It’s a big week for mobile Internet, as nearly every wireless company is at the CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas and unveiling plans for cell phone customers in the U.S. But is there anything we should really care about?

More people are moving to smartphones and rely on cellular-based wireless for Internet. The mobile Web needs to speed up, big time.

Currently 3rd-generation (3G) Internet speeds are around 1 megabit per second. The coming 4G technology promises much faster service.  Sprint and T-Mobile announced their upgrades today. Verizon’s is coming tomorrow.

If you’re trying to sort out what mobile service is in your future, here’s what it comes down to:

► T-Mobile: Announced “Rollout the Nation’s Fastest 3G Wireless Network.”
Speeds: Using a technology called HSPA+, T-Mobile  says its mobile Internet will jump to speeds of 21 megabits per second. The announcement Tuesday included a “coming soon” for Los Angeles (and Orange County) users.
Reality: 21 mbps is a theoretical speed. As with every wireless Internet, speed will vary based on “location, device, and overall traffic on the local wireless network,” which T-Mobile does note. How slow? One reviewer seemed impressed when he squeezed 3 mbps out of T-Mobile’s service. Users also must upgrade to a HSPA device (here’s a list) and, ultimately, this is 3G and not 4G technology. However, it’s one of the fastest wireless technologies available today and should be everywhere by end of year.

► Sprint: Expanded its limited 4G wireless Internet to more areas, including North Orange County later this year.
Speeds: Using 4G Wimax technology, Sprint says its mobile Internet is 3 to 6 mbps, which is “up to 10 times faster” than today’s existing 3G speeds of around 600 kilobits per second, says Sprint.
Reality: The same reviewer who tested T-Mobile’s HSPA+ discovered Sprint’s 4G speed was slower, at 2.25 mbps. Other 4G user forums mention how it’s slower than 3G. But there are no caps on usage, and it’s the only 4G service publicly available.

► Verizon: Still waiting to hear Verizon’s update, which is coming Wednesday.
Speeds: Its mobile Internet service using Long Term Evolution technology (LTE) is on track for this year. Peak download of 40 to 50 mbps; upload speed of 20 to 25 mbps.
Reality: Since speed is reliant on environment and other users, Verizon says the average download speed is more like 5 to 12 mbps, while upload speed is 2 to 5 mbps.

► AT&T: Appears to be concentrating on other news this week and announced connected digital photo frames and GPS-enabled dog collars. The company, which is sticking with HSPA for now until it moves to LTE, did express disbelief as to whether LTE is ready for prime time.

More CTIA news:

• Verizon Wireless smartphone customers can add Skype beginning Thursday. Calls to other Skype users won’t affect available minutes. Read details
• First Android phone with 4G and 3G service coming from Sprint this summer. The HTC Evo even has its own site: www.sprint.com/evo.  Read details
• T-Mobile announces first netbook. Read details

Spotted: Add another iPhone rumor to the list. The Financial Times is reporting that T-Mobile may end AT&T’s lock on the Apple iPhone later this year.

René Obermann, chief executive of T-Mobile USA’s German parent Deutsche Telekom, told the publication that the company is focusing on mobile Internet. And then there’s this sentence buried at the bottom:

The iPhone has provided AT&T with strong revenue growth, and T-Mobile USA is hoping to start selling the popular smartphone later this year or next year.

But are the two connected? Did Obermann really say during the FT interview that T-Mobile will offer the iPhone this year? It would seem that way based on how the story was written. But why bury this juicy nugget?

It could be that it’s because in Germany, T-Mobile sells the iPhone. So perhaps the German-based reporter didn’t think a direct quote from Obermann was crucial.

However, this isn’t the first time T-Mobile has appeared as a possible iPhone vendor. In December, Thomas Weisel analyst Doug Reid said he believed T-Mobile would be next and not Verizon Wireless, as others have long theorized.  Why T-Mobile?  ”Apple wants to move away from exclusivity; T-Mobile achieves this for Apple in the U.S.,” Reid wrote.

T-Mobile also uses the same wireless technology as AT&T so an iPhone doesn’t need a complete hardware overhaul to join the T-Mobile network.

I guess we’ll find out this fall whether there’s any truth to the story.

From the web:

• T-Mobile USA in profits pledge (Financial Times)
• T-Mobile USA Hoping To Sell The iPhone Later This Year (Business Insider)
• T-Mobile USA eyeing iPhone launch this year or next? (Engadget)
• Apple iPhone coming to T-Mobile instead of Verizon Wireless in 2010? (BloggingStocks.com)

Faster wireless Internet — up to 21 Mbps — from T-Mobile is around the corner and expected to be available nationwide by the end of the year. It could launch even sooner here in Orange County. We’ll find out in two weeks when T-Mobile offers an update during the upcoming CTIA mobile show.

To get ready for the speed jump, T-Mobile announced today that it now offers an HSPA+ USB Laptop stick, the webConnect Rocket. The company says that it’s also the nation’s first HSPA+ device, but that’s because the only other company going this speedy route is AT&T. Verizon Wireless and Sprint are working on faster 4G wireless technology like LTE (Long Term Evolution) and Wimax.

HSPA, short for High Speed Packet Access, is sometimes called Turbo 3G and offers wireless Internet speeds of up to 7.2 mbps. But add a plus sign and the speed jumps to 21 Mbps. T-Mobile is upgrading its 3G cell towers nationwide to add the faster technology.

I’m sure T-Mobile smartphone users everywhere are ready for the speed jump because the existing 3G Internet is more like 1 Mbps or slower. But if you feel 3G Internet is still slow, here’s some bad news: T-Mobile has already enabled HSPA 7.2 across its entire 3G network nationwide. The company, however, says it is still working to put the “necessary backhaul in place to support these faster speeds.” (AT&T, by the way, has also upgraded all of its network to HSPA and is working on upgrading to 4G technology.)

