iPhone Coming to T-Mobile in U.S. This Quarter?

nebo1ss said:
If I am not mistaken T Mobile is owned by the "Deutse Bundesposte" one of the largest carriers in the world. I believe Vodaphone is also a part owner. They are not about to go under. The "DB" was trying to sell T Mobile but that is a whole different scenario than going under.
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They are actually owned by Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone has no part of it. There were some internal problems for a while with T-Mobile US a few years back as far as the 3G expansion and it's profitability. The HSPA + Rollout is great but T-Mobile needs to do something to get a higher ARPU per Sub.

If they merged with sprint they could become a powerhouse and it could boost their earnings. And pretty much Sprint is the only company they could merge with because a merger between AT&T would not be approved because it would be too big.
 
wyoming still iphoneless

i just took a job in wyoming.
neither att nor tmobile has coverage in the entire state.
it's verizon all the way there.
looks like i have to unlock my phones and hope they go verizon.
 
JPR said:
If we're just adding another mediocre carrier, that's not going to bode well for the longterm success or the iPhone.
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Works for HTC and Motorola they are rolling out Android phones on Cincinatti bell,Cellular south,US Cellular,Metro PCS and Cricket. Those are about as mediocre as carriers can get.
 
There are already thousands of iPhone users on the t-mobile network. I don't think it there is a question as to whether or not iPhones will work.
 
JediZenMaster said:
They are actually owned by Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone has no part of it. There were some internal problems for a while with T-Mobile US a few years back as far as the 3G expansion and it's profitability. The HSPA + Rollout is great but T-Mobile needs to do something to get a higher ARPU per Sub.

If they merged with sprint they could become a powerhouse and it could boost their earnings. And pretty much Sprint is the only company they could merge with because a merger between AT&T would not be approved because it would be too big.
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The problem with a Sprint merger is the technical issues. They would have to drop Sprint's CDMA/WiMAX network (which has just had a lot of work done to it), drop T-Mobile's GSM/UMTS network (which is having a lot of work done to it) or try and support both, which would be a nightmare. Nowhere in there do I see the value to either company. While I'm sure it's something that's being discussed seriously, I can't see it happening.

While I would be worried it could also become a nightmare, I'd be very interested in the possibility of Apple buying T-Mobile. I'd heard the possibility of Apple just becoming a carrier by buying time from one of the bigger carriers to resell (like Virgin Mobile, Boost, etc), but this would be a much bigger undertaking.

jW
 
shanmugam said:
also another question whether Verizon will allow iPhone with out sticking "Verizon sticker" on the iPhone.

honestly, no one knows what is the negotiations between verizon and Apple; but remember verzion booted out apple first when they Apple went to ask iPhone project ...
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I think VZW ultimately will refuse the iphone because its not under their control. if sj gets mad and throws a hissyfit for whatever reason he could yank iphone and take a big chunk of iphone followers with him somewhere else. Thats why VZW created the droid brand. even the the phones change, the branding always belongs to VZW.

tmo could get it, but that just doesnt seem likely since theyre in bed with google.
 
I'm quite happy with T-Mobile. This would be great news for me, especially if they follow their general practice and let you buy the phone regardless of your voice plan (I realize a data plan would still be extra).

I hardly ever use my cell phone, so getting an expensive unlimited phone package is just silly for me - so the AT&T iPhone has always been a non-starter in my case.
 
nebo1ss said:
If I am not mistaken T Mobile is owned by the "Deutse Bundesposte" one of the largest carriers in the world. I believe Vodaphone is also a part owner. They are not about to go under. The "DB" was trying to sell T Mobile but that is a whole different scenario than going under.
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You are slightly mistaken; T-Mobile is owned by Deutsche Telekom (Deutsche Bundespost came from the same parent, but they were split out back in the late 80s? Early 90s? I think the official name at the split was Deutsche Bundespost Telekom, but it's always been separate from the post office operations). I don't think their main rival (Vodafone) owns a part of them.

T-Mobile USA was started when Deutsche Telekom bought a couple of cell phone companies in the US (VoiceStream I seem to recall being one of them).
 
JAT said:
Uh, T's smartphone data rate is $30. $15 is for standard phones with their crappy web browsing.
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i know it is currently $30 for unlimited (i think this includes some text messaging right?,)

but i am saying if they come with $15 200MB plan it would be nice...
 
Mal said:
The problem with a Sprint merger is the technical issues. They would have to drop Sprint's CDMA/WiMAX network (which has just had a lot of work done to it), drop T-Mobile's GSM/UMTS network (which is having a lot of work done to it) or try and support both, which would be a nightmare. Nowhere in there do I see the value to either company. While I'm sure it's something that's being discussed seriously, I can't see it happening.

While I would be worried it could also become a nightmare, I'd be very interested in the possibility of Apple buying T-Mobile. I'd heard the possibility of Apple just becoming a carrier by buying time from one of the bigger carriers to resell (like Virgin Mobile, Boost, etc), but this would be a much bigger undertaking.

jW
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Yeah the network intergration would be a nightmare and sprint is still recovering from the Nextel iden mess to this day. But then again there is chatter that Clear may switch over to LTE around 2012 .I can't picture Apple becoming a carrier Steve has said before that wasn't something he wanted to do.

Also it would upset their any future carrier relationships and if you look at the track record of MVNO's it's not good with the exception of VM and boost.

Remember ESPN mobile and AMPD mobile? They ended badly and while i have faith that apple could do good in that arena it's a bad time and will be a bad time for the next few years to launch an MVNO and if it failed it would hurt apple's stock price.

