Latest news with #PCMag
Phone Arena
2 days ago
- Business
- Phone Arena
T-Mobile 5G internet now suffers from the same curse as voice and tablet lines
When T-Mobilemade changes to its 5G internet plans recently, an important detail slipped through the cracks: taxes and other fees are no longer included in the price. The eagle-eyed folks at PCMag were quick to notice the change and confirmed it with T-Mobile . A spokesperson told the outlet that the broadband plans have been updated to no longer include taxes and fees. —Shante Newman, T-Mobile spokesperson, August 2025 The carrier had previously done the same for its voice plans and says the move will make it easier for customers to compare value across providers. The company said back when it retired plans with taxes that inclusion in prices confused customers. Nothing is changing for existing 5G internet customers for whom the plans will continue to be tax-inclusive, unless they switch to a new this change, all T-Mobile plans, including smartwatches, hotspots, and other "BTS" lines (beyond the smartphone) lines are tax-exclusive. The company even lets customers mix taxed and untaxed plans now, which may lead to billing confusion. T-Mobile offers a 5-Year Guarantee to customers on its new Experience voice plans and Rely, Amplified, and All-in internet plans to provide peace of mind, but leaving out taxes and fees still leaves room for price hikes. The guarantee also doesn't cover add-ons and third-party services such as satellite connectivity. On its website, the company argues that taxes and fees are outside of its control, which is why they aren't covered by the 5-Year Price Guarantee. Back in 2017, T-Mobile prided itself on being transparent with its pricing, but has now completely abandoned that ethos. The former CEO, John Legere, criticized rivals for "inventing new ways to make their customers pay" and not advertising the prices that customers actually paid. This is why the company wiped away taxes and fees. The company has done an about-face now, but that's not surprising, given its recent track record.
CNET
3 days ago
- Business
- CNET
Starlink Teases ‘Community' Discount for Shared Satellite Access. Here's How It Works
SpaceX may soon allow multiple Starlink users to share access to a single dish for a lower monthly rate, according to a post on a customer support page. (The news was first reported by PCMag, which is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.) The post, which has since been taken down, stated, 'Starlink is launching a new affordable way to deliver high-speed internet: one Starlink, multiple subscribers -- each with their own Starlink account and seamless experience.' A Starlink Community page has also been set up on the website, but it doesn't appear to be fully functional right now. It appears that the service would cost $60 per month for access to a shared dish. Starlink Starlink customers in the US receive median speeds around 105Mbps download and 15Mbps upload, according to the latest report from the speed test site Ookla. (Ookla is also owned by CNET's parent company, Ziff Davis.) That doesn't leave a lot of extra room for additional users. The Starlink Community discount appears to be designed for smaller apartment buildings in remote areas. Instead of each unit purchasing its own Starlink dish and subscription -- or using the same Wi-Fi -- this option would let everyone use their own router to connect to one dish. There's technically nothing to stop neighbors from sharing Wi-Fi on one Starlink dish now or running an Ethernet cable to Wi-Fi routers in different units. But that is a violation of Starlink's terms of service, and you could get banned from the network if your usage exceeds a reasonable amount for one home. Now Playing: Tips for Mounting a Starlink Satellite Dish on Your Home 06:19 How much is Starlink without the Community discount? Starlink Community looks like it will cost $60 per month, which is a significant discount from the standard monthly price of $120. That said, Starlink also offers a Residential Lite plan in places with excess bandwidth -- typically more rural areas -- for $80 a month. Speeds are also deprioritized on this plan during busier times of the day. "This service plan will be deprioritized compared to Residential service during peak hours," Starlink says. "This means speeds may be slower for Residential Lite service relative to Residential service when our network has the most users online."
