T-Mobile is making serious inroads in the home broadband market with its own-branded 5G Home Internet service and, more recently, the launch of Mint Mobile MINTernet. Now, the company is refreshing its 5G Home Internet service with new tiers and hardware upgrades for new customers.

• New 5G Home Internet tiers and Wi-Fi 7 at T-Mobile

Previously, T-Mobile offered a single tier of service, with unlimited 5G data at $50 per month with AutoPay. T-Mobile is now calling this plan Rely, and it comes with what T-Mobile calls a “high-performance gateway,” which we’re assuming is still the Sercomm TMO-G4AR or equivalent hardware. The company says this plan offers “fast speeds,” but it actually imposes artificial speed limits.

There are also two new tiers: Amplified and All-In. Amplified costs $60 per month and includes a new Wi-Fi 7 gateway (it’s not specified whether it’s a dual- or tri-band setup). T-Mobile says that this gateway gives you access to its fastest 5G internet speeds (30 percent faster median speeds versus Rely).

The All-In plan also includes the Wi-Fi 7 gateway and access to the fastest internet speeds, but it adds Hulu and Paramount Plus subscriptions for $70 per month. The All-In plan also has another added benefit: the TechEdge Suite. According to T-Mobile, this includes a Wi-Fi 7 mesh extender (to increase wireless coverage in your home), 24/7 tech support, an internet 5G gateway hardware upgrade after three years, and an “advanced cyber security” package.

T-Mobile says typical download speeds for the Amplified and All-In plans are 134 to 415 Mbps, while uploads average 12 to 55 Mbps.

All plans include a 5-year price lock guarantee, unlimited data, and no annual contracts. In addition, if you already have a T-Mobile voice line, you can knock $15 off the aforementioned monthly plans (meaning Rely would then cost $35/month).

Of course, you need to read the fine print when it comes to 5G-based services, and T-Mobile Home Internet is no exception. The wireless carrier notes that even though it’s selling “unlimited” 5G plans, you could be subject to data prioritization, particularly for “Internet Heavy Data Users” who exceed 1.2TB during a billing cycle.

Customers can access the new plans starting on November 13, and qualified new customers can get up to a $300 prepaid virtual debit card for making the switch.

Several cell providers have hopped on the 5G home internet service bandwagon, with T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon offering service in select areas across the United States. Now, a new player is entering the fray: Mint Mobile. Mint Mobile is a subsidiary of T-Mobile, which is a known quantity in this segment, and its new service is called MINTernet.

Unsurprisingly, MINTernet operates on T-Mobile's nationwide wireless network, offering unlimited 5G service. Now, whenever unlimited data is mentioned in the 5G realm, you should always look at the fine print. In this case, Mint Mobile says that once you consume over 1TB of data within your billing cycle, "network speeds vary and may be reduced." This is similar to the T-Mobile Home Internet policy, where the restriction is implemented after exceeding the 1.2TB threshold.

Regarding the speeds you can expect, the "Broadband Facts" label for MINTernet indicates that typical download speeds will range from 133 to 415 Mbps, while uploads should reach a maximum of around 55 Mbps. As for latency, expect to see 16 to 28 ms in most situations.

MINTernet costs $40 per month if you opt for the introductory 3-month offer, and this price is contingent upon paying the entire cost upfront ($120). However, if you already have a Mint phone plan (or intend to add one at the time of signup), your monthly cost drops to $30 ($90 upfront).

A 6-month plan is also offered at $45/month ($270 upfront) or $35/month ($210 upfront) with a phone plan. Finally, there's a 12-month plan that drops back down to $40/month ($480 upfront) or $30/month ($360) with a qualifying phone plan. All customers will get a free 5G gateway (modem/Wi-Fi router) with their order, along with a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Considering that MINTernet runs on T-Mobile's 5G network, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that my first run-in with its 5G home internet service ended in disaster in 2022. However, I revisited the service in 2024 with much better results, averaging over 600 Mbps for downloads and over 50 Mbps for uploads. T-Mobile Home Internet costs $50/month with autopay, so if you tick the right boxes, MINTernet will save you up to $20/month.

You’ve likely heard of T-Mobile Home Internet by now. We’ve discussed the ups and downs of the 5G-based cellular broadband service on these pages several times over the years. After some initial headaches during the rollout of the broadband service, T-Mobile Home Internet has, for the most part, become a viable alternative to traditional cable internet providers, with over 7 million customers. However, chances are that you haven’t heard of T-Mobile Fiber Home Internet. Until recently, the internet service was only available in a few dozen markets across the United States. T-Mobile is making some big moves today with the announcement that T-Mobile Fiber is moving past its trial phase to an official launch in the U.S.

So, what sparked the official rollout of T-Mobile Fiber? In April, T-Mobile announced that it had acquired Lumos, a fiber-to-the-home internet provider serving 475,000 households. That acquisition provided T-Mobile with the additional capacity to expand T-Mobile Fiber, which is now accessible to over 500,000 households in the U.S.

T-Mobile Fiber is available in three tiers, starting with Fiber 500. Fiber 500, as you would expect, provides symmetrical data speeds of up to 500 Mbps for $75/month with Autopay. Fiber 1 Gig boosts data speeds to 1 Gbps for $90/month, and Fiber 2 Gig gives you 2 Gbps speeds for $105/month. The Fiber 500 plan comes with a basic Wi-Fi 6 router, while the Fiber 1 Gig and 2 Gig plans come standard with “whole home” Wi-Fi 6 mesh hardware. T-Mobile customers who also have a qualifying voice line can get $15 off the above pricing each month with Autopay, and all plans come with a 5-year price guarantee.

It’s been nearly two years since I wrote a three-part series on my experiences with T-Mobile Home Internet. My first encounter with the service was pleasant enough, as I experienced download speeds of 472 Mbps and upload speeds of 71.9 Mbps. While the downloads were comparable to what I saw with my Spectrum 400/20 cable internet plan, the upload speeds were roughly three times as fast. Better yet, the cost of admission was just $50 per month compared to the $65 per month I was paying for Spectrum internet.

However, things quickly went south two weeks after I initially activated my T-Mobile Home Internet service. I started receiving connection errors, which resulted in losing complete internet connectivity. After two days of no internet and no help from T-Mobile customer service, I crawled back to Spectrum internet, and have been with the service ever since. However, my brief encounter with T-Mobile Home Internet unearthed serious problems with the wireless service, T-Mobile's inability to deal with capacity issues, and customer service representatives that would lie to customers to get them off the phone or kick the can down the road regarding connectivity woes.

Considering significant time has passed since I said goodbye to T-Mobile Home Internet, I decided that now was a good time to revisit the service and see if things have improved.

Returning to T-Mobile Home Internet

Prior to and after my two-week stint with T-Mobile Home Internet, I’ve been using Spectrum’s 400/20 internet plan. The service works fine, and outages are minimal. I can probably count on a single hand how many times I’ve had a significant outage in the past five years. But in the back of my mind, I still couldn’t get past paying $65 a month for 20 Mbps upload speeds.

Last month, I saw a banner ad for T-Mobile Home Internet, which offered a $200 prepaid Mastercard promotion when signing up for its service. Being the cheapskate that I am, the $200 bonus coupled with the still low price of $50 per month with autopay made me decide to give the service another chance… for science. Sidenote: The $50 price is only achieved when you use autopay with a bank draft; otherwise, you pay $55 per month with autopay and a credit card.

Like before, signing up for the service was as easy as logging into my existing T-Mobile account, verifying that I could receive 5G coverage at home, entering my social security number (for a credit check), and confirming my payment details. I placed the order for the service on a Wednesday afternoon, and the welcome package with a 5G gateway arrived on Friday afternoon.

Setting up T-Mobile Home Internet

The old circular 5G gateway that I received in July 2022 is no longer in use. In its place, I received a Sercomm TMO-G4AR that T-Mobile now sends to new customers. The modem/router is a rectangular tower finished in flat white plastic. It has internal antennas for connecting to T-Mobile's 5G/LTE network. However, there are also connectors for attaching an external antenna if you have poor reception.

There are also two USB-C ports (one of which powers the unit), a SIM card slot, and two GbE ports. I wish there were at least four GbE ports, but I can live with just two.

Getting on the T-Mobile network is as simple as installing the T-Mobile Home Internet (or T-Life) app, scanning the QR code on the back of the device, and following the on-screen prompts. Even though the app told me to set the 5G gateway near a window, I placed it on my desk (where my old Motorola cable modem and Wi-Fi router were positioned) and received four signal bars (out of five).

To expedite the setup process for my plethora of wireless devices (I have over three dozen Wi-Fi devices in my home), I just reused the SSID from my existing wireless router and I was up and running.

The TMO-G4AR functions as a basic Wi-Fi 6 router, which had no trouble covering my two-story home and even outside. However, the big downside to using T-Mobile’s router is that it requires the use of an app to configure the router, and the options available are slim to none. You can change the SSID, network password, and specify frequency bands, but that’s about it. This is geared more toward people who want to set up the router and forget about it, so the in-depth customization that we see with the best Wi-Fi routers is not applicable.

T-Mobile Home Internet Performance

I’ve been using T-Mobile Home Internet with the TMO-G4AR for over a month now. During that billing cycle (March 22 through April 21), I’ve maintained a consistent four bars for signal strength and haven’t experienced any service dropouts. I also haven’t needed to reboot the device for any reason during that time.

Although T-Mobile bills its service as offering “unlimited” internet, the company says that your service may be subject to lower speeds due to data prioritization routines currently in place:

As of January 18, 2024, new T-Mobile Home Internet customers using more than 1.2TB of data in a billing cycle are also considered Heavy Data Users. The threshold number is periodically evaluated across our rate plans and brands to manage network traffic and deliver a good experience to all customers while offering a range of customer choices. You can always check the threshold amount for a rate plan by speaking with a representative, review our rate cards or T-Mobile.com, or by logging in to my.t-mobile.com, or the T-Mobile app.

Even though I used over 1.5TB of data during my first billing cycle, I never noticed any drops in download speeds while using the service. However, I do notice that my upload speeds vary widely depending on the time of the day. As you can see from these SpeedTest results using the app on my Mac, I’m getting downloads in the mid-600 Mbps range—and this is any time during the day. Uploads, however, range from 40 to 60 Mbps.

I haven’t changed my internet usage habits since switching from Spectrum back to T-Mobile Home Internet. That means multiple personal smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktops are connected. That’s not to mention several test rigs that are always running and TVs that are streaming everything from Sling TV to Disney Plus to Amazon Video. In other words, I just use the service, and it works without issue, which is something I couldn’t truly say after my first two-week stint nearly two years ago.

