After announcing its new entertainment hub “+play” back in March with support for many of the major streaming services, Verizon is adding another big one today. HBO Max is now part of +play to make it easier for customers to manage and save money on all their subscriptions in one place.
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Ookla is out with its latest report for mobile and fixed broadband Internet speeds in the US. Continuing a trend, T-Mobile won for best mobile performance across the board with speeds roughly 2x faster than AT&T and Verizon along with having the highest consistency and availability. Meanwhile, for fixed broadband, Verizon edged out XFINITY for the fastest service.
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After deploying its C-band 5G coverage at the beginning of the year – including some controversy with the FAA – Verizon and AT&T are looking to catch up to T-Mobile. Now a new report from Opensignal shows how much of a difference the new mid-band 5G coverage has made for performance so far.
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Update: Verizon spokesperson Richard Young commented on the situation in an email to The Verge: “Verizon is aware that bad actors are sending spam text messages to some customers which appear to come from the customers’ own number. Our team is actively working to block these messages, and we have engaged with US law enforcement to identify and stop the source of this fraudulent activity. Verizon continues to work on behalf of the customer to prevent spam texts and related activity.”
Recently, a slew of people have been receiving spam text messages about their carrier bill – myself included. The message, which says your bill has been paid, includes a link to “a little gift for you.” Most users have also reported the text message has been coming from their own personal phone number.
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Verizon is bringing its 5G Ultra Wideband network to users in more US cities this year. The telecommunications giant is in agreements with satellite providers to gain early access to the additional C-band spectrum it acquired in 2021.
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Verizon has announced today that it’s participating in the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) which helps low-income families get home and mobile internet service. With its Fios Forward ACP offering, Verizon is making discounted and free fiber optic internet available and discounting its 5G home and mobile plans too.
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Verizon hit a major goal ahead of schedule back in January when it rolled out 5G UWB coverage to 1,700 US cities covering more than 100 million people. Now Verizon has shared it should cover more than 175 million Americans with the ultra-fast 5G sooner than expected along with unveiling a new entertainment services hub called “+play.”
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Verizon last year announced that its customers with unlimited plans would have access to free Apple Arcade for 6–12 months, depending on the plan. Now the company has revealed that customers on the “5G Play More” and “5G Get More” plans will now have permanent access to Apple’s gaming platform.
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Verizon has made a major announcement about its 5G coverage today. This month, the carrier will offer ultra-fast 5G UWB connectivity to over 1,700 US cities that will cover more than 100 million people. Verizon is also improving its 5G smartphone plans with up to 6 free entertainment subscriptions and offering customers up to 50% off its 5G Home Internet.
Update 1/19: Verizon has shared with 9to5Mac this morning that the major rollout of 5G UWB to 1,700 US cities is now complete.
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Ookla, the maker of Speedtest, is out with its latest report on both mobile and fixed broadband Internet speeds in the US. Continuing a trend we’ve seen over the last year, T-Mobile came out on top for mobile performance with speeds ~2x faster than AT&T and Verizon. And for fixed broadband service, Verizon took the top spot.
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Verizon and AT&T will begin activating 5G C-Band spectrum on January 19 after weeks-long delays to accommodate the U.S. Department of Transportation. Despite these delays, eleven airline CEOs have penned a critical letter to the DOT and chief executives at both companies to describe an “economic calamity” that will occur on Wednesday.
Update: AT&T and Verizon respond. Statements below.
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To boost sales of Apple devices, Verizon and T-Mobile partnered with Apple on a rebate program in which carriers would give a discount for new devices such as the iPad Pro, iPhone 13, and Apple Watch Series 7. Unfortunately, after a lot of users complained about not getting the proper discount, carriers decided to discontinue the program.
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The degree to which mobile carriers sell your personal data to third-party companies, allowing targeted ads based on your data, is rather tricky to ascertain from their privacy policies.
If you want to play safe, however, all three of the largest US carriers offer opt-out options…
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There’s an awkward debate over 5G happening between U.S. phone carriers and the Federal Aviation Administration. The latest development comes in the form of two new airworthiness directives regarding 5G being adopted by the FAA.
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Verizon is rolling out its fast 5G Home Internet and 5G Business Internet to two more cities today with Dayton, Ohio, and Jacksonville, Florida. With the expansion, the 5G Home Internet is available in 62 cities with the business service available in 59.
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Some people are finding that an Apple Watch $100 rebate program announced by Apple is not being honored by carriers.
Bloomberg Apple correspondent Mark Gurman has gone as far as to say that the deal is “designed to not pay out” …
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Opensignal is out with its quarterly report on 5G in the US. For the October study, the findings include T-Mobile having the fastest average 5G download speeds for the fourth time in a row – now more than doubling its competitors. Meanwhile, Verizon came in on top for 5G video, games, and voice apps.
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Update: Statement from Visible added below
Multiple reports of an apparent Verizon Visible hack, with attackers changing shipping addresses, then ordering phones that are charged to payment details held for customers. Visible is a Verizon sub-brand that operates entirely online, meaning that customers cannot seek assistance in-store.
“My account got hacked and they shipped out an iPhone 13 worth $1k that was taken from my PayPal,” wrote one customer …
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On the heels of announcing a new 10-year partnership with the NFL, Verizon has also unveiled the latest US cities to gain the high-speed 5G ultrawide band and 5G Home Internet coverage. The expansion brings the former to 82 cities with the latter now available in 57.
Update 10/7: Verizon’s 5G Home Internet and 5G UWB is now available in 7 more US cities.
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Competition between carriers will drive iPhone 13 sales with aggressive deals, say industry commentators, but iPhone subsidies will end at some point.
Carriers have played a significant role in driving demand for iPhones, thanks to fighting each other for market share …
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Verizon and the NFL have announced a deal that extends their long-running partnership for 10 more years. The move will bring Verizon’s high-speed 5G ultra wideband coverage to 25 stadiums this season, power its 5G Multi-View, “Next Gen Stats,” and look to enhance the experience for fans, coaches, players, staff, and more. And along with the announcement, the carrier and the NFL are giving away tickets to the next 10 years of Super Bowl games.
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Verizon is continuing a consistent rollout of its 5G Business Internet to more cities. The high-speed service is now available in 18 more markets bringing the total to 42. Speeds go up to 400 Mbps with no data caps and Verizon is also offering businesses up to $1,500 to cover early termination fees for new customers.
Update 8/5: Five more cities now have access to Verizon’s 5G Business Internet bringing the total to 47.
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While Apple entered the 5G phone market after Samsung, the iPhone 12 line has been a major splash for 5G adoption. Competition between US carriers to win over iPhone customers with the best 5G experience is real, so we’re curious how the next generation of wireless service has been so far for readers.
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Verizon and Mastercard have announced a new partnership that hopes to advance contactless payment solutions with 5G cellular service. The collaboration is aiming to help small and medium-sized businesses and one of the most interesting possibilities is making iPhone and other smartphones contactless payment terminals without needing any external hardware.
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