Nevertheless, many of T-Mobile’s newer smartphone users will reap the benefits of HSPA+ when it does become available because the phones and devices are backward compatible.  Here are T-Mobile’s existing 3G phones and devices that are HSPA capable:

1. T-Mobile G1
2. T-Mobile myTouch 3G
3. T-Mobile myTouch 3G LE
4. Motorola CLIQ
5. HTC TouchPro 2
6. T-Mobile Dash 3G
7. Samsung Behold II
8. T-Mobile webConnect USB Laptop Stick
9. T-Mobile webConnect Jet
10. HTC HD2

The Rocket goes on sale Sunday, March 14, for $99.99 with a 2-year contract. New Internet plans will be available beginning this weekend. Here are the new “Even More” plans and prices:

2-year contract:

• $59.99/mo. for 5GB per month ($0.20/MB overage)
• $29.99/mo. for 200MB per month ($0.20/MB overage)

No contract:

• $49.99/mo. for 5GB per month ($0.20/MB overage)
• $19.99/mo. for 200MB per month ($0.20/MB overage)

Unlimited nationwide T-Mobile HotSpot access is included in both plans and doesn’t count toward monthly data usage.

More on 3G, 4G wireless service:

Noted: T-Mobile is giving existing customers another reason to stay on with the company: 21 mbps download speeds, according to GigaOm’s Stacey Higginbotham.

While Higginbotham’s interview with T-Mobile’s vice president of engineering Dave Mayo didn’t confirm that California would be first to get the faster High Speed Packet Access technology, or HSPA+, Mayo said that T-Mobile is upgrading its HSPA software  ”major cities” along the California Coast, says the report.

Higginbotham theorizes that this could come as soon as the middle end of 2010 since T-Mobile is waiting for more devices that can handle the speeds. Currently, it has 10.

This isn’t quite 4G mobile wireless. It’s more of an advanced 3G network. AT&T has been upgrading its 3G network to HSPA software, which offers up to 7.2 Mbps. T-Mobile, meanwhile, has also been testing HSPA+ in Philadelphia.

More on faster mobile networks:

With all the rain in Orange County this week, it’s hard to believe that the devastating earthquake in Haiti was just last week.  Donations continued to pour in this week via text messages, plus there’s tonight’s “Hope for Haiti Now” benefit concert for the country.

Here’s a round up of what local TV and wireless services are doing:

Cox Communications: Waiving fees on international long-distance calls to Haiti (country code 509) through Feb. 28. This is retroactive to Jan. 12. The Cox Foundation also donated $250,000 to relief efforts. See press release.

Time Warner Cable: Waiving fees on international long-distance calls to Haiti through end of February, retroactive to Jan. 12. This applies only to direct-dial calls and not calls made through an operator. See press release.

AT&T: Waived fees on calls to Haiti numbers. Also letting customers watch  tonight’s “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon on their phones, U-verse TV or web. To watch on a phone, go to AT&T Mobile TV on MTV’s MediaFlo channel. U-verse subscribers can tune in to the major networks and MTV for the performance. Online, the event will be streamed at entertainment.att.net. Wireless customers can also donate $10 to Red Cross International Relief Fund by texting the word “HAITI” to 90999.

Sprint: Waiving texting fees to Haiti through Jan. 31. Customers donated $3.1 million to the effort, as of Jan. 19, by texting “HAITI” to 90999.

T-Mobile: Waiving international long-distance fees through Jan. 31 and dropping fee to text “HAITI” at 90999 to donate $10. Customers donated $3 million, as of Jan. 19. T-Mobile and its parent company have  also donated $250,000 to the effort.

Verizon: Waiving international long-distance calling fees plus offering a live broadcast of the relief concert to mobile users who have access to VCAST Video on their phones. See press release. Verizon users can also text the word “HAITI” to 90999. So far, the company has collected $4.84 million in text donations. Verizon also has a page dedicated to the Haiti relief effort with information on several organizations accepting donations. Click HERE.

Tonight’s benefit concert includes singers Madonna, Jay-Z, George Clooney and Haiti native Wyclef Jean. It airs at 8 p.m. tonight on the following channels:

ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1, CMT, PBS, TNT, Showtime, Comedy Central, Bravo, E! Entertainment, National Geographic Channel, Oxygen, G4, CENTRIC, Current TV, Fuse, MLB Network, EPIX, Palladia, SoapNet, Style, Discovery Health, Planet Green, CNN en Español, HBO Latino and Canadian networks, including CBC Television, CTV, Global Television and MuchMusic.

New unlimited wireless plans begin today from the nation’s largest mobile providers: Verizon Wireless and AT&T.

Instead of the usual “unlimited” calling to people on the same network, these two companies will now offer unlimited calls to any phone number nationwide.

Rivals T-Mobile and Sprint already offer something similar. Sprint began offering “Any Mobile Anytime” in September allowing subscribers to the plan to call any number outside the Sprint network, as long as it was a mobile phone. T-Mobile unveiled a more complete version of unlimited plans last year.

Mobile phone services have evolved greatly in the past few years. From T-Mobile launching its “Fave 5″ — allowing users to call any five numbers as much as they want — to allowing customers to call any number any time. The mobile carriers are being forced to evolve due to competition from prepaid companies like MetroPCS and Boost Mobile and upcoming competition from cable TV companies like Cox.

It looks like consumers can look forward to the end of overage fees and minute counting.

But how much are they? And what’s the catch? Most still require a two-year contract and, of course, the price is much higher than it used to be. I’ve compiled a chart of the big four mobile services so it’s easier to see how much everything costs.