Final Thoughts

After my nightmare of trying the T-Mobile Home Internet service in 2022, I had no intention of going back to the service. On a whim, I decided to give it another shot and I’ve been impressed by the promise of 5G home internet service. For an entire month, it has been rock solid day in and day out, and just as reliable as my Spectrum internet service. And the cost savings do add up, compared to what I was paying with Spectrum. A $15 savings per month translates into an extra $180 in my bank account. Throw in the $200 prepaid Mastercard that I’ll receive from T-Mobile, and I’d chalk this up as a win, so far.

However, my new “winning” streak with T-Mobile doesn’t discount the troubles I had in the past or troubles that other people had (or continue to have) with the service. Perhaps T-Mobile has upped its capacity to deal with an influx of customers. Maybe its customer support team has improved how it handles customers who call in with problems. 

It’s also likely the current generation of 5G gateways is more reliable, thus ensuring that customers have a better internet experience. Or maybe, I just got lucky this time? Who knows for sure, but I’ll just ride this 5G home internet train as long as I can and hope that the experience stays enjoyable.

After we published a story about my T-Mobile home Internet service dying with customer service unable to fix the problem, I got a lot of messages from readers with similar experiences. Three T-Mobile employees (two former and one current) who handled / handle home Internet support calls also reached out, claiming that the company uses canned excuses like “we’re upgrading the tower” in order to get customers off the phone and pad their stats. 

Update (9/2/2022): This article has been updated to reflect new, corroborating information from two new anonymous sources: one current and one additional former T-Mobile Home Internet employee. Both reached out to us after initial publication.

All of our T-Mobile sources asked to remain anonymous but provided proof of current or recent former employment at the company. In one former employee's most recent position, he worked in engineering, which he said is the last level of escalation for problems with the home internet service. There, he claims, he was frequently unable to solve customers’ problems but was encouraged to use an “it’s the tower” explanation so he could keep calls to under ten minutes. He said that service reps are penalized if calls run longer than 600 seconds or customers call back about the same problem within a week.

According to all of the sources we spoke to the company also penalizes support reps if a customer calls back with the same problem within a certain number of days (one former rep said 7 days and but the current employee and other former employee said 3 days). Therefore, they are incentivized to tell you something that will keep you from calling again for that time period. 

"We had a metric called IOCR/FCR - our bonus was heavily weighted around not having the customer call back for 3 days when I was there," our second former employee source said. "We were coached into a number of ways to confuse or lie to the customer to prevent them from calling back."

In my case, after spending several minutes on the phone with support doing everything from power cycling to removing and replacing the SIM card, I was put on hold while my rep said he would “do a few things” to fix the problem. He then returned and told me that my local cell tower was being upgraded and that I shouldn’t expect to have service for 48 hours, at which point I cancelled my service. Though I was on the phone for nearly 20 minutes, it still felt like the company was trying to give me an excuse, because they couldn’t actually help me.

"In regards to the particular error code you were getting [All PDN IP Connection Failure], and the lack of response from T-Mobile as to the specifics of that error, the answer is quite simple; they don't know," our first former employee source said . "I could tell you stories all day long about calls from customers with issues on their home internet service that never got solved, because no one in any of those departments, no matter how high up the chain we went, had any idea how to fix the problem."

According to our first former employee source, T-Mobile customer service reps hope that a hard reset of the 5G Gateway does the trick if a customer calls in with a problem. The company will often send replacement hardware to appease customers if that doesn't work. But as we've heard from customers on T-Mobile's forums and Reddit, even this isn't a surefire way to fix connectivity issues.

"If that doesn't fix it, they have no clue where to go from there, and you are typically out of luck at that point," he explained. "The 'tower is being upgraded' response is a canned response that is given when they have no other answer for what is happening."

The former employee said that, if the tower near me were really being upgraded, my rep would have told me right away. This is because customer support reps have multiple screens in front of them and can pull up a real-time map of the service area tied to your address. So if there were a tower outage or upgrade in process, the support rep would present that information to the customer within the first minute or two of the call.

According to our second former employee source, support reps would do what they could to find a plausible tower excuse that wasn't a complete lie. Instead, they'd zoom out on their computer maps until they found a tower that was having issues.

"If you report slow service or no service, I would query your address and zoom out on the coverage map until I could see a tower that had any work being done on it (Sometimes, we might zoom out 25-50, 100, or even 200+ miles to force another tower to populate)," our second former employee source said. "I would then tell you, 'It looks like work is being done in your area, please allow up to 72 hours for the issue to resolve' to effectively end the call, preventing you from calling back within 3 days. People who constantly called back dinged the rep's stats."

We reached out to T-Mobile for comment on our source’s accusation that the company’s support reps are under pressure to get customers off the phone (and therefore are incentivized to mislead them). The initial statement we got back didn’t really address the issue:

"We frequently make improvements to our 5G network to support services like Home Internet. On some occasions, that can cause short interruptions in our service. While extended issues are uncommon and typically last less than 12 hours, we encourage Home Internet customers to reach out to our award-winning customer care team for support in these cases."

However, after we published this article, the company sent a more direct response, saying:

"Our care model is designed to put the customer first, which means resolving issues as quickly as possible with the best information at hand. As is the standard in our industry and others, we prioritize NPS to measure our customers’ experiences with us, and we also rely on efficiency metrics to continually improve how we’re delivering the experience."

Both the current T-Mobile employee and the first former employee attributed the issues T-Mobile Home Internet customers are encountering to a lack of foresight into the demands and rigors of relying on cellular data for home internet service.

"It usually comes down to the same thing, lack of coverage. What most of us feel is that T-Mobile is in a rush to get as many customers as possible on HINT w/o considering the lack of bandwidth locally," the current employee said. "Now, they're offering HINT in places that technically had the max amount of users (per local capacity), which causes us to think those customer complaints are about to get much worse. They call it Home Internet Lite."

Our first former employee source agreed.

"The company simply did not take the time to become subject matter experts in the industry, and did not properly parse out the details of potential issues they would run into, before launching headfirst into the home internet world,” he said. “They just wanted to be part of the game, and have that extra perk to offer customers, and they wanted to be able to say they were the first to offer 'nationwide 5G Home Internet.'"

Other readers reached out to me, including Chris, who wrote about the All PDN IP Connection Failure error message I received, theorizing that the company may not have enough capacity on the newer towers that support the home Internet service.

“I was told that it has a lot to do with towers that still exist in the wild that aren't capable of handling connections for multiple reasons. There are still Sprint towers that need to be fully integrated, and older towers that just don't support enough connections to be reliable. All of this upgrading happens with little-to-no notice because they don't think it's necessary when there are towers nearby that should be a good fallback. Not so true for the home internet users!

It's worth considering that the router connects with different parameters than would a cellphone. A cellphone crawls the network seamlessly changing from "cell" to "cell" that is covered by whichever tower. The internet service requests a connection in a bit of a different way, not expecting to be on the move but indeed expecting to use more bandwidth.

When there are multiple towers nearby and not all of them are fully compatible with the home internet service, you're likely not going to get far enough to be assigned an IP address. If for some reason it connects to an older Sprint tower, or a tower that's at limit for user capacity, there will be issues. Your device will ask the PDN for access and get denied. An incompatible tower may not be configured for the requests made by your device. A perfectly good T-Mobile tower may already be at capacity and so your device sits in queue hoping for a connection. It might not try indefinitely and so it becomes necessary to power cycle it.”

I asked our T-Mobile source about this possibility, and he said it could be a factor in some customers losing connectivity suddenly.

Another reader, Stanton, reached out to tell me about his problems. He was also told about tower upgrades in-process and had no trouble with T-Mobile phone service in the same location:

"So I got T-Mobile home internet back during the pilot days. I've ran into the same errors as you. I've been through 5 to 6 gateways of theirs. They have claimed tower upgrade for over 6 months. My area is nothing but 5g and 5guc towers. My iPhone as well doesn't have issues with connectivity in these areas.

I've been waiting over 6 months for them to resolve this issue. Eventually I told them to pause my internet so I don't pay them for crap I'm not using. My issue is my location doesn't have access to fancy spectrum and such. Our best landline deals are cable which wants almost $200 a month for what T-Mobile offers or AT&T which claims the fastest they can provide is 18mbps."

Gary actually had his issues solved after T-Mobile sent him a new, upgraded 5G Gateway:

"I, too, had complete failure of my silver CYLINDRICAL gateway. They offered me a newer version (square black gateway) and my problem went away. I am surprised they did not offer it to you. Yes, they went through the whole litany of possible causes... tower upgrade, reboots, move location of gateway, etc. When they offered to replace the gateway with a newer version, I jumped on it. It has been working fine now for three months."

Interestingly, Carl contacted me to say that he signed up for T-Mobile Home Internet only to have horrible reception at his location. The company’s explanation: The service was not actually available in his area and they never should have sold it to him.

"Reading your article about your T-Mobile Gateway experience brought up my own horrible experience as a first time T-Mobile cell and home internet experience. Long story short, it never worked very well at all from the beginning. Barely had two bars. Constantly getting tech support. Was shipped three additional units to 'try' by tech support over 90 days. Problem was, I wasn't supposed to have been sold home internet. She confirmed my address and informed me that the 'service was NOT available in my area.' I shouldn't have been sold the unit to begin with."

Washdc, a commenter on my prior article, wrote:

"This could have been written by me... over 10 hours on the phone with customer service and their "tech team," three different devices, 48-hour tower outage (I live about one mile away from two towers) and absolutely no consistent coverage. I will give this inconsistency a few more days, hoping that after three weeks the system "settles down," and then crawl back to fios. Good bye to all the savings, hello to working internet. Fios must be so proud."

To be fair, not every person we heard from has had problems with T-Mobile. Anshel Sag, an analyst who tracks 5G with Moor Strategies and Insight, said that he’s not aware of problems with T-Mobile’s home Internet service and that he uses it successfully himself.

“In my experience with the service, it operated at roughly the same speed and reliability as my smartphone,” he said.

Sag said he spoke to his contacts at T-Mobile, who said that mine sounds like an isolated incident. 

As the feedback I’ve gotten shows, clearly I’m not the only one who has experienced serious problems with T-Mobile Home Internet. However, it’s impossible to know what percentage of users actually had to cancel their service due to unresolved issues. Of course, people online are quicker to point out problems with a product or service than they are when they have good experiences. Those with good experiences don't usually have a reason to speak out.

When the T-Mobile Home Internet services works, it’s fantastic. The 500+ Mbps downloads and 70+ Mbps uploads I got during my two successful weeks with the service were incredible and far superior to what my previous provider, Spectrum, was able to provide. However, the prospect of unreliable service was enough to scare me away, sending me back into the open arms of Spectrum.