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) Surprises With Strong Q2, Stock Soars
Digital media company Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) reported revenue ahead of Wall Street's expectations in Q2 CY2025, with sales up 9.8% year on year to $352.2 million. The company's full-year revenue guidance of $1.47 billion at the midpoint came in 0.5% above analysts' estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $1.24 per share was 4.5% above analysts' consensus estimates. Is now the time to buy Ziff Davis? Find out in our full research report. Ziff Davis (ZD) Q2 CY2025 Highlights: Revenue: $352.2 million vs analyst estimates of $337.1 million (9.8% year-on-year growth, 4.5% beat) Adjusted EPS: $1.24 vs analyst estimates of $1.19 (4.5% beat) Adjusted EBITDA: $107.7 million vs analyst estimates of $101.2 million (30.6% margin, 6.4% beat) The company reconfirmed its revenue guidance for the full year of $1.47 billion at the midpoint Management reiterated its full-year Adjusted EPS guidance of $6.96 at the midpoint EBITDA guidance for the full year is $523.5 million at the midpoint, above analyst estimates of $516.9 million Operating Margin: 9.5%, in line with the same quarter last year Free Cash Flow Margin: 7.6%, similar to the same quarter last year Market Capitalization: $1.30 billion 'We are very pleased with our second quarter results, which exceeded expectations and marked our strongest quarterly revenue growth since 2021,' said Vivek Shah, Chief Executive Officer of Ziff Davis. Company Overview Originally a pioneering technology publisher founded in 1927 that became famous for PC Magazine, Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) operates a portfolio of digital media brands and subscription services across technology, shopping, gaming, healthcare, and cybersecurity markets. Revenue Growth A company's long-term sales performance is one signal of its overall quality. Any business can have short-term success, but a top-tier one grows for years. With $1.45 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, Ziff Davis is a small player in the business services space, which sometimes brings disadvantages compared to larger competitors benefiting from economies of scale and numerous distribution channels. As you can see below, Ziff Davis struggled to increase demand as its $1.45 billion of sales for the trailing 12 months was close to its revenue five years ago. This shows demand was soft, a poor baseline for our analysis. We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within business services, a half-decade historical view may miss recent innovations or disruptive industry trends. Ziff Davis's annualized revenue growth of 2.7% over the last two years is above its five-year trend, but we were still disappointed by the results. This quarter, Ziff Davis reported year-on-year revenue growth of 9.8%, and its $352.2 million of revenue exceeded Wall Street's estimates by 4.5%. Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 2.1% over the next 12 months, similar to its two-year rate. This projection doesn't excite us and implies its newer products and services will not lead to better top-line performance yet. Today's young investors likely haven't read the timeless lessons in Gorilla Game: Picking Winners In High Technology because it was written more than 20 years ago when Microsoft and Apple were first establishing their supremacy. But if we apply the same principles, then enterprise software stocks leveraging their own generative AI capabilities may well be the Gorillas of the future. So, in that spirit, we are excited to present our Special Free Report on a profitable, fast-growing enterprise software stock that is already riding the automation wave and looking to catch the generative AI next. Operating Margin Operating margin is an important measure of profitability as it shows the portion of revenue left after accounting for all core expenses – everything from the cost of goods sold to advertising and wages. It's also useful for comparing profitability across companies with different levels of debt and tax rates because it excludes interest and taxes. Ziff Davis has managed its cost base well over the last five years. It demonstrated solid profitability for a business services business, producing an average operating margin of 12%. Looking at the trend in its profitability, Ziff Davis's operating margin decreased by 5.9 percentage points over the last five years. Even though its historical margin was healthy, shareholders will want to see Ziff Davis become more profitable in the future. This quarter, Ziff Davis generated an operating margin profit margin of 9.5%, in line with the same quarter last year. This indicates the company's overall cost structure has been relatively stable. Earnings Per Share We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company's growth is profitable. Sadly for Ziff Davis, its EPS declined by 1.7% annually over the last five years while its revenue was flat. This tells us the company struggled because its fixed cost base made it difficult to adjust to choppy demand. Diving into the nuances of Ziff Davis's earnings can give us a better understanding of its performance. As we mentioned earlier, Ziff Davis's operating margin was flat this quarter but declined by 5.9 percentage points over the last five years. This was the most relevant factor (aside from the revenue impact) behind its lower earnings; interest expenses and taxes can also affect EPS but don't tell us as much about a company's fundamentals. Like with revenue, we analyze EPS over a more recent period because it can provide insight into an emerging theme or development for the business. For Ziff Davis, its two-year annual EPS growth of 3.1% was higher than its five-year trend. Accelerating earnings growth is almost always an encouraging data point. In Q2, Ziff Davis reported adjusted EPS at $1.24, up from $1.18 in the same quarter last year. This print beat analysts' estimates by 4.5%. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Ziff Davis's full-year EPS of $6.60 to grow 3.8%. Key Takeaways from Ziff Davis's Q2 Results We enjoyed seeing Ziff Davis beat analysts' revenue expectations this quarter. We were also happy its full-year EPS guidance outperformed Wall Street's estimates. Overall, we think this was a solid quarter with some key areas of upside. The stock traded up 6.6% to $33.15 immediately following the results. Ziff Davis had an encouraging quarter, but one earnings result doesn't necessarily make the stock a buy. Let's see if this is a good investment. The latest quarter does matter, but not nearly as much as longer-term fundamentals and valuation, when deciding if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here, it's free. Sign in to access your portfolio
