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Ting on a GSM network service is provided on the REDACTED network

Every time we mention Ting on a GSM network, we hear a familiar question: Whose network is Ting on a GSM network using? We reply with a now familiar refrain: “We can’t say, but the Ting GSM coverage map has the answers you seek.”

For a more direct (but still not actually direct) answer, the bottom of this blog post has that which you seek.

So, why can’t we just tell you which national GSM network your Ting on a GSM network service will be using?

The short answer is this: We signed a contract in good faith that agreed not to use our GSM network provider’s name in our own communications. The longer answer, though, has the context that I believe is needed.

Carriers spend millions trying to convince people that they’re different from the other carriers. That they have the innovative ideas. That they have the wireless-buying public’s best interests at heart. That their network is the most far-reaching and reliable of the lot.

For an MVNO to come in and piggyback on all that corporate propaganda hard-won public mindshare without contributing would be unfair. In theory, at least, we’d be able to cherry pick the good stuff in our own messaging while still maintaining separation enough to not be associated with the bad stuff. That would make MVNOs parasitic to the big carriers and their networks, which is not how we operate.

The big carriers, the ones that actually hold control of the networks, seem to have wised up to the fact that MVNO carriers offer a real chance at a winning situation for the carrier, the MVNO, the customer and, we’d argue, for the industry at large. A win/win/win/win, if you will.

The big carriers have softened on their previous stance which, anecdotally speaking, was “get your own damn network.” It’s obviously not a philanthropic move. It’s pure business, as is some carrier’s choice to keep their name out of it.

MVNOs should stand on their own two feet. People should have choice as to who they trust with their mobile business and innovative ideas should be all around. It’s better for everyone involved that way.

Stop saying words. Whose network does Ting on GSM use?

With CDMA service, there are clear guidelines to what we can say: “Ting (CDMA) network services are provided on the nationwide Sprint™ network.” Sprint, quite understandably, wants to control the way this message is presented, and that’s the way we’re supposed to present it (well, I added the parenthetical reference to the CDMA network that this parenthetical reference… references).

Our GSM network provider has stricter rules that preclude us saying its name at all, which it apparently believes would connect them in a meaningful way to Ting service. We can’t say in a public forum like this. We’d like you to know, though, because it can help to make the decision of which network choice is right for you.

So, then “Ting (GSM) networks services are NOT provided on the AT&T network.”

I think that about covers it.