LifeLine Program Loses Its Life Line

People with low income may soon find it more difficult to purchase subsidized phone and broadband plans, and may even be forced to find new carriers. This is the result of decisions made November 16th, 2017 by the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC voted 3-2 to scale back the federal Lifeline program that lets low-income individuals use a $9.25 monthly household subsidy to buy Internet or phone service. The FCC also proposed a new spending cap that potentially prevents people who qualify for the subsidies from actually receiving them.

The FCC is also taking steps to prevent resellers, telecom providers that don't operate their own network, from offering Lifeline-subsidized plans.  This includes some carriers mentioned on our sites like Q-Link, Assurance Wireless, and Safelink.  Some of the these companies could be put out of business, overnight.

Some of the changes go into effect immediately. For others, the FCC is taking public comment before making the changes final. The proposed reseller ban would effectively force 70 percent of wireless phone users with Lifeline subsidies to find new providers, said Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, one of two Democratic commissioners. "On top of that, they may not have a carrier to turn to after that happens." Excluding resellers from the program would limit competition in the market for subsidized plans and push consumers toward dealing directly with network operators like AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile USA, and Sprint.  "These carriers opted out of offering Lifeline-supported service on their own and prefer to allow non-facilities-based wireless providers to serve Lifeline subscribers and the low-income segments of the wireless market," consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge wrote.

Tribal residents also got bad news from the FCC. The $25 enhanced subsidy also can no longer be obtained through resellers. This change takes effect right away without any further public comment.
Now, only Tribal lands in rural areas will still qualify for the extra $25 a month.

Lifeline is paid for by Americans through fees imposed on phone bills. It has a budget of $2.25 billion. The Lifeline program has about 12.5 million subscribers, but only about one-third of eligible households is receiving the subsidies. FCC Commissioner Pai said, "The reforms that we implement and propose today seek to...curtail the waste, fraud, and abuse that continue to plague the Lifeline program..."

Related: Do They Have Their Own Network?

There are indeed smaller wireless carriers in the US that are "facilities-based" and will be able to continue to offer Line programs.  Follow-up to this fairly major turn of events will be monitored on our web sites, Mountain Wireless, Mountain Prepaid and Cellular Back Door, with major events also reported here in the Noise.

story credit: arstechnica

Sprint Says New Coverage is Coming

In the wake of the end of the Sprint/T-Mobile merger talks, Sprint president Marcelo Claure recent said tower companies are, "going to be very happy."  Sprint has been expanding mostly in the micro-cell area and now is hinting that they're going to expand coverage in a bigger way.  This brings to mind the kind of topics this news page reported in the 2007 to 2013 time period.  We often reported when a carrier made a significant expansion along this road or in that town.  Now, we're hoping those days are back again.

Related: Sprint's Spectrum: Money in the Bank

While AT&T and Verizon made significant coverage expansions several years ago, T-Mobile has grown across rural America just in the last few years.  In comparison, Sprint's lack of expansion beyond urban areas has almost been embarrassing.  It's not where we live, it's where we might go.  Sprint has made meager attempts to cover these areas, but we're spoiled...we want coverage everywhere.  We really hope that Sprint will try to accommodate our selfish wireless desires.

Small cell sites look like they're the path to 5G, and Sprint has done well in filling these "holes".  Now let's see them expand along the rest of the Interstate highways and appear in states that need a 4th...or even a 3rd, national player.  And, the tower companies Mr. Claure refers to already have most of the cell site locations already in place...no new permits needed.  Sprint also has the spectrum, both at 1900 and 2500 MHz.  We're ready to cover the new coverage.

T-Mobile and Sprint See the Light

T-Mobile made the announcement, that T-Mobile and Sprint just can't get along.  For them it's a power thing, or a money thing.  For us it's a good thing.  We don't want 3 carriers...we want 4.

Related: T-Mobile and Sprint: No Thanks.

 That was close.. Sprint is now free to pursue life seeking a cable company hookup, and that will be OK.

T-Mobile Finds a Way To Use New Spectrum

While other carriers and the FCC say using their new 600 MHz wireless spectrum will take years, T-Mobile is doing it in months.  In order for a carrier to begin using the new spectrum won in the 600 MHz FCC auction, several broadcast TV stations must move to another channel.  This involves channel re-assignments and the cost of modified antennas and equipment.  Most carriers are waiting for that step before investing in their newly-won spectrum.

T-Mobile analyzed the 600 MHz locations and channels and decided they could start operating immediately in areas where the TV channels are already vacant, and help broadcasters with the expenses of moving others.  They actually started using their new spectrum in Wyoming earlier this year, and are now helping free up the channels in the largest US market, New York City.  T-Mobile is also helping several PBS stations make their moves as well.