Unlimited plans	Verizon	AT&T	T-Mobile	Sprint
Talk	$69.99	$69.99	$59.99
Talk/Text	$89.99	$89.99	$69.99
Family Talk (2 lines)	$119.99	$119.99	$99.99
Family Talk/Text (2 lines)	$149.99	$149.99	$119.99
3G smartphone voice/data	$99.99	$99.99	$89.99
3G smartphone voice/data/text	$119.99	$119.99	$99.99	$99.99*
Family smartphone voice/data (2 lines)		$179.99	$159.99
Family smartphone voice/data/text (2 lines)		$209.99	$179.99	$189.99*

*Sprint’s plan includes unlimited calls to mobile numbers only, not all numbers.

I’ll review the prepaid companies unlimited offerings in a later post.

Previously on unlimited plans:

Who’s got the best cell phone service in the U.S.? Hands down, it’s Verizon, according to readers of Consumer Reports.

The publication just issued its annual update on mobile service and once again ranked Verizon at the top nationwide for overall service, scoring 75 points out of 100. Second place T-Mobile scored 70.

But just because both companies did better than the others doesn’t mean everyone is happy with service. According to its survey of 50,000 readers, Consumer Reports said that only 54 percent were “completely or very satisfied” with service.

While still a majority, those aren’t very good numbers for any consumer-oriented business.

“Despite ‘smarter phones,’ more flexible plans, and faster wireless networks, cell service continues to be among the lower-rated of all the services that Consumer Reports evaluates,” the organization concluded in its January 2010 issue.

Ouch!

Even those consumers who were relatively satisfied with service had at least one major complaint. One in 5 said prices were too high.

For Orange County and Los Angeles area users, we’re getting similar treatment as the rest of the country. Unless you’re with AT&T. Los Angeles and Orange County readers rated AT&T at 60 points, the second lowest score AT&T received. The lowest score came from our siblings up north in San Francisco near the iPhone’s hometown, which rated AT&T an 59.

Nationwide, AT&T scored below average in every attribute (voice, customer support) except Web access and texting. Interestingly, such service issues didn’t seem to matter much to iPhone users. Consumer Reports said a “staggering 98 percent” of iPhone users would buy the phone again despite AT&T’s poor rating.

In our area, Verizon (at 75 points) was in the lead, followed by Sprint (69 points), T-Mobile (65 points) and AT&T (60 points). Click chart on right to enlarge and view ratings for the Los Angeles area.

Prepaid service, on the other hand, fared much better but only 3,257 readers used prepaid services. While the report cites Irvine’s Boost Mobile as attracting 1.5 million new customers during the first half of the year, Boost didn’t make it into the top-5 prepaid services. TracFone had the highest satisfaction score followed by prepaid options from T-Mobile, Virgin Mobile and Verizon.

Also missing: MetroPCS, an inexpensive prepaid service with lots of unlimited options. Consumer Reports said there was insufficient data to rank MetroPCS or another cheap service called Straight Talk, which is sold through Walmart. Straight Talk, it notes, uses the comprehensive Verizon network and it offers unlimited voice, message and Web for $45 per month.

The full report should be available later today at Consumer Reports web site. It will also be in the January 2010 issue. If anyone wants to see the report, let me know and I’ll e-mail it.

Recent stories about cell phone service:

UPDATE: T-Mobile says if you continue to experience difficulty making/receiving calls or accessing data services, please power your phone off then back on. This will update your connection to the network and should restore your access to these services.

UDPATE: 7:19 a.m.: I’m still hearing that service is spotty in south Orange County. Anyone out there feeling that too? Please leave a comment and I’ll check it out.

——————-

It was a rough night for many T-Mobile customers Tuesday as the mobile-service provider acknowledged that there was a widespread outage of its data and voice services affecting at least 5 percent of its 33.5 million customers. That’s approximately 1.7 million customers.

Around 10:30 last night, the company said everything was fixed. In a statement, T-Mobile said that service was fully restored and the company is now investigating what happened. Here’s the statement:

“T-Mobile confirms it has fully restored voice and text/picture messaging services for customers affected by intermittent service disruptions on Tuesday. About five percent of our customers across various geographies were affected for much of Tuesday evening, and by late Tuesday PST their service was restored. Our sole focus has been restoring full services for all customers; we are now investigating the root cause of the incident. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience that this has caused our customers.”

The five-hour outage affected not just Orange County, but the whole nation. Readers from Arizona, Minnesota, Dallas, Chicago and other cities left comments saying that their T-Mobile service was out, too.

Other news sites reported that the outage happened just as T-Mobile was trying to fix a data outage that some SideKick users have experienced for nearly one month. T-Mobile said it had restored all services by Halloween.

The Wall Street Journal reported that “Microsoft Corp. accidentally lost personal SideKick data stored in its servers. The company and its SideKick unit, Danger, later restored some of the data, but took a lot of public criticism for the slip-up.”

Are you still experiencing an outage or spotty data/voice service? Comment below and I’ll look into it.

Earlier: T-Mobile says phone service not working

Recent Gadgetress stories:

UPDATE: As of 10:25 p.m., T-Mobile says all voice, data services have been restored:

T-Mobile confirms it has fully restored voice and text/picture messaging services for customers affected by intermittent service disruptions on Tuesday. About five percent of our customers across various geographies were affected for much of Tuesday evening, and by late Tuesday PST their service was restored. Our sole focus has been restoring full services for all customers; we are now investigating the root cause of the incident. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience that this has caused our customers.

Sorry about the blog mess. It’s back now. At 7:23 p.m., no new updates from T-Mobile.

