AT&T announced this week that its smartphone data plan prices are going up. Starting on January 22, AT&T’s $15 data plan becomes its $20 data plan and AT&T’s $25 data plan becomes its $30 data plan.

UCAN has named Pat Zaharopoulos, Esq. and Dr. Murtaza H. Baxamusa to its Board of Directors. Details.

One of the greatest things about this country is the availability of choice. Want a breakfast cereal? You can choose from a multitude at your local grocery store. A loaf of bread? White or wheat no longer cut it--now, the more grains you have the better. 5? 10? 15? The grain sky is the limit. The ability for consumers to choose can be a good thing as long as there is actual choice. However, when we look at certain consumer areas--cell phone providers, for example--the actual ability to choose a specific provider is a limited one. The culprit? The early termination fee.

There's another new kid on the cell phone block: republic wireless. Sure, it seems like another MVNO that is offering an unlimited plan that claims to be different, but republic wireless is actually different. It’ll be up to you to decide whether those differences are worth dropping your current provider to make the switch. Find out more after the jump.

The reviews are in and according to literary critic Marla Jo Fisher of the OC Register, our Mobile Phone Plan Checker is "FUNNY"! and also has "INFORMATION"! Oh, did we mention it is FREE?
Details Here.

If you are a Verizon Wireless customer, chances are you recently received an email from Big Red discussing changes to its privacy policy. Most of you may have just deleted the email without reading it, but if you took the time to see just what changed you'd be in for a big surprise.

In 2010, when the FCC began discussing government mandates that would allow consumers to avoid overages, Verizon said they had it under control.  There have been a slew of reports on the internet lately about Verizon customers receiving overage charges without receiving an alert from Verizon.  Verizon lobbyists filed comments specifically stating that customers receive alerts on the 20^th day of their billing cycle if they are set to go over their allowances for that month.

However, there’s been a recent slew of backlash on the internet from customers who have, in fact, NOT received these alerts.  Most notably was Consumer Reports writer Jeff Blyskal, who incurred $70 in overage charges without so much as a peep from Verizon, if you are going to pick and choose who you send your alerts to, an employee of the biggest organization dedicated to consumer protection is not a good account to skip.

Our recent blackout has brought to light how much of our communication relies on our personal power systems.  Some UCAN members that thought their phones would suffice during a blackout found themselves without a dial tone.  Let’s rate your blackout communication options and examine how they are affected by a blackout: