Ting: Tucows' Venture into the MVNO Business

**IsLand_BoY** · 08-19-2012, 02:14 AM

Originally Posted by music4praise

Correction: roaming on Ting includes voice/text but NOT data.

Excuse me, I meant voice/text and NOT data. Which is fine. I have data roaming on my T-Mobile line, though Sprint seems to have 3G in way more places than T-Mo.

**benlucier** · 08-19-2012, 09:30 AM

Thanks for the shout-out, glad you're enjoying Ting!

One point of clarification though: We don't currently offer data roaming with carriers outside of Sprint's home network. One of these days, the pricing will might be more reasonable (right now it's 10x the cost to roam) and we'll consider it for Ting plans.

Have a great weekend!
- Ben (Customer Service at Ting)

**benlucier** · 08-19-2012, 09:36 AM

Originally Posted by IsLand_BoY

Excuse me, I meant voice/text and NOT data. Which is fine. I have data roaming on my T-Mobile line, though Sprint seems to have 3G in way more places than T-Mo.

D'oh, I should have read the ENTIRE thread before replying.

**Endeavor** · 08-19-2012, 11:10 AM

And another correction: Ting's customer service is based in Canada, not the U.S. But, in some ways, I think that this makes it even better, as Canada has a better educated and politer workforce than many parts of the U.S.

Originally Posted by music4praise

Correction: roaming on Ting includes voice/text but NOT data.

**silentjudge** · 08-19-2012, 11:17 AM

Originally Posted by EndeavorOR

And another correction: Ting's customer service is based in Canada, not the U.S. But, in some ways, I think that this makes it even better, as Canada has a better educated and politer workforce than many parts of the U.S.

Hover which is owned by Ting's parent Tucows, they provide customer service out of California and have excellent reps

Sent from my LG Nitro HD

**IsLand_BoY** · 08-19-2012, 09:28 PM

I didn't know Ting's customer service was in Canada - well, wherever they are, I've certainly come to appreciate what good customer care is. I was especially impressed when I emailed them late on a Friday I think, not expecting a reply til Monday.. Well, I got a reply the next day on Saturday!

I think we'll be really happy with Ting. I've seen people complain about the price of data, but factoring in the fact that your usage is adjusted up and down, it's well worth it. I also like that tethering is not restricted. I've never understood carriers who charge for x amount of data then tell you how you can use it. It's like saying I can only drive my car on surface streets unless I pay extra so I can drive it on the highway.

Anyway, I'll do a more extensive review after the first month's bill!

**Endeavor** · 08-20-2012, 03:54 AM

You are correct that Hover and Ting are both owned by TUCOWS. The customer service call center for Ting and Hover are one in the same. The rep. who answers the calls will handle calls about both services. However, they have only one call center, in the Greater Toronto Area, which is in Canada.

Your confusion is not surprising, since California has an Ontario, and Canada has one as well.

You probably saw:

Ontario, Ca. (Ontario, Canada)

and thought you saw

Ontario, CA (Ontaro, California).

The only thing that happens out of California for Ting is shipment of phones, and I believe that they come from a vendor in El Segundo.

Originally Posted by silentjudge

Hover which is owned by Ting's parent Tucows, they provide customer service out of California and have excellent reps

Sent from my LG Nitro HD

**silentjudge** · 08-20-2012, 09:20 PM

Yes your right, I stand corrected.

Sent from my LG Nitro HD

**Khegobier** · 08-21-2012, 11:43 AM

One of the things that amuses me about Ting is that while they don't officially allow BYOD, they do "silently" endorse various semi-illegal activities such as ESN cloning. Hell, their help/FAQ section points to their forum community which has extensive instructions and information on the process.

I admire their balls.

**efredmi** · 08-21-2012, 12:02 PM

In their latest blog they mention that they are working on BYOD and there are some steps already done. No more info though.

**silentjudge** · 08-21-2012, 12:54 PM

Originally Posted by efredmi

In their latest blog they mention that they are working on BYOD and there are some steps already done. No more info though.

Link please?

Sent from my LG Nitro HD

**efredmi** · 08-21-2012, 01:14 PM

Originally Posted by silentjudge

Link please?

Sent from my LG Nitro HD

https://ting.com/blog/
Read latest one here is the quote from it:

We’ve been working hard on both fronts and our efforts are starting to pay off. We hope to have news to share on the BYOD front soon. We only mention it now so you don’t think we’ve fallen asleep at the switch. Let us assure you: We as a team drink far too much coffee for that to even be a possibility.

**JDubTrey** · 08-23-2012, 08:34 AM

https://ting.com/blog/byod-coming-soon-to-ting/

**IsLand_BoY** · 08-23-2012, 08:38 AM

Originally Posted by JDubTrey

https://ting.com/blog/byod-coming-soon-to-ting/

Woohoo! I'm picking up an S II and activating that on my Ting account as soon as I'm able to. AWESOME.

One feature Ting needs is a "My Account" app. Even better if it had a widget like Verizon where you can see your usage at a glance. Not that I'm complaining though, superior customer service and good prices are more important to me.