UPDATE 6:20 p.m.: T-Mobile offers a status report, saying only 5% of its customers have been affected by the outage.

“We’re making good progress restoring voice and messaging service to affected customers. At this time, approximately 5% of T-Mobile customers are experiencing service disruptions. Issues began at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time. … We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience that this has caused our customers.”

Update 5:59 p.m.: T-Mobile obviously out nationwide with blog comments coming from Minnesota, Dallas and elsewhere. Check out the comments below.

Updated 5:38 p.m.: When asked how will T-Mobile update customers get updates on the service problem, the company couldn’t offer a good reply. But it looks like T-Mobile’s Twitter account will be one place. Last update: Around 4:30 p.m.

Updated 5:29 p.m.: Added reports from other news sites.

—————————-

T-Mobile has just confirmed to me that there is a major outage.

“T-Mobile customers may be experiencing service disruptions impacting voice and data. Our rapid response teams have been mobilized to restore service as quickly as possible. We will provide updates as more information is available,” according to a statement by the company.

Reached by phone, David Henderson, a T-Mobile spokesman, said he could not discuss the outage any further or say whether it extends beyond Orange County. But it sounded like news of the outage was just hitting and he had to leave to get on a conference call to get more details.

When I asked him about this outage Monday after hearing that the service was out in South County, Henderson said no outages had been reported for the Orange County area.

I have heard of a very small number of T-Mobile customers experiencing outages in the past two to three weeks. Typically, their phones cannot find service.

I’m a T-Mobile customer as well and have not had any problems until the past 10 minutes. I’ll report more here as I learn more.

Are you having issues? Please comment below. Thanks!

Update: 5:41 p.m.: AP writes its outage story. Short and few new developments.

Update: 5:29 p.m.: C/Net is also reporting T-Mobile’s outage is widespread. The story says that this was part of a T-Mobile effort to update its SideKick users who have been without service for a whole month (!) The CNet reporter also notes that she’s heard about outages from customers in eastern Tennessee, Honolulu, Long Island, N.Y. and Westchester County, N.Y.

Update 5:16 p.m.: Phone service isn’t completely out. I’m still getting calls and can make calls.

Recent Gadgetress stories:

Noted: The Consumerist reports that T-Mobile’s new $0.45/minute overage fees went into effect today, giving customers grounds for cancelling their contract before the two years is up. Expect to argue with customer service. Just come prepared with the contract changes, as noted HERE and on the Boy Genius Report.

We may be paying more for cell-phone service then everybody else in the world, but at least customer service is improving, according to a new report from J.D. Power and Associates. 

J.D. Power surveyed 12,000 consumers between January to June 12 who called their wireless provider for help in the past year. They rated overall customer service at 735 on a 1,000 point scale. That’s an improvement of 12 points from the February 2009 report. Specific improvements:

• Hold times improved to 5.55 minutes, from 6.58 minutes in February
• 76 percent of the calls were resolved with the first contact, compared to 66 percent previously

J.D. Power surveyed consumers on automated response systems, store visits and Web interaction. Within each, the survey looked at satisfaction, problem resolution and wait times.

The winners? Alltel, T-Mobile and Verizon, which all tied with scores of 747.

While T-Mobile was the leader six months ago, the carrier slipped from its 755-point perch. Verizon also dropped two points, from last period’s score of 749. Alltel previously scored 744.

J.D. Powers said that each company had its own strengths: Alltel handled store visits well, T-Mobile excels in getting phone customers to a live representative, and Verizon identified customer problems quickly.

AT&T and Sprint Nextel scored the lowest scores, as noted in the chart. AT&T has been dealing with inconsistent 3G Internet service among its multitudes of iPhone users, while Sprint has lost customers.

Even as customer service improved, one major issue among customers had little to do with actual service. One-third contacted their wireless company because of the cost of service.

To read the report, visit J.D. Power’s site.

Earlier: 

Cell phone companies have been talking about offering coupons on mobile phones for years but have mostly left it up to third-party providers like Cellfire to offer the service. Today, T-Mobile jumped in, launching its own digital coupon service. 

Called “Green Perks,” T-Mobile’s coupon program is intended to promote the company’s “green” efforts by offering discounts on environmentally conscious products from Method, Jamba Juice, Volcom, Roxy and Quiksilver, according to the press release.

The point of a cell phone coupon is to pull it up on your phone’s screen, show it to the store’s cashier and leave with a discount on your purchase. No printing, no paper necessary — very green, get it?

As a T-Mobile subscriber, I downloaded this myself. Oddly, T-Mobile didn’t create an app for Google Android phones, so G1 users like myself need to go to the phone’s settings and allow “unknown sources” to install non-Android Market applications (scary!).  Full instructions are HERE.

Only six coupons showed up for me, including 20 percent off a Volcom V-Co. Logical item at Volcom Brand Stores. That was the only in-store discount. Deals for Roxy, Quiksilver, CatSwell, DogSwell and Method cleaning products were only available through official company Web sites, which defeats the purpose of getting the discount on the phone. No Jamba Juice coupon to be found, by the way.

Still, I like the idea of having coupons on my cell phone. I hate messing with paper ones because you either 1) have to print or cut them out and 2) remember to use them. Now, I just need to remember to use them. 

The whole mobile coupon trend news reminds me of a story I wrote in 2006 (see “Other things your cell phone can do“) about, well, other things your cell phone can do. I mentioned Cellfire, a mobile coupon service that is alive and well today, and teaming up with stores like Vons, Payless Shoes and Hollywood Video. 

Now, if only those coupons would pop up on my phone’s screen when I neared the store… 

Green Perks is free but available only to T-Mobile users with a data plan and must be requested by going to a web site:  www.t-mobile.com/mobilize. The software is downloaded to a user’s phone and needs to be launched to see what’s new. 

