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T-Mobile Launches 'Scam Shield' to Protect Subscribers From Scam Calls and Robocalls
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Thank you so much for explaining this in such great detail, not sure how I could have lived in the US all my life and been in the tech industry for decades and not come across this startling info. Do you think you could explain to me how math works, next? I mean, who even understands what numbers are? Also, how do they get the numbers into the computer? It’s all so confusing!
Wrong. US cellular licenses have buildout requirements.
Construction Requirements by Service
td { border:1px solid; vertical-align:top; padding:2px; } Land Mobile Radio Services (Private and Commercial) Radio Service/Frequency Band Construction/Coverage Requirements Radio Service Code 47 C.F.R. Part Method of Notification 220 MHz (Public Safety) Construct and place into operation...
wow, that's crazy how much info they have. But then again, you're right. it makes total sense.
Wrong. US cellular licenses have buildout requirements.
Construction Requirements by Service
td { border:1px solid; vertical-align:top; padding:2px; } Land Mobile Radio Services (Private and Commercial) Radio Service/Frequency Band Construction/Coverage Requirements Radio Service Code 47 C.F.R. Part Method of Notification 220 MHz (Public Safety) Construct and place into operation...www.fcc.gov
Spending more money to follow the letter than the spirit is not a defense. Oh, and often they don't even do it. Just ask Verizon. Better yet, ask the people of New Jersey.
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I was surprised too.
Since when did the major carriers start charging for caller ID?!? Hasn’t that been a basic feature of cell phone service for decades?
"Fewer spam calls. Period."
Why do americans always say "period"? What does female bodily functions have to do with the price of fish?
Why do americans always say "period"? What does female bodily functions have to do with the price of fish?
Considering many plans offer unlimited calling in the US there are no charges for incoming calls; and there is no extra charge to call a mobile number, unlike say the EU. The US was far more expensive years ago but based on my experience that is no longer the case. Somethngs are better, some worse. For example, in the US, you can roam anywhere and not worry if you use your phone for months on end outside your home area, and not worry about getting questioned and additional charges; unlike the EU.
I wish they charged for incoming calls to mobile phones if you were using a non POTS/mobile phone; it would end a lot of spam calls if they were charged per connection, even if it is voicemail.
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Some people do.
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I don'y know. Maybe it for the same reason Germans say "Oder." and Weiners "Oida."
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There’s this odd thing with language, where sometimes the same word can have different meanings. “Period” has a whole bunch of different meanings. It’s a little weird that you would think the only meaning is the one connected with a menstrual cycle. Anyway, one of the accepted definitions in American English is the punctuation mark at the end of a sentence, the little dot that sits on the baseline. I hear that in some other variants of English that’s called a “full stop”, which sounds funny to anyone in the US.
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If you have an iPhone, you can select "Silence Unknown Callers" from phone settings. If the caller isn't on your contact list, the call rolls to voicemail without ringing the phone. Robocalls won't leave voicemails.
That's too restrictive. I get some legitimate calls that aren't from saved numbers. For example, while job hunting; food delivery folks letting you know they're here; and I actually just a call from my insurance broker about a small thing.
I like the idea that Google Voice does with call screening. It's an inconvenience, but it seems to be the best balance of fighting robo calls while letting through legit calls.
I know that T-mobile may have improved for you. But where I live it still sucks (very spotty service). Verizon is the only carrie that works in places that I need it too where I live. Just can't beat Verizon in rural areas.
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No lol. What you might be thinking of as caller ID is juts the fact you have the number saved in your phone so it shows the name. If you don't pay for caller ID it just shows the number calling.
Don’t know where you are from, but over here in the Netherlands you can have unlimited minutes, texts and data for €35 per month. When you get to other EU-countries, you are usually still unlimited, but when you get over 20Gb per month, you get a warning and need to send a text/app message that you want to continue using it and you get something like another 5Gb. This way they prevent huge data-consumption that is often costing the carriers serious money.
In the US one line T-mobile magenta will cost you $70. I know this is apple’s and pears, but my point is that the US is not necessarily cheaper.
