Archives
Wireless spectrum is like real estate – and there is only so much to go around. When analog television was phased out for digital television in the United States in 2009, all the analog channels were shuffled to new digital homes. This freed up UHF TV channels 52-69 (698MHz – 806MHz) for cellular data use – a […]
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler fired a parting shot at Verizon and AT&T yesterday – with his agency issuing an in depth analysis finding that the “free” video streaming service offerings from Go90 (Verizon) and DirecTV (AT&T) violate the FCC’s network neutrality rules. The network neutrality rules were designed to keep carriers from playing […]
2016 has been a good year for staying connected. It has never been easier to get online in more places than ever – but the number of options and the tradeoffs between them remains as overwhelming as always. Things may be getting faster, data more bountiful, and connectivity better overall – but the world of RV Mobile […]
AT&T on Monday afternoon announced its long awaited new online version of its DirecTV satellite TV service: DirecTV Now. Now at last RVers can stream 100+ channels of DirecTV content without needing to worry about signing long-term contracts, or carting around and aiming a portable satellite dish. And if you are on AT&T cellular – you can […]
It started just over two weeks ago in Cleveland – with local reporter Teresa Dixon Murray noting in her Money Matters column that her family Verizon account was showing mysterious data usage in the middle of the night, and she asked others to chime in if they had also noticed any other strange Verizon issues. She heard from […]
AT&T late last week announced a major new initiative for DirecTV customers likely to be of interest to some RVers: Data Free TV: Video streaming that does not count against your monthly usage limits! Not to be outdone – Verizon also announced that it was sponsoring the NFL Mobile App to let Verizon customers: “Watch live local and […]
Today the US Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Federal Communications Commission, agreeing that the FCC has authority to regulate broadband internet providers, including mobile internet companies. This means that the Network Neutrality rules that went into effect last June are likely here to stay. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler was thrilled to see […]
In May of 2014, new FCC regulations controlling the design of cellular boosters went into effect – obsoleting all boosters currently on the market. One of the most contentious parts of the new rules was a requirement that all boosters must be registered with the cellular carriers they are being used with. Some RVers objected […]
The FCC yesterday unveiled a new standardized labeling scheme for mobile and fixed broadband service that aims to make it easy for consumers to compare offerings between different providers, and to fully understand just what a given plan costs and provides The labels look (intentionally) like the standardized nutrition labeling found on food. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler […]
The mainstream press has been abuzz this week with news stories about fifth generation (5G) cellular “coming soon”, thanks in large part to an AT&T announcement that it will begin testing 5G technologies in Austin later this year. For some reason the AT&T story went viral and we have been getting a ton of questions about it, though […]
Earlier than many expected – an app update today revealed that Verizon has decided to test the limits of the FCC’s network neutrality rules by making its own go90 video video service free to stream over LTE – without burning any data. This of course gives the otherwise unremarkable go90 app a huge competitive advantage […]
Verizon today announced a sponsored data program called “FreeBee Data” that will allow for participating companies to sponsor websites, apps, downloads, and video clips. Think of it like a toll free 1-800 number for the mobile web – if you see a site or a link tagged with Verizon’s FreeBee logo, your usage will be […]
2015 has been a fabulous year for keeping connected on the road – with technology options, speeds, and coverage all getting better than ever. This is our end-of-year quick update on the state of the RV mobile internet world – chronicling some of the major changes that happened in 2015, and giving a glimpse at what we’re most looking forward […]
AT&T has at last received FCC and DOJ approval for its $48.5 billion dollar acquisition of satellite TV giant DirecTV, announcing yesterday that the deal had closed after over a year of government scrutiny and negotiations. AT&T’s wired U-Verse TV and DirecTV satellite subscribers add up to 26 million customers – making the newly combined company the largest pay TV […]
A year ago Sprint introduced “The Fairness Algorithm” that would slow speeds down for customers who were amongst the top 5% of data users on the Sprint network – but only when connected to congested towers. This was in sharp contrast to AT&T’s throttling policy at the time that slowed down unlimited data users who used […]
The FCC announced today that it is planning to fine AT&T a hefty $100 million as punishment for AT&T’s misleading claims around its “unlimited” data plans. Even though AT&T has not offered new customers unlimited data plans since 2007, many existing customers have stuck with AT&T to keep these perceived valuable grandfathered plans active. But few customers ever […]
Maximum Signal announced today (5/18/2015) that it has at last won its lengthy fight with the FCC to bring the Max-Amp 5-band cellular booster to market – with an official “Grant Of Equipment Authorization” being issued today We’ve had the Max-Amp on our radar for a very long time – it has been “a few weeks away from […]