Regardless, for those that have experienced extended outages, been fed untruths by T-Mobile employees, or have been sent multiple hardware replacements in vain in hopes of solving the issues, the positive potential doesn’t matter.

Access to high-speed internet at home is practically a necessity these days. That need became even more apparent during the COVID-19 lockdowns, which forced families to work and learn from home. While most children have gone back to in-person learning, many adults have remained in work-from-home mode with no plans to change. Throw in our copious consumption of streaming TV services, large downloads for operating system updates, PC and console games, apps, etc., and it's clear that having a fast and stable internet connection is a high priority for many people.

Unfortunately, for many Americans, actual choices in high-speed internet carriers for your home are often extremely limited.

Why I Decided to Drop Spectrum Internet

I’ve been a long-time Spectrum Internet customer, even when it was previously known as Time Warner Cable. But having Spectrum internet isn’t by choice; it has long been the only option I have living in rural Garner, NC, situated just southeast of Raleigh. While AT&T Fiber and Google Fiber are available within 20 miles of my address, neither services my neighborhood. Given the regional internet monopolies around the country, Spectrum is still my only choice for high-speed cable/fiber internet.

But why did I decide to give Spectrum the boot? I was sick of having to jump through hoops yearly to keep my current service at a reasonable price. I’ve been paying $69.99 for 400/20 internet, but every year Spectrum jacks the rate to $84.99. Then I have to call their customer service line and waste 45 mins of my day to get them to reduce the rate back to $69.99. Sure, it’s a once-a-year thing, but I’ve been looking for an out.

A friend, who also just so happens to be stuck with Spectrum, asked me about other ISP options when it dawned on me that T-Mobile offers Home Internet at $50/month. I asked her to see if her address was eligible for service, and it was. She decided to take T-Mobile up on their two-week free trial offer and signed up for service.

At that moment, I asked myself: Could I also potentially ditch spectrum and go with a 5G wireless service as my primary link for home internet?

What is T-Mobile Home Internet?

T-Mobile Home Internet provides internet service to your home using a 5G gateway using T-Mobile's cellular network. The 5G gateway contains a 4G/5G modem that connects to T-Mobile's cellular network and combines a Wi-Fi 6 router for linking up all your devices. T-Mobile only offers its Home Internet service in areas with excellent coverage (for obvious reasons). And even then, not all addresses are serviced, based on network capacity.

T-Mobile Home Internet costs $50 per month when you sign up for Autopay ($55/month without Autopay), including all taxes and fees. If you are an existing T-Mobile Magenta Max mobile customer, your monthly price drops to just $30/month with Autopay. The 5G gateway is provided free, so there is no monthly equipment (modem) fee to pay (as is often the case with fixed-line providers like Spectrum and Comcast), and there are no long-term contracts to sign.

The goodies don't stop there. T-Mobile currently offers home internet customers 50% off YouTube TV for a year, Paramount+ free for a year, and Philo TV for $15/month (versus the standard rate of $25/month). If that wasn't enough, new signups get an Amazon Echo Show 5 (second generation) for free.

According to the company, you can expect "typical" download speeds of between 33 Mbps to 182 Mbps and upload speeds ranging from 6 Mbps to 23 Mbps. However, as you see below, actual speeds can be much higher, rivaling legacy cable companies. The other big thing that most people would probably want to know is the current situation with data caps, given that this service works on T-Mobile's cellular network. Surprisingly, the answer is that there are no data caps. While Comcast and Spectrum have implemented data caps on their fixed-line customers in multiple U.S. markets, T-Mobile thankfully eschews the practice–at least for now.

As for overall performance, T-Mobile provides the following disclaimer:

Speeds can vary depending on location, signal strength and availability, time of day, and other factors. Our speed projections are based on our analysis of internal and third-party data.

T-Mobile says its home internet service is available to 30 million Americans.

Signing up for T-Mobile Home Internet

Getting signed up for service was relatively easy. First, I clicked this T-Mobile link to enter my phone number and see if my home address was eligible. Once eligibility was confirmed, I was able to chat with a representative who asked me a few questions and sent me several secure links to enter my name, address, billing information, and social security number (to perform a credit check for the new hardware that would be sent to me).

After about 10 minutes, the signup process was complete, and I was informed that the 5G gateway would arrive within two business days. On the second business day, the 5G gateway arrived as promised via UPS, and I was eager to test it out.

First Impressions and Setup

After removing the 5G gateway from the box, I was struck by its size. It measures 8.5 inches tall and is silver in color. It’s shaped like a cylinder, reminding me of the first-generation Amazon Echo. On the back of the device, you’ll find a power port, a power button, a reset button, a USB-C port (which worked just fine charging my smartphone), a phone jack and two Ethernet ports. Unfortunately, compared to modern wireless routers, T-Mobile’s 5G gateway is lacking in port selection. So you may want to pick up one of the best network switches we’ve tested.

You’ll find a small, circular touch display on the top of the device. You can swipe across the screen to see your current signal strength, messages from T-Mobile, the number of connected devices, and battery status. Yes, the 5G gateway has an integrated battery, and it will continue to function if the power plug is pulled (this feature should come in handy during power outages).

To set up the gateway, you must first download the T-Mobile Internet app and install it on a smartphone. I then plugged the gateway into the wall in my office on the second floor of my house and powered it up. It booted up, performed a quick software update, then confirmed signal strength of three out of five bars. The app itself is very basic, with few controls for the router. You can see network status, signal strength, connected devices, change the SSID/passcode, and adjust the frequency bands. That’s about it. There are no parental controls, advanced wireless controls, access controls, MAC filtering, or anything like that. This is just a barebones setup that should work fine for most households. Power users will likely want to look elsewhere or simply connect their existing router to the 5G gateway.

At first, I was concerned about the signal strength, as I had the gateway situated on top of a bookshelf next to my cable modem, which isn’t near a window (T-Mobile suggests placing the gateway near a window for the best signal). I then stuck it near a window in my office and was greeted with the same three bars. I next took the 5G gateway downstairs on the opposite side of the house and placed it near a window. I still obtained three bars. At that point, I decided to just put it in the original location near the cable modem and proceed with the setup. After the initial setup, signal strength has hovered between three bars and four bars.

Upon opening the T-Mobile Internet app, I was asked to scan the QR code on the bottom of the gateway to expedite setup. This prepopulated the SSID and passcode, then began communicating with the gateway and the T-Mobile network for activation. After about 30 seconds, the setup process was complete, and I was ready to go.

At any given time, we have 40+ Wi-Fi devices connected to our wireless router (a first-generation Netgear Orbi RBR50 Wi-Fi 5 mesh router with two satellites). We're talking multiple laptops, smartphones, tablets, Smart TVs, Amazon Echo speakers, and about a dozen Kasa smart light switches, light bulbs and power outlets. Given the sheer number of Wi-Fi devices in my home, I opted to piggyback my Orbi off the 5G gateway to make things simple (granted, I could have just changed the SSID and password on the 5G gateway to match my Orbi, but I didn’t want to drop coverage that my router and two satellites provide through the whole house and outdoors).

Testing Performance

I first connected just my iPhone to the 5G gateway over Wi-Fi and performed a Speedtest. To my amazement, I registered download speeds exceeding 470 Mbps, while uploads came in at nearly 72 Mbps.

For reference, my Spectrum internet connection gives me 430 Mbps to 450 Mbps and tops out at around 21 Mbps for uploads. Subsequent tests have shown the 5G gateway hitting peak download speeds of 557.37 Mbps from my MacBook Pro (connected directly to the 5G gateway) around 3 p.m., which is unheard of for home internet out here in the sticks.

For a worst-case scenario, I tested again around 9:00 p.m. ET, and the 5G gateway's speeds dropped to around 400 Mbps for downloads and 40 Mbps for uploads. That's a steep drop-off, but still, plenty of throughput for our needs.

I next performed the same tests with my Orbi router plugged in via one of the 5G gateway’s two Ethernet ports. The download and upload speeds were unaffected, so I stuck with that setup.

I’m not a big gamer, so I’m primarily concerned with having a fast and stable internet connection 24-7-365. In the days that I’ve been testing T-Mobile’s Home Internet service, it’s been flawless. I haven’t experienced any service interruptions or significant speed shortfalls. The 5G gateway has remained slightly lukewarm to the touch, which cooler than the toasty Arris Surfboard SB6183 cable modem I’ve been using for years.

The 5G hotspot can simultaneously handle multiple Smart TVs streaming, my daily conference calls, my large file downloads, and just about anything else I throw at it.

Wrap-up

I went into this test a little skeptical of using a cellular-based internet service for my home internet, but those worries never came to fruition. Signing up for T-Mobile Home Internet was easy, the setup process with the app was minimalistic with little room for error, and the actual internet service has been rock solid. Throw in the fact that I’m saving $20 per month ($240/year), and the switch has been a no-brainer for our family.

About the hardest part of this whole process will likely be the phone call that I will need to make to Spectrum’s customer retention department to tell them that I’m canceling my existing service.

Note: As with all of our op-eds, the opinions expressed here belong to the writer alone and not Tom's Hardware as a team.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has accused Huawei of stealing trade secrets from U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile, as well as committing wire fraud and obstructing justice. The U.S. government had already orchestrated the December arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Canada.

Huawei’s Indictment by Grand Jury

This week, the DOJ unsealed a 10-count indictment of Huawei, charging the company with theft of trade secrets conspiracy, attempted theft of trade secrets, seven counts of wire fraud and one count of obstruction of justice. The indictment was approved by a Grand Jury on January 16.

According to the indictment, Huawei was offering T-Mobile employees bonuses to steal trade secrets from T-Mobile between 2012 and 2014. T-Mobile threatened to sue the company; however, Huawei "produced a report falsely claiming that the theft was the work of rogue actors within the company and not a concerted effort by Huawei corporate entities in the United States and China," thereby obstructing justice, according to the DOJ's announcement this week.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said Huawei was trying to gain an “unfair economic advantage” by breaking U.S. laws. He added that “the FBI will not tolerate corrupt businesses that violate the laws that allow American companies and the United States to thrive.”

Huawei Trying to Get Ahead

According to the FBI, Huawei has been trying to get ahead by offering employees of various companies around the world bonuses based on the value of information they stole. The employees would then send this information to Huawei via encrypted email.

Huawei faces a fine of up to $500,000 for wire fraud and obstruction of justice and up to $5 million for conspiracy and attempt to commit trade secret theft, if found guilty in the court of law.

Canada’s authorities, in cooperation with the U.S. DOJ, arrested Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou late last year. Wanzhou is both a Huawei deputy chairwoman and the daughter of Huawei’s founder, Ren Zhengfei. The arrest was linked to charges that Huawei violated U.S. sanctions against Iran. At the time of the arrest, U.S. Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) said that China has been “working to creatively undermine our national security interests.”