More on mobile coupons from the web:

• Verizon rejecting new standard-rate mobile coupon programs? (Mobile Marketer)
• Popeye’s, Borders, OshKosh B’gosh offer mobile coupons (Mobile Marketer)
• Vons offering digital coupons (OC Deals)
• Wienerschnitzel hooks up with digital hotties (Fast Food Maven)

Recent cell-phones news from The Gadgetress:

MetroPCS, the significantly cheaper mobile-phone service, unveiled a plan today offering unlimited calls to more than 1,000 cities around the world for an extra $5 a month.

The new international plan is only available to subscribers of its $40-or-higher voice plans. Users don’t need to dial an intermediary number first and can call international numbers directly. Receiving international calls is free.

However, not every international city is included, but the biggies like Vietnam and Mexico City are part of the unlimited plan. To see if an international number qualifies, MetroPCS sends customers to this page. Also, the cheap rate doesn’t apply if the user is roaming and with MetroPCS service only available in certain U.S. cities, this extra fee could add up. 

So… the big question is how does MetroPCS do it? Its mobile rivals charge up to a few dollars per minute to call some countries. While the major wireless companies do offer international plans, those all have a monthly charge and a per-minute fee, albeit discounted from the standard international rate. MetroPCS new international plan is a flat-rate service with no extra fees, unless you’re roaming outside of MetroPCS coverage areas. 

I’m waiting to hear back from the company to explain how it can offer such a low rate. UPDATE, 3:57 p.m.: MetroPCS’ responds by avoiding all specifics:   

We don’t disclose pricing or profitability on individual products. However, our company is extremely profitable even with the launching of new markets and we have some of the lowest operating cost in the industry.

Scanning through international plans from other mobile companies, I was surprised to see that it’s not that expensive to call overseas anymore. But none are as cheap as MetroPCS, which offers unlimited U.S. cellular plans for as low as $30 a month. 

For example, Verizon Wireless charges $0.65/minute for calls to Mexico. Its $3.99  monthly value plan drops the per-minute rate to $0.25. Comparably, AT&T’s rates are $0.99/minute for calls to Mexico. On the company’s special $4.99 “Mexico plan,” calls range from $0.09 to $0.25. But if you’re just calling Mexico from a MetroPCS plan, there’s already a $3 plan for unlimited calls to Mexico. 

Here’s a look at mobile international plans:

More on cell-phones:

If you spotted stories over the weekend about hackers stealing data from T-Mobile, it’s just not true, said T-Mobile in a statement today.

“Following a recent online posting that someone allegedly accessed T-Mobile servers, the company is conducting a thorough investigation and at this time has found no evidence that customer information, or other company information, has been compromised,” said a T-Mobile spokesperson in an e-mail.

“Reports to the contrary are inaccurate and should be corrected.  T-Mobile continues to monitor this situation and as a precaution has taken additional measures to further ensure our customers’ information and our systems are protected.  As is our standard practice, customers can be assured if there is any evidence that customer or system information has been compromised, we would inform those affected as quickly as possible.”

ChannelInsider reported Saturday that a mailing list message posted on Insecure.org Saturday claimed to have taken everything — all of T-Mobile’s databases, confidential documents, etc. The information included specific T-Mobile servers. Since none of T-Mobile’s competitors were interested in the data, the person was offering up the details to the highest bidder.

T-Mobile is looking into the matter and spokesman Peter Dobrow told the Associated Press that the company “is looking into the possibility that an internal document was leaked.”  He did not confirm if the blogger had posted accurate information.

More on cell-phones:

Saving money is on everyone’s mind these days. Including T-Mobile’s.

But don’t call up T-Mobile’s customer service and ask them for the best offer. The company is now sending Web visitors to BillShrink.com to see if they can save a few more bucks each month. And, I’m assuming, T-Mobile hopes BillShrink won’t suggest going to a competitor. 

“We’re so confident that T-Mobile provides the best overall experience for a majority of Americans, we’re willing to put our value to the test by pointing people to an independent source,” Denny Marie Post, chief marketing officer, T-Mobile USA Inc., said in a statement. 

BillShrink is a great starting place for consumers who wonder if they can save a few bucks on their monthly bills. It takes your estimated phone bill and usage, compares it to competing plans, and then offers a handy recommendation, starting with the biggest savings, if available. I wrote about the service last year (see “BillShrink quickly shows how to save on cell bill“). The site will even analyze your own phone bill, if you choose to share such personal information.

BUT what BillShrink doesn’t do is compare monthly phone bills to prepaid plans, which I found are really the cheapest way to get by with a cell phone. It also only compares phone prices from the big four: Sprint, Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile. Absent are low-priced providers MetroPCS and Cricket Wireless.

BillShrink, which sorts results by “Price per month,” also doesn’t add in taxes and fees, which may lead some consumers into wrongly believing they could save money by switching. And if you’re stuck in a two-year contract, the service does add in costly early-termination fees, so don’t expect to get any money-saving recommendations.

Still, running your own numbers through BillShrink won’t hurt, although the site now requires an e-mail address in order for you to use it. But it sure beats heading to every cell-phone company’s site and reading the fine print.

While T-Mobile comes out the cheapest for me (four phones including 2 Google G1′s), T-Mobile isn’t always on top. Just run the test using BillShrink’s default figures and you’ll get Verizon Wireless as the winner. 

And, just for its own customers, T-Mobile encourages subscribers to run their bill through BillShrink. If you get something cheaper, give customer service a call at 888-322-6338. (I bet you can do the same with all mobile-phone service companies).

