Ting Mobile is an American

mobile virtual network operator A mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) is a wireless communications services provider that does not own the wireless network infrastructure over which it provides services to its customers. An MVNO enters into a business agreement with a mobil ...

owned by

Dish Wireless DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV. A ...

. Originally established in February 2012 by

Tucows Tucows Inc. is an American-Canadian publicly traded Internet services and telecommunications company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and incorporated in Pennsylvania, United States. The company is composed of three independent busines ...

, Ting provides cellular service in the United States using the

T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand name used by some of the mobile communications subsidiaries of the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG in the Czech Republic (T-Mobile Czech Republic), Poland (T-Mobile Polska), the United States (T-Mobile ...

network, while some

grandfathered A grandfather clause, also known as grandfather policy, grandfathering, or grandfathered in, is a provision in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations while a new rule will apply to all future cases. Those exempt from t ...

accounts use the Verizon network. The service is sold off-contract with billing that adjusts the cost of service based on actual customer usage (usage-based billing). In August 2020, Dish Network acquired key Ting Mobile assets. As part of the agreement, Tucows will serve as the provider of backend services for Dish Network's wireless businesses.

Business model

Ting's cellular business model does not subsidize phone sales or require contracts beyond month-to-month. Pricing is in separate data tiers, all of which deliver tiered voice and text. Ting supports devices that run on T-Mobile's (

GSM The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation ( 2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such ...

) and Verizon's (CDMA) cellular networks depending on the frequencies of the device. Devices can be purchased through Ting's website or other sellers. The customer then enters the device's electronic serial number on Ting's website to activate the device. Ting provides a device checker to advise what level of compatibility the device will have on their CDMA and GSM networks.

History

The company first announced support for devices that functioned on Sprint or its subsidiaries. A public

beta Beta (, ; uppercase , lowercase , or cursive ; grc, βῆτα, bē̂ta or ell, βήτα, víta) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 2. In Modern Greek, it represents the voiced labiod ...

was then launched on December 6, 2011, offering official support for seven Sprint-branded smartphones; the announcement also included links to a substantial list of other compatible devices and a new discussion area for users attempting to activate them. Ting Mobile officially launched in February 2012. On December 9, 2014, Ting Mobile announced GSM services going live in February 2015 using "a major US network provider", being the

network. Ting customers can have phones on either network within the same account. The GSM service allows the majority of US cellphones to be brought to Ting. On February 24, 2015, Ting Mobile offered public beta access to their GSM network with the official product launched a few months later. , the service has approximately 250,000 subscribers. On July 10, 2019, Ting Mobile announced that it will not renew its network agreement with T-Mobile after December 19, 2019, citing uncertainties over its proposed merger with Sprint and will partner with Verizon. Ting has renewed its network agreement with Sprint for an additional year until September 2020. Ting later announced that they had reached an agreement that would allow them to continue to offer T-Mobile service for at least three years after December 2019. On August 3, 2020, key Ting Mobile assets were acquired by

Dish Network Corporation DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV. A ...

, which is in the process of launching a national wireless carrier. This carrier will use prepaid assets (including Boost Mobile) sold by Sprint as a condition of their 2020 merger with T-Mobile (which also includes an agreement for use of their network for seven years). As part of the agreement, Dish will also subcontract backend services (including provision and billing) for its wireless business to Tucows. The sale does not include the Ting branding or Ting Internet division; Dish will receive a two-year transitional license to the Ting branding, but will have the option to acquire it at a later date.

References

{{US mobile phone companies Dish Network American companies established in 2012 Mobile virtual network operators

Business model

History

See also

References