More fun than a CPU upgrade

Even if you design your own PC mods, there's nothing quite like the thrill of building an awesome Lego creation. And, if you have kids, working on Lego projects with them is a unique bonding experience that they'll remember for a lifetime.

Lego has a number of new sets coming out in the next few months. Most will be out in August, which will make them hot items this holiday season (and before). Here are our favorites.

App-Controlled Batmobile ($99)

There have been many Lego Batmobiles, but you haven't been able to drive them . . . until now. Due out in August for $99, the App-Controlled Batmobile not only operates as a remote-control car that can perform stunts, but will also allow you to program it after an app update later in the year.

The block-based coding mode will use the same dead-simple programming language as Lego Boost, which is so easy to use that kids who haven't learned to read yet can use it. You can also customize the Android or iOS app interface you use to steer the car.

Lego City Cargo Train ($229)

This detailed set puts traditional model trains to shame. A motorized remote control lets you drive the four-car train around a track that you can customize. It also comes with service vehicles, a control tower and six minifigs.

Lego Creator Expert Roller Coaster ($379)

Available in June for $379, this 4,124-piece set gives you all the pieces to create a working roller coaster in your living room. The set comes complete with a huge track, a ticket booth and 11 minifigs, including two ride attendants and a cotton candy vendor. There are two trains with three cars each.

Best of all, when you pair the Expert Roller Coaster Set with your Lego Boost or a Lego Power Functions motor, you can motorize the trains, add sound effects or take advantage of the Boost's motion sensor.

Ninjago Stormbringer ($39.99)

If you have a Lego Boost set, you're going to want one of these. First shown at Toy Fair 2018 and due out this summer, this Ninjago set has a dragon you can move and program using the motors from Boost.

Lego Arctic Mobile Exploration Base ($119)

Adults of a certain age will look at this set and expect to see one of the minifigs turn into the Thing, but this mobile exploration base isn't based on any movies or books. It's part of a series of arctic exploration-themed Legos and includes several vehicles, six minifigs and a woolly mammoth encased in ice. Of course, it could just be a shape-shifting alien pretending to be a frozen woolly mammoth, but that's up to you.

Snoke's Throne Room ($69.99)

Recreate the best scene from Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. This set includes the throne room where Rey, Snoke, Kylo Ren and several praetorian guards had their showdown along with minifigs of all the relevant characters.

Ninjago City Docks ($229)

If you liked the Ninjago movie, you'll love this 3,553 piece set which comes with over a dozen minifigs. Lego is also releasing a number of new products based on the latest season of the Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitsu show.

Lego Mobile Stunt Show ($49.99)

Hold tractor pulls on your carpet. An attractive, mid-size set, the Mobile Stunt Show features a flat-bed truck, two minifigs and a monster truck.

Lego Passenger Train ($159)

The Passenger Train offers similar features to the Cargo Train, but with fewer pieces and a slightly-different aesthetic. It has the same remote control and customizable track, but with three cars and half a dozen minifigs. You can control it with the bundled remote.

X-Wing Fighter ($79.99)

Who doesn't want to have an X-Wing on the mantle? This starfighter comes with 731 pieces and four minifgs, including R2-D2 and Luke Skywalker in his flight suit.

Lego Technic Zeux ($139.99)

This impressive set provides everything you need to make a high-end, Volvo backhoe. There's also a model drone, but it doesn't actually fly.

Quantum Realm Explorers ($19.99)

Due out June 1st, this affordable set ties in to the Antman and Wasp movie. It features the Quantum Vehicle, which has an accessible cockpit, adjustable insect arms and stud shooters. It has minifigs of Antman, the Wasp and Ghost.

Harry Potter and Hedwig Brickheadz ($14.99)

Sure, you love your Pop Vinyls and your bobbleheads, but how many of them do you get to build? Lego's Brickheadz are cute figures you craft from bricks.

The company is releasing a number of new models, including Harry Potter and his owl. You can buy other Harry Potter characters, including Dumbledore and Ron Weasley.

Hogwarts Great Hall ($99)

Bring your sorting hat when you build this 878-piece version of Hogwarts' main building. It also comes with 10 minifigs, a boat, and several accessories.

Unikitty Cloud Car ($9.99)

The breakout star of the Lego Movie, Unikitty, recently got her own TV show and now she's getting a new series of block sets. This affordable, cloud-car set has 121 pieces, which makes it simple for young children, but engaging for fans of all ages. It's due in August.

It is, as Lego Batman might say, off the chain. Due out in August, Lego's App-Controlled Batmobile lets you build the caped crusader's vehicle then control it from your iOS or Android device. Due out in August for $99, the Batmobile is part of Lego's new "Powered Up" platform of electronic toys.

We had a chance to see the Batmobile in action and were enticed by its design, which looks a lot like a black tank. It comes with a silver Batman minifig and has four missiles that you can shoot, but only if you press down the triggers by hand.

The app we saw in our demo was still in very rough form. A Lego rep was able to steer the car and make it do a few stunts, including a wheelie, but he said that the final version of the software will let you customize the look and feel of the controls.

A future update to the app that will come later in the year will allow you to write programs for the car. We got a brief glimpse at the programming mode and it uses the same, dead-simple block-based language as Lego Boost. The blocks are arranged horizontally and have no text at all so even preliterate children will be able to use the car as a learning tool. The company advises that the toy is for ages eight and up, but we've seen children as young as five master Lego Boost.

At its press event, the block-maker also showed off a couple of other new products that it also labels as "Powered Up." The Lego City Passenger Train and Lego City Cargo Train sets create motorized, moving trains that you can drive with a bundled remote control unit. However, these sets are not programmable like the Batmobile. The upcoming Lego Duplo Steam Train, which the company first showed at Toy Fair, will use an app to teach very young children elementary programming concepts.

If you own a Lego Boost set, our sister site Tom's Guide's favorite robot set, you'll be able to use its motorized components it to enhance several upcoming products. Lego Ninjago Stormbringer is a dragon that you can program when paired with Boost, and Lego City Arctic Scout Truck is a vehicle you can control when it's paired with Boost components. Lego Creator Expert Rollercoaster is a working ride for your minifigures that gets more functionality when you add your Boost motors.

Recently, there has been quite a bit of a controversy surrounding T-Mobile’s Binge On program, which doesn’t count some video data towards customers’ data plans. A Stanford researcher, Barbara van Schewick, released a study concluding that T-Mobile’s Binge On is “likely illegal” and violates the FCC’s net neutrality rules.

Net Neutrality

Before the FCC passed its new net neutrality rules, the main argument for stronger net neutrality was to treat every “bit” as equal and not give certain companies easier access to customers than others. The telecom companies could do that by not counting the bandwidth usage of some services towards the users’ data plans.

This would give those services an unfair advantage, as users could transition to those services because their data isn’t being used, making it harder for the competing services to survive. This could be a problem especially for smaller content providers that may not be able to afford large fees that the telecoms may be requiring to join such programs.

Market Distortion

Van Schewick said that although users can watch an unlimited amount of video from Binge On participants such as Netflix, they can watch at most four and a half hours per month (or just nine minutes a day), from competitors’ services. This looks like a serious distortion of competition in the video market.

“Binge On allows some providers to join easily and creates lasting barriers for others, especially small players, non-commercial providers, and start-ups. As such, the program harms competition, user choice, free expression, and innovation,” said van Schewick.

Picking Winners And Losers

Binge On and other programs like it also allow telecoms to pick who the winners and losers are in various content markets.

Van Schewick added: “Binge On undermines the core vision of net neutrality: Internet service providers (ISPs) that connect us to the Internet should not act as gatekeepers that pick winners and losers online by favoring some applications over others. By exempting Binge On video from using customers’ data plans, T-Mobile is favoring video from the providers it adds to Binge On over other video.“

T-Mobile has said that any video service can join as long as they meet certain requirements. However, those requirements are at least as bad as the initial requirements for Facebook’s “Free Basics” program. The video services must not use the UDP protocol, which for instance disqualifies YouTube, nor should they use encryption -- a requirement that should automatically be rejected by any service in 2016.

Van Schewick also pointed out the fact that although the number of participants in T-Mobile's Music Freedom program (its zero-rating program for music) has increased from seven to 40 since 2014, there are over 2,000 licensed online music streaming services. Some of the services that got in the program had to wait a year and a half. She said that in the past three months alone, Twitter users have asked T-Mobile to add 109 music streaming services that are not part of the program.

Her point is that no matter how “welcoming” these services are, there will always be some barriers to entry, which will hurt and distort competition. Net neutrality was supposed to be all about leveling the playing field, and such programs are doing the opposite of that.

She warned that other ISPs may start offering similar programs, entrenching even more the idea that the ISPs are the gatekeepers who pick the winners and losers in some markets, such music and video content. The era of "innovation without permission," the same era that has allowed all types of services to flourish on the Internet, could end.

Proposed Fixes

Van Schewick said that the Binge On program in its current form violates the recently passed net neutrality rules as well as the FCC’s transparency rules, because T-Mobile claims that the service offers unlimited video even though that’s not the case.

To fix these issues, she recommended that T-Mobile could make all video not count towards users' data plans, and not just the video from the Binge On member companies. The video would be served at lower bandwidths and quality, but it would be the users’ choice whether to watch videos like that and not have them count towards their data plan, or watch them in full quality and let those videos eat into their data plan.

This seems like a reasonable proposal, especially if the ultimate goal here is to lessen the strain on T-Mobile’s network from all the video watchers. However, unless T-Mobile converts the video itself, the way Opera does with its video compression technology, then it will not work for the services that are encrypted. Companies could probably find a way to recognize T-Mobile’s network and the users’ choice and serve that video at a lower quality, though.

The second proposal is to lower the speed for all video and other content after users reach their monthly caps. This way, T-Mobile could still claim that Binge On offers "unlimited video streaming." Contrary to what T-Mobile says, even the Binge On video isn’t truly unlimited right now. Users can watch unlimited Binge On video as long as they haven’t reached their monthly data caps through other Internet uses that aren’t zero-rated.

The third proposal is for T-Mobile to raise its data caps to better account for how much data people use these days. For instance, if most people use at least 3 GB of data on their smartphones every month, then the mainstream data plan should go from 2 GB per month to 3GB.

If van Schewick is right about T-Mobile violating the FCC’s rules, then it will now be up to the FCC to actually enforce the strong rules it fought so hard to pass. Otherwise, the ISPs could quickly learn that these rules are meaningless and may even experiment with other violations in the future.

Lucian Armasu is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware. You can follow him at @lucian_armasu. 

