Since this is my topic, I’ll take advantage and mention how I discovered Mobi. In early 2017, one of RW’s competitors RingPlus shut down on short notice. RingPlus’ claim to fame was “free” ad supported service (yes Boost it’s been tried before). In no way was I looking to move service from RW at the time but at no out of pocket cost I kept a throwaway number with RingPlus.
As RingPlus was shutting down, RW decided to offer a credit to RingPlus customers interested in moving to RW. @southpaw encouraged me to write an article for RW’s old Community about moving from RingPlus to RW. So, I brought the RingPlus number I would have otherwise thrown away to RW and documented the process.
Consequently, I began lurking on RingPlus’ forums and, when those shut down, later in forums where RingPlus refugees congregated. It was in the latter where a then employee of Ting Mobile mentioned Mobi’s CEO was doing a Reddit AMA, which I decided to check out. Mobi’s CEO previously worked at Ting Mobile. I came away impressed with his openness and transparency, however, had no need for Mobi’s service at the time. The RingPlus forums was also where I discovered Tello.
Fast forward to RW’s pre-acquisition iPhone beta in 2019-2020; when that ended without RW launching commercial service on iPhone, I needed a home for the household iPhone participating in RW’s beta. It found that home at Mobi.
I’m an unabashed fan of Mobi as I once was of RW before DISH. In many ways, I think of Mobi as the old RW’s spiritual successor. I’m excited for them and hope the described service expansion ends up being successful.
For those who read the LightReading article linked in the top post and, in particular, @jben, wgtwo is the company behind Mobi’s forthcoming back end stack:
I call out @jben specifically because, he might be somewhat familiar with one of wgtwo’s partners:
An hour well spent, it all sounds like they are heading in the right direction, I wish them well and like when Republic Wireles kicked off the community, my regret is that I am a bit too old to participate … it should be a real ride
I find it heartening a small company still believes there is an opportunity to make a difference in wireless. It’s disappointing that small company is not RW but c’est la vie.
Today seemed an appropriate day to share this. Back in 2012, Mobi (then branded as Mobi PCS) ran a Super Bowl ad in Hawaii:
Fun fact; Mobi’s current account portal (such as it is) retains the old Mobi PCS branding. Here’s hoping Mobi’s recently announced partnership with Working Group Two leads to an updated and rebranded account portal (among other things) soon™.
The exciting part of what Mobi is doing is T-Mobile is providing the coverage but Mobi is running it own network core. Unlike legacy Mobi SIMs (which are effectively Verizon SIMs), new Mobi SIMs are genuinely Mobi SIMs. Mobi will have its own native limited coverage in Hawaii with T-Mobile providing nationwide coverage via roaming. The roaming arrangement with T-Mobile isn’t necessarily exclusive. Mobi is actively seeking additional roaming agreements with both AT&T and Verizon as well as regional carriers. Because; Mobi is running its own network core, these roaming agreements are Mobi’s. They wouldn’t be piggybacking off of T-Mobile’s roaming agreements.
Mobi’s new approach is somewhat analogous to RW’s old proprietary approach where essentially Bandwidth provided RW’s VoIP network core with T-Mobile or Sprint providing cellular coverage. What used to take underlying numbers and RW app magic is now possible via “the cloud” and more traditional network roaming agreements. MobileX is doing something very similar.
Having actively referred fellow RW members to Mobi, I want to add no one currently using Mobi will be forced to migrate from their current legacy service.
This is heading into the weeds of telecom but might be of interest to some here. Mobi is a member of the Competitive Carriers of America (CCA). The CCA operates an LTE/5G roaming hub. Conceptually members choosing to access the roaming hub allows for reciprocal roaming for each others customers. Most CCA members are smaller regional and/or rural carriers (for example C Spire or U.S. Cellular).
T-Mobile is also a member of the CCA and the roaming hub. So, initially, Mobi’s new service using its own core will have network coverage not just on T-Mobile’s network but also on the smaller networks of other CCA Roaming Hub members. Longer range plans for Mobi include the possibility of roaming on one or both of AT&T’s or Verizon’s networks. Theoretically, a new Mobi SIM would have coverage just about anywhere cellular signal existed.
While all of this is exciting (to me at least), one’s enthusiasm should be tempered with the realization it’s a lot easier conceptually than implementing it. Nevertheless, I’m very much liking where Mobi intends to go. U.S. wireless is still in need of innovation and, hopefully, there’s still a role for smaller players. Mobi (and MobileX) seems to think there is. Let’s hope they’re right.
According to Mobi’s CEO, Mobi’s new service has QCI6 data prioritization on T-Mobile’s network. That’s the same priority given to T-Mobile’s postpaid plans and Google Fi. Other MVNOs are QCI7. More and more, Mobi is looking like a spiritual successor to the old RW.
Mobi is still in beta testing right now. Can’t wait?
Just download the Mobi app and order your SIM card.
We’ll reach out as soon as a beta spot is ready for you.
I’ve never beta tested anything! And I guess a customer waits until a spot opens?
Does a customer have to do anything different in beta testing?
