These contracts are being signed after they made a deal with a major player, like I mentioned. And this is well after they should have already started building an infrastructure.
Here's something more current: "Dish is begging authorities for help with T-Mobile’s CDMA shutdown looming"
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Most of those CDMA subscribers have been with Boost under Sprint for years without upgrading. The real problem is the incognito nature of MVNO subscriptions that make reaching out to advise subscribers of the need to upgrade difficult. If Metro, Cricket, Tracfone, etc also have any legacy CDMA subscribers, they have the same problems. I pay $25/mo for unlimited voice, text, and data including tethering and hotspot use with Visible (Verizon).
And leave a few million people high and dry with no cell service. How considerate of you. I wonder how many emergency calls would be blocked while the subscribers sorted it out.
They would just switch providers...cis going away to provide more 5g frequencies..they need to shut off 3g
There are no customer contracts involved..so you walk into wally world..go to the cell phone aisle..pick up another prepaid phone...for $20... and wala..you have service
Yep, that will work nicely for the folks trying to summon police or an ambulance after their cell service shut down. If there was a reliable way to contact the folks still using legacy phones, it would be easier to manage the problem, but prepay folks have no requirement to provide the carrier with any personal information. Prepaid phones are the ultimate incognito "burner" phones.
Sounds like Charlie has a problem...should have read the fine print...sometimes a bargain is just someone elses problem...its not that big of deal..because these people swap providers for the best price all the time
The carrier has to have their phone number....they could CALL them..but it would just be more cost effective to just shut down the service
I think it more likely that Dish/Boost will mount a promotional advertising campaign to get the remaining CDMA subscribers onboard before the cut off. There will still be some that either don't get the word or wait until the switch is done to make a change, but that's probably unavoidable.
If we wanted to maintain backward compatibility, we’d all still be on AMPS. No video. No advanced features at all. Very limited service due to massively inefficient use of bandwidth.
I don't think Dish is asking for permanent backward compatibility, just a longer transition time frame for CDMA service than T-Mobile wants.
Lots of people who have no need for LTE and would be FORCED to buy NEW phones when the CDMA shut-down is/wil be allowed at some point. At least Dish provided us hardware when they moved on to new tech, but not filthy rich and massively big wireless companies--all much larger companies than Dish, and our govt. is allowing it. Yes, Verizon, et al. have been pushing LTE and new phones to get as many customers upgraded at the customer's expense, but the planned shut-down of CDMA means that your LTE PHONE, that also relies on CDMA with NO VoLTE capability, will become a brick as far as VOICE phone call services, and YOU get to pay for new hardware that wireless companies are waiting to SELL you at your desperation prices, and the group of people most negatively affected by this are those who have the least such as low income and retired on Social Security who most often JUST want to make VOICE calls and either have no money or NO INTEREST in "upgrading" their perfectly functioning for their use CELL flip or older smart phones every 2 years because they don't have much use for Apps that depend upon the latest OS and the fast LTE network. And BTW, hardly anyone in the general public KNOW about the looming CDMA shut-down. It will be a kick in the tummy for a fair number of people.
Also, this is clearly anti-competitive behavior on T-Mobile's part. Now T-Mobile has an interest in hurting its competition that made it possible for Sprint to merge with T-Mobile. How ironic. The ONLY reason the Justice Department allowed the merger was because Dish was supposed to be a viable 4th player in the wireless business (Dish, the ONLY company willing to buy what T-Mobile was required to shed--or no Sprint/T-Mobile merger would have occurred), now T-Mobile is doing what it can to end such 4th player. All about the superior technology? Yeah, right. NOT!
Even Verizon has delayed, multiple times, its date to retire its CDMA both after having a difficult time getting people to move from CDMA to LTE and ESPECIALLY AFTER it announced plans to acquire TracFone (and all its different brands of MVNO services), the LARGEST MVNO of all and by far Verizon's LARGEST MVNO customer already operating on the Verizon network, especially on its CDMA network. So, now, Verizon is no longer in such a rush to close CDMA (it eventually will, but not at a date to hurt itself should the purchase of TracFone and all its different brands of MVNO's be approved), but T-Mobile has competition on their CDMA, so T-Mobile wants to such it down right away, and would T-Mobile be tied to a planned shut down of CDMA if it still owned Boost Mobile with 9 million subscriber? No, they would not be in such a hurry, and we all know that. What will all those Boost Mobile users do when the lights are turned off and their non-VoLTE phone no longer work for voice calls? January 2022 is NOT far away. In the meantime, they are expected to buy new phones.
The point here isn't just about whatever agreement and planned date of a shut down of CDMA, but HOW that agreement will affect the CONSUMER. This is why Verizon has delayed and delayed its CDMA shut down: because it does NOT serve their interest and would greatly negatively affect its customers. However, Boost Mobile customers are no longer "T-Mobile" customers, but are instead customers of its next level competition, so it is in T-Mobile's interest to shut down CDMA as soon as it can because it has the nice effect of greatly hurting its competition with 9 million subscribers.