More on cell-phones:

Good news for text fiends who happen to be Boost Mobile customers with lots of international friends.

Irvine’s Boost today added International Connect, an unlimited international plan for $10 a month, which can only be added on to its newish $50 monthly unlimited plan. This is a good plan for people texting from the U.S. or Baja California to anywhere in the world.

Without the plan, it’s $0.10 to text internationally and free to receive. That means the deal is only a deal if you send way more than 100 international texts a month. 

As part of the new option, users can also chat via Boost’s Walkie-Talkie service to people in Canada, Baja California, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru. Why only those places? Boost has partnered with Nextel México, Nextel Argentina, Nextel Brasil, Nextel Perú and Nextel Chile.

The $0.10 per international text is a pretty good deal anyway. I did some research and for customers of other cell phone companies, international texting rates are much higher:

AT&T charges $0.25 to send, $0.20 to receive. Multimedia messages are $0.50 to send, $0.30 to receive. Details HERE. A $9.99 monthly plan allows users to send 100 texts internationally. Received texts are counted as regular texts.

Verizon Wireless charges $0.25 to send, $0.20 to receive. If you’re outside the U.S., sending texts cost $0.50 each but $0.05 to receive. Details HERE.

T-Mobile charges around $0.35 to text internationally and $0.20 to receive. Details HERE.

Sprint charges $0.20 to send or receive international texts. Details HERE.

Virgin Mobile USA charges $0.20 to send, $0.10 to receive. Details HERE. 

Helio, now part of Virgin Mobile, charges $0.15 to send or receive an international text message. For multimedia messaging, Helio charges $0.05 per kilobyte plus $0.25 per message sent. But if you’re an “All In” customer who pays $99/month for everything, international texts are free, while multimedia texts are $0.25 each. Details HERE.

Another option for all mobile users: Send2World.com is a pay-as-you-go plan that drops the per-text rate if you send more messages. Rates range between $0.12 per text for up to 50 messages per month to $0.07 for 500 or more. Caveat: Each message still counts against any texting plan you have on your existing cell phone plan.

Are there others I’ve overlooked? Feel free to leave suggestions in the comment area.

Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local cell phone services. Latest mobile-news headlines:

Just a month after Irvine’s Boost Mobile launched its $50 unlimited plan, T-Mobile is toying with the same idea. 

The nation’s fourth largest mobile service provider told Reuters that it will test the plan in San Francisco and offer unlimited service for $50 a month. It is unclear whether the service will also include unlimited text and web. Currently, T-Mobile’s unlimited plan is $99.99 per month and includes talk, text, video messaging and Instant Messaging. 

Whether or not consumers use their monthly allotment of minutes, unlimited plans are appealing because you don’t have to worry about overage fees.

Boost Mobile’s plan takes it a step further — the $50 price tag includes almost everything, including taxes. It targets users who don’t want to be stuck in a contract and offers talk, text, walkie-talkie, some Web and taxes for $50. That plan, launched in January (see “Boost Mobile adds ‘tax-free’ $50/month unlimited plan,”) has exceeded expectations, said Matt Carter, Boost’s president. 

“We are very pleased with the performance of Boost Monthly Unlimited.  Currently we are seeing many times more customers porting into Boost than porting out,” Carter said. “… The response has been so great we’ve ordered more handsets and we’ve added call center agents to fill the orders for the first quarter because the demand is there to pay for it.”

One analyst cited by Reuters believes T-Mobile will roll out the unlimited service nationwide, “in coming weeks,” said UBS analyst John Hodulik.

UPDATE: T-Mobile doesn’t officially comment on products and services in test markets but a call to a San Francisco T-Mobile store confirmed the $50 unlimited service is on the way. However, customers must go to a store to get more information. I guess they’ve been notified not to tell anyone about it over the phone.

More cell-phone news: Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local cell phone services. Latest mobile-news headlines:

Jealous of T-Mobile’s Fave 5? Now, Verizon Wireless has its own version of the favorite-friends calling plan, called Friends & Family, an uninspired moniker that the company has trademarked.  Verizon users can pick any five numbers — including non-Verizon friends and landlines — and call those same 5 numbers anytime without using up monthly minutes. Family plans get 10 numbers.

To qualify, customers need either an individual Verizon plan with at least 900 minutes or be on a family plan with at least 1,400 minutes. Users can add the plan for free at any time and the numbers can be changed at any time without penalty. New numbers will go into effect the next day.

The phone numbers must be regular 10-digit U.S. numbers and can’t be directory assistance, 900 numbers or customer’s own wireless or voice mail access number. 

The Friends & Family plan, which is available beginning this Sunday, is definitely not as catchy as T-Mobile’s ‘Fave 5′ name, which has inspired some entertaining commercials. But Verizon’s is more flexible. T-Mobile’s Fave 5 lets you change each of your “friends” just once per month.

Hmm … is Verizon becoming a me-too company? Today’s friend plan comes a day after Verizon began offering unlimited plans for its prepaid users, a feature smaller players like Boost Mobile and Cricket Communications already offer. What’s next? Verizon rollover minutes? Let’s hope!

More cell-phone news: Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local cell phone services. Latest mobile-news headlines:

Customer-service gurus at JD Power and Associates released their rankings today for wireless phone services. T-Mobile outshone the competition for “overall customer care performance.”

For those following the JD Powers studies, this shouldn’t be too surprising. T-Mobile has been the highest ranked wireless company in seven of the past eight studies (Verizon Wireless won top honors last year). Responses were based on 13,423 wireless customers between July and December 2008.

Companies were ranked by consumers based on in-store help, on-the-phone service and online support. Higher ratings were given to companies that seamlessly transferred customers from an automated system to a live person, and didn’t make customers wait on hold for too long.

