks in North America, namely AT&T, Bell, and Telus. The CDMA+LTE/global GSM+LTE A1249 iPhone is good for Sprint and Verizon in the US and a large majority of other LTE networks around the globe. If you live in the US and travel to Canada and want LTE while you're there, go with the AT&T version. If you're in the US and travel often to the rest of the world, go with Sprint or Verizon for international LTE coverage. If you happen to travel between Canada and the rest of the world and want LTE, sorry.

There's one more wrinkle: LTE band 7, which isn't supported by either version of the iPhone. That becomes an issue if your preferred carrier is somebody like O2 in the UK, Yota in Russia, or any of the other 20-odd LTE networks that only operate on band 7. In fact, whole countries like Austria, Brazil, Columbia, Denmark, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland that already have operational LTE networks are completely cut out of getting LTE from the iPhone 5 thanks to their choice to rely entirely on Band 7. That could be fixed with the next iPhone, or when a network running on one of the iPhone 5's many supported bands is launched. Regardless, they all have 3G networks that the iPhone 5 will work on just fine, and get better battery life to boot.

Why did this happen? Because LTE is hard. The bands on which LTE operates vary from country to country due to political and economic reasons. For example, in the USA, LTE band 25 is in the 1900 MHz range, and is shared with HSPA+, while Verizon's 700 MHz Band 13 was won at auction from the United States government and was formerly dedicated to broadcasting UHF channels 52-69 on analog television. AT&T's band 17 fits into that same 700MHz auction block, but band 4 operates in the 1700MHz and 2100MHz frequency ranges - both common to UMTS AWS, i.e. the frequencies used by T-Mobile's HSPA+ network. The spread of LTE bands means less interference and more bandwidth in those frequencies (not that that's been a problem when networks do occupy the same frequency bands, as in all of Europe), but also mean that getting all of that into a single chip is an exercise in radio magic.

Thus, there are two iPhone 5 smartphones. There's the A1248 for AT&T and Canada, and the A1249 for Sprint, Verizon, and almost everybody else. In the end, unless you're a globetrotter who travels between the United States and Canada or the United States and Europe, you probably won't care or notice which iPhone 5 you get, it'll just be the one assigned to your network or the unlocked one you picked up to work on not-AT&T/Canada. Only US-based international travelers need worry about the LTE bands of their selected iPhone, and even then that's going to be determined by the carrier you choose for your service at home. Chances are the two iPhone 5 models are actually the same device and carry the same chip inside, but due to the capabilities of that chip and the phone's radios they have different firmware to deal with the multitude of LTE bands it must process.

We do have to admit, though, it's odd to be recommending a Sprint or Verizon device for people who want comprehensive international coverage instead of AT&T. It wasn't that long ago that things were the other way around.

Source: Apple; Via: The Verge

AT&T has just launched a new webpage that allows you to request a SIM unlock for an out of contract iPhone. AT&T has always made it reasonably difficult to unlock a device on its network but now it seems to be softening its approach and actually trying to make it easier for iPhone users. The form is fairly simple to fill in and if you meet a few simple requirements you can have your iPhone unlocked in 5-7 days.

To qualify for the free unlock from AT&T, you must either be a current AT&T customer or a former AT&T customer who can provide the phone number or account number of the account. The iPhone to be unlocked must have been designed for use on the AT&T network and all contract obligations must have been fulfilled. Also the iPhone in question must not have been reported lost or stolen.

AT&T will unlock up to five iPhones per year per account as long as the account is in good standing. Additionally, AT&T will also unlock any active and deployed member of the military who can provide AT&T with deployment verification; and purchased the iPhone from an authorized location at the "no commitment" price and can provide proof of purchase.

If you meet all of the criteria, you are good to go and can request an unlock online without the need to talk to anyone at AT&T customer service. Anyone with an out of contract iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS considering selling to fund the iPhone 5 when it is released, should take advantage of this free service from AT&T. Having your device unlocked officially by AT&T will certainly increase its value and salability.

