by Michelle L on September 1, 2010
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And the middle east BlackBerry ban threat continues. Research In Motion (RIM), maker of the BlackBerry, has been responding to threats from several middle eastern countries to ban BlackBerry data services if they could not monitor communications performed via the devices. They’re not talking about monitoring cell phone calls—that’s easily done with the right equipment. Instead, the governments of India, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), just to name a few, were stymied by RIM’s security, which made it impossible for them to monitor e-mails, instant messages, and Web surfing. Those countries, and a few others, gave RIM an ultimatum—give us access, or we’ll ban the data services altogether. Little by little, RIM has been giving in.
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by Michelle L on August 30, 2010
Yet another arm of the government is turning its attention to the wireless industry. Obviously, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has a long history with wireless carriers. But lately things have been a little tense with the FCC investigating carriers for their billing practices and, after Google decided to levy their own Equipment Recovery Fee on the now-defunct Nexus One, for exorbitant Early Termination Fees (ETFs). A little over a year ago, the Justice Department began a review of whether the four major carriers were abusing their power and making it more difficult for competition to enter the market, partly through exclusive handset deals. Now the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is getting involved.
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by Michelle L on August 27, 2010
It seems when video killed the radio star, they didn’t do a very thorough job. Radio, and the music industry, are trying desperately to hold onto their existence and former glory. The thing is, rather than finding new ways to do this through innovation and ingenuity within their own industries, they continue to try to whittle away at, and worm their way into the wireless industry. First, they tried a couple of lawsuits. Now, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is proposing a federal law that would require handset makers to build FM tuners into all mobile phones they produce.
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by Michelle L on August 25, 2010
It seems the banking industry isn’t going to sit by quietly while the wireless carriers try to horn in on their action. Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile are in the process of building a system, along with Discover and Barclays, to allow shoppers to pay with smartphones rather than credit or debit cards. But that venture is a ways off yet, as the companies aren’t set to even start testing it until the middle of next year. Bank of America got the jump on them, and is testing such a service right now.
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by Michelle L on August 23, 2010
Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile recently announced a joint venture (along with Discover and Barclays) that will eventually allow consumers to get rid of traditional credit and debit cards and pay with a smartphone instead. It’s a smart project for a few reasons. Most people never go anywhere without their cell phones anymore, and more people than ever are buying smartphones. Being able to pay with their smartphones means people will be able to carry fewer cards in their wallets. In addition, retailers will probably love this option because Visa and MasterCard charge outrageous fees in order for vendors to be able to accept credit cards. That expense is usually passed on to the customer. The lower the fees, the lower the retailers’ prices will be, which will also benefit shoppers. It will take a while to get this venture off the ground, though, so in the meantime, Verizon has invested in a mobile application called CardStar.
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by Michelle L on August 20, 2010
Web cams and programs like Skype revolutionized communication. Now, not only can we hear someone during a phone call, we can see them. It’s done wonders for people separated by distance. Deployed military members can see and talk to their families back home. Divorced parents can still spend quality time with their kids if they don’t live in the same city. And the technology has even made business meetings easier. As great as this technology is, it’s still not quite perfect. Depending on the kind of Internet connection one or both parties has, the video stream can be a little jerky at times, or can blink out altogether. While that presents a minor inconvenience for people who can just switch to regular phone calls, it presents a real problem for the hearing impaired who depend on sign language to communicate face to face. But now the University of Washington in Seattle is trying to address that issue by testing the first phone meant to transmit sign language.
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by Michelle L on August 18, 2010
Part of the reason AT&T went from unlimited data plans to data caps with tiered pricing was iPhone users. Or so they said. According to AT&T, iPhone users constitute roughly three percent of their customer base, yet were responsible for 40 percent of data usage on the carrier’s network. To hear AT&T tell it, all those dropped calls and other network issues that people love to complain about were because of their iPhone customers. We have yet to see whether the data caps solve the problems. Recent reports indicated that, for the first time, Android phones are outselling the iPhone, pushing Apple’s device to third place after BlackBerry and Android devices. It just stands to reason that’s going to have an effect on data usage as well.
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by Michelle L on August 16, 2010
While Research In Motion (RIM), maker of BlackBerry devices, has been very tight-lipped about the compromises it’s offering to prevent countries from instituting BlackBerry data bans, not everyone is so concerned about keeping those details quiet.
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by Michelle L on August 16, 2010
It’s getting to the point where filing class-action lawsuits against wireless carriers could be an Olympic sport. At least once a year, someone gets upset by something their wireless provider does, and then files a lawsuit over it. There’s an old adage that says the customer is always right, but is that really always the case? Wireless carriers have responded to and settled lawsuits over early termination fees (ETFs), breaches of contract, and unfair fees. Some practices are so questionable and convoluted that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has even gotten involved on occasion. The latest carrier to be hit with a class-action suit is T-Mobile, and the accusation is basically, well, that they lied.
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by Michelle L on August 13, 2010
The BlackBerry ban threat continues to expand. It seemed at first as if Research in Motion (RIM) had been able to work out some kind of compromise with the Indian government to avoid a ban of its data services, but now that’s not the case. India is threatening to shut off BlackBerry e-mail, texting, and Web surfing on August 31 unless RIM hands over the keys to its encryption algorithms. Several countries are making similar threats, or working out agreements with RIM. Is it only a matter of time before this happens in the United States and Canada?
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