MetroPCS Evolves

MetroPCS and T-Mobile have merged.  That's not news.  What happens next is going to be important.  T-Mobile becomes a much stronger carrier after gaining significant spectrum as a gift from the failed AT&T acquisition, and spectrum brought to the table with the MetroPCS merger.  Not only does T-Mobile get more spectrum, they get it in the largest markets and they get it contiguous to their existing spectrum.  This a powerful combination.  T-Mobile has become a contender, at least technically.

MetroPCS is now supposed to become a nationally-available prepaid service which will be operating on those new T-Mobile frequencies.  MetroPCS will continue to use their old CDMA network for the next couple of years which depends heavily on roaming partners to achieve nationwide coverage.  But now who needs MetroPCS?  Analysts suggest it might focus on the low end of the market, potentially the "credit-challenged."  But so does T-Mobile's own Prepaid and fledgling GoSmart Mobile.

Like Sprint's purchase of Nextel, the MetroPCS name may disappear.  Remember, most of the country has never heard of MetroPCS.  Unlike Nextel, MetroPCS comes with a hefty dowry of spectrum, so the name may not hold much value.  Are either "Metro" or "PCS" even relevant terms these days?  We will maintain it as a separate brand among our wireless network reports and coverage maps, but if MetroPCS becomes no more than a mirror image of T-Mobile Prepaid it may end up on our Wireless Archives page or among Alternative Networks.  With so much spectrum to work with we hope they find their niche.

Too Much 3G?

It seems like just a few months ago everyone was screaming for 3G.   Our 3G Coverage Comparison Page is still one of our most popular.  Now we all want 4G, and the carriers are doing their best to provide it...at a nice increase in price.  Where does that leave all that 3G coverage?

The carriers have found a robust wholesale market for all that 'excess' coverage, providing service to Straight Talk, Page Plus, SIMple Mobile and a host of other cellular re-sellers or MVNO's.  I read each day about the fears in forums that Straight Talk and the like just might become too popular, and the major carriers will throttle them back from their Unlimited Talk & Data.  In some areas that may be the case, but in the Big Picture, these carriers are trying real hard to move us up to 4G, which, for the most part, is on a separate network,  different spectrum, or, at least, separate channels.  That means they are also freeing up all that 3G capacity they have been building.

The Big 4 will not admit they have a surplus of anything while they are pleading with the Feds to provide more spectrum.  Truly, most of us are demanding more and more bandwidth through our phone, but that also leaves a gap for those of us whose needs are bit more modest.  3G is good for me...for now...and there are a lot of us who will benefit from everyone else moving up.  5G (or LTE+, or whatever is next) is coming and my current phone can already access 4G, I'm just waiting for everyone else to move out of my way.

Mohave Wireless Gives Up

Mohave Wireless in Northwest Arizona has been acquired by Verizon Wireless.  Our only real surprise is that this transaction took so long.  This is a relatively large hole in Verizon's cellular coverage with a very busy I-40 corridor and a popular resort area, Lake Havasu City.  Verizon has owned a small part of Mohave for many years so there has always been a favorable roaming agreement between the two.

Mohave has a very good wireless network in the area and their customers may not notice any improvements.  Since they already have good roaming abilities and a wide selection of handsets, we predict services will slowly become more expensive for Mohave customers who may also lose bundle discounts with their Frontier wireline service.  The good news is that we expect the network will soon be converted to all 3G, with 4G coming as well.

There are 2 groups who will gain significantly with this transaction: Verizon's own prepaid users and those MVNO customers who either have no service in the area or pay roaming charges.  The largest of these services include Page Plus and Straight Talk CDMA users.

OK, now here is our 'boo-hoo, there goes another carrier' routine.  It's sad to see another carrier disappear, but in Mohave's case, we now have the ability to switch from our old Verizon postpaid phone to Page Plus, or even better, switch from a Straight Talk GSM phone to one of their CDMA phones.  In this case it's nice to be outside looking in.

Stop Over-Paying for Your Phone

It was exactly 3 months ago we advised you that if you don't get a new wireless phone at least every 2 years, you're paying more for that phone than you expected.  Today, T-Mobile is now selling phones at a predictable price, and plans that don't include a monthly payment for the phone.  At first glance you might shudder at the thought of paying as much as $600 for your next wireless phone, but it could be less than what you were paying before, especially if you don't regularly upgrade your phone.  This means the contract is going away, too!  T-Mobile will help you spread the payments for your phone over a couple years.  We're hoping other carriers will follow.

For now, this means a reduction in plan prices, but we're hoping for more.  You may be among our more savvy readers who already buys a Prepaid phone for full price, then get service from a re-seller like Straight Talk at a much lower cost than you pay the carriers directly.  So this method of phone payment isn't new, it's just being done by carriers for whatever plan you want and not be limited to their selection of prepaid plans and potentially the associated limited coverage.  Will will be able to retire our Getting Out of Your Cellular Contract Page?

