Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Sprint Phones Now Roam on T-Mobile

Oh yes, this statement needs quite a bit of qualification, but with the approaching T-Mobile/Sprint merger, the 2 carriers already have a roaming agreement.  First, there's the CDMA vs. GSM thing, but 20 million Sprint phones are already compatible with both networks, including data.  That includes recent iPhones and Samsung Galaxy models. Other Sprint customers would have to upgrade their phones to take advantage of the new roaming coverage, however, if the merger is approved, most Sprint customers will need a new phone, anyway.


This agreement does not require approval from any government entity, so it's already in place and there could be millions of Sprint users already receiving the benefits of the new coverage.  The question rises of what happens if the merger does not happen.  T-Mobile may renegotiate the deal, or they may not.

A similar deal happened between T-Mobile and AT&T, and even after that hookup failed, T-Mobile was the beneficiary of a whole new batch of wireless spectrum.  New roaming is always a good thing.

Friday, May 18, 2018

Phoenix Communications May Not Rise Again

Phoenix Communications was the cellular operation of the Oklahoma Western Telephone Company which has been taken over by Hilliary Communications.  Hilliary claims they will be upgrading the network and are no longer accepting new customers.  It looks like they are still using the network for their wireless home phone customers but the future of cellular service is in question.


Hilliary completely cancelled the web site that displayed Phoenix products giving us the impression that this Phoenix shall not rise again.  FCC records show that Hilliary has applied for the FCC Connect America Fund Phase II Auction.  If they win funds for cellular operation under that program, we expect the network to be upgraded and will offer wireless service once again.  If not, we expect they'll offer the network and licenses for sale to a neighboring or national carrier. Our Mountain Wireless Network Reports has normally rated Phoenix with a "1", the lowest possible, so it won't take much to improve their service.