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Experian, a services group that handles credit card processing for other companies, announced that the data of 15 million people who have applied for credit for T-Mobile's services between September 1, 2013 and September 16, 2015, was stolen in a recent data breach.

The data included personal information such as social security numbers, names, addresses, birthdates, and drivers license and passport numbers. Some of the data was encrypted, but Experian said that its encryption may have been compromised. Experian also noted that no credit card or banking information was affected by the data breach.

Experian said that when the hack happened, it took immediate action to secure its server, started a comprehensive investigation, and notified the U.S. and international law enforcement agencies. Experian recommended that T-Mobile's credit applicants who think they have been impacted by this hack can sign up for two years of free credit monitoring at www.protectmyid.com/securityincident.

"We take privacy very seriously and we understand that this news is both stressful and frustrating. We sincerely apologize for the concern and stress that this event may cause," said Craig Boundy, CEO, Experian North America. "That is why we're taking steps to provide protection and support to those affected by this incident and will continue to coordinate with law enforcement during its investigation."

The company also reminded everyone that neither it nor T-Mobile would be asking them for their personal information related to this incident. Other hackers may try to take advantage of the situation and ask the hack victims for their personal information while pretending to be representatives of Experian or T-Mobile.

T-Mobile's CEO, John Legere, said he's "incredibly angry" about this data breach and will thoroughly review his company's relationship with Experian after it finishes assisting the affected T-Mobile customers.

Experian hasn't given too much information about how it's securing its systems so far, but considering that only part of its stored information was encrypted, and even that was done poorly, it doesn't look like Experian had strong security for its databases and servers.

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Following the acquisition of DirecTV by AT&T, the carrier is changing its current mobile service to give more data to users of its most popular data plans.

For AT&T customers, select plans are seeing a 50 percent increase in data for no additional cost. Most prominent is the new 15 GB plan, which drops $30 to a final price of $100. Because the $100 plan formerly offered only 10 GB of data, this is the only confirmed segment that saw a 50 percent increase in data.

AT&T did not state the price of plans above 20 GB under this new data scheme, but the price of 20 GB of data has fallen by $10 to $140.

"There's never been a better time to be an AT&T customer. Last week, we announced a new offer to bundle DIRECTV and AT&T wireless service. Monday, we announced an offer that gives $500 in credits for DIRECTV customers when they switch to AT&T wireless service," said David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T Mobility. "Tomorrow, we roll out new plans for everyone, including a plan that gives 50% more data than on our most popular plan. And we're not done yet."

This change to the mobile service comes just a few days after AT&T and DirecTV announced new bundle deals for their combined services. The new data rates will be available starting tomorrow. As the companies continue to meld together, it is likely that we will see more changes to their services show up.

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T-Mobile announced that it's ready to upgrade its "Un-carrier" campaign to "Un-carrier Amped," and the first move it will make with the new campaign will be to eliminate the $10 fee for the "JUMP" upgrade program it launched two years ago.

The new program will be called "JUMP! On Demand," and besides the elimination of the $10 fee, it also increases the number of upgrades per year from two to three, and it allows its customers to ask for an upgrade any time they want, rather than after six months of payments.

Before, T-Mobile also included device insurance in that price, but if you still want it you can pay an $8 per month fee for the insurance alone.

In a video (below), T-mobile CEO John Legere also stated that Verizon and AT&T had started offering similar programs to its JUMP! program, but those were never quite as good, and over time they only became worse. According to Legere, Verizon has silently turned its upgrade program into another two-year contract, thinking its customers won't notice. Worst of all, Verizon customers can only upgrade their phones once.

“Customers with JUMP! On Demand can upgrade anytime − tomorrow, next week or next month − up to three times a year. Simply bring in the last phone you got with JUMP! On Demand for a quick three-point check-up to ensure it's in good working order and swap it out for a new smartphone. Which means you could get six brand new phones during the time it'd take to get one upgrade at Verizon."

Multiple high-end smartphones will be eligible for this program, and for a lower price than in the old program.

Not only will T-Mobile allow its customers to upgrade up to three times a year for free, but it will also lower the monthly payments for the iPhone 6 to only $15 a month if you trade in your smartphone. The payments are for only an 18-month period, and you don't have to pay anything else up front. If you want, you could also make multiple payments in advance, and then you'll be able to completely own the phone. Otherwise, the phone needs to be traded in with new upgrades.

The new JUMP! One Demand program will be available starting June 28. For more information you can visit T-Mobile's JUMP! On Demand page.

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Today, BlackBerry and T-Mobile announced a partnership to make the BlackBerry Classic available to T-Mobile's network and its 57 million customers starting May 13.

“BlackBerry is proud to partner with T-Mobile once again to offer the world's most secure and reliable mobile products and services that encourage productivity − whether they are individual users making the most of their day with the BlackBerry Classic, or an enterprise seeking to manage thousands of devices," said John Chen, BlackBerry Executive Chairman and CEO. “Together with T-Mobile, we hope to deliver highly differentiated solutions that appeal to our mutual users: the power professionals who depend on their smartphones to get things done and make things happen."

The Classic is BlackBerry's attempt to bring back the best features of the "BlackBerry" smartphone that many millions of people used to love before the iPhone and Android phones came along: iconic design, a physical keyboard and enterprise features.

The BlackBerry Classic brings some improvements to the old-style BlackBerrys such as having a touchscreen, a modern touch-optimized OS, and hundreds of thousands of applications thanks to the company's own app store as well as Amazon's store.

The device includes a 3.5" screen with a 720 x 720 resolution (yes, a square), a dual-core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 processor, Adreno 225 GPU, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of storage, 8MP camera with HDR, face detection and auto-focus, a 2MP front-camera, LTE and a 2515 mAh battery that the company claims will last for 22 hours.

The BlackBerry Classic will be available on T-mobile's website starting May 13, and from May 15 in T-mobile's retail stores. In brick-and-mortar locations, it will be available for $0 down with $18.33 monthly payments for 24 months, for a total cost of $440.

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Google announced on Monday that it is currently working with Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile USA and AT&T Mobility to bring tap-and-pay functionality back to Google Wallet. This feature will be offered on Android-based phones running Android 4.4 "KitKat" and later.

Google Wallet previously wasn't offered on many pre-KitKat Android devices due to the three carriers' joint payment system called ISIS Wallet. To use this service, customers with Android phones were required to install a special SIM card offered by the carriers. Even with that installed, Google Wallet wasn't listed on Google Play, and customers were forced to use ISIS Wallet if they wanted tap-and-pay functionality.

Back in July 2014, ISIS Wallet CEO Michael Abbott announced that the company was changing its name to Softcard so it wouldn't be associated with the Islamic militant group located in the Middle East. "We have no desire to share a name with this group and our hearts go out to those affected by this violence," Abbott said.

Meanwhile, the three carriers finally allowed Google to re-open downloads for Google Wallet for all Android tablets and smartphones. Although only a handful of devices were allowed to use the tap-and-pay function, presumably the rest of the Android crowd could only send and request money by using a stored credit card.

That brings us to the present, as Google's Ariel Bardin, Vice President of Payments, reported that Google has worked out a deal with the three carriers and Softcard to enable NFC payments within Google Wallet, which will be pre-installed on upcoming Android 4.4 devices slated to be released later this year.

"We're also acquiring some exciting technology and intellectual property from Softcard to make Google Wallet better," Bardin added.

These devices will undoubtedly have the special SIM card already installed, while owners of current Android 4.4 devices will need to contact their wireless carrier to receive the heavily-secured card. These cards should be free for subscribers.

The move to beef up Google Wallet is surprising given that Softcard was the reason why Google couldn't enable Wallet-based tap-to-pay in the first place. One could speculate that the recent Apple Pay boom has pushed carriers into rethinking their Android-based payment plans. Heck, even Samsung is looking to launch its own tap-to-pay payment system with the purchase of LoopPay.

Tap-to-pay requires that a device have not only the special secured SIM card, but NFC hardware, as well. With Google Wallet's tap-to-pay capability turned on, users can simply make a payment by tapping their phone on a register sporting the oval Wi-Fi-like logo. Customers can also add multiple credit cards and set one as the default before making a tap-to-pay purchase.

KitKat-based devices not compatible with Google Wallet's tap-and-pay include the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, the Samsung Galaxy S3 and several others.

UPDATE, 2:43 PM EST, 2/24/15: Fixed an error regarding compatible tap-and-pay phones. Also note as reader "juanricos" points out, tap-and-pay has been available in Google Wallet with the release of KitKat. The need for special SIM card and the useof ISIS/Software instead of Google Wallet was an issue germane to Android Jellybean devices, not KitKat

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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced on Tuesday that wireless carrier T-Mobile has agreed to be more transparent when it comes to its customers' actual speed on its network. Up until now, throttled customers testing their connections were given the network's overall speed instead of their actual reduced speed.

"The FCC is committed to ensuring that broadband providers are transparent to customers. I'm grateful T-Mobile has worked with the FCC to ensure that its customers are better informed about the speeds they are experiencing," said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. "Consumers need this information to fully understand what they are getting with their broadband service."

According to the FCC, T-Mobile will throttle its customers once they use up their monthly data allotment. The reduction in speed depends on the plan -- either 64 Kbps or 128 Kbps -- until the next billing cycle begins. Typically, T-Mobile doesn't charge customers a fee for blowing past their data cap, but relies on the speed throttling instead.

However, the FCC said that in June, T-Mobile began blacklisting specific speed tests, preventing customers from getting accurate speed measurements. These tests only provide T-Mobile's overall network speed and not the user's speed at the time. The FCC said it was concerned that these results would be confusing to customers.

Thanks to the agreement, T-Mobile will now send customers a text message once they reach their data limit, pointing to a speed test that will produce accurate results. The message will also state that many speed tests will show the overall network speed, and not the individual's speed. The company plans to modify the website with better information about getting accurate speed information, and provide custom phones with a dedicated button leading to a compatible test.

Tuesday's agreement is the result of an investigation executed by the FCC into the throttling practices of America's four largest carriers, which began back in the summer. Verizon was the first to cave in, promising to cease its throttling practices of customers with 4G plans and unlimited data. The company would throttle the speeds of these customers if they were located on a congested cell tower.

News of the FCC agreement arrives after T-Mobile added 14 new streaming music platforms to its Music Freedom service. These include Google Play Music, Xbox Music, SoundCloud and 11 others. They join a large list of music providers already supported by Music Freedom such as Pandora, iHeartRadio, iTunes Radio, Rdio, Slacker, Spotify and more. Streaming music from the qualified services does not count against the customer's data allotment.

