Our friends over at TMONews point out that T-Mobile will be sending out an over-the-air update from Apple that will provide LTE connectivity for unlocked iPhones on T-Mobile's network starting on April 5. According to the leaked internal screenshot, the over-the-air update will also provide those users with other awaited functionality like visual voicemail and MMS. Before announcing they'd finally offer the iPhone, T-Mobile courted unlocked iPhone owners who have been looking forward to this functionality for a while. The text of the document below:

According to documents obtained by CNET, the DEA is upset because the encryption used by Apple's iMessage foils their ability to snoop on those communications. Even with a warrant (increasingly seen as optional these days by law enforcement and intelligence agencies) and the fact that carriers let the NSA snoop on everything in real time, "it is impossible to intercept iMessages between two Apple devices."

Well not entirely impossible; the memo notes that sometimes interception is possible, but it would require the government to conduct man in the middle attacks using spoofed cell towers, something the feds just got busted for using for years without properly informing Judges.

Back in May of 2011 we were the first to exclusively report that AT&T would be imposing usage caps on the company's DSL and U-Verse users. Users were told DSL users would see a cap of 150 GB a month and U-Verse users would see a cap of 250 GB a month -- with both sets of users paying $10 for every additional 50 GB of data they use.

A new report from research firm OpenSignal found that T-Mobile LTE is currently live in nine United States cities ahead of the company's official network launch expected tomorrow. Only Kansas City and Las Vegas were specifically mentioned as launch markets, though the firm notes they've also seen significant LTE presence in Seattle, Denver, New Orleans, New York, San Diego, and the Bay Area.

A survey of 1,500 smartphone users by NPD Connected Intelligence found that the average Android user now gobbles up 1.36 GB of data each month. As Fierce Wireless notes, T-Mobile users appear to have taken the crown in terms of consuming the most data each month, after the company last year re-introduced unlimited data as an option. T-Mobile's showing is followed by Sprint, who also offers unlimited data, at 1.12 GB a month, followed by AT&T and Verizon at .79 and .76 GB per month respectively. The companies acknowledge the sample size is just a little too small to be truly representative, but their data is included below in case you're interested:

When pitching last year's co-marketing arrangement between Verizon and the cable industry, the companies promised that they would offer interesting new cross wireless and cable video services. A new job listing for the Comcast and Verizon's innovation lab promises that they're working on "magical experiences," like letting you resume Xfinity TV shows you were watching on your smartphone. Right now, the partnership simply involves cable companies bundling Verizon Wireless services with a prepaid gift card (the total varies depending on the cable company), while with a wink in return, Verizon quietly jacks up DSL prices and shoves DSL users they don't want to upgrade in the general direction of cable.

• Google Fiber could bring superfast Internet to every town in America, but for now the company is thinking small [slate.com]
• 4G Smartphone Usage Up 70% Among Small Businesses [cellphonedigest.net]
• Apple proposes 'on-the-go' wireless charging via iPad Smart Cover with built-in battery [appleinsider.com]
• Google Pulls Several Prominent Ad-Blocking Apps From Play Store For Violating Developer Distribution Agreement [techcrunch.com]
• FinSpy Software Used To Surveil Activists Around The World [huffingtonpost.com]
• With User Profiles Still In Testing, Netflix’s Social Sharing Feature Makes No Sense [techcrunch.com]
• Blue Coat, Skype and QQ named despots' best friends - Reporters Without Borders slams "enemies of the internet" [theregister.co.uk]
• What's most important? Bandwidth over kilo-miles, or milli-watts? IBM, AT&T brainboxes beg to differ [theregister.co.uk]
• Rumor Mill: T-Mobile to launch handset trade-in program in shift to Value plans [fiercewireless.com]
• Networking Battles to Run the World [nytimes.com]
• Google Hastens to Show Its Concern for Privacy [nytimes.com]

*For more interesting links to broadband and related tech news from DSLReports.com & other sites throughout the day, follow me on Twitter @ChrisBBReports!*

The FCC today announced they would unsurprisingly be approving T-Mobile's acquisition of MetroPCS. The agency argued that T-Mobile, though only the nation's fourth-largest carrier, has traditionally been a disruptive player and even combined with MetroPCS "would have an economic incentive to continue to play this role. The freshly-fused company would likely not have "the ability to unilaterally raise price or otherwise harm competition at the national level," according to an agency that blocked AT&T's attempted acquisition of T-Mobile for just those reasons. In a statement, FCC boss Julius Genachowski stated that the deal would help shift the market "toward robust competition and revitalized competitors."

