We recently reported that Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile were part of class-action suits, but it seems other carriers want in on the fun, too. Sprint/Nextel is up before the judge for re-upping customers' contracts for another 2 years without notice when users made minor modifications to their account.
And Alltel may get their hand slapped by Lady Justice for not disclosing all the terms and conditions of their contracts. Many of these carriers got "atta-boys" recently for incorporating some new "consumer-friendly" policies. Now we know why. They needed to hide their spitballs before the teacher came and whacked their hands. Too late. You're going to the principal's office. Oh boy, more hands-free earpieces for us.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
How Do We Take a Road Trip?
One of the things we do at Mountain Wireless is review cellular service by using it in different places, and one of the best ways to do that is by taking one of our road trips. While we have already applied our roaming experiences to our carrier reviews, we have always wanted to post the actual mile-by-mile experience of those trips to assist travelers making a similar trek across the cellular frontier.
Our difficulty lies in how to report these trips. Should we share our experiences as mileposts along the highways, or just selected details? Should those details be just the bad zones and roaming surprises, or the good news as well? We have started a "Road Trip" page several times and stopped because the best format to share these trips eludes us.
We have a file of our accumulated Road Trip experiences, as well those found in newsgroups and cellular forums, ready to publish. Two methods are shown on our Road Trips page: one is an "Outline" of high & low points, and the other is a "Story" of our trips. Only readers of this Blog are allowed a preview of these pages, and we hope you will take the time to comment. You may want to submit a road trip of your own. Most important of all, tell us whether we should even bother with this project.
We have added about one new web page a week to MountainWireless.com. Some pages gather lots of fans (like The End of Analog), while others get no interest (like How Wireless 911 Works). It's a good thing we like to write this stuff, there's still a lot of internet space to fill up!
Our difficulty lies in how to report these trips. Should we share our experiences as mileposts along the highways, or just selected details? Should those details be just the bad zones and roaming surprises, or the good news as well? We have started a "Road Trip" page several times and stopped because the best format to share these trips eludes us.
We have a file of our accumulated Road Trip experiences, as well those found in newsgroups and cellular forums, ready to publish. Two methods are shown on our Road Trips page: one is an "Outline" of high & low points, and the other is a "Story" of our trips. Only readers of this Blog are allowed a preview of these pages, and we hope you will take the time to comment. You may want to submit a road trip of your own. Most important of all, tell us whether we should even bother with this project.
We have added about one new web page a week to MountainWireless.com. Some pages gather lots of fans (like The End of Analog), while others get no interest (like How Wireless 911 Works). It's a good thing we like to write this stuff, there's still a lot of internet space to fill up!
Friday, February 1, 2008
700 MHz: Hot!
We think 700 MHz is one of the best slices of spectrum wireless providers could hope for, and the latest auction bids verify that. The FCC expected a top of $15 Billion in bids, but as of Friday afternoon they have blown right past that. The auction is "blind", so we won't know who is leading the bidding until the fat lady sings. Other news sources anticipate Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Google to be the major players, but we are looking toward a Dark Horse, hoping it's someone like Alltel.
Bidders from the 2006 AWS auction may now be looking at their 1750/2500 MHz spectrum purchases as bargains. There could be some real premiums to be paid for 700 MHz space and the dynamics may have yet to be felt. The "C" spectrum, the nationwide channels, has yet to reach its minimum bid, but could get new life when the major players find they've been outbid in smaller markets. The "D" spectrum comes with Public Safety strings attached that nobody seems to want...that is until all the other frequencies get bid too high, and the D zone goes from looking like a problem to an opportunity.
Remember when "dual-band" phones were a big deal and "Quad-band" phones were essential for international travelers? "Sex-band" phones may be the next essential. "Sex" means six, right?
Bidders from the 2006 AWS auction may now be looking at their 1750/2500 MHz spectrum purchases as bargains. There could be some real premiums to be paid for 700 MHz space and the dynamics may have yet to be felt. The "C" spectrum, the nationwide channels, has yet to reach its minimum bid, but could get new life when the major players find they've been outbid in smaller markets. The "D" spectrum comes with Public Safety strings attached that nobody seems to want...that is until all the other frequencies get bid too high, and the D zone goes from looking like a problem to an opportunity.
Remember when "dual-band" phones were a big deal and "Quad-band" phones were essential for international travelers? "Sex-band" phones may be the next essential. "Sex" means six, right?