"Music Freedom has been wildly popular since its launch this summer. The number of T-Mobile customers streaming music each day has jumped nearly 300 percent, and they're streaming a whopping 66 million songs per day − or roughly 200 terabytes of data per day − on T-Mobile's Data Strong network," T-Mobile's press release said.

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T-Mobile launched a new marketing scheme on Thursday to reel in new customers by dangling free data in front of their faces. The catch is that these potential customers need a friend already signed up for T-Mobile's Simple Choice plan.

Here's the deal: a Simple Choice customer will get either a full year of unlimited data, or they will get a $10 credit each month for a whole year if they already have unlimited data. However, to get the free data or cash, they must convince a friend to sign up for a T-Mobile Simple Choice plan. Once signed on, that friend will also get free unlimited data for a whole year.

So how can T-Mobile afford to give both customers free unlimited data for a whole year?

"How can we afford not to save these customers?" a T-Mobile representative told Tom's Hardware. "Framily, the nation's slowest LTE network, and now Sprint's 'best deals' don't even apply to them? It's hard to watch. And the other guys aren't much better."

T-Mobile further stated that it can offer more network spectrum per customer than anyone else in the industry and has "the only network built Data Strong. So our network can handle it."

The new plan seems to be in retaliation to Sprint's Family Share Pack, which was announced earlier this week. Starting August 22, Sprint data will cost a flat fee of $100 for 20 GB in addition to the 2 GB of data already provided for each line. For example, an account with 10 lines would see 40 GB for $100, the 20 GB base plus 2 GB for each line. This promotion is for a limited time only.

According to Sprint, T-Mobile charges $100 for four lines that includes 10 GB of data (2.5 GB per line). AT&T charges $160 for four phones with a 10 GB limit, and Verizon Wireless charges $160 for four lines with 10 GB to share and 1 GB per line with a smartphone.

However, T-Mobile points out that its Simple Choice plan includes unlimited talk, text and data. There are no annual service contracts and no overage fees. On Sprint, the data is capped and customers must shell out $15 per gigabyte when they go over their monthly limit. (Ouch.)

"It continues to amaze me to see the old carriers failing to listen to their customers−or reward them for their loyalty," said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. "That arrogance and indifference has defined the U.S. wireless industry for too long. We're changing all that. In fact, this entire Un-carrier consumer movement is built on the simple act of listening to customers."

T-Mobile's new scheme starts next Friday, August 29. Customers wanting to get their friends onto the T-Mobile network can head here.

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Is T-Mobile throttling its unlimited customers, too? On Thursday CEO John Legere jumped on Twitter to deny the rumor, saying that there is “no limit on data”.

The denial follows reports of an internal memo obtained by TmoNews that says the company plans to address unauthorized tethering and those sharing files via peer-to-peer networks. Somehow this bit of news turned into accusations that the company is throttling a specific group of customers.

“T-Mobile has identified customers who are heavy data users and are engaged in peer-to-peer file sharing, and tethering outside of T-Mobile’s Terms and Conditions (T&C),” the internal memo said. “This results in a negative data network experience for T-Mobile customers. Beginning August 17, T-Mobile will begin to address customers who are conducting activities outside of T-Mobile’s T&Cs.”

According to the document, customers with the old $70 Unlimited High-Speed Data plan that are violating the company’s T&Cs are the only customers that will be contacted. The company will explain to them the T&C and why the data speed may be reduced until the next billing cycle if they continue their pirating ways.

The document said that when approaching these users, the company will apply a “Misuse Warning SOC” to the account. If the customer stops downloading illegal content, then the label will be removed. If the downloading continues, then the account will be flagged with a “Misuse Throttle SOC” and the data speeds will be reduced.

Here’s a part of the T&C that clearly states what customers cannot do:

“…using the Service in connection with server devices or host computer applications, including continuous Web camera posts or broadcasts, automatic data feeds, automated machine-to-machine connections or peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing applications that are broadcast to multiple servers or recipients, ‘bots’ or similar routines that could disrupt net user groups or email use by others or other applications that denigrate network capacity or functionality,” the T&C states under section 18, Misuse of Service or Device.

Before CEO John Legere used Twitter to defend T-Mobile, Chief Marketing Officer Mike Sievert told Re/code that the memo was misinterpreted, making it seem that T-Mobile was out to throttle heavy data users.

News of T-Mobiles throttling confusion arrives after Verizon Wireless stated that starting October 1, it plans to throttle the speed of a specific group of 4G LTE customers with unlimited data plans. The company is targeting users that consume more than 4.7 GB in a single billing period and who are connected to a congested cell tower. Once the congestion subsides, Verizon indicated that it would then ease back off of the throttling.

News of the throttling didn’t sit well with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Chairman Tom Wheeler said that he was “deeply troubled” about the reports and sent letters to the major wireless carriers asking about how data is being managed.

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Unnamed sources told Reuters on Wednesday that Sprint has dropped its bid to acquire T-Mobile because regulators are showing no signs of dropping their opposition to the deal. The move is a major setback for Sprint parent company SoftBank Corp, based in Japan, who saw the deal as a way to take on AT&T and Verizon in the U.S.

Sprint is the No. 3 carrier in North America.

According to the report, Sprint and T-Mobile have not ruled out a consolidation in the future, but for now such a deal will likely not be approved because U.S. regulators want to keep the number of wireless carriers in the United States to just four major players.

"We didn't think the opposition would be this strong," a SoftBank executive told Reuters. "The environment will definitely change."

Effective August 11, 43-year-old Marcelo Claure will be Sprint's new Chief Executive Officer. He will replace Dan Hesse, who has served as CEO since 2007. Claure found his way into the Sprint fold thanks to parent company SoftBank Corp, which acquired his mobile phone distributor Brightstar Corp just last year.

The Reuters source said that Sprint had originally agreed to pay $40 per share, which was part of an agreement that included Deutsche Telekom AG, T-Mobile's majority owner.

However, Sprint isn't the only player gunning for T-Mobile; French telecom firm Iliad has offered $33 per share for a 56.6 percent stake in the company. Partners that may make the deal a bit more attractive include Dish Network, Cox Communications and Charter Communications.

Roger Entner, analyst at Recon Analytics in Boston, told Reuters that the announcement could indicate that the "tables may have turned" on Deutsche Telekom. "As long as there was a Sprint offer on the table, bargaining power was with Deutsche Telekom. Now the bargaining power is with Iliad," he said.

T-Mobile is currently a hot ticket because of its aggressive pricing plans and no-contract campaigns. The company is even offering potential customers to pay their early termination fees if they dump their current carrier and switch to T-Mobile.

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Sony Mobile and T-Mobile are once again partnering to bring out a flagship device. Following up on the Xperia Z that we took a dip with last summer is now the upgraded Xperia Z1s, which itself is a revised version of the Xperia Z1.

Like its siblings, the Xperia Z1s can be completely submerged in freshwater up to 4.9 feet for 30 minutes, making it waterproof (as per IP58 rating). An improvement over the Xperia Z is its physical camera key, which will allow users to control the shutter to shoot photos and videos underwater. The screen is also improved with wet finger tracking technology to ensure the phone works perfectly when either the screen or your fingers are wet.

The Xperia Z1s features are the same as a 5-inch Full HD TRILUMINOS display from the Z1. Also under the hood is the same 2.2 GHz Snapdragon 800 SoC and 2 GB of RAM. Special for T-Mobile is 32 GB of built-in storage, and those who want more can always make use of the MicroSD card slot.

Strangely, but to no better or worse effect, the waterproof headphone jack has been moved from the side to closer to the center on the Z1s.

The same 20.7 MP BIONZ sensor in the Z1 is also in the Z1s, which uses Sony's G Lens (F2.0). What's new is an exclusive Xperia Camera App called background defocus (Cybershot users may be familiar with this) which uses fancy software tricks to create a bokeh effect. The software isn't perfect and it's not a substitute for the real thing, but the results are impressive when you consider it's from a phone.

Sony's also integrated parts of its entertainment ecosystem with the PlayStation App, which allows direct access to various PlayStation Network features and information such as profiles, trophies, messages, notifications and game invitations, as well as news and blogs from the official PlayStation website. The app is also a companion app to the PS4, allowing for a Second Screen feature in supported games, the use of the Xperia Z1s as a remote control to the PS4, and the ability to watch friends' PS4 game play. Gamers can even connect to a DUALSHOCK3 wireless controller to play PlayStation Mobile games.

Key features for Xperia Z1s:

• Waterproof, rated IP55/58

• Sony G Lens, 1/2.3" 20.7 MP Exmor RSTM for mobile image sensor and BIONZ for mobile image processing engine

• Preloaded Xperia camera apps including: Info-eye, Timeshift burst, AR effect, Social live, and Background defocus

• 5-inch Full HD TRILUMINOS Display for mobile with X-Reality for mobile picture engine

• PlayStation App - Connect to your PS4TM system and PSN friends, use your smartphone as a second screen and manage your game downloads

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core 2.2 GHz processor, 3000 mAh battery, 4G LTE

Beginning January 13, T-Mobile customers can purchase Xperia Z1s online at T-Mobile for $0 down with 24 equal monthly device payments of $22 with the Simple Choice Plan. As a special pre-sale promotion, Sony Mobile is providing customers with a $100 VISA gift card with purchase of a Sony Xperia Z1s and a Sony PlayStation4 for a limited time from Jan. 13 – 21. Additionally, every Xperia Z1s comes with six movies to download from Video Unlimited including Sony Pictures' Captain Phillips on the day of its digital release, 10 preselected PlayStation Mobile games, and a 60-day free trial of Music Unlimited.

Check out all of our CES 2014 coverage!

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Just because you're gaming on the go doesn't mean you need to be playing Angry Birds or Temple Run. There's nothing to stop you challenging your mind with something a little more serious, and there is a wealth of strategy games available for mobile. The Tom's Guide team has hunted down the best 15, so check out '15 Best Mobile Strategy Games' for the full list!

Strategy games challenge the mind, providing tactical puzzles and combat conundrums for players to untangle. Whether engaged in far-future combat or engaged in fantasy melees, strategy games let you unleash your inner general. Take command, and try out our picks for the 15 best mobile strategy games.15 Best Mobile Strategy Games

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The UK's first (but no longer only) 4G carrier has hit one million customers well ahead of schedule. The company had originally hoped to hit one million customers before the end of the year but thanks the UK's rapid adoption rate for its early milestone. Everything Everywhere launched its 4G network just last October, which means this milestone also comes before the service is even one year old.

"The UK mobile sector saw a huge shift 10 months ago with the launch of 4G from EE. We set a new standard for UK mobile networks, and the way consumers and businesses are using their mobile devices in this country has been transformed," said EE CEO Olaf Swantee. "We have seen one of the fastest adoption rates in the world and I’m immensely proud to announce today that we have reached a significant milestone – one million 4G customers."