The FCC said that if AT&T was permitted to acquire T-Mobile, the wireless market would lose a major "disrupter".  Well, T-Mobile, disrupt away.

SouthernLINC Finds A Roaming Solution

Just last week we downgraded SouthernLINC, and iDEN carrier on the US Gulf Coast to a much lower Rating to reflect the loss of nationwide roaming on its only possible roaming partner, Nextel.  Sprint will be shutting down the Nextel network in June leaving SouthernLINC customers with no where to use their phone but in their own 4-state region.  That was indeed unfortunate because SouthernLINC is a pretty good wireless carrier backed up by an awesome electric utility company.

SouthernLINC has signed up with a roaming partner to allow their customers to roam on various GSM networks, potentially AT&T, T-Mobile and others, when away from SouthernLINC's home territory.  The only catch is that you'll need a new 'dual SIM' phone that they will be offering soon, and an additional prepaid roaming plan.  If you ever travel out of their home area, this is a good compromise.

We believe this improves SouthernLINC's usability.  We upped their Mountain Wireless Network Rating, and when they begin offering the GSM roaming we'll probably up it another notch or two.  This is good news from a very good carrier.

Viaero's President Responds

I recently saw an anonymous response by a Viaero customer to an old blog posting of ours:

I have been a Viaero customer for about 2 years now in the south eastern part of colorado. service was fine at first, but since about the middle of 2012 we have seen alot more dropped calls and internet on phone is as slow as dial-up. there are rumors that there is a lawsuit between them and AT&T that happened around that time. phone customer service is a joke. most the time they tell you to remove battery and sim and wait 30 sec so phone can reset. that never helps. i have been disappointed that there cell service has decreased from a radius of 12 to 15 down to 6 to 8 miles from there towers. this leaves a lot of there rural customers in a bind. we are unable to chose another carrier because we would be roaming of viaero's towers and other carriers will cancel your contract within 6 months and we have to pay the early termination fees. 

So I contacted Viaero Wireless, a cellular carrier serving Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and surrounding states, and the President of the company, Frank DiRico called me back.  Frank is a stand up guy and takes pride in their attempts at technical excellence.  He stated that the southeast Colorado part of his network is getting very busy.  So busy that they further subdivided their cells into more quadrants which could have adjusted the signal away from customers like the one above.  He offered to send a tech down to that person's home if only they shared their location.

In place of that, Mr. DiRico suggested that if a customer does not get a satisfactory solution, "They should ask to have their call 'escalated' to the technical department."  Frank noted that the southeast Colorado area is so busy he already has plans to add 2 more cell sites in the area.  He states he can't add them fast enough, especially during the winter, but they do construct 1 or 2 new sites a week.  Viareo installs their own sites and does not contract that work out.

This is why Viaero has earns a "10" in the Mountain Wireless Ratings. Why can't they all respond this well?

One More Lost Carrier

I neglected to report one additional carrier that has gone out of the wireless business, XIT Wireless of extreme northwest Texas. The XIT cellular network has been sold to AT&T.  They had very good 800 MHz coverage and helps further AT&T's dominance in the Lone Star State.  Unlike the systems reported on yesterday, XIT will be missed, although their customers will notice very few changes...and may not have noticed anything at all.

I was certainly fooled.  Passing through Dumas, TX my AT&T phone said I was roaming on XIT, and the XIT store I drove past still promoted wireless plans in the window.  Additionally, FCC records show that AT&T and XIT  have a separate spectrum lease agreement that implies that XIT may offer some kind of wireless service, most likely a form of Internet access.

So, we add one more name to our Wireless Archives...

More Vanishing Carriers

It looks like our fastest growing data page is the Mountain Wireless Network Archives.  Over the past few months a few more cellular operators have decided to go out of business.  Etex Wireless of Gilmer, TX have decide to drop their wireless business with apparently no buyers.  They recommend going to Verizon Wireless.

In Nebraska the news is good as AT&T will finally be able to take over the Indigo Wireless network in the panhandle area. This has been a 12 year disagreement that pretty much caused the indigo network to virtually disappear.  Under AT&T the area will be served like never before, although the squabble helped make Viaero Wireless the top dog in the area, especially since they now serve most of the area with 4G.

Another network that fell out of bed was Via Wireless in Georgia. Their technical teams have been spending all of their time upgrading the fiber and wireline segments of the owner, Wilkes Telephone Company, and pretty much gave up the wireless network.  This is another operator that will probably just flip off the switch to the cell sites and only the employees will notice.

One of the trends that causes us to consider the difference between "cellular" and "wireless" is that when we call and ask about the status of a wireless network, the response is, "Which one?"  A few forward-thinking reps answer that although they are turning off their cellular network, you can subscribe to their Internet service and access the wireless part of your home router with your Smart phone and limit the amount of broadband charges from the surviving cellular operators. We include Clear Wireless among our network data and need to stay aware that there are viable wireless options among every single Internet service node whether it's up the street or in your house.