AT&T lights up low-band 5G in 10 new cities alongside the Note 10 Plus 5G launch
AT&T flipped the switch for its low-band 5G network in 10 new cities — double from what it promised last month. The network operator is launching this alongside its first truly 5G device — the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G which is also going on sale today for $1,300.
AT&T is bringing LTE-speed 5G to customers in five cities next month
AT&T is finally ready to release 5G to the public -- though the version of 5G that the carrier will roll out to customers will only be around as fast as high-speed LTE networks. The tech will roll out to five cities in the first half of December, with a further 10 cities coming by February.
Exclusive: AT&T will prove the potential of 5G at DreamHack’s CS:GO tournament
AT&T will be at the DreamHack Open to show what a 5G network can do by streaming footage of the CS:GO tournament live. Three 5G-enabled smartphones will be on hand to capture unique perspectives, and their footage will be spliced into the official Twitch livestream.
AT&T to pay $60 million FTC settlement for ‘bait-and-switch’ unlimited data plan
The FTC ordered AT&T to pay $60 million in a settlement regarding unlimited data plans and reduced data speeds. A 2014 complaint alleges that AT&T didn’t fully disclose its policy to its customers with unlimited data plans that data speeds slowed down after a certain amount of data use.
AT&T switches up its strategy with three new Unlimited data plans
AT&T is fully adopting the Unlimited data plan model. The company has announced three new Unlimited data plans, each with a different set of perks and advantages. The new plans range in price from $65 for a single line to $85 for a single line, though you'll get discounts with additional lines.
For $15 a month, HBO Max gives you South Park, Green Lantern, Joker, and more
HBO Max, WarnerMedia's entry in the ever-growing streaming wars, launches in May 2020 and comes with every DC Comics movie from the past 40 years, the entire run of South Park, Rick & Morty, The Lord of the Rings, two new DC shows, and a whole lot more -- all for the price of a regular HBO subscription.
AT&T will offer an ad-supported version of its HBO Max streaming service in 2021
HBO Max will reportedly have a cheaper, ad-supported tier in 2021, making it the first HBO product to include commercials. According to Reuters, the ad-supported version of HBO Max would launch roughly one year after the launch of HBO Max, which will be an ad-free subscription service.
Phone companies say they finally have a way to block robocalls for good
Twelve of the biggest American phone companies, including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon, took a pledge on Thursday to start using a new technology that would identify and block robocalls. The carriers are partnering with 51 attorneys general and will announce the pledge in Washington.
Google was sharing Android user location data with carriers worldwide
Google quietly ended a service providing cell carriers with location data from customers. The “Mobile Network Insight Service” gave data on connection speeds and integrity using a map showing data from Android users on any carrier. Data was aggregated and anonymous, and carrier names weren't disclosed.
AT&T employees allegedly accepted $1M in bribes to unlock millions of phones
Two men bribed AT&T employees with more than $1 million to plant malware and use the company's own systems to unlock millions of AT&T phones, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said Monday. The company lost $5 million because of the scheme, officials said.
AT&T subscribers can now get Spotify Premium for free — here’s how
So you want free Spotify Premium, huh? Well, you're in luck — if you're an AT&T customer, that is. That's because it's offering a free Premium subscription to all its customers on select plans, as well as a six-month trial to those who aren't. Here's everything you need to know to redeem this hot deal.
With a rebrand imminent, AT&T is hoping you forget what DirecTV Now was
In August, AT&T's live TV streaming service, DirecTV Now, will be known as AT&T TV Now and will get a new app to celebrate. Somehow, this will be different from AT&T TV, a separate platform that AT&T announced last week that has some kind of hardware component. Confused yet? Us too.
AT&T accused of selling customers’ location data to bounty hunters and stalkers
AT&T was hit with a lawsuit Tuesday accusing it of selling customers’ real-time location data to third parties like credit agencies and bail guarantors, along with bounty hunters and stalkers, without having customer consent.
People are buying 5G phones when they don’t even have 5G
When it comes to highly-touted tech like 5G and the myriad of improvements it may offer our lives, we want the future here now, and not a minute later. Smartphone sales tell the same story, with three out of five cities selling the most 5G units without yet supporting the service.
AT&T is the first carrier to turn on spam call blocking by default
AT&T has announced that it will be turning on its spam call blocking technology by default for customers over the next few months. The carrier is the first to do so, after the FCC ruled in June that carriers could enable spam call blocking by default, without fear of any legal action.
Cloudflare outage knocks out major sites and services, including Discord
Cloudfare, an international website and internet hosting platform, experience a worldwide outage earlier Tuesday. Sites and services that are hosted on the platform reported outages in countries around the world. According to Cloudfare’s system status page, service was restored within 30 minutes.
Cell phone carriers now have the power to stop robocalls. When will they use it?
The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to allow cell phone companies to block robocalls by default, but the nation's major carriers would not give specifics on if or when they would use the newfound power to protect their customers from what's become a daily annoyance.
