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What Commercials Are Really Saying: AT&T's Surf and Talk Campaign
Commercials always have hidden messages and AT&T's message is quite direct.-
- CoolPartyGuys
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- 3 months ago
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Are Silicon Valley VCs really in decline?
The move away from traditional VCs to Angels features strongly in talk about startup investment. So this seemingly contrary view from the very heart of Silicon Valley is intriguingThe move away from traditional VCs to Angels features strongly in talk about startup... more-
- littlemissdebbie
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- 4 months ago
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How AT&T Screwed a Loyal Employee « AT&T Can You Hear Us Now?
AT&T not a good place to work-
- yvonnemason
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- 4 months ago
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The Phone Call, The Run Around, Aggravation and the End Results « AT&T Can You Hear Us Now?
Lousy AT&T service-
- yvonnemason
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- 4 months ago
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HTC Jetstream and LG Thrill 4G, Now Available on AT&T
The HTC Jetstream and LG Thrill 4G are finally available on AT&T. The Jetstream – which gets a retail price of $699 with a two-year contract – is not only the carrier’s first LTE-based 4G tablet, but it is also its first 10-inch tablet computer. It features an Android 3.2 system with HTC’s first version of Sense interface for Google OS.
Another thing that the HTC Jetstream is heavily promoting is its built-