Just last month, EE revealed that it was now providing 4G LTE to 100 towns across the United Kingdom. The announcement came right after O2 and Vodafone rolled out their own LTE service in a handful of cities.

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During IFA 2013, Sony introduced an unlocked Xperia Tablet Z 4G LTE in the United States that in now available at Sony stores and online here. The tablet is offered in a 16 GB capacity for around $629 USD, and is compatible with local GSM-based carriers AT&T and T-Mobile.

The Xperia Tablet Z, originally launched back in May, features a 10.1 inch TFT Reality Display with a 1920 x 1200 resolution (224 ppi) and 10-point touch input, powered by the company's Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 and a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core Soc clocked at 1.5 GHz. This setup is backed by 2 GB of RAM, the 16 GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot supporting up to 64 GB of space.

Sony's tablet also sports dual band Wireless N connectivity, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, an infrared port, an 8.1MP camera on the back and a 2.2MP camera on the front. The microHDMI port also supports MHL connectivity, meaning it can pump content to an MHL compatible HDTV while also receiving a charge on the same line.

"The 10.1 inch Xperia Tablet Z 4G LTE, the world’s thinnest and lightest LTE tablet, provides the most vivid HD tablet display ever," the company said on Wednesday. "Powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2, the Xperia Tablet Z delivers enhanced color reproduction for a brilliant HD TV-like viewing experience. With a water-resistant design and ultra-strong glass, users can enjoy it practically anywhere."

The Xperia Tablet X is one of Sony's PlayStation-certified tablets although that means absolutely nothing here in the States, as Sony abandoned bringing its classic PlayStation games to Android long ago. Instead, the company launched its PlayStation Mobile app which plays host to 59 titles you likely won't see on Google Play save for a select few like Chaos Rings.

"The design of Xperia Tablet Z is focused on creating balance and symmetry in all directions," Sony states. "We call it OmniBalance design. OmniBalance design balances technology vs. design, letting you get so totally immersed in the content that the hardware disappears. Xperia Tablet Z has subtly rounded edges and smooth, reflective surfaces on all sides, which are held together by an innovative skeleton frame. The glass-paneled front has a seamless surface and enhanced reflective coating."

For more information about the Xperia Tablet Z, head here.

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America's "uncarrier" T-Mobile has announced that it will offer all devices for no money down for a limited period of time. The deal has been brought in in time for back to school shopping season and will see the carrier drop the upfront price on its entire lineup of devices in stores nationwide to zero dollars. Of course, there's no such thing as a free lunch, and customers taking advantage of this deal will be tied to higher monthly plans than usual. Despite this, there are some moderate savings to be had from this deal depending on the phone you choose (the Detroit Free Press reports that while customers stand to save $30 for Samsung's Galaxy S4, the iPhone 5 only be $2 cheaper, and the HTC One will actually cost $40 more).

"The number of reasons not to switch to T-Mobile this summer is ZERO," John Legere, president and chief executive officer, T-Mobile US, said in a statement on Friday "This is a fantastic offer and we're making it easier than ever for customers to get the latest amazing devices. Adding Zero Down in addition to JUMP!, and Simple Choice with no contract is all about making wireless work for consumers and shaking up this industry."

The list of current generation devices available for no money down via T-Mobile is below, along with the minimum monthly payments (over 24 months) that will be required if you do take the uncarrier up on its offer.

Nothing like a last minute invitation to cheer up your Hump Day. T-Mobile on Tuesday sent out invitations for a July 10 event and is promising big things. The invitation itself offers no indication as to what the event is about, but T-Mobile offers the ever tempting teaser, "Our boldest moves yet."

From a company that has already made some pretty bold moves this year, that's a lofty promise to make. Just in 2013 alone, we've seen the company acquire MetroPCS and do away with contracts to become an 'uncarrier.' Tomorrow's news is really anyone's guess, and while it could be something huge, it could also be something a little less than exciting, like the launch of a new device. That seems unlikely, given that the invite came from T-Mobile and bears no other branding. What's more, folks at TMoNews point to an ad that appeared in the Wall Street Journal on Monday. The full-page advert highlights AT&T's lengthy upgrade policy before stating, "This Wednesday, see how long your wait can end."

Color us intrigued! Tune in tomorrow for the latest news. The even is at 2pm in NYC.

Samsung's long-awaited Galaxy S4 has finally gone up for UK pre-order following its March 14 unveiling. The phone, due to be released next month, is now available for pre-order through Three UK, O2, Vodafone, EE, T-Mobile, and Orange. Vodafone and Three announced pre-order plans today, while retailers Phones 4u and Carphone Warehouse are offering the device on a range of different networks including EE, T-Mobile, O2, and Orange.

The Galaxy S4 is the follow on to Samsung's hugely successful Galaxy S3 and is the next in its Galaxy line of flagship smartphones. The S4 will pack a 5-inch Full HD Super AMOLED PenTile display, either a 1.9GHz quad-core processor or a 1.6GHz octa-core processor (depending on the region you're buying the device), 2GB of RAM, 13-megapixel camera, a 2-megapixel camera up front, 16GB or 32GB of storage, and a 2,600mAh battery.

The Galaxy S4 is set to launch in the UK on April 26 and will feature a 1.9GHz quad-core processor as opposed the octa-core processor Samsung talked about during its announcement event. Samsung hasn't yet offered a reason as to why the UK (and other markets) will get a lower-powered S4. Still, it's not as though a quad-core CPU in your phone is anything to sniff at, is it?

Though the S4 has yet to be released, there are already reports doing the rounds of a lower-powered, cheaper Galaxy S4 Mini. Rumors point to a 1.6 GHz dual core processor as well as a 4.3 inch Super AMOLED qHD display with a resolution on 960x540 pixels (256 ppi).

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Ever since T-Mobile USA announced its new iPhone 5 with its incredible new pricing strategy, questions have been flying around concerning T-Mobile's business models, competitive pricing, U.S. market share and whether the company's current network infrastructure can support such a bandwidth hungry device. However, now focus is starting to shift to the actual phone, which finally went through the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) trials this week.

Not many changes have been made to the iPhone as it is still classified as an iPhone 5. The primary change is the 42Mbps HSPA+ radio that works on AWS frequencies as used by UnCarrier and Canada's Wind. After this, Apple is probably going to be silent on the mobile front for the time being as they focus their efforts on the rumoured to be upcoming next-gen iPhone.

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Wireless carrier T-Mobile is purportedly preparing to end phone contracts in an effort to better compete with its competitors.

According to an internal memo obtained by TmoNews, T-Mobile could announce its "uncarrier" plans during March. The decision would remove two-year contracts, early termination fees and traditional phone subsidies, consequently allowing customers to purchase new devices via a monthly installment plan.

The memo in question also apparently reveals that T-Mobile intends to market its HSPA+ and forthcoming LTE network as "dual 4G" technology amid its merger with MetroPCS. The re-branding initiative is due to commence on March 24.

Back in December, T-Mobile CEO John Legere discussed alternative options to compete with Verizon and AT&T. He said during Deutsche Telekom’s annual investor conference that "we think there is a huge room for a carrier to change in a way that the larger players will choose to or will not be able to respond to."

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T-Mobile USA has said that the Z10 smartphone from BlackBerry, previously known as Research In Motion, may launch ahead of its expected mid-March debut in America.

The former said it’s hoping to be the first American carrier "out of the gate" with the device next month. "The device is more stable than we anticipated," said Frank Sickinger, head of business sales at T-Mobile USA. "If we are able to speed up the launch date, we will do that. Right now it’s looking like mid-March."

His comments come after BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins stressed that the device's late launch in the U.S., its largest single market, is disappointing, which is due to the region's phone carriers' rigid testing system.

Sickinger said the $199 price for the BlackBerry Z10 announced on January 30 at the platform's launch event is in line with what T-Mobile USA has considered. The smartphone itself is already available in the U.K., where it's performing well in the market, as well as in Canada, where BlackBerry is based. For more on the handset, check out our hands-on preview.

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Despite it being the fourth largest cellphone carrier in the United States, T-Mobile has yet to offer its customers the iPhone.

However, T-Mobile customers won't be iDeprived for much longer. Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann was speaking the truth when he said that subsidiary T-Mobile would be carrying the iPhone some time in 2013.

T-Mobile CEO John Lugere gave a little bit of a more precise timeframe at CES Las Vegas, telling Reuters that it'll be carrying the iPhone in three or four months. This will be around the same time that T-Mobile will be doing completely away with cellphone subsidies, meaning customers will have to pay an upfront fee and monthly installments for their phones.

Sadly this will mean that by the time the smartphone launches on the carrier, T-Mobile customers wanting to snatch up a new iPhone will have to bear the brunt of the full cost of the phone.

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Rumor has it T-Mobile will start selling Google's Nexus 4 at all of its U.S. stores later this month. Though the phone launched on the carrier in November, it wasn't available at all locations, and the limited number of stores carrying the phone only added to supply issues for folks desperate to get their hands on the phone.

Luckily, it seems T-Mobile is ready to roll out availability at all of its locations. TMONews reports that locations other than the initial launch stores started receiving marketing materials in December and a full launch is scheduled for this month. The site has obtained a screenshot of an T-Mobile internal message that says all stores will carry the Nexus 4 from January onwards. The message offers no solid release date, which makes sense given the phone is already on sale at select T-Mobile stores. It also says that stores can start selling the phone as soon as they receive inventory, so be sure to keep an eye out at your local T-Mobile store if you're in the market for a Nexus 4.

Developed in collaboration with LG (a first for the South Korean company), the Nexus 4 packs a 4.7-inch 1280x768 IPS display (320 ppi), Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 CPU, 2GB of RAM, 8GB or 16GB of storage, an 8-megapixel camera (1.3-megapixel camera up front), a 2,100mAh Li-Polymer battery, NFC, and Android 4.2. The phone doesn't have support for 4G LTE, nor does it allow for external storage via MicroSD.

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Smartphones have changed the way we communicate on the go. Offering access to email, video calling, social networks, and apps like Whats App, we're no longer restricted to simple phone calls or SMS message when out and about. However, they don't exactly come cheap. Whether it's a heft off-contract price or an expensive two-year agreement, owning a smartphone can be pretty expensive.

T-Mobile UK is hoping to make the experience more affordable with the a £20 phone called the Energy smartphone. A pay as you go phone from Chinese manufacturer ZTE, the Energy packs a 3.5in 480 x 320 display, 3.2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, GPRS, WiFi and microSD support (2GB included).