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Wireless Backup Power: Good News/Bad News
Recently the FCC initiated a rule that requires cellular companies to provide at least 8 hours of backup power to every cell site. This requirement comes in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and has us pondering the fallout. This unfunded mandate will be vigorously fought by the cellular carriers, especially when facing an economic downturn. Equally emphatic will be the FCC and other federal powers who want the US better prepared for future disasters and terrorists.
Good News: We will be able to depend more on our cellular phones when wireline services go down. Since most wireline companies already provide backup power, the more likely scenario is when communications links are interrupted by an accident or weather. In that case, cellular sites may be affected by the same loss of service. An electrical outage more often affects the type of customer who needs a computer connection to power their IP phone, or who made the unfortunate decision to use only AC-powered phones such as "cordless" phones or phones with other powered features. We should always have a simple corded phone plugged in somewhere in the house, that is, those of us who still have wireline service.
Bad News: All the cell sites with no backup facilities are going to need additional power capacity in the form of generators or batteries. This could have a substantial visual, environmental or audible impact on nearby residents. A few cell sites wouldn't have a problem, but many more are now located in, or close to, neighbors who would. Expect a lot more boxes, and maybe buildings, to be added to these sites including generators that will need fuel tanks that could result in leaks or spills, and noise from required tests. Expect lawsuits, too.
Oh, and the FCC says this rule is already in effect! I can smell the fumes already...some from the generators, some from the neighbors. And then there are the lawyers...
Good News: We will be able to depend more on our cellular phones when wireline services go down. Since most wireline companies already provide backup power, the more likely scenario is when communications links are interrupted by an accident or weather. In that case, cellular sites may be affected by the same loss of service. An electrical outage more often affects the type of customer who needs a computer connection to power their IP phone, or who made the unfortunate decision to use only AC-powered phones such as "cordless" phones or phones with other powered features. We should always have a simple corded phone plugged in somewhere in the house, that is, those of us who still have wireline service.
Bad News: All the cell sites with no backup facilities are going to need additional power capacity in the form of generators or batteries. This could have a substantial visual, environmental or audible impact on nearby residents. A few cell sites wouldn't have a problem, but many more are now located in, or close to, neighbors who would. Expect a lot more boxes, and maybe buildings, to be added to these sites including generators that will need fuel tanks that could result in leaks or spills, and noise from required tests. Expect lawsuits, too.
Oh, and the FCC says this rule is already in effect! I can smell the fumes already...some from the generators, some from the neighbors. And then there are the lawyers...
Carriers Get Hit With Class Action Suits
This week Verizon Wireless was hit with a class action suit on their Early Termination Fees (ETF). We don't know if this ball got rolling before or after they began pro-rating their ETF's. The most common termination situation was when a customer was unable to get service in a new location or lost service where it once worked. When that customer switched to another carrier out of necessity, Verizon said, "too bad", and charged the ETF, around $175.
T-Mobile also has the legal dogs on their tails, but in this case, they are being charged with forcing customers to maintain Text Messaging services that caused users to receive unwanted messages and incurring incoming message charges. In the suit, T-Mobile is being charged with not permitting customers to disable their Text Messaging. Most major carriers allow this.
Additionally, the Attorney General of South Dakota has asked cellular users there to look for unauthorized charged for such services on their bills. It looks like he's going to start his own "class." It's nice to get the carriers to clean up their act, but don't expect much money back. My last class action remedy got me a hands free earpiece that doesn't work with my phone, and a $10 credit that won't appear on my bill for 2 years. I bet the lawyers made out a little better.
T-Mobile also has the legal dogs on their tails, but in this case, they are being charged with forcing customers to maintain Text Messaging services that caused users to receive unwanted messages and incurring incoming message charges. In the suit, T-Mobile is being charged with not permitting customers to disable their Text Messaging. Most major carriers allow this.
Additionally, the Attorney General of South Dakota has asked cellular users there to look for unauthorized charged for such services on their bills. It looks like he's going to start his own "class." It's nice to get the carriers to clean up their act, but don't expect much money back. My last class action remedy got me a hands free earpiece that doesn't work with my phone, and a $10 credit that won't appear on my bill for 2 years. I bet the lawyers made out a little better.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
The Cellular Phone Directory is Here
Some of us had hoped it wouldn't happen, and the carriers said they were being careful not to release their records to the directory services. But at least one directory company is offering subscriber information for cellular phone numbers. You thought your cell number was private? Ha!