JD Power praised T-Mobile for having the lowest average hold times (less than 2 minutes), and performing well with consumers in stores. 

While T-Mobile topped the charts, others were not far behind. Out of 1,000 points, T-Mobile scored 755, with Verizon Wireless at 749 and Alltel at 744. 

My own bit of analysis: T-Mobile is the smallest of the big four (Verizon, AT&T and Sprint). Also, the company didn’t start rolling out its 3G Internet data service until the fall, giving consumers one less thing to complain about. The other three have offered 3G service for more than a year. One other note: How is it that all the companies except for the lower-rated Sprint landed around the 720 to 750 range? Wouldn’t this be considered a “C” grade in school?

According to the study, 64 percent of customers used a telephone to get help. Other factoids about wireless customers discovered by JD Powers:

• Customers who visited the store for service waited an average of seven minutes before getting helped and spent 25 minutes in the store.
• 53 percent contacted customer service in the past year, up 6 percentage points from the prior study.
• Of those who needed help, 40 percent had a service or equipment question, 39 percent had a billing issue.

More cell-phone news: Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local cell phone services.

Talk is Cheap? Finding a cheaper cell phone plan: (Pub. Dec. 2008)
Part I: Cheapest family plan for texters
Part II: Cheapest family plan
Part III: Are prepaid plans for you?
Part IV: MetroPCS’ cheap, unlimited service

Latest mobile-news headlines:

If mobile service is awful when you step inside your house, there are now more options for mobile users everywhere that improve cellular signals indoors. T-Mobile offers its Hotspot@Home, while Sprint has the Airave. AT&T? Well, see more about this and the others below.

What spurred this post is the latest comes from Verizon Wireless, which just launched a femtocell or “mini cell site” for customers living on the fringe of the Verizon network. The new “Network Extender” device looks like a router. Plug it into your Internet connection and the Verizon signal will improve within a range of 5,000 feet. It reroutes cell phone calls over the Internet.

You don’t need a special Verizon phone and it’s not limited to your personal numbers (this can be managed online). Anyone with a Verizon phone will get better coverage — but it can only process three calls at a time within the 5,000-foot area. A second box is not recommended because of potential interference.

Technically, the extender creates a licensed spectrum CDMA network signal within the house. When a person starts talking indoors using the network extender, the calls are sent over the home’s Internet connection. But when the user steps outside, the call switches to Verizon’s mobile network. Calls, texts, data and Verizon’s other services are enhanced indoors when using this technology.

While the $249.99 price tag seems high, there are no monthly fees. And if it works, $250 would be worth it to people who rely on their cell phone, especially those who work at home! But as for Verizon’s claim, “Like Getting A Million-Dollar Cell Site In Your Home For $249.99,” we’ll have to see if signal strength really improves that much. So far, it’s too soon to know whether this product really does what it promises.

(A quote from a Verizon exec makes me wonder if this shouldn’t be free to users with poor indoor coverage: “Our new Network Extender device will bring the full benefit of the Verizon Wireless voice network to the small but important segment of customers who may experience a weaker signal in their homes because of geographic or structural conditions,” said Jack Plating, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Verizon Wireless.)

Sprint, meanwhile, launched the Airave last July, and it does basically the same thing because it’s pretty much the exact same Samsung mini-cell-site device. Since Sprint’s device has been out longer, more details are available. It too works with up to three phones (Sprint only, not Nextel phones). You can add up to 50 cell phone numbers to its memory so a random neighbor isn’t mooching off the technology.

Sprint charges $99.99 for the device, but users also much pay $4.99 per month for coverage. Also, Sprint customers can pay for an unlimited calling plan while in Airave territory — $10/month for individuals and $20/month for families. 

And then there’s T-Mobile, which launched Hotspot @Home service in 2007. It still exists and also relies on a customer’s home Internet access. The big caveat is that only select T-Mobile Wi-Fi phones work with the technology. The service is $9.99 per month.

For AT&T users, there’s nothing official yet. But unofficially, the AT&T MicroCell service is on the way. According to Engadget, AT&T inadvertently posted its new “MicroCell” page, which similar to Verizon and Sprint, covers 5,000 feet. Engadget also reports it will also work with 3G phones. No price or launch date was noted.

From the Web:

New Femtocell From Verizon Wireless Falls Short (Information Week)

AT&T slips femtocell details (Ars Technica)

Meru Networks and T-Mobile Team Up for Femtocell-like Service (i4u news)

Map of poor cellular coverage 

Femto Forum, a group dedicated to promoting femtocell expansion

Recent mobile phone news on Gadgetress:

• Verizon Wireless’ pricey new home-phone service January 26, 2009
• AT&T improves cell service in 5 Orange County cities January 22, 2009
• Photos: Boost adds $50 phone for new $50 plan January 22, 2009
• SRS improves sound quality in cell phonesJanuary 21, 2009
• O.C. firm enhances cell-phone service at inauguration ‘tenfold’ January 19, 2009
• Boost Mobile adds ‘tax-free’ $50/month unlimited plan January 14, 2009
• Power up: Different takes on travel chargersJanuary 13, 2009
• Text a message to help feed America’s hungry January 13, 2009
• What happens when everything is on a cell phone January 12, 2009
• Pictures of the Prada 2 phone January 9, 2009

Note: This is part of a series on finding cheaper cell phone plans.

I never thought much about prepaid cell phone plans. I didn’t want to mess with phone cards or  high per-minute fees. And I wanted a cool phone that didn’t deplete my bank account.

But since my T-Mobile contract was over months ago, I decided to look at all my options. Pre-paid plans are quite attractive these days and not just because they can save oodles of money.