But then again anythings possible ;)
 
Mal said:
The problem with a Sprint merger is the technical issues.
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It's not like Sprint doesn't have experience juggling two disparate network technologies, though. Look at the Nextel merger. Not that I think this scenario is at all realistic. Just sayin'. Sprint doesn't have enough money to buy T-Mobile and mothball their arcane CDMA network. And T-Mobile's GSM system is nowhere near good enough.
 
ChrisTX said:
What does that even mean anyways? You either like the iPhone or you don't. The only people that seem to be bitching are the windows/android fandoys. It gets dumber by the minute.
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it means that, while he likes apple products, he doesn't blindly support or endorse ALL apple products or Steve Jobs.

The kool aid comment is in reference to the Jim Jones Jonestown massacre, where people drank cyanide laden kool aid in a mass suicide after blindly following Jim Jones and his beliefs.
 
sziehr said:
Go out of business under that name they are thought to be gobbled up by say sprint or vzw. They are not loosing money like sprint was.
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Its probably been corrected by now, but I can't help chime in.

No no no. T-Mobile is not a small company. That are not in trouble like Sprint. They are based in Germany and are one of the largest carriers in the world.

T-Mobile in the US is having trouble getting traction. T-Mobile, being much larger, is rumored to buy Sprint as a way to make a big splash in the US. I think its a good idea and best chance for both of them in the US. Worst case, T-Mobile could simply close their US operations.
 
nebo1ss said:
If I am not mistaken T Mobile is owned by the "Deutse Bundesposte" one of the largest carriers in the world. I believe Vodaphone is also a part owner. They are not about to go under. The "DB" was trying to sell T Mobile but that is a whole different scenario than going under.
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This is incorrect on several levels.

First of all, there is no Deutsche Bundesposte any more. It was split into three divisions (postal service, telecommunications, and postal bank) in the late Eighties and privatized in the mid Nineties. Today the German government owns less than a third of Deutsche Telekom.

T-Mobile USA has no affiliation with Vodafone; it is wholly owned by Deutsche Telekom.

However, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture between Verizon and Vodafone.
 
justareader said:
I just moved from TMobile after being with them for 6 years. Although I did not have issues with their network where I live, I did encounter black holes ( no signal ) in a lot of places where I traveled.

In terms of spread, I would say At&T has a wider geographic coverage however TMobile easily is ahead in all other areas like customer service, no call drops etc. Even account management on their website is far more advanced than At&T

Just my 2 cents !
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I just switched from T-Mobile to AT&T last month on iPhone 4 launch day. I was ready for my first smartphone and after looking at Tmo's unimpressive selection, I decided iPhone was the one I wanted. Always had good service there. So far, no problems with AT&T (knock on wood)...
 
Sinfire said:
There are already thousands of iPhone users on the t-mobile network. I don't think it there is a question as to whether or not iPhones will work.
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Edge works, but 3G does not.

Also, T-Mobile's coverage isn't the greatest in my area. When sitting at home I usually get "No Service" and every once in a while I get one bar.
 
JPR said:
If we're just adding another mediocre carrier, that's not going to bode well for the longterm success or the iPhone.
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If you look at the most recent Consumer Reports survey of major U.S. mobile operators, they are all mediocre. Verizon came out on top, but none of them scored well. In addition, Verizon was just a couple of points higher, barely the threshold of statistical significance (according to CR).

To put it another way, Verizon is a 37" giant in a land of three-foot midgets.

That said, if you read anything about Apple's most recent quarterly results (yesterday), they demolished analysts' expectations, particularly gross margin. Much of their revenue is from international sales and many non-U.S. iPhone carriers have much better networks.

Ultimately, it depends on the individual user and where he/she is located. I get great T-Mobile reception both at home and work; AT&T's reception in both locations is abysmal. That may not be the case for someone in, oh, let's say Houston.

Adding additional carriers gives customers more choices. Apple receives less benefit by granting carrier exclusivity these days, which is why they have moved to multiple carriers in many non-American markets (Canada, Australia, UK and others). If Apple is releasing their latest handset in a large market like the UK with multiple carriers, this pretty much proves that there is no longer any credible reason for exclusivity elsewhere.
 
cvaldes said:
That said, if you read anything about Apple's most recent quarterly results (yesterday), they demolished analysts' expectations, particularly gross margin. Much of their revenue is from international sales and many non-U.S. iPhone carriers have much better networks.
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also US is the bigger in size, next may be China, India and Russia (considering area size and population) ... no matter what US going to have some dead spot not covered by any of the telecom operators
 
I've been with Tmo for two years and don't have much bad to say about them. There are a couple of black holes on interstates around here, but I've never dropped a call outside of a moving car. Support was pretty cool the one time I needed to call them, too. I'd be up for this.

That said, I'm not holding my breath on this one.

Tmo really does suck in terms of upgrades, too. My Bb keyboard is fragged, but their "upgrades" always give me a new appreciation for what I have.
 
shanmugam said:
also US is the bigger in size, next may be China, India and Russia (considering area size and population) ... no matter what US going to have some dead spot not covered by any of the telecom operators
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All carriers have dead spots.

It's worth pointing out that we still spend a lot and don't get much value. Sweden's population density is fairly similar to that of the United States and they get better value (both cellular as well as broadband Internet).
 
cvaldes said:
All carriers have dead spots.

It's worth pointing out that we still spend a lot and don't get much value. Sweden's population density is fairly similar to that of the United States and they get better value (both cellular as well as broadband Internet).
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Their government has the backwards, outdated notion of protecting customers from business.
 
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