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11 Feb 2012 15:04

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Politics, Tech: The official 3G dead-zone map, courtesy of the FCC

The Official 3G Deadzone Map, Courtesy of the FCC

  • FCC announces creation of mobility fund: In a press release Friday morning, the FCC reaffirmed its commitment to increasing broadband and mobile coverage in rural areas. The agency announced the creation of a new Mobility Fund, a new addition to the Connect America Fund, created to “accelerate our nation’s ongoing efforts to close gaps in mobile wireless service.” Included in the press release was a reminder that the agency will soon host a $300 million reverse auction, with the winner receiving $300 million to provide rural broadband coverage. They also revealed an interactive map of the nation’s worst coverage areas, created with online map-making tool MapBoxsource

17 Apr 2010 17:26

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Tech: Psst: Sprint drops hint to iPad users to skip the 3G, go to 4G

  • With all the network problems AT&T is famous for having, getting a 4G wireless router from Sprint actually seems like a pretty appealing alternative to getting the 3G iPad. (Wired gave the Sprint Overdrive a very favorable review last month, going so far as to suggest you could probably get by with it, an iPod Touch and VoIP, and have better service than Apple’s AT&T miserableness.) It’s a good thing that Sprint has even gotten a case together that makes it even easier to switch. Excuse us while we briefly consider this brilliant idea. source

05 Mar 2010 11:09

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Tech: The iPad finally has a (partial) release date (for the Wi-Fi edition)

  • wi-fi The wireless-only version of the iPad will go on sale in the U.S. April 3, and on presale next week. (Hooray!)
  • 3G The mobile-enabled iPad (with monthly data charges) will hit stores in late April in the U.S., with no presale date set yet.
  • world Worldwide, expect a late-April release date, with international prices announced (finally!) in early April. source

08 Feb 2010 10:35

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Tech: Don’t think you’re shoving your iPhone’s SIM in your iPad

  • great The iPad’s 3G models will be sold reportedly unlocked, which means you should be able to use someone other than AT&T if you want.
  • terrible However, the iPad uses a new micro SIM format, which is incompatible with the iPhone. Well, that’s just friggin’ lame. Bad Apple! source

29 Jan 2010 14:13

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Tech: AT&T isn’t too scared of the big, bad iPad’s effect on its network

  • We’ll have to monitor this usage as the device gets out there. And if it’s substantially different, we’ll adapt to it. But right now, I think the economics will be very positive because it will be a very low-cost device for us – no cost, really, in terms of acquisition.
  • AT&T CFO Rick Lindner • On what he thinks iPad usage patterns will be like. Essentially, he thinks people will mostly use the iPad on wi-fi, and that that $30/month people pay will be mostly pure profit for AT&T. In other, less douchey news, AT&T plans on spending $2 billion to boost up infrastructure this year to make 3G speeds reasonable in markets like New York City and San Francisco, where iPhone uptake is really high. Hopefully they don’t screw it up, like everything else since getting the exclusive iPhone contract. source

18 Nov 2009 10:54

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Tech: Daily poll: On Verizon and AT&T’s laughable coverage lawsuit

  • Truth in advertising? Who really knows. But today, a federal court hears arguments in a case that debates whether Verizon’s being truthful about its 3G coverage in maps. The claim, of course, is put up by AT&T. To undercut both companies, we’ve created a poll clearly designed to joke on both of them. Put your little selector whereever. We don’t care. source

23 Jul 2009 09:47

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Biz, Tech: AT&T’s customer base is huge thanks to the iPhone, but it costs ’em

  • +3.5 million number of new 3G customers the wireless company got last quarter thanks to the iPhone – and 1.5 million new overall customers
  • -15% profits decline in profits thanks to the high cost of subsidizing the phones – a cost they will get back, eventually, thanks to those giant bills source
 

19 Jun 2009 16:13

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Tech: We owe AT&T an apology for that iPhone tethering thing

  • There are a lot of reports out there, but wanted you guys to know that rumors of $55 tethering plan on top of an unlimited data plan are false. We’ll have more news to share when the iPhone tethering option is closer to launch.
  • AT&T • In a statement on their Facebook page. They claim that the iPhone won’t have a super-expensive tethering plan, as some sites (uh, us) reported. However, in case anyone’s wondering, the simple tethering-enabling hack works – and well, too, with speeds that compare favorably to wi-fi connections. It’s freaking fast. • source

18 Jun 2009 20:21

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Tech: Available options for enabling tethering on your AT&T iPhone

  • waiting According to The Unofficial Apple Weblog (where friend of the site Megan Lavey works), AT&T plans to offer a super-expensive $55 data plan to allow you to use the iPhone’s 3G on your laptop. Laaaaaaaaame.
  • hacking According to 9to5Mac (where, sadly, no friends of the site work), you can hack your 3.0-upgraded iPhone using some simple non-jailbreaking steps to enable tethering in five minutes. Guess which one we’re doing?

10 May 2009 21:16

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Tech: Wi-Fi anywhere: David Pogue geeks out about the MiFi

We’re convinced Pogue has the coolest job ever. He gets to play with these neat new toys – in this case a tiny 3G Wi-Fi router. source