If one unlimited wireless account isn’t enough for your clan, T-mobile will sell you another at a 50% discount . For the guys to the left that works out to 3 unlimited wireless accounts for the usual price of 2. To me $200 seems like an awful lot to pay for what I can do at no extra cost over a broadband connection even if I’m getting 3 accounts. Then again, if you and other family members need to concurrently gab and text without limits while on the move, this is the best deal going.

Back in February, wireless carriers went a little crazy trying to one up each other by offering unlimited SMS/MMS/voice plans (while quietly taking their wireless broadband offerings in the opposite direction). T-Mobile today threw another “unlimited” offer into the mix, letting users on their unlimited voice plan sign up additional family members at half price. In other words, users who already pay T-Mobile $99.99 for an unlimited account can add up to four other accounts for $49.99 a pop. (Broadband Reports)

In what is a far reaching non-action by The Supreme Court; they have decided to not hear a case steeming from a class action against T-Mobile and AT&T and rendered by the CA SC. –

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday dashed a bid by T-Mobile and AT&T to stave off a class-action lawsuit challenging the carriers’ policies against unlocking mobile phones.

The justices declined to review an October decision by the California Supreme Court that cleared the way for a lawsuit that attorneys claimed could represent “millions” of California customers.

In response to similar lawsuits, Verizon and Sprint, both CDMA carriers, have agreed to provide the software code to unlock cellphones after customers nationwide have completed their original contract, attorneys said. “That was the compromise we ended up with to get the cases settled,” said California attorney Robert Bramson, one of the lawyers suing carriers T-Mobile and AT&T.

As a consequence the CA SC ruling in favor of the plaintiffs suit stands unchallenged. So now the carriers in CA must proceed to trial or settle out of court for some agreed terms. My gut says they settle and agree to unlock phones. If they do that opens the door like the Carterphone decison of the 1980s for serious competition in the handset market in Calif. Calif is the biggest handset market of them all. Representing the biggest chunk of revenue for all of them on a State by State basis. The landscape is going to change very quickly I figure.

Trend? Biggest I see is internet handset sellers/resellers in CA offering unlocked handsets around the country. Once that cats out of the bag the carriers are going to have to open up.

Linky.

Previous posts here., here

Here is a lovely set of discourse from a T-Mobile customer. The audio is —

powered by ODEO

This is a rather longish audio recording just to let you know.

the customer’s problem? His brand new blackberry came with a bum battery. So he wanted a replacement battery sent. T-Mobile’s solution — send back the whole unit and we will send you a refurb!

Now needless to say this experience is no different than any other of the wireless carriers. Their call centers stink. The rotation of staff in those centers is so bad that no one is trained and the expectation is to just read off a script. If the ‘process’ is broke, which it is in most cases somewhere, then the customer is just left staring at a blank phone. That is why we at ThirdPipe advocate a decoupling of the purchase of a phone from the actual usage of that phone. So long as the carriers have you captive handset and all, nothing will change.

HT: Consumerist.

Late to the 3G party and with no stated 4G plans, T Mobile may add a bit of real competiton to the wireless market leveraging new 3G networks combined with Wifi hotspots. Soon to be released devices will functrion on both networks.

While rivals such as AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint Nextel have been talking recently about building new 4G wireless networks, T-Mobile–which will begin offering 3G wireless service this summer–is leveraging cheap, unlicensed Wi-Fi technology to bring true broadband speed over wireless networks to some of its subscribers today.

There’s no question Wi-Fi is far from perfect. Its use of unlicensed bandwidth can mean signal interference. And it’s a short-range radio technology that will never be able to provide ubiquitous coverage. But when Wi-Fi is combined with a new 3G wireless network using phones that T-Mobile claims switch seamlessly between the two networks, it becomes an interesting story. (Cnet)

Could it be that cheap, proven technology can be a contender against thehigh dollar cutting edge? Time will tell. A little more competition in the closed wireless business is always welcome.

I have to preface this article as “…quoted by the New York Times.” It really would not make much sense for TMobile to try and buy Sprint. The regulatory hurdles being the first problem. The second being the economics of its all. Their networks are not compatible. But here it is –

Sprint Nextel, whose shareholders are still stinging from a $29.7 billion fourth-quarter write-down related to its 2005 purchase of Nextel, is generating plenty of speculation about the company’s fate.

Merrill Lynch analysts are suggesting that Deutsche Telekom, which owns T-Mobile, may consider acquiring Sprint to block a price war in the mobile phone industry, the Kansas City Star reported.