If you're an Android fan, this device isn't for you, as it doesn't use Google's mobile OS. Instead, it uses ZTE's own operating system. This means you won't have access to Google Play store or its wide array of applications. What this phone does have is an incredibly low price. T-Mobile launched the device last year priced at £50. That's now being dropped down to £20 with a £10 top up that will give you unlimited free texts (forever), which should appeal to teens on a budget.

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Released in Europe this past summer, ZTE's Grand X smartphone is set to launch in the United States through T-Mobile.

An FCC listing showcased a T-Mobile logo on the device's exterior, confirming it's scheduled for a release in the U.S. However, pricing and availability dates have yet to be unveiled.

Powered by a Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor clocked at 1GHz, the Grand X sports 1 GB of RAM, 4 GB storage, a 4.3-inch 960 x 540 display and Dolby Mobile surround sound.

A 5-megapixel camera with HD video recording is situated at the rear, accompanied by a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera. Also included is a 1,650mAh battery, while the operating system is Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

According to a leaked image of the smartphone, ZTE is also preparing to launch a successor to the device with the Grand X Pro.

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T-Mobile has unveiled its plan to expand the carrier's 4G coverage (1,900MHz band) into 14 new markets, bringing its total reach to 37 cities.

The fourth largest U.S. carrier also announced a partnership with Solavei, a non-contract carrier that resells T-Mobile's service, as well as the iPhone. Consumers who sign up with the latter in any of T-Mobile's 4G markets can purchase the iPhone and sign onto an unlimited talk, text and data plan for $49 a month.

Customers will also be able to transfer an existing AT&T iPhone to Solavei, which would ultimately mean they're migrating to T-Mobile's network. The carrier is encouraging AT&T customers to bring their unlocked phone and join them instead.

T-Mobile's 4G regions are: New York City, Newark, Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Tampa, Baltimore, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Seattle, Minneapolis, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Diego, Central and Southern Arizona, the San Francisco Bay Area, California's Central Valley and South Florida.

The carrier had recently announced an agreement with Apple to offer the iPhone to its 33 million subscribers.

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In the next few hands-on installments, I'm going wrap up Microsoft's coverage with three Windows 8 devices and one Windows 7 device. This latter device, the sleek and slick Touch Mouse, fits within this batch of Windows 8 gadgets because Microsoft is adding to it Windows 8-specific commands.

But first let's start with the "designed for Windows 8" peripherals. Out of all the gadgets Microsoft has tossed our way, I've used the Sculpt Touch Bluetooth Mouse the most, shown above. That's probably due to its form factor: it fits nicely in the palm of my hand, or rather, it's just right. It's not too small and it's not too big. It's a straight-to-the-point mouse I can control on nearly any surface with ease without having to cramp my hand or extend my fingers to uncomfortable lengths.

To make control easier, Microsoft has partnered this "just right" contoured shape with a layer of rubber along the sides and front, making it easier to grip. Two additional strips running across the width of the bottom raise the mouse just slightly off the surface so that it doesn't drag during movement – it's like pushing a toy car across the carpet (you've done it, don't deny it). Also located on the bottom is a power switch for conserving the batteries (two AA), a Bluetooth switch for pairing, and the BlueTrack sensor.

Microsoft promotes this mouse as Windows 8 ready, but it works just fine in Windows 7. Replacing the old-school mouse wheel is a touch strip that provides 4-way scrolling. Flick up on the strip to scroll up, flick down to scroll down, and flick left or right to scroll from side to side horizontally. It even vibrates according to how fast you flick a finger, indicating a slow scroll or a fast scroll. Press down on it once, and the strip will perform a middle-click command.

As this is a Microsoft mouse, this Bluetooth peripheral will appear in the Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard Center. Here users can change the settings of the left button, the right button, the touch strip, and the middle-click function. Options include adding gaming commands to each button, browser commands, document commands and more. Users can even assign mouse buttons to perform different commands in different programs.

Ultimately that's it for the Sculpt Touch Mouse. It's not ideal for first-person shooters, as the strip plays hell with commands like weapon switching (it rotates through guns slot-machine style), but it does play nice with the likes of Diablo 3 and Torchlight 2. This mouse also isn't ideal for mobile use given its size, but its Bluetooth design makes it more practical for on-to-go use than a similar wired model. The same goes for its boomerang-like companion, the Sculpt Mobile Keyboard.

As with the Sculpt Touch Mouse, I've been using this Bluetooth keyboard since it arrived. I simply love it. Why? Like the Sculpt Touch Mouse, it's just right. It's not too big and it's not too small. Is it for mobile use as the name implies? Depends on how much you need to carry. It's bigger than the Wedge Mobile Keyboard, but smaller than the just launched Sculpt Comfort Keyboard, measuring 13.9 x 6.54-inches. What keeps this keyboard listed in the mobile category is its overall thinness: from 0.50-inches in the back where the two AA batteries are stored to nearly 0.25-inches in the front.

That said, typing on this nearly-flat keyboard feels like I'm typing directly on the tabletop. It also features a Comfort Curve design with a slight 6-degree angle in the keyset. Microsoft says this is to help encourage "a more natural arm and wrist posture, providing greater comfort during extended use." It still looks like a big black boomerang to me, and I'm still fighting the urge to toss it and see if it comes back (probably not).

As this is a Windows 8-focused keyboard, it provides shortcut keys to make navigation and tasks easier to perform in the new OS. Along the top are four media keys for playing video and audio clips, and for adjusting the device volume. There are also eight keys assigned specifically for Windows 8 including Search, Share, Device and Settings hotkeys. The Windows key has also been updated with the Windows 8 logo which pulls up the Start screen – in Windows 7, it brings up the Start Menu just as it did before.

What's missing from this nifty little keyboard is the numeric pad. The actual keys themselves vary is size, depending on where they are in the keyboard's overall curved design. The arrow keys are annoyingly small, making them difficult to use in first-person shooters (I'm a lefty and don’t use WASD). Consumers looking for a Windows 8 keyboard with a numeric pad will need to check out the just-released Sculpt Comfort Keyboard, which I'll cover shortly.

Like the Wedge Mobile Keyboard and Wedge Touch Mouse, these two Bluetooth peripherals can be used outside the Windows environment. They performed as expected when paired with Google's Nexus 7 tablet, allowing me to scroll through the Home screens with the flick of a finger, and type emails and URLs in Chrome. But unlike the Wedge duo, these are less portable, and the keyboard doesn't sport a fancy cover that turns into a tablet prop.

To that end, sure you could stuff this mouse in your pocket and the keyboard under your arm, but the Wedge duo just seems more ideal for mobile scenarios. Instead, these Sculpt peripherals seem best suited for notebooks, Ultramooks, hybrids and perhaps even 10-inch tablets like Microsoft's Surface -- computing devices that are typically transported within a bag sporting several compartments.

As previously stated, I'll cover the last two Microsoft peripherals – the Touch Mouse and the Sculpt Comfort Keyboard, in a separate installment. After that, I'll cover several similar Windows 8 products from Logitech. Marcus and Andrew are tag-teaming on a hands-on impression and review feature benchmarks of the Surface tablet which should be compatible with all these peripherals covered over the last few weeks.

With Windows 8 here, you'll have a good idea what keyboard and mouse will best suit your needs.

For those of you just tuning in to our coverage of Microsoft's Windows 8 peripherals, here's what we've published so far:

* Unboxing the Sculpt Mobile and Sculpt Comfort Keyboards
* Hands-on: Microsoft's Wedge Mobile Keyboard & Touch Mouse
* Unboxing Part 2: Three Windows 8 Mice, One Keyboard
* Unboxing Part 1: Three Windows 8 Mice, One Keyboard

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It's been years since mobile phones were just devices for making calls and sending a quick SMS. These days, with their multi-core processors and gigabytes of RAM and storage, they're powerful little computers that we carry with us and trust with some very sensitive information. Sadly, the fact that we're now trusting our phones with more information means there's more people hell-bent on getting at it. Smartphone malware is no small problem and while consumers are used to having to protect their computers against malicious attacks, they're not used to having to do the same for their phone.

While there are countless virus protection tools for phones, not everyone makes use of them. However, T-Mobile is hoping to protect its customers by providing protection right out of the box. The carrier has teamed up with mobile security firm Lookout to pre-load Lookout’s Automatic App Security will come preloaded on Android devices. This means customers' new phones will ship with antivirus software already installed and they don't have to worry about finding their own.

"Lookout already scans more than 36 million applications for T-Mobile customers every day," said Ian McKerlich, vice president of product management, T-Mobile USA. "Preloading Automatic App Security on our devices allows even more customers to enjoy the security and peace of mind of knowing that they’re protected with the leading Android mobile security and antivirus app."

T-Mobile says the software will be preloaded onto select devices this year (the LG Optimus L9 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 will be the first) but will be on most Android devices in 2013. There's no setup or registration required and Lookout will scan all applications upon download, in addition to providing weekly scans for potential threats. 

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The end of this month is looking pretty crowded as far as tech events are concerned. Apple just announced what's presumed to be an iPad event for next Tuesday, Microsoft is launching Windows 8 and its Surface tablet next Friday, and the following week will see Google, and Microsoft both hold cell phone events. Today, T-Mobile threw its hat in the ring and announced plans to hold its own event at the end of the month. On the same day as Google and Microsoft, of course.

T-Mobile this afternoon sent out invitations for an evening event for Monday, October 29. The company hasn't revealed very little about the event, only specifying that it is a product launch. The most likely possibility is that T-Mobile wants to be among the first out the gate with a Windows Phone 8 device and so is announcing something the very day Windows Phone 8 is launched. Of course, there's always the off chance that the Nexus device Google has got planned for that day could be compatible with T-Mobile's network.

The invite itself lends no hints as to what we should expect. There's no little Android silhouette or subtle 8's anywhere. Place your bets now, folks.

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U.S. carrier T-Mobile may finally sign a deal with Apple to offer the iPhone to its 33.2 million subscribers, according to an analyst.

According to Morgan Stanley analyst Nick Delfas, T-Mobile could "announce official iPhone distribution in early 2013". While he didn't divulge further details, the deal would seemingly see another one to two million consumers purchasing the iPhone 5 during next year's first quarter.

T-Mobile is, of course, the only firm left out of the four major U.S. carriers without the ability to offer its subscribers the iPhone. It initially hinted at the possibility of selling the device back in May when it confirmed plans of investing $4 billion to expand its 4G LTE network.

Delfas suggests that even though T-Mobile not selling the iPhone won't have a considerable impact on iPhone shipments in next year's first quarter, a potential relationship between the carrier and Apple could lead to "another possible catalyst" towards increased sales of the device.

T-Mobile recently confirmed it would be merging with MetroPCS, who has itself been growing its LTE network.

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