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Sprint Takes Out Full Page NYT Ad Calling Out AT&T for Misleading 5GE Branding

This really raises two questions:

A: What he hell was company management thinking they could do this and have it fly?

B: How the hell can the FTC be so badly asleep at the wheel that they didn't strike this down immediately?

Actually, come to think of it, question B does kind of answer A, so it's just one question.
 
curtvaughan said:
Previous to Pai my understanding is that the FCC was at least open to implementation of neutrality rules, basically by reclassifying internet providers as common carriers, as landline phone companies and utility providers have been for many decades.

https://www.electronicproducts.com/...ality_and_the_Internet_as_common_carrier.aspx
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That would be a horrific outcome IMHO. Telephones are old. Internet is new. Treat them differently (as we actually are) resulting in massive expansion, new development, inventions, heck, even profits. There's your taxes!
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curtvaughan said:
Previous to Pai my understanding is that the FCC was at least open to implementation of neutrality rules, basically by reclassifying internet providers as common carriers, as landline phone companies and utility providers have been for many decades.

https://www.electronicproducts.com/...ality_and_the_Internet_as_common_carrier.aspx
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This was an Obama era suggestion. Max regulation, max taxation, max governmental involvement. Check my .sig. :D
 
Rocketman said:
That would be a horrific outcome IMHO. Telephones are old. Internet is new. Treat them differently (as we actually are) resulting in massive expansion, new development, inventions, heck, even profits. There's your taxes!
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It all depends upon your perspective of how critical communications, transportation, and power utilities should be implemented. The need for regulation of such critical services led to the creation of interstate freeways and regulation of air/rail transportation, regulation of landlines, and of critical utilities for power. If not for such regulations, services for rural areas and places with low population density would be at the mercy of providers, who would have no economic/profit incentive to offer reasonable services at affordable price point. The internet is not new, though newer than the days of copper. Widespread internet usage has been going on since the early 1990s, before which only the military (.mil), government (.gov), and higher education/research facilities (.edu) had much access to the old Darpa/Arpanet. IMO, once the shift was made to open up the internet towidespread commercial (.com) usage, the internet became more of a common carrier in function, and its providers need to be subject to regulation. You are correct that "telephones are old" - landlines have been largely supplanted by cellular / fiber optic networks. And yes, it was once thought to be a worthwhile use of taxes to regulate such critical communications. That's about all I can say about it, as it becomes more of a political topic - unrestricted capitalism where profit is the sole motivation for service vs. regulation of such services in the name of the common (national, international) good.
 
Clearly misleading on AT&Ts part. Most non-nerds would think, "Wow, I got a free speed upgrade." Exactly what AT&T wants. Shame on them and Apple for letting them get away with it.
 
Calling out Fake News in one of the biggest Fake News papers has to be some sort of genius inception type marketing.
 
fairuz said:
Sprint: The carrier where you still can't do a phone call while using cell data, like it's 2007 again.
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is that really true?! i remember when my vz friends had that problem, but it was years ago that they took care of that. i can't believe someone is still experiencing this...
 
alexandr said:
is that really true?! i remember when my vz friends had that problem, but it was years ago that they took care of that. i can't believe someone is still experiencing this...
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Only select phones in select areas can. They have their own tricks.
 
MacRumors said:



Sprint on Sunday took out a full-page ad in The New York Times to call out AT&T for its "5GE" network labeling, which actually offers 4G speeds rather than 5G speeds.

In the letter [PDF], Sprint calls AT&T's 5G Evolution "fake 5G" and clarifies that AT&T is not, in fact, offering faster speeds than other carriers who deliver the same 4G LTE advancements that AT&T has enabled such as three-way carrier aggregation, 256 QAM, and 4x4 MIMO.

att-5ge-iphone.jpg
AT&T first started upgrading customer iPhones to read "5GE" in the iOS 12.2 beta, and the misleading branding will become much more widespread when iOS 12.2 sees a public release.

Devices in areas with AT&T's "upgraded" LTE will display "5GE" instead of LTE, but it's not real 5G. There is no iPhone that exists right now that is capable of connecting to a 5G network, nor does AT&T offer a true 5G network at this time.

AT&T has defended itself by claiming that 5G Evolution is the "first step on the road to 5G," but customers and other carriers are not impressed with its misleading branding that has the potential to confuse customers when actual 5G networks become available. AT&T has, however, claimed that customers "love" the 5GE branding because they "want and deserve to know" when "better speeds" are available.
Sprint has done more than just take out an ad against AT&T. In early February, Sprint filed a lawsuit in federal court against AT&T in an attempt to prevent AT&T from using the 5GE labeling on AT&T smartphones. Sprint says AT&T is damaging the consumer reputation and understanding of true 5G and potentially hurting Sprint's 5G launch this summer in nine metro areas.

True 5G smartphones won't be coming until later in 2019, and the 5G networks to support them also won't be available until later in the year. Rumors suggest Apple isn't planning to introduce 5G connectivity on its iPhones until 2020 at the earliest, so 5G is not a technology iPhone users will be able to take advantage of in 2019.

Article Link: Sprint Takes Out Full Page NYT Ad Calling Out AT&T for Misleading 5GE Branding
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Good.. they did they same thing with 4G / HSPA+
 
curtvaughan said:
It all depends upon your perspective of how critical communications, transportation, and power utilities should be implemented. The need for regulation of such critical services led to the creation of interstate freeways and regulation of air/rail transportation, regulation of landlines, and of critical utilities for power.
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All of which suck and are languishing for lack of repair and reinvestment.

The internet on the other hand, not so much.

If it ain't broke don't fix it. (Sounds errilie like Trump's tweet today re Boeing software complexity) :D
 
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First they decide to redefine what the word "unlimited" means. Now they just outright lie about their speed/network/coverage. Shame on you AT&T, you're like the Donald Trump of phone companies.
 
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So glad to be done with ATT (though my current carrier is owned by them, but I pay $103 less a month for the same network). I call that winning!
 
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Rocketman said:
Apple doesn't even do 5G yet and won't for more than a year from now. By supporting a proprietary AT&T protocol, they are furthering the partnership they have had since iPhone 1. Interestingly the ONLY folks impacted by this are AT&T customers. If you aren't one or are not becoming one soon, this simply does not apply to you at all.
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Horse feathers. There's absolutely nothing proprietary about it. It's just faster LTE.
 
I had Sprint in 1999 and they were terrible. Switched to AT&T and stayed with them for something like 18 years until they cut my grandfathered unlimited data plan and raised prices. I grew to despise them. Switched back to Sprint against my better judgement but they've actually been great! And they cut my phone bill in half. They don't charge extra for tethering, either, like AT&T does. So occasionally when my Comcast internet goes down I can continue working by using my iPhone as a hotspot. Wifi calling works really well, too. I don't get the best 4G LTE signal in my apartment so I just use wifi instead.

I know I sound like a Sprint commercial but I'm just really surprised how much their service and customer service has improved.
 
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When I saw AT&T's ads, I knew there was something fishy about them. Glad to see Sprint fact-checking AT&T's claims.
 
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This is just as bad as Tesla saying the model 3 costs $25k with your added gasoline savings!!!
 
ATT takes the majority of the blame as they are trying to engage the public and customers into believing that they have a form or type of 5G SHAME, SHAME , SHAME. (Yes I’m screaming)
 
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