Merrill said that the wireless carrier’s woes may force it to cut prices to attract customers. “In such a price war scenario, we think T-Mobile would face the most pressure, and Deutsche Telekom would see the increased urgency to drive market repair,” the firm’s analysts said in a report cited by The Star.

Far more speculative still was a report on Seeking Alpha, which said it had heard a “curious” rumor that Sprint had hired Morgan Stanley to explore a spin-off of Nextel.

All the noise follows the company’s announcement last month that it would likely have to write off most of the remaining $30.7 billion in non-cash goodwill value from its $35 billion acquisition of Nextel and a number of affiliates.

Mark this as exuberant rumor off of Wall Street.

Linky.

Firing another salvo in the recently invigorated wireless war, T-Mobile will be offering some custoemrs a $10 / month VOIP service when bundled with wireless.

Its new HotSpot @Home Talk Forever Home Phone announced today will offer customers unlimited calls for $10 a month, plus the initial $50 cost of the special router required for the service. Customers must also be T-Mobile subscribers with a mobile plan of at least $39.99 a month and must also have a broadband connection at home.

In other words, it’s an Internet-based calling service, similar to what Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE: VG - message board) offers, except this one is bundled to an existing mobile phone account.

T-Mobile acknowledges that wireline voice is a declining business but says that not everyone who has a mobile phone is ready to get rid of the traditional home phone. (from Light Reading)

This won’t be of much use to DSL customers who get a POTS line bundled whether they want it or not, but for the cable and FIOS subscribers it’s a great deal for the household that needs more than 1 phone number, and limits cell use. it’s also goign to lay to waste many VOIP and fixed line providers. Will Sprint follow?

So Verion, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint have launched the trend that will change their industry. So what does this do to the telecommunications scene? Its obvious for the wireless industry. We mentioned it previously. But what about land line, VoIP, etc?

VoIP –

• Man their life just got harder. In a situation where someone was using a wireless plan local and VoIP for national calling that is about to fall apart. The consumer could apply their Vonage $$ to their wireless plan and go unlimited on a single instrument.
• As a business model standalone VoIP is toast. As a technology it will survive. But as a enabler to carrier technologies.
• Google’s Grand Central maybe the alternative that represents VoIP. Gmail has already inegrated IM and voice.
• SIP as a VoIP sister will also survive. But its use will be layered under integrated, unified portals be it cell, mail systems or textual contexts or an amalgam of all of them.

Landline POTS –

• The exodus for primary lines will go from single digits to double digits in a year. That will make their POTS debt structure harder to sustain.
• A battle is going to occur between the Telcos and the Federal Government on ‘Carrier of Last Resort’ provisions. Though the carriers get compensated for doing so it won’t be enough to offset the capital drain to maintain older technology or upgrading low density areas on a long term basis.
• The cross over point. At some period in the near future the Telcos are going to be earning more income on broadband and its services than on POTS. When that occurs and penetration of broadband is over 50% they will again wish to move off the old technology even in profitable POTs areas. Fiber is cheaper to maintain and they will wish to go there.

700mhz –

• The unlimited plans set the upper marker for similar services in the pending 700mhz band. To get any further funding out of the customer will require new differentiated services.
• To encourage a customer to switch to the 700mhz services the costs will also have to be cheaper just to forestall some of the switching costs.
• Quality of Service better be better! Wireless still has problems with QoS. A clearer connection would be a fair customer inducement.
• Penetration. Can’t expect it initially, but at some point the new kid will have to have penetration levels comparable to wireless today. Its the price of ante long term.

Other –

• As a practical matter does it make sense to continue a 10 digit number scheme? In a world where the cell morphs into the communicator and its use transcends just cell telephony the old 10 digit system might be passe. It might just as identifying for someone to use their XXXXXXX@gmail.com name as a number.
• Routing services evolve away from SS7 of the PSTN world. An enhanced RADIUS-like metadirectory structure takes over so that the directory system is unified and extensible and possibly even user modifiable. XML like tools and structures make that possible.

And so it begins…

Compilation by admin and Dr. Dog.

Don’t always focus on saving money at the outset; such as in the process of domain registration. Unless your website design is not attractive; it can’t appeal your visitors to stay there. Also bear in mind the tracking of internet connectivity i.e. dsl or ISP types of your visitors. Your web hosting servers should comply with all types of ISPs and explorers.