Phone Arena
29-07-2025
- Phone Arena
T-Mobile has silently enabled a new feature for Samsung and Motorola users
A phone on T-Mobile's network connected to Starlink. | Image Credit - PCMag T-Mobile 's Starlink-powered T-Satellite feature isn't meant to replace terrestrial service. It's a good fallback option for when communication systems fail or when you veer out to an area with no cellular service. Until recently, only texting was supported, but now the company has also activated Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS). T-Mobile 's T-Satellite service officially launched on July 23, after months of beta testing. Roughly a week later, the company has enabled support for MMS, allowing you to send more than just plain text messages to friends and family. This means you can now send images, audio, and video via satellite. PCMag tested out the service and came away mostly impressed. The outlet took the feature for a spin in Southern California. Connecting to the service is a seamless affair and happens automatically when you enter a dead zone. T-Mobile even sends you a text to let you know that you have established a satellite connection. You don't necessarily need to hold the phone up to the sky to maintain the connection. You may get service even inside you the moment, only Samsung and Motorola phones are supported. PCMag was able to send different multimedia items using a Samsung Galaxy S24 FE. The phone also managed to receive GIFs and audio clips, though it took a while to download is the case with texts sent over satellite, MMS sent via satellite are subject to delays, so the experience wasn't comparable to ground-based some instances, it took up to two minutes for a picture to go through. That's to be expected with satellite-based communication, though, and the bottom line is that every image was sent successfully. Videos took even longer to send, even though they were short clips of 5 seconds. It took more than 10 minutes for the first video to go through, and the second one took over 20 minutes. It took a long time to send videos using T-Satellite. | Image Credit - PCMag This was another demonstration of how far ahead T-Mobile is of not only its direct rivals but also the likes of Globalstar, which powers iPhone's satellite messaging. The MMS feature doesn't work on the iPhone right now, but given that T-Mobile is swift in expanding support, it shouldn't be long before Apple's smartphones and more Android handsets are supported. T-Mobile plans to introduce data services on October 1, and voice support is also expected in the future. T-Satellite is only free for T-Mobile customers on Experience Beyond and Go5G Next plans. For everyone else, there's a monthly charge. The addition of MMS support might compel those with supported phones to give the service a try.
Cision Canada
22-07-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
telMAX Named Fastest ISP in Canada by PCMag for Fourth Consecutive Year
Award-winning fibre internet built for how Canadians work, stream, learn, and connect. MARKHAM, ON, July 22, 2025 /CNW/ - For the fourth year running, telMAX was named Canada's Fastest Internet Service Provider (ISP) by PCMag, a respected authority on consumer technology. This annual recognition is based on PCMag's independent Speed Index, which measures real-world download and upload performance across providers nationwide. Marking an impressive fourth consecutive year earning this national recognition reinforces telMAX's position as a leader in internet performance and innovation, delivering exceptional speed and reliability to communities in the Greater Toronto Area. "Winning this award for a fourth straight year tells us our approach is working," said Mike Strople, President and CEO of telMAX. "This is a direct result of the purpose-built fibre-optic infrastructure we've invested in and the team of dedicated professionals behind it. This award reflects our commitment to delivering the best possible experience to our customers, and we're proud to be once again recognized as Canada's fastest ISP." telMAX's all-fibre network is engineered to deliver ultra-fast, symmetrical internet speeds with low latency, providing unmatched performance for streaming, remote work, gaming, generative AI, and smart home use. With this recognition, telMAX continues to set a national benchmark for internet excellence. "We're building something different at telMAX—starting with performance," adds Bradley Fisher, Chief Revenue Officer at telMAX. "Every home and business we connect to fibre gets the best internet service Canada has to offer. This award is a win for our customers and a win for Canadians who deserve a better, faster, more reliable online experience." The PCMag Fastest ISP award is based on thousands of user-initiated speed tests conducted across Canada throughout the year. telMAX's top score on the Speed Index reflects consistent, real-world performance, not lab conditions or marketing promises. With its fourth PCMag award, telMAX is proud to be raising the bar not just for its customers, but for internet users across Canada. To check availability in your area or learn more about telMAX, call 905-233-7377 or visit About telMAX telMAX is a locally based company headquartered in the Greater Toronto Area, offering 100% fibre internet, TV, and phone services to residential and business customers. telMAX is ranked Canada's fastest internet service provider by PC Magazine for the last four years. With the ongoing expansion of its award-winning independent fibre network, telMAX currently serves the communities of Brooklin, Stouffville, Newmarket, Aurora, Markham and Richmond Hill. telMAX proudly employs staff from the communities where it operates and is committed to supporting a wide range of community development activities.