On topic: we have a “call-me-not-register”. It’s a database that is paid for by government and marketeers. You register your phone numbers in there and any marketeer is forbidden by law to call those numbers. If you do call, get reported and after investigation found guilty, you’ll get serious fines like a tens of euro’s per call. Doesn’t sound like a lot, but it does add up. Highest was to a company that was being smart: they devided different dummy limiteds that went bankrupt before the fine was even issued. So the UBO-mother-company got fined, 4x €850.000. They went bankrupt, together with a personal bankruptcy for the owners/board-members.
TL;DR
I’m not convinced the US is by definition cheaper;
There are possibly better & free solutions to the huge annoyance that robo/marketing calls are.
Agreed.
I don't want to create a contact entry for every legitimate callers. If you ever do job interviews over the phone, your phone would never ring.
What I want is more nuanced filter:
- Ring known callers
- Ring family member's known callers (via iCloud Family Sharing)
- Ring all verified callers (STIR/SHAKEN), regardless of next 3 settings
- Ring international callers
- Ring unknown callers with same area code
- Ring unknown callers with similar phone number (e.g., if your phone number is 555-123-4567, allow 555-123-9876)
- Ring all callers
Cheaper depends of course on your needs. Visible (VzW) is $50 for unlimited with no roaming caps and Tmob Essentials $60. The real savings is if you have multiple lines which brings the costs down to $25 or so per line. you travel alot not having to worry about extra data limits or costs is worthwhile. If you don't, services like Boost are around the same price as you quote, also unlimited but often tied to a parent carriers network to get unlimited high speed data.
For me, Tmobs free internationalmtexts and lowspeed data is a real moneysaver, but my usage patterns are not that common.
It is a bit Apple to Pears considering the different markets and usage patterns, making a direct cost comparison tough.
The US has a similar setup except the law allows individuals to sue for violations.
True in both cases.
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Unless you feel because you actaukky have to pay for a phone line you are charged fori coming calls, then yes, everyone who pays for a phone line pays for incoming calls; only those who get service for free don't, but TINSTAAFL.
Paying for incoming calls comes from the old days of minute limits and every minute used, in or out, counted against your plan. In the days of maybe 60 minutes per month that mattered.
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Depends on the rural area too of course - I've had good results with TMO in northeast GA.
But yes, gotta choose the service that covers where you need coverage.
We switched over to TMO a couple years ago on the 55+ plan - two lines unlimited for $70/mo including all taxes and fees. Extra $10 for LTE my Apple Watch - again including taxes/fees. Total bill $80/mo.
Fellow American here. I, for one, appreciate posts like the one you mention. I think in general Americans should be made more aware of how much we’re being taken advantage of by major companies. I used to buy into the fairy tale that we have the best of everything (“because innovation and free markets”) but when you hear enough true stories from abroad you start to expect more. I think if more of us did we’d be able to demand better.
Scam Shield went live today. Make sure you have downloaded the update if you already had Name ID installed, which it replaced.
If you are interested in getting a proxy phone number, talk to staff through the T-Mobile app. Make sure you have installed the Digits app on all devices you want to use to access the proxy number. You will be asked to confirm a text code that you aere sent. You will then be prompted to enter a credit card for identity / security purposes, even though there isn’t a charge for the proxy number. Do not tick the credit card box option to use a future payment, unless you reallly do want that. All I did was click the second box agreeing to terms.
It can take up to 24 hrs for your proxy number order to be processed. You won’t know what the actual number is until it shows up in the Digits app.
The proxy line comes with unlimited messaging and minutes. However, it does not support short SMS messaging from your bank with verification code or from Uber etc.
If you are interested in getting a proxy phone number, talk to staff through the T-Mobile app. Make sure you have installed the Digits app on all devices you want to use to access the proxy number. You will be asked to confirm a text code that you aere sent. You will then be prompted to enter a credit card for identity / security purposes, even though there isn’t a charge for the proxy number. Do not tick the credit card box option to use a future payment, unless you reallly do want that. All I did was click the second box agreeing to terms.
It can take up to 24 hrs for your proxy number order to be processed. You won’t know what the actual number is until it shows up in the Digits app.
The proxy line comes with unlimited messaging and minutes. However, it does not support short SMS messaging from your bank with verification code or from Uber etc.
