cellular

T-Mobile leases 7,200 cell towers to Crown Castle for $2.4B

T-Mobile USA has agreed to sell the rights to its network of cellular towers to Crown Castle for $2.4 billion as it looks to focus on its core operations.

T-Mobile has been shopping its 7,200 cell towers around for several years, seeing it as an easy way to bring in some badly needed cash that can be funneled into its network upgrade. The carrier has already committed to spending $4 billion over the next three years as it works to build out its 4G LTE network.

Under the agreement announced today, Austin, Texas-based Crown Castle will operate the … Read more

U.S. Cellular adds Samsung Metrix 4G to smartphone roster

U.S. Cellular today announced its latest smartphone, the Android-powered Samsung Galaxy Metrix 4G. Available online for $179 after a $100 mail-in rebate, the handset arrives in retail stores on August 25.

In an effort to draw attention to its growing 4G LTE network, U.S. Cellular is offering a discounted price for consumers who live within its regional footprint. What's more, those markets expected to see 4G coverage by the end of 2012 get a sweeter deal, a $129 price tag after a $100 mail-in rebate. Sounds good, but what do you get for the money?

Details for … Read more

AT&T's FaceTime limits might conflict with FCC rules

Some people have raised red flags regarding AT&T's limits on the use of FaceTime on the upcoming iOS, alleging the restrictions could go against Federal Communications Commission rules.

"Over-the-top communications services like FaceTime are a threat to carriers' revenue, but they should respond by competing with these services and not by engaging in discriminatory behavior," senior staff attorney at Public Knowledge John Bergmayer said in a statement. Public Knowledge is a nonprofit organization that works on Internet law.

The "discriminatory behavior" that Bergmayer is alluding to is AT&T's newly announced … Read more

Pwned or paranoid? Phone weirdness at Defcon

Every year at Defcon there are rumors of some network being hacked. It would be unusual if such tales didn't crop up at the world's largest hacker conference. But this year there were reports from a number of credible sources of strange behavior on phones -- reports that had people more paranoid than normal.

Here's what people said they were seeing last weekend, along with some possible explanations for the scenarios:

Voice mail messages that led to unknown numbers instead of to the standard phone number that points to the user's automated voice message recovery system.… Read more

U.S. Cellular to sell Motorola Electrify 2 and Defy XT

U.S. Cellular just announced plans to offer two new Android smartphones, the slim Motorola Electrify 2 and rugged Defy XT on August 1 and August 3.

The Electrify 2, a follow-up to the original Electrify will ship running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, and 4.3-inch LCD screen featuring Motorola's ColorBoost enhancements. … Read more

Get to know America's carriers, big and small

How well do you know your carrier options?

Maybe very well, if you happen to follow the ins and outs of changing plans and perks. However, you may not be aware that Cricket has a roaming agreement with Sprint, or that Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile now have 4G.

If you're a beginner, or just happen to enjoy carrier trivia, check out this quick guide to carriers.

How to get access to Verizon's 3G network at big discounts

Looking to slash your smartphone bill? Prepaid services that resell service from the nationwide carriers at big discounts may be your answer.

There are now several prepaid services available that resell nationwide carriers' 3G wireless services. The benefits to these plans are huge. Customers can still get access to hot new smartphones and reliable networks with nationwide coverage at a fraction of the price that they'd pay subscribing to a service from AT&T or Verizon Wireless. Of course, there are a few downsides to these prepaid services. Still, as I explain in this edition of Ask Maggie, … Read more

Hackers build private 'Ninja Tel' phone network at Defcon

Hackers who spent their teen years phone-phreaking -- breaking into telephone networks and making free calls -- have created their own GSM network at Defcon and are using creative and silly apps on highly customized Android phones.

The Ninja hacker group is giving the phones away to people who have contributed to the community, and to their lucky friends. The phones and accompanying lanyards serve as "badges" that provide entrance to the annual Ninja party tonight. (Defcon attendees can also get in by donating blood or signing up to donate bone marrow, or donating money to the Electronic … Read more

Missing the flip phone

This week I stepped back into the land of reviewing to test the Samsung Chrono 2 for U.S. Cellular. And, wow, what a trip it was.

With its basic calling features and retro design, the Chrono 2 took me back to a cell phone era that greeted me when I first joined CNET almost nine years ago. Before Android and the iPhone democratized the smartphone, most of us used a handset like the Chrono 2. You may have had a camera or Bluetooth, and you probably toyed with a wireless browser, but mostly we used the handsets for making … Read more

HTC One V lands at Virgin Mobile, U.S. Cellular

HTC today confirmed U.S availability plans for its One V smartphone.

The Android handset is now on sale with Virgin Mobile for $199 without a contract. It will come to U.S. Cellular on July 3 for $129 with service and later to a selection of smaller regional wireless providers that are part of the Associated Carrier Group.

First announced in February at Mobile World Congress, the One V is a lower-end version of HTC's flagship phone, the One X. Features include Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, a 3.7-inch screen and 5-megapixel camera, a single-core 1GHz … Read more