Source: AT&T

AT&T has announced that it is opening a huge flagship store in Chicago on September 1. The store is located on Chicago's famous Magnificent Mile district and covers around 10,000 square feet of retail space. The store features technology at every turn along with an 18 foot high Connect Wall that shows interactive content as well as product specifications and information. AT&T is trying to live up to its advertising campaign line: "It's what you do with what we do."

The new flagship Chicago store will also have an exclusive look at the future for AT&T along with the first retail demonstration of AT&T's home security and automation system which is called Digital Life. Digital Life will let you interact with a home security system, change thermostat settings and allow access to your home all from your smartphone or tablet. The store will also have a Nissan Leaf electric car which is there to demonstrate AT&T's Connected Car system which looks to show how technology can aid driving.

The new store opens in Chicago on September 1; if you're in the area, it may be worth a visit. If you're not in the area and still would like a look around, we have a video right below.

AT&T has responded to concerns about their new FaceTime Over Cellular policies which will require their customers to be on a mobile share plan in order to utilize the feature. While many believe this restriction violates the FCC's net neutrality laws, AT&T doesn't think it does.

While the FCC does restrict companies from blocking apps, AT&T says that only applies to downloadable apps and not pre-installed apps. Since FaceTime comes pre-installed on every iOS device, they have the right to restrict use.

Whether or not the FCC will agree with AT&T isn't yet clear. The New York Times recently stated that AT&T actually is in violation of FCC regulations and that the carrier can not block applications that compete with a carrier's own voice or telephony services.

Regardless whether the app is pre-installed or not, FaceTime should probably be considered a competing service. The fact that a specific data plan is required in order to use it is another contention point. Data is data and regardless what tier you're on, you're paying for the same bits and bytes. It still begs the question, why should one tiered data plan be treated different than any other? If customers go over their allotment, charge them appropriate overages and call it a day. Forcing customers on a plan they don't want or need doesn't seem to be in anyone's best interest.

AT&T is launching shared data plans in August and Verizon has had them for some time now. Both carriers follow a similar scheme: a base price plus an additional cost per iPhone and iPad added to the plan. Both Verizon and AT&T also include unlimited voice and text.

So what's the difference? Will any of them actually save you money? If so, which one will save you the most money?

Here's a pricing comparison chart for Verizon and AT&T. Both carriers charge a base fee, labeled as the "monthly price", then charge an additional price for each smartphone included in the plan. For Verizon, the smartphone fee is a straightforward $40 per phone, but AT&T has a tiered pricing that decreases as the amount of data goes up. Both AT&T and Verizon charge $10 for each tablet added to the plan.

Now, although the above chart gives an accurate depiction of the prices on each carrier, the first thing you have to do is add up the appropriate numbers to figure out what your family's plan would cost. But let's just do that for you! Here's a chart that compares the prices on Verizon and AT&T for two, three, and four smartphones.

So, for two phones, AT&T and Verizon's prices are exactly the same. However, for three and four phones with 6 or 10 GB, AT&T is $5-$20 cheaper per month. That's a difference in $60-$240 per year!

This chart does not include tablets, so make sure you add an additional $10 for each tablet you anticipate adding to your plan.

In addition to price, you must also consider where each carrier offers coverage and if you're within that area. Here's a side by side comparison of Verizon's and AT&T's coverage maps (left is Verizon, right is AT&T). The iPhone 4S does not support LTE, but we're pretty certain that the iPhone 5 will support LTE, so LTE coverage is definitely something to consider.

Clearly, Verizon has much more LTE availability (green dots vs orange dots.)  If you live in an area where Verizon offers LTE and AT&T does not, your best bet is to probably go with Verizon, providing that their network is pretty solid in that area. If you're not sure, ask your family, friends, and coworkers who have LTE phones on Verizon's network.

