Latest news with #US47.45
The Age
10 hours ago
- Business
- The Age
Made in the US? Trump's MAGA mobile is just another phoney deal
The Trump family says it's going to launch a mobile phone service with phones 'proudly designed and built in the United States'. Really? Not really. For a start, the statement in the press release claiming that the new 'sleek, gold smartphone' will be manufactured in the US is false. While a spokesman for the Trump Organisation told The Wall Street Journal that the phones would be manufactured in Alabama, California and Florida, Eric Trump admitted to a podcaster that, at least initially, the phones – supposed to be available from August – would be made offshore. 'Eventually, all the phones can be built in the United States of America,' he said. 'Eventually' could involve a very long wait. While the Trumps described 'T1 Mobile' as a 'transformational, new cellular service designed to deliver top-tier connectivity, unbeatable value and all-American service for our nation's hardest-working people', what's on offer appears to be an expensive re-badging of another company's offering. It's a licensing deal. The Trumps aren't building anything. They're selling the Trump brand, as usual, to a third party that will create a virtual network by accessing the actual mobile networks operated by AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. Are they at least offering the unbeatable value their announcement proclaimed? It appears not. The plan, as described, is $US499 ($766) for the phone plus $US47.45 a month (Trump is both the 45th and 47th US president – how clever!) for unlimited talk and text and 20GB of high-speed internet, access to telehealth services and roadside assistance. Leaving aside the service offerings (it's unclear whether they carry additional costs; the company that will provide the telehealth service charges a minimum of $US29 a month), the Trump Mobile plan costs more than twice that of similar plans offered by the companies whose networks will deliver the services.
The Age
15 hours ago
- Business
- The Age
I tried signing up for Trump Mobile service. Here's how it went.
There's a bunch of questions about Trump Mobile, the new wireless service from President Donald Trump's family business. There's the promised 'made in America' smartphone, which experts said was probably impossible to make in the United States with a $US499 ($799) price tag. There are ethical concerns about another product capitalising on the president's name brand. And then there's me, who is trying, but so far cannot actually use Trump Mobile's phone service. Trump Mobile successfully billed my credit card on Monday - at a cost that's considerably higher than the advertised price - but I haven't been able to actually start using the wireless service yet. Don't let this scare you off. I think many more Americans really should try the growing number of alternatives to AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon - although maybe not Trump Mobile. Loading I cannot recommend Trump Mobile until I've tested the wireless service, and my initial experience hasn't been good. The first surprise was the cost. Once I entered my personal information and credit card details, a 'plan telecom tax' of $US17.25 a month was added to the advertised monthly price of $US47.45.
9 News
2 days ago
- Business
- 9 News
Trump taking on Apple with his own phone company
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here The Trump Organisation is licensing the Trump name for a new wireless mobile phone service that is being marketed to the president's supporters and puts the brand in competition with major US carriers such as AT&T and Verizon and smartphone makers such as Apple and Samsung. "A big part of what we've done … has been focused on technology for people who have been underserved, whether that's been in crypto or anything else, but one of the places where we felt there was lackluster performance was in the mobile industry," Donald Trump Jnr said at an event at Trump Tower in New York. A website for the project advertises a $US47.45 a month plan, an apparent reference to President Donald Trump's terms as the 47th and 45th president of the United States. Donald Trump Jnr and Eric Trump at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas in May. (CNN) The Trumps emphasised the new mobile company's focus on American-made devices — a gold-hued "T1" smartphone was available for pre-order Monday for $499 — and US-based services. "You're not calling up call centres in Bangladesh," Eric Trump told Fox Business . "You're doing it right out of St Louis, Missouri." "With Trump Mobile, we're going to be introducing an entire package of products," Trump Junior said, including telemedicine, roadside assistance and unlimited texting. The White House has denied any suggestions that the president is using his name to profit. (AP) The announcement, timed to coincide with the 10-year anniversary of the day Donald Trump took the golden escalator down to announce his 2016 presidential run, marks the latest expansion of the Trump family business into tech, cryptocurrencies and media. The vast and growing scale of the Trump family businesses — which include long-held real estate and casino holdings along with more recent forays into digital finance and branded items — has deepened concerns about the president's willingness to flout ethical conventions while in office. The White House has repeatedly denied any suggestion of impropriety. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt has previously said it was "ridiculous" that anyone would suggest Trump is "doing anything for his own benefit" and that the White House holds itself to the "highest of ethical standards". The Trump Organisation is the main holding company for President Trump's private businesses, and it is run by his eldest sons, Eric and Donald Jnr. The mobile service will work with all three major wireless carriers, the Trump Organisation said. World Donald Trump USA Technology CONTACT US