I’ve had a line of service with Mobi since November of 2020. The beta language on the website goes back, at least, that far. Mobi is a relatively small service provider. I believe continued use of the beta language is about Mobi managing growth and focusing on its main market, which is Hawaii. Mobi started as Hawaii’s homegrown mobile service provider.
If something is lacking at Mobi, it is self-help tools. Some things one can or could do with RW’s portal require support assistance with Mobi. On the other hand, Mobi’s support is top-shelf. You might want to check out my review of Mobi here. For the sake of clarity, the review covers Mobi’s now legacy Verizon based service (in perpetual beta since, at least, November of 2020).
It’s not entirely clear Mobi’s newly announced service is yet available to the public. If considering moving otherwise working RW service to Mobi’s new service, it might be best to wait a bit longer. If interested in Mobi’s now legacy Verizon based service, I see no need to wait.
Bottom line; I wouldn’t be concerned about the beta language on Mobi’s website.
@NancyM; in answering your direct question, you don’t need to do anything other than use the service as you would use any mobile service. There was no waiting for a spot to open when I signed up nor has anyone to whom I’ve since suggested Mobi waited for a spot (that I’m aware of).
@rolandh – thank you for your help! I’ll wait a bit in considering Mobi – heck, I’ve had inertia about changing from RW, once the changeover worked. It’s not urgent, so I’ll wait to see what develops.
Agreed, if RW by DISH service is working, there is no urgency in making a change for the sake of making change. I’m bullish on Mobi because I like what they’re doing with their service not due to lack of satisfaction with RW by DISH service per se. Am I satisfied with how DISH has managed (or mismanaged) the RW brand, absolutely not but as of now the service itself continues to work for me.
The above said, I do believe it’s prudent for those still using RW by DISH as their service provider to hedge for the future by being aware of the potential alternatives. If I’m not mistaken, you have secondary service with Tello. Another household member uses Tello and I also have service with Tello. I use my Tello service on a locked T-Mobile Test Drive hotspot device for emergency Internet access should my wireline Internet service be interrupted.
Thanks for sharing. I’m interested in joining mobi once they launch service with the new core with TMobile access. If mobi can deliver on wearables I think they’ll have a lot of opportunity to grow.
It’s controlling the mobile core that allows for Mobi to do things like wearables and negotiating their own roaming agreements. Future coverage is not necessarily limited to T-Mobile coverage. Generally, small providers are dependent on the core of their carrier partner.
MobileX is doing something similar running a private network on Verizon.
In a sense the old RW had its own core in Bandwidth’s VoIP network. It was Bandwidth’s network that powered WiFi first and made things like Extend Home and Republic Anywhere possible. The approach had its downsides (most notably RW numbers not being seen as “real”) as well.
Ironically, DISH, for the most part is currently dependent upon the cores of its network partners (AT&T and T-Mobile). As part of its greenfield 5G deployment, DISH is building its own core and like Mobi’s WGTwo core, that core will live in the AWS cloud. I’m not a fan of how DISH has managed the retail wireless brands it has acquired but will acknowledge they’re doing innovative things on the network side.
Sincere thanks for sharing, @rolandh! Yes, plenty of the special telco lingo was beyond my understanding, BUT the gist of what they were talking about makes great sense.
I fell into using Mint for the last several months and the basic talk and data service has been fine (strong T-Mobile network in my usual haunts) but “Customer Service” has been primarily frustrating. Far too much time trying to find out why Mint “cannot” activate WiFi calling and SMS on my factory unlocked Pixel 7. Some of their agents have been nice, if ultimately unhelpful, promising that they were “entering a Tech ticket, and you will hear back within two business days” (which never happened), others have completely wasted hours of my, and their, time.
So when my discounted Mint intro deal runs out, how will I know if Mobi has switched from the Verizon to T-Mobile (plus) networks?
But for sure thanks for sharing the video @rolandh!
@Clint said:
I fell into using Mint for the last several months and the basic talk and data service has been fine (strong T-Mobile network in my usual haunts) but “Customer Service” has been primarily frustrating. Far too much time trying to find out why Mint “cannot” activate WiFi calling and SMS on my factory unlocked Pixel 7. Some of their agents have been nice, if ultimately unhelpful, promising that they were “entering a Tech ticket, and you will hear back within two business days” (which never happened), others have completely wasted hours of my, and their, time.
All in all, the described support experience sounds an awful like what many have experienced with RW by DISH. Is there a place in Mint’s app or online portal to enter an E911 address? Generally, this is a requirement to get a phone to present the options for WiFi calling on T-Mobile based providers.
@Clint said:
So when my discounted Mint intro deal runs out, how will I know if Mobi has switched from the Verizon to T-Mobile (plus) networks?
I don’t know yet. When the time comes you could ask them. Or, like me, you might follow their subreddit. Of course, once I know Mobi is activating on the new core, I’ll share here.
If Verizon coverage is OK for you, I’m quite comfortable plugging Mobi’s soon to be legacy service. I’ve been using it since November 2020. No one using Mobi’s Verizon based service will be forced to move to the new core but there will be a migration path.
When the time comes you could