If LTE is not available to you on either network, the next thing to look at is 3G (or "4G" -- ugh!) coverage. In general, AT&T HSPA data is much, much faster, but also less reliable than Verizon EVDO rev A data. Verizon voice is typically better than AT&T voice. If AT&T is solid in your area, that's the way to go. If not, or if you live somewhere that only gets EDGE 2G on AT&T (light blue on AT&T's map), Verizon is the way to go.

Most of you, however, will be in one of these last two categories: an LTE available area on both Verizon and AT&T, or, in a 3G, but not LTE available area on both Verizon and AT&T. For those of you in this category, I'm inclined to recommend AT&T, provided that the 3G network is stable in your area. Again, ask your friends, family, and coworkers for their experience.

You can get a closer look at AT&T's coverage map here and Verizon's map here.

Making the choice

So which one are you going to choose? Personally, since I'm already an AT&T subscriber whose grandfathered into an unlimited data plan, I probably will not be making the switch to Verizon. However, if I was a new subscriber, I would be tempted to go Verizon since they have much more LTE coverage. What about you? Which carrier and plan will you choose? And will your answer be different when the iPhone 5 is released?

• AT&T forum
• Verizon forum

Remember those stories about BlackBerry maker RIM working on what they internally referred to as an "Apple Killer"? Remember how that turned out for them with the BlackBerry Storm and BlackBerry Torch? Well, it turns out everyone has Verizon and AT&T to thank for that. Shocking, right?

A new round of interviews with former RIM employees has revealed that AT&T and Verizon had recruited RIM to make an iPhone competitor. We all know how that panned out. Verizon's earlier efforts resulted in the BlackBerry Storm, while AT&T's created the BlackBerry Torch. Vodafone had also collaborated with RIM to specifically launch something that could give iPhone a decent fight. Why would AT&T, which at the time had an exclusive lockdownon the iPhone, and Verizon, who had been clamoring for it, want to go out of their way to create a competitor? Supposedly carriers were worried that "the wild popularity of the iPhone could give Apple outsize influence in the market," which I take to mean Apple was throwing its weight around a little too liberally for the new guy on the block, and service providers needed to prove they had alternatives in order to maintain any bargaining leverage against Apple.

At the time, AT&T's network was in shambles, and maybe they hoped to offset some of the load with a device that offered efficient data compression. Verizon had some time to kill before AT&T's exclusive ended, so any phone (BlackBerry, Android, or otherwise) that would be an asset to keeping subscribers from drifting away. Apparently co-CEO Jim Balsillie saw and ignored a report in 2010 that warned virtual keyboards made popular by the iPhone would pose a serious threat. Balsillie also wasn't worried about the bring-your-own-device trend in businesses after seeing another similar internal report. Now RIM's device management solution supports iPhone and Android, and Balsillie's later plans to license usage of RIM services to other manufacturers were cut when Heins took up the CEO position.

Things are looking grim for RIM now that their next generation smartphones won't see the light of day until next year. Considering Heins is fully investigating licensing and acquisition deals, BlackBerry probably won't have another chance to compete against the iPhone or iPad. Can they finally nail it with BlackBerry 10?

Source: WSJ

Planning on going somewhere this summer with your iPhone or iPad? AT&T has announced cheaper data roaming packages you may want to check out.

• 120 MB Data Global Add-on package for $30/month
• 300 MB Data Global Add-on package for $60/month
• 800 MB Data Global Add-on package for $120/month

If you go over your allotment, you're automatically signed up for another round of the bottom tier.

Considering as of last summer AT&T was asking  $25 for 50 MB, these are pretty good deals, and puts them on par with a recent data roaming package Verizon has recently started to offer: 100 MB for $25. Personally, I prefer to pick up a local SIM card rather than sign up for a roaming package (mainly because Rogers charges $50 for 10 MB), but often language barriers and time constraints can stop that from happening.

So where are you going this summer? Planning travel to any exotic locales? If you're looking for ways your iPad or iPhone can help you out on the road, be sure to check our feature on the best summer vacation apps.

Source: AT&T via AC