The number 4 US wireless carrier has jumped on the flat bandwagon and sweetened the deal with unlimited texting. Not very generous since texting uses far fewer resource than voice. There are actually a number of other “unlimited” options.

Don’t forget about small provider Helio. The MVNO, which borrows Sprint’s network, lowered its unlimited calling plan to $100, down from $150, in early February. Its plan includes unlimited Web use, e-mail and text messaging. Sprint is currently in trial runs of its unlimited offerings in a few select markets, but no nationwide announcements have been made. This brings the total carriers supporting unlimited, ubiquitous calling plans to four. (from Telephony Online)

Market saturation has a funny effect on businesses. There will be a bloody fight for market share, and the top end of the market will not be the battlefield for long. From now on, it’s a race to the bottom.

The Commission has approved the acquisition by T-Mobile several properties of SunCom Wireless Holdings. Sun operates in 5 State, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. SunCom the parent is also in merger talks with Deutsch Telecom which is surely part of the Commission’s review of the whole T-Mobile/Sun transaction. Suncom is a $1.59B company with just under 2000 employees. –

In conclusion, based on the record before us, we find that the Applicants have demonstrated that the proposed transaction would serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity; and that granting consent to the proposed assignment application would further the public interest, subject to the conditions discussed above.

Related action –

The Federal Communications Commission approved Deutsche Telekom AG’s buyout of SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc., the companies said on Monday.

The German telecommunications company is buying SunCom through its T-Mobile USA Inc. unit. The FCC approval means the deal has cleared all regulatory hurdles, and the companies said they expect the acquisition to close by the end of February. The deal is worth $1.6 billion cash plus $800 million in assumed debt.

Deutsche Telekom’s American Depositary Shares fell 11 cents to $19.04 in morning trading.

A Customer note from T-Mobile back in January to Sun Customers –

Let’s talk about T-Mobile’s planned approach to serving SunCom customers. Simply put, it’s our intention to provide comparable or greater value rate plans to SunCom customers. So whether you’re a SunCom customer today, or you’re thinking about signing up for SunCom service, T-Mobile looks forward to serving you and your existing rate plan.

T-Mobile, like SunCom, has a variety of plans that let customers make unlimited calls to the people who matter most to them. There’s a host of other benefits too. For one, we will be bringing SunCom customers complete access to a coast-to-coast national wireless network, as well as a solid international presence in more than 180 countries.

T-Mobile USA, Inc., is a member of the T-Mobile International group, one of the world’s leading companies in mobile communications, with approximately 114 million mobile customers of which nearly 28 million are served by T-Mobile USA.

On top of this, we’ve committed right out of the gate to making further improvements to the SunCom wireless network in Puerto Rico. In addition, T-Mobile also has an outstanding customer service record. We’ve captured the top J.D. Power Award for Wireless Customer Care six times in a row. All this, combined with our cool lineup of phones and wireless devices, is great news for SunCom customers transitioning to T-Mobile

So in one fell swoop T-Mobile becomes a little bit bigger in the US. SunCom then disappears from the face of the earth. And so it goes in the world of wireless.

FCC approval
Tmobile letter.

There has been little or no real competition in the wireless space since the time when a brick phone was a status symbol among the rich and famous. That’s about to change. Sprint’s troubles are the tip of the iceberg for the wireless cartel. With a handset in nearly every pocket, belt loop and purse for persons over the age of 10, and new wireless access going live, the consumer may actually get a break this year.

2008 will mark the end of rapid mobile subscriber growth in the U.S. — and the beginning of a long decline. By 2012, total annual subscriber growth in the U.S. could fall to as low as 2 percent per year.

Saturation shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone in the industry. The U.S. mobile market is finally approaching the level of market penetration (85 percent in 2007) reached in Europe years ago. But while the U.S. would do well to learn from Europe’s experience, there are also fundamental differences between the two that could make the transition in the U.S. smoother than it was across the Atlantic.

In the UK in 2002, for example, subscriber growth slowed from to 9 percent from 16 percent in 2001 (the year that penetration rates reached 85 percent), and since then has only exceeded 10 percent in one year (2004). In 2006, UK subscriber growth was just 4 percent. Meanwhile, ARPU fell by 24 percent between 2000 and 2001, a drop from which it has only recently started to show a slight recovery, thanks to the contribution of data services. (from GigaOm)

To stay in control of the game, the wireless cartel is going to increase their focus on long term contracts with more creative incentives to sign. The better informed will rebel and go elsewhere. There will be price wars. Market chaos is a beautiful thing.