At prepaid carriers like Virgin Mobile, you can get started for $10 for the phone and $20 a month if you talk less than 200 minutes. Per-minute charges range from $0.10 to $0.33.  And no contracts, no early termination fees and no credit checks. But coverage areas can be limited, phone choice mediocre and, as the daughter of an OC Register Mom blogger discovered, phone cards expire. 

So why go prepaid? Consumer Reports recently explored the niche in a reader survey, finding that 76 percent chose prepaid because it cost less than a monthly plan, 70 percent went prepaid because they make calls infrequently and 47 percent said they like the no contracts. 

Consumer Reports’ conclusion: A family with 2 phones and a 700-minute plan could save $220 a year by going prepaid with Virgin Mobile.

Prepaid users make up between 15 to 22 percent of all cell phone users in the U.S., according to various reports. Current Analysis, a market research firm, counted up at least 36.4 million pre-paid customers belong to Boost, T-Mobile, TracFone, Verizon Wireless, Virgin Mobile, Leap Wireless and MetroPCS. AT&T numbers were not available.

“And now that the differences between prepaid and postpaid plans have become more and more blurred, consumers have begun to look at what prepaid has to offer them, especially at a time when they might not have as much to spend,” said Matthew Kunkle, a wireless services pricing analyst for Current Analysis. 

Value has become a big push for prepaid companies. One of the first prepaid companies, Irvine-based Boost Mobile, now finds itself competing with prepaid programs from AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. It retrenched and recently dropped its youth-oriented marketing campaign to focus on value, hoping to attract users who don’t care about extreme sports or hard rock.

“Youth is still a good market but when you look at the category where growth is, it’s beyond youth if you want to become a national player,” said Matt Carter, Boost Mobile president. Boost Mobile is only on the West Coast available nationwide, though its prepaid unlimited service varies by region (corrected Dec. 26, 2008).

Boost is fashioning itself into a ‘value plus’ player – that is, not the cheapest, but the one with the best features for the best price. Its new $1/day plan offers unlimited texting and free night and weekend minutes. Day-time minutes are $0.10. 

Beyond the per-minute prepaid plans, a new trend is prepaid monthly service, such as T-Mobile’s FlexPay, AT&T’s GoPhone Pick Your Plan and Boost Mobile’s Unlimited plan. These services offer the same features as regular plans, but no contract. I was most impressed with MetroPCS, a pre-paid monthly service that has been in the Orange County area since September 2007. For $50/month, users get unlimited voice, messaging, web and e-mail. (More on this company tomorrow.)

“The heavy-talker is the one group I would say are not a good candidate for prepaid as prepaid calling rates are generally slightly higher than those offered with postpaid. But again if they really do your homework, there are prepaid plans out there that the heavy-talker can get by on,” he said.

MetroPCS, in fact, offers one of the lowest unlimited plans available — $30/month for unlimited calls. Add $5 and get unlimited calling nationwide.

“I do think that more consumers (not just those with credit issues) are looking towards prepaid these days simply because the market has become very competitive,” Kunkle said.

The comparisons (Don’t see a company you’re interested in? Let me know and I’ll add it):

Related stories:

Battle of the text-messaging plans: Who is the cheapest?

Check out my new guide to cell phone services in Orange County at gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/cellphones

For more cell phone news affecting Orange County residents and beyond, visit the Gadgetress cell phone archive.

Note: This is part of a series about searching for cheaper cell phone service.

As part of my ongoing series looking into cell phone plans this week, I wanted to find the cheapest family plan out there.

I gathered information from the four top companies plus two pre-paid companies that offer familiy plans. While this isn’t a comprehensive report, it offers a glimpse into what is out there and an idea of how low you can go. Chart of the details and fees that were calculated is below. 

Based on two users, the cheapest famiy cell-phone package is from … TRACFONE.

TRACFONE is one of those pre-paid service providers. I hadn’t paid too much attention to the company until my colleague Marla Fisher wrote about it (read “Mommy, I’m still in your uterus, but can I have a cellphone?“). She bought her kids a TracFone for $9.99. Ultimately though, she ditched them because of “abominable” customer service.

Because of that, plus other negative user reviews, I’m also highlighting the second cheapest: A tie between AT&T and T-Mobile.

In this case, I’d give the award to AT&T. Even though AT&T has fewer minutes, it offers rollover, so unused minutes roll into the next month. So, in case you’re extra chatty one month, your overage fees will come first from the rollover basket.

People I’ve spoken to about cheap cell phone plans say that they use just a few hundred minutes a month. With all the plans offering free mobile-to-mobile so calls within the same network are free, these basic plans can outfit a family of five for under $100.

Plus points, however, go to Sprint for letting unlimited night minutes start at 7 p.m.

One other note: Verizon offers a plan for seniors 65 and over. For two people, you’ll get 450 shared minutes to use at anytime, plus 1,000 night and weekend minutes. Total comes to $59.99 per month. Details are HERE. 

Family plans aren’t for everyone. When it comes to pre-paid, family plans are rare. Says Matthew Kunkle, a wireless services pricing analyst for market researcher Current Analysis, it’s a case by case basis. 

Here’s the chart I compiled using data from the store Web sites. This is for two people. It doesn’t include monthly fees, taxes and phones in the total price. This is based on two users on a plan. Total price also doesn’t include add-ons, such as text messaging.

Basic Family Plans

From around the web:

• Keith’s TracFone review (Fone-Review.com blog)
• TracFone user reviews (PrePaidReviews.com)
• TracFone user reviews (PhoneDog.com)

Check out my new guide to cell phone services in Orange County, available at gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/cellphones

For more cell phone news affecting Orange County residents and beyond, visit the Gadgetress cell phone archive.