Related: T-Mobile Toots Their Horn

T-Mobile will help the local TV station in New York that will be moving, move sooner, to make room for T-Mobile to start operating on these new channels in NYC.  This is very pro-active on the part of T-Mobile on their path toward becoming a coverage leader in the US.  It also helps the TV stations involved get their move done faster and cheaper than would happen by pressing the FCC for their share of auction funds.  More coverage is better, but remember, those of us who view TV Over the Air need to 're-tune' our TV's from time to time. Hey, more coverage at the push of a button.

T-Mobile & Sprint Together? No!

We have been saying it for years since before the failed AT&T and T-Mobile merger.  The US will be a sad place with only 3 large wireless carriers if T-Mobile and Sprint are allowed to merge.  We agree that Sprint needs a partner, but it does not need to be T-Mobile.  We just need to look to Canada where wireless users decry the high prices of wireless.

Related: Thinking of a Move to Canada?

Not only will there be problems with a T-Mobile and Sprint combination, we will also see changes in the wholesale market where most of our value-priced prepaid carriers live.  Other ramifications include a deterioration in customer service and a slower roll out of technological development.  We won't go into this dark subject we have dreaded for so long, we will only make sure everyone knows we think this is not a good thing for wireless users in the US.

We can hope that another investor will come forth and offer to take Sprint and make it the happy place it once was.  They have so much spectrum and value to offer, and most important, the will and the need to be aggressive on pricing.  Call our friends up north and ask what they think of having only 3 national carriers.  Thumbs down.

T-Mobile Takes Over iWireless in Iowa

This is pretty much a non-story since iWireless in Iowa has always looked, tasted, and smelled like a twin of T-Mobile. This will result in a few slight improvements for Iowa customers in the short term and eventually better coverage in rural Iowa.  Prepaid plans should get better and T-Mobile will start to upgrade the network to even more 4G - LTE using their newly-acquired 600 and 700 MHz spectrum.

Related: T-Mobile Jumps Over Another Hurdle

The only downside we can find is that dealing with iWireless was a bit more personal as you were dealing with local people, but T-Mobile will also open more Iowa stores.  There's also the end of confusion of the iWireless name with Kroger.  The net result is better for the Hawkeye state.

More Dirt Cheap Plans

At the beginning of the year we reported on the absolute, lowest-cost plans available in wireless.  Since then there have actually been improvements in these dirt cheap prices.  Most of the changes involve getting more for your money, but several of these providers have actually lowered some of their prices:

• TWIGBY
  Here's a new player to us with a usable plan with UNLIMITED Text and 200 Minutes Talk for only $9.  Add small chunks of additional Talk or Data for correspondingly low prices.  Twigby mostly uses the Sprint network but also includes Talk and Text on Verizon Wireless when you're outside Sprint coverage.
• T-MOBILE UNLIMITED FOR $30!
  This is a secret plan for special friends of the Noise:  Get ALL of T-Mobile's radical features for 2 people for only $60/month with No other fees attached!  Here's the catch: you need to be 55 or over to get the plan.  If you don't qualify, it's something to look forward to.
• T-MOBILE FOR $3 
  They may not be the cheapest, but their $3/month plan is still one of the lowest-cost ways to keep in touch, although when you pay a small price, expect a small plan.  The upside is that "extras" won't break the bank, either.
• TELLO
  Tello still lets you construct your plan to whittle it down to a minimum price, $9 for a plan with some Talk, Text and Data.  They normally offer incentives to get you to sign up such as a month of FREE Data or 15% of your initial purchase with the Coupon Code: 15OFFAFF.  Larger Tello plans have had their prices recently reduced big time, some over 28% less.  They also have doubled their 5GB of Data at the same rate. (Some of these promotions start in October)
• FREEDOMPOP
  The leader in cheap wireless still has plans that start at FREE.  Freedompop also now offers a hefty 2GB package for only $10.

Related: Dirt Cheap Plans

There are still some other low-cost options, but these are the ones that made some recent improvements.  We also need to tell you we have a marketing relationship with these carriers (as we do with almost all carriers) and that we didn't get paid for this post and never do.

Reviewing the Reviewers

We operate over a dozen web sites, each based on a specific wireless theme.  We recently moved our "front door" back to our first web site, MountainWireless.net.  While many of our pages provide a review of each cellular specialty, we never provided a review of these reviews...until now.  This page gives you a thumbnail report of what is available among our individual wireless web sites.  If you like one of our sites, you'll probably like one of the others.

Related: We Had to Give Back Your States 

On MountainWireless.net you'll also find a Search Tool to wade through our hundreds of pages as well as our Wireless News section.  As part of online evolution, we have gone through the birth and death of web sites based on material that was hot one day and cold the next.  So this review page is quite dynamic as the popularity of each subject rises and falls. Expect it to change weekly.