If you live in the United States, you may be familiar with the common sentiment that you generally cannot take your favorite cellular enabled device (tablet, smartphone, Sony PlayStation Vita, etc.) and use it on any carrier you like. With GSM carriers, this is referred to as a SIM lock.

CISPA, a bill that would significantly erode consumer privacy and expand Internet activity surveillance under the guise of "cybersecurity," (see the EFF's excellent primer) recently rose from the dead. Phone companies are of course in support of CISPA, given it gives them a blank check to violate consumer privacy laws.

After AT&T's attempted takeover of T-Mobile was blocked by regulators, it didn't take T-Mobile long to re-embrace its role of industry upstart, launching a series of ad campaigns that took pot shots at AT&T. Now AT&T's returning the favor.

Just over a year ago, AT&T was busy trying to convince the press and regulators that if they weren't allowed to buy T-Mobile for $39 billion, they'd face an absolute spectrum catastrophe, would be unable to deploy next-generation wireless services, and would have to scale back network investment substantially. A year later and AT&T's tune has changed completely.

With Sprint's LTE service now available in portions of 58 markets (most of them small), Sprint has now started offering LTE service through the company's Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile no contract, prepaid brands. Virgin Mobile says the company is now offering users the Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE for $300, while Boost Mobile is offering the HTC One SV for $300 and the Boost Force Android for $200. Both prepaid outfits' "unlimited" data plans involve users being throttled should they consume more than 2.5 gigabytes per month. You can find Virgin Mobile's plans here, and Boost Mobile's plans here.

In addition to new rules requiring that signal booster owners get carrier approval to use those devices, the FCC this week also claimed to have made some rule changes that will tackle what the agency insists is an emergency congestion epidemic facing Wi-Fi networks. The press quickly became awash in stories about how the FCC was saving us from a Wi-Fi congestion apocalypse nobody was actually worried about.

Five of the UK’s biggest telecoms firms have managed to snare a slice of the 4G spectrum, the communication regulator, Ofcom, announced today. BT, EE (EverythingEverywhere), O2, Three UK and Vodafone all gained access to 800MHz and 2.6GHz radio spectrum, though a final allocation process still needs to determine exactly which place each company will take in that spectrum range.

• Fiber to drive global broadband revenue growth to 2018 [telecoms.com]
• No cash for broadband: Europe's super-fast future torpedoed by budget cuts [zdnet.com]
• Hold off updating your iPhone 4S to iOS 6.1, European carriers warn customers [gigaom.com]
• AT&T: We didn't execute well on T-Mobile deal [fiercewireless.com]
• United Airlines adds Wi-Fi for overseas flights [latimes.com]
• Cellular carriers seek smooth handoffs from LTE to 3G [pcworld.com]
• Google: Self-driving cars in 3-5 years. Feds: Not so fast [extremetech.com]
• At least two-thirds mobile traffic will be video by 2017, Total mobe data shifted doubled during 2012 - Cisco report [theregister.co.uk]
• IP Address Snapshots Not Sufficient Evidence To File Infringement Suit; Prenda Lawyer Faces Sanctions [techdirt.com]
• NTIA will hand out $121.5M to aid FirstNet effort [fiercebroadbandwireless.com]
• Vehicles and mobility are converging but fragmentation, lack of standards may hinder progress [fiercewireless.com]

*For more interesting links to broadband and related tech news from DSLReports.com & other sites throughout the day, follow me on Twitter @ChrisBBReports!*

SEC filings have provided some interesting context for the recent wireless industry M&A orgy starring Dish, Clearwire and Sprint. According to Clearwire SEC filings, Dish had been pursuing an acquisition of Clearwire since mid 2011.

The FCC this week announced that the agency will be taking steps to free up wireless spectrum to be used by newer technologies like 802.11ac (aka "Gigabit Wi-Fi). Speaking at CES, FCC boss Julius Genachowski stated that the agency will begin a significant effort to free 195
megahertz of spectrum in the 5 gigahertz band -- the largest block of unlicensed spectrum to be made available for expansion of Wi-Fi since 2003.

Security analyst Gaurang Pandya this week proclaimed that Nokia has been hijacking Internet traffic of Nokia phone users, technically providing the company with access to all user Internet browsing activity. According to the researcher, Nokia is effectively conducting a "man in the middle attack" on its users, intercepting and temporarily decrypting HTTPS connections, giving Nokia access to all manner of protected communications.

Back in 2008 Congress passed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which not only retroactively gave the government a pass for years of illegal spying on its own citizens, but gave companies like AT&T a get out of jail free card for helping them. For AT&T in particular that help was immense, from allowing real time wiretaps of all traffic without warrants, to advising the government on the best and easiest way to ignore privacy laws.