There are chip shortages, cell tower backlogs/shortages, and then Covid-19 related shortages and work slow-downs. So, any claim that a company makes that it became impossible to meet a deadline has great credibility compared to T-Mobile's inflexibility of a shut-down date only because it had claims of being "transparent." Given the realities of PRE-Covid 19 wireless phone business shortages and the slow-downs and the current Covid-19 shortages and work slow-downs, it is not unreasonable for T-Mobile to set a later date for its full closure of its CDMA to no sooner than January 2023 because that is in the PUBLIC interest, not necessarily Dish's nor T-Mobile's interest, but if one of those parties benefits from the extra time, so be it, so long as it is in the PUBLIC interest.
If this new Government is really different from the previous TWO administrations (Obama's "hands off" FCC and the last Administrations "anti-consumer" FCC had much more in common than different), they should not allow the shut down of the T-Mobile CDMA because it is an anti-competitive action that harms the owners of Boot Mobile and its potentially 9 million customers, while enhancing T-Mobile's position at the expense of Boot Mobile. The FAT CATS are at it again.
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I don't understand the "Begging" headline. I don't get what they were trying to communicate with the headline other than maybe they don't think much of the 4th competitor in wireless. The letter makes, and ANY company always make "dire" cases to the government because that is your best chance of getting what you want from the government. Over the years I've read press releases or press-reported appeals to the government from the RICHEST, BIGGEST companies to always be worded to present "DIRE" consequences should the government not take their side on some matter. Usually, it is hyperbole, but in this case, I really do see it as "dire."
A much smaller company, Dish--the ONLY company willing to buy--what T-Mobile was required to sell as a condition for the Sprint/T-Mobile merger to be approved. There have been unexpected shortages and work slow-downs in the wireless phone biz BEFORE Covid-19, and then further shortages and work slow-downs compounded by current Covid-19 situation, and this creates a reality that the planned and agreed to date for CDMA shutdown is NOT REALISTIC as it may have been years ago, despite whatever "transparency". This could lead to a dire situation.
The PUBLIC interest must be put FIRST, and the planned T-Mobile CDMA shut down to affect a potential 9 million customers in someway (ending all voice call services--at the least--for a great many Boost Mobile subscriber if their phone has no VoLTE feature) simply no longer makes sense, and it is NOT in the PUBLIC interest. Another part of the PUBLIC interest is the viability of Dish as a 4th wireless company competitor and T-Mobile unreasonably sticking to the January 2022 CDMA--less than a year away--shutdown is a threat to that PUBLIC interest, as well. So, yeah, for a great many subscribers to Boost Mobile it really can be a dire situation. That is a fish that really stinks very badly.
So, yeah, companies always make the case "dire," but I can't recall any of the other "dire" appeals from much larger companies being characterized as "begging."
A much smaller company, Dish--the ONLY company willing to buy--what T-Mobile was required to sell as a condition for the Sprint/T-Mobile merger to be approved. There have been unexpected shortages and work slow-downs in the wireless phone biz BEFORE Covid-19, and then further shortages and work slow-downs compounded by current Covid-19 situation, and this creates a reality that the planned and agreed to date for CDMA shutdown is NOT REALISTIC as it may have been years ago, despite whatever "transparency". This could lead to a dire situation.
The PUBLIC interest must be put FIRST, and the planned T-Mobile CDMA shut down to affect a potential 9 million customers in someway (ending all voice call services--at the least--for a great many Boost Mobile subscriber if their phone has no VoLTE feature) simply no longer makes sense, and it is NOT in the PUBLIC interest. Another part of the PUBLIC interest is the viability of Dish as a 4th wireless company competitor and T-Mobile unreasonably sticking to the January 2022 CDMA--less than a year away--shutdown is a threat to that PUBLIC interest, as well. So, yeah, for a great many subscribers to Boost Mobile it really can be a dire situation. That is a fish that really stinks very badly.
So, yeah, companies always make the case "dire," but I can't recall any of the other "dire" appeals from much larger companies being characterized as "begging."
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Quit drinking the Apple kool-aid and thinking you need the latest phone. I bought a Motorola from AT&T Prepaid for like $30 and then stuck it to AT&T by activating it on Red Pocket instead -- oh, the joys of GSM instead of CDMA!
Boost is not the only option....just pop into dollar general...pick up a new phone...and you have service
It has to be subsidy-unlocked, though. When carriers were reluctant to release that lock, even after your contract was up, some of us actually paid a few bucks to unlock them.
I have never owned an Apple product and have no intention owning any.
Please start an education program for all those folks that are still using CDMA only phones, since they apparently haven't figured it out for themselves. Personally, two of my phones are $65 4G/VoLTE refurbs from Tracfone, and the third is a $19 4G/VoLTE phone from Visible, all using Verizon service. All three support hotspot data use, with unlimited voice/text/data on the Visible phone. I do pass the most current low cost phone info I have on to anyone I meet that still has an out of date phone on CDMA, but I can't help everyone of course. Oh, the joys of VoLTE over CDMA or GSM!
