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I would love to see a startup completely change the game in this space. Google is the most techy company that I’ve seen have an actual chance at carving away so

by elamje 7y ago

I would love to see a startup completely change the game in this space. Google is the most techy company that I’ve seen have an actual chance at carving away some customers from the big carriers with Fi. Of course, they are piggy backing on Sprint/T-Mobile infra, but they have a compelling pitch.

spectramax 7y ago
It’s the infrastructure cost. I use Ting in the US which uses brokered network infrastructure similar to Google Fi.
- freedomben 7y ago
  I also use Ting! Never met another person that used it. Hands down the best service plan for people that don't use much data/text/minutes. I recently switched my wife to Mint Mobile because she uses a lot of data, and so far that has been a good experience.
  - FullyFunctional 7y ago
    Having been with all the usual providers I feel T-mobile sucks the least, but on a wim I got a Ting SIM card for a spare phone and I ended up using it a lot. I love the transparency and have no complaints so far.
  - jawns 7y ago
    I'm the reverse. I use Mint and my wife uses Ting. Having previously been with Ting, I've cut my monthly bills in half, from ~$30 to ~$15, with 3GB of data a month, which is more than enough for me. Granted, with Mint you have to prepay for a year to get that rate. But it's on the T-Mobile network, and I can't complain about the coverage!
- Aloha 7y ago
  its on the order of 375m to build out a market with 500 cell sites, assuming you have no greenfield sites. Thats not a huge number, not for google.
  - scarface74 7y ago
    You also have to buy the bandwidth.
    - Aloha 7y ago
      compared to like.. power.. bandwidth is cheap
      - scarface74 7y ago
        I guess I meant spectrum. Spectrum is far from cheap. You have to buy it from whoever won it at auction. The spectrum suitable for cellular signals is limited.
        Aloha 7y ago
        Which is why this merger makes sense, I honestly believe there is only enough spectrum for three truly competitive physical carriers (networks) in the states.

by elamje 7y ago

spectramax 7y ago

It’s the infrastructure cost. I use Ting in the US which uses brokered network infrastructure similar to Google Fi.

freedomben 7y ago
I also use Ting! Never met another person that used it. Hands down the best service plan for people that don't use much data/text/minutes. I recently switched my wife to Mint Mobile because she uses a lot of data, and so far that has been a good experience.
- FullyFunctional 7y ago
  Having been with all the usual providers I feel T-mobile sucks the least, but on a wim I got a Ting SIM card for a spare phone and I ended up using it a lot. I love the transparency and have no complaints so far.
- jawns 7y ago
  I'm the reverse. I use Mint and my wife uses Ting. Having previously been with Ting, I've cut my monthly bills in half, from ~$30 to ~$15, with 3GB of data a month, which is more than enough for me. Granted, with Mint you have to prepay for a year to get that rate. But it's on the T-Mobile network, and I can't complain about the coverage!
Aloha 7y ago
its on the order of 375m to build out a market with 500 cell sites, assuming you have no greenfield sites. Thats not a huge number, not for google.
- scarface74 7y ago
  You also have to buy the bandwidth.
  - Aloha 7y ago
    compared to like.. power.. bandwidth is cheap
    - scarface74 7y ago
      I guess I meant spectrum. Spectrum is far from cheap. You have to buy it from whoever won it at auction. The spectrum suitable for cellular signals is limited.
      - Aloha 7y ago
        Which is why this merger makes sense, I honestly believe there is only enough spectrum for three truly competitive physical carriers (networks) in the states.