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T-Mobile and other US carriers pledge to waive late fees due to coronavirus

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, companies from around the broadband and wireless industries have pledged to help keep consumers connected. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced the Keep Americans Connected Pledge this week, which has companies make three commitments to ensure that people can stay online even if they encounter issues paying their bill during the coronavirus pandemic. For the next 60 days, the … [read full article]

FCC mmWave spectrum auction ends with nearly $7.6 billion in bids

A major FCC spectrum auction came to an end this week. Auction 103 closed on March 5th, nearly three months after it opened. The auction included a total of 3,400 megahertz of spectrum, which is the most ever offered in an auction. Participants were bidding on millimeter wave spectrum in the upper 37GHz, 39GHz, and 49GHz bands. In total, the auction brought in $7.57 billion. … [read full article]

FCC fines U.S. carriers over sale of customer location data, T-Mobile faces $91 million fine

As expected, the FCC has officially proposed fines against T-Mobile and the other major U.S. carriers over the sale of customer location data. The FCC announced today that T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon will all face fines for “apparently selling access to their customers’ location information without taking reasonable measures to protect against unauthorized access to that information.” T-Mobile is facing … [read full article]

T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon will reportedly be fined at least $200 million for selling customer location data

After the FCC confirmed last month that U.S. wireless carriers broke the law by selling customers’ real-time location data, a new report says that all four major operators will face fines. T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon are all expected to be hit with fines that could be at least $200 million in total. The fines will be officially … [read full article]

Department of Justice and FCC voice support for T-Mobile and Sprint’s merger in new court filing

In the midst of the T-Mobile-Sprint merger trial, both the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission have reiterated their support for the deal. Both the DOJ and FCC have filed court papers saying that the states’ lawsuit to block the merger would undo consumer benefits that were gained by the government during its review of T-Mobile and Sprint’s … [read full article]

FCC report says T-Mobile, other carriers overstated their coverage maps

A new FCC report says that T-Mobile and other U.S. carriers misrepresented their rural coverage. The FCC conducted drive tests of T-Mobile, Verizon, and U.S. Cellular’s networks and found that they only achieved the minimum download speeds predicted by those carriers’ coverage maps 62.3% of the time. T-Mobile specifically achieved that speed in 63.2% of tests, Verizon in 64.3% of tests, and U.S. Cellular just 45.0% … [read full article]

T-Mobile and Sprint’s merger gets approval from the FCC

Two months after FCC Chairman Ajit Pai recommended that T-Mobile and Sprint’s merger be approved, that’s precisely what has happened. The FCC has voted to formally approve the T-Mobile-Sprint merger. There’s no official announcement of this news quite yet, but an FCC official has confirmed to The Verge that the agency has voted to give the merger the green light. We learned earlier this month that T-Mo … [read full article]

FCC commissioner says T-Mobile-Sprint merger must be paused due to Lifeline investigation

Sprint has come under fire this week for an issue related to Lifeline subsidies, and it could have an effect on the carrier’s merger with T-Mobile. The FCC has learned that Sprint claimed monthly subsidies for 885,000 Lifeline subscribers, but those subscribers weren’t actually using the Lifeline service. This resulted in Sprint receiving tens of millions of dollars for customers who weren’t actually using … [read full article]

Dish said to appeal to Deutsche Telekom for T-Mobile-Sprint deal as negotiations continue

T-Mobile and Sprint haven’t been talking publicly about their merger much lately, but the rumor mill is working to keep up in the loop with leaks and other info. Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen is reportedly in talks with U.S. regulators and T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom about a deal that would see Dish become a competitive fourth U.S. carrier, satisfying the Department … [read full article]