25 years after the breakup of the AT&T monopoly, a comprehensive audit of more than 700 San Diego phone bills challenges the long-cherished assumption that "phone deregulation has reduced costs for all customers." The ugly reality is that for the majority of wireless and landline telephone bills studied, customers pay unjustifiably high per-minute charges for long distance and wireless services. Get an overview of the 87-page report here. Get the full report in PDF format.
Wireless
Google To Go: Observations on the Motorala DROID Smart Phone
A review of Verizon Wireless' new Motorola DROID Smartphone using the Android mobile operating system and why I'm taking mine back.
Unsolicited or SPAM Text Messages
Despite continuous improvements to the technology, wireless companies have not found a way to stop unsolicited or SPAM Text Messages. There are a few solutions out there that each of the companies allow. Here are the steps you can take with the 4 largest wireless companies to help stop unsolicited text messages.
And The Good News Is... SideKick Data Recovery Underway
In which a simple 2 paragraph blurb about data recovery in the works for Sidekick users becomes a Tolstoy epic on data resilience and redundancy. Good reading for that upcoming 18 hour flight to Tasmania.
UCAN Comments to FCC re: Cramming, Truth-in-Billing, and Disclosures
Date of Filing/Decision
Oct 12 2009
UCAN recently filed comments with the FCC following a Notice of Inquiry concerning what actions need to be taken to ensure consumers of wireless, broadband, and video services are well informed about: the costs associated with the services; the contracts consumers must enter into; the charges for which consumers are billed; and the methods for resolving billing issues.
FCC Communications Consumer Protection and Empowerment Proceeding
The FCC recently sought comment concerning what actions need to be taken to ensure consumers of wireless, broadband, and video services are well informed about: the costs associated with the services; the contracts consumers must enter into; the charges for which consumers are billed; and the methods for resolving billing issues.
AT&T tells the FCC Google Voice is blocking calls illegally
AT&T and Google are currently engaged in an ongoing dispute about the rejection of the Google Voice iPhone application. Last Friday, AT&T pushed the spat further by filing documents with the FCC saying that Google Voice violates government Internet policies.
How FCC Chairman's net neutrality proposal will affect broadband, cell phones, and an "Open Internet"
FCC Chairman Genachowski has proposed six net neutrality principles be adopted as rules by the FCC. This welcome sign for an "Open" Internet could effect everything from your home Internet Service to your cell phone and broadband data card service.
But this is just the first step. Learn about what the FCC Chairman proposes and how it affects your Internet service.
T-Mobile begins charging $1.50 per month to receive a paper bill
T-Mobile begins charging all customers $1.50 for the privilege of receiving your bill in the mail. Oh by the way if you were already paying $1.99 for the privilege of receiving a detailed bill the $1.50 will be added to that total. Are they also going to start sending it postage due?
UPDATE: Sept. 11, 2009 - T-mobile has withdrawn the $1.50 billing charge.
AT&T and Apple "respond" to FCC questions about the rejection of Google Voice app for Iphone
Questions raised by bloggers and online media about AT&T's role in the rejection by Apple of an Google Voice app for the Iphone, have prompted the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ask the three companies "what gives." To its credit, it is good to see the FCC asking questions under the new Obama Administration. MORE
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Utility Consumers' Action Network
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