Intelius claims over 90 Million cell phone numbers in their directory, and not one of them was supplied by the carriers. How did they get your number? Intelius scans online public records and logs every number registered at those sites and the name associated with it. Let's say you gave the county your cell number so they wouldn't bother you at your home number at tax time. Unfortunately, that number is then part of the public record and can be harvested by a company like Intelius. And if they can do it, someone else can, too.
Intelius will sell you the name or number information for as little as $5, but the normal price is $15. If this catches on, competition could drop the price to as little as a buck or two. There is a flip side to all this, and that is if you're the one trying to find somebody's private cell number, it can be done. So, the next time you see Brittany Spears behaving badly, look her up, give her cell a ring, and advise her she's gonna catch cold if she doesn't dress a little better.
Intelius claims over 90 Million cell phone numbers in their directory, and not one of them was supplied by the carriers. How did they get your number? Intelius scans online public records and logs every number registered at those sites and the name associated with it. Let's say you gave the county your cell number so they wouldn't bother you at your home number at tax time. Unfortunately, that number is then part of the public record and can be harvested by a company like Intelius. And if they can do it, someone else can, too.
Intelius will sell you the name or number information for as little as $5, but the normal price is $15. If this catches on, competition could drop the price to as little as a buck or two. There is a flip side to all this, and that is if you're the one trying to find somebody's private cell number, it can be done. So, the next time you see Brittany Spears behaving badly, look her up, give her cell a ring, and advise her she's gonna catch cold if she doesn't dress a little better.
Friday, January 25, 2008
The FCC Ruined Our 700 MHz Fun!
The last FCC auction for wireless spectrum (AWS) was fun! As often as 3 times a day, geeks like us could log on to the FCC's web site and see who outbid who. This time, the FCC decided to make the 700 MHz wireless auction a "blind" auction, and no one will be able to see the results until it's all over next month.
The 700 MHz spectrum is made up of soon-to-be-abandoned analog TV channels and has the potential of yielding even better coverage than current cellular channels. This could be a much bigger deal than any of us imagine. We could end up with coverage in areas not possible today, and applications of technology some us haven't even dreamed about yet.
With entities like cable providers, cellular companies and the likes of Google competing for wireless space, we could be entering an era of untold, unwired possibilities! It looks like AT&T and Verizon Wireless will be the big bidders, but expect a few Dark Horses to cross the finish line in this race. Until then, we'll just watch the money, and not the horses, fly by.
The 700 MHz spectrum is made up of soon-to-be-abandoned analog TV channels and has the potential of yielding even better coverage than current cellular channels. This could be a much bigger deal than any of us imagine. We could end up with coverage in areas not possible today, and applications of technology some us haven't even dreamed about yet.
With entities like cable providers, cellular companies and the likes of Google competing for wireless space, we could be entering an era of untold, unwired possibilities! It looks like AT&T and Verizon Wireless will be the big bidders, but expect a few Dark Horses to cross the finish line in this race. Until then, we'll just watch the money, and not the horses, fly by.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Verizon Wireless Buys SureWest Wireless
Even with the 700 MHz auction on the horizon, Verizon Wireless grabs the PCS spectrum, equipment and customers of Surewest Wireless in Sacramento, CA. In their press release, SureWest tries to assure their customers they won't notice many changes in their service, but historically Verizon converts all customers to their own network and plans. That may mean no more unlimited offerings for wireless customers in Sacramento.
If this purchase follows the same pattern as the Qwest Wireless purchase, Verizon will use the SureWest sites for additional coverage and the PCS spectrum for broadband services. The upside is that Sacramento customers will get more features on Verizon phones. Surewest's wireline and video services will remain intact.
Since SureWest serves such a small area, we don't want to say this is a bad transaction in the larger world of wireless, but for cellular users in Sacramento this could be a step backwards. We could hope MetroPCS may be interested in bringing their unlimited service to town now that Sacto users have whetted their appetite for all-you-can-eat wireless.
As usual, we have preserved the SureWest Wireless coverage map on our map page.
If this purchase follows the same pattern as the Qwest Wireless purchase, Verizon will use the SureWest sites for additional coverage and the PCS spectrum for broadband services. The upside is that Sacramento customers will get more features on Verizon phones. Surewest's wireline and video services will remain intact.
Since SureWest serves such a small area, we don't want to say this is a bad transaction in the larger world of wireless, but for cellular users in Sacramento this could be a step backwards. We could hope MetroPCS may be interested in bringing their unlimited service to town now that Sacto users have whetted their appetite for all-you-can-eat wireless.
As usual, we have preserved the SureWest Wireless coverage map on our map page.
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