AT&T claims title as first U.S. carrier to hit 2Gbps on 5G network
AT&T became the first U.S. carrier to reach speeds of 2Gbps on its commercial 5G network, achieving the milestone using a mobile hotspot. AT&T continues to lead the charge in 5G development, though it came under fire for a marketing scheme that could cause potential confusion about the technology.
How 5G networks will make low-latency game streaming a reality
Nvidia thinks the future of gaming is in the cloud, and to make that possible, faster mobile networks like 5G are needed. Though speed is just one part of the equation, mobile carriers are also focusing on lowering the latency to deliver a better user experience with mobile game streaming.
What is 5G E? Explaining AT&T’s misleading network on smartphones
AT&T is rebranding potentially millions of 4G smartphones to make it appear as though they are on 5G networks, explaining that technologies deeply linked to faster 5G networks already exist on 4G. Competitors argue this is false advertising -- and Sprint plans to fight it in court.
AT&T jacks up DirecTV Now pricing once again in subscription tier shake-up
Current subscribers to DirecTV Now, AT&T's entry into the competitive streaming television market, will have to pay an extra $10 a month to keep using their existing plans, while new users will only have two subscription tiers to choose from going forward. At least they both include HBO!
5G at MWC 2019: All the major announcements from U.S. carriers
Mobile World Congress 2019 may have been the home of a number of smartphone announcements, but it's also where carriers gave updates on the rollout of their cutting-edge 5G networks. Here are all the big announcements from U.S. carriers at Mobile World Congress 2019.
Exclusive: Take a look at what a next-generation 5G phone will look like
5G phones will debut at MWC in mere days, but will they be clunky bricks with inefficient chips? Will they double in thickness, yet only support a few hours of connectivity? A reference design from Qualcomm looks ordinary, but it’s actually a unique glimpse of the future: This is what 5G phones will look like.
DirecTV Now sheds more than 250,000 subscribers in a single quarter
DirecTV Now's parent company, AT&T, released its subscriber numbers for the fourth quarter of 2018, and the news isn't good. The streaming service has seen a loss of more than a quarter of a million subscribers, raising questions about its ability to compete in the new world of over-the-air services.
OpenSignal report shows Verizon is still the best mobile network out there
OpenSignal has published its annual Mobile Network Experience report, highlighting different categories such as download speed and upload speed, and which among the top four carriers offers the best experience in those categories. As you might expect, Verizon holds the top spot.
5G phones make a lot of promises. Here’s what to really expect
There has been a lot of marketing copy expounding the potential benefits of 5G networks, but a lot less on the practical implications of 5G smartphones. There's a reason for that. When 5G smartphones start becoming available this year, there's good reason to pause and consider waiting before buying.
AT&T jumps the gun with deliberately misleading 5GE launch
With 5G appearing on the horizon, bringing the promise of major speed improvements to our smartphone networks, AT&T has decided to jump the gun and relabel its latest 4G tech as 5G Evolution. It’s a short-sighted move designed to fool people and it will cause confusion.
AT&T to stop selling location data to third parties after explosive report
After a report from Motherboard highlighted that carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint were selling location information to third parties and sometimes ended up in the wrong hands, all three carriers have announced that they will stop location selling practices.
AT&T 5G rollout: Everything you need to know about the faster network
Ready to experience a radical transformation in mobile communication? AT&T is launching mobile 5G in 12 cities by the end of 2018, and plans to add seven more cities to the list in 2019. If you're dying to know when you're city may be in for 5G, here's everything you need to know about the AT&T 5G rollout.
AT&T’s new three-tiered streaming service will include movies, possibly HBO
AT&T has laid out new details for its planned streaming service set to launch in 2019. The service will include three different price tiers and will stream movies, original programming, and content from its acquisition of Time Warner Inc., likely including HBO and DC superhero movies.
It’s gonna be a long, cold winter: AT&T yanks HBO from Dish and Sling TV
The blackout of HBO on AT&T rival Dish Network and its Sling TV streaming service has raised big questions about the future of television access in a rapidly consolidating media landscape. As AT&T and Dish battle it out, the real losers could be regular consumers.
There are too many streaming options, and it’s only getting worse
Streaming services are everywhere, as virtually every entertainment-adjacent company, no matter how minor the connection, tries to create its own Netflix. But with so many services vying for content, competition has never been fiercer -- and in this battle, it’s the viewers who stand to lose the most.
AT&T takes aim at Netflix with HBO-led streaming service set for a 2019 launch
HBO fans have worried for some time that parent company AT&T was looking to turn it into Netflix. But after its acquisition of Time Warner, the company is looking to instead launch a new, separate streaming service with programming from HBO, as well as Warner properties like Cartoon Network.
AT&T and Ericsson team up to improve ‘Internet of Things’ security
AT&T and Ericsson have teamed up to combat cybersecurity threats in the IoT world. With a growing number of business implementing connected devices into their day-to-day operations, steps must be taken to safeguard data and prevent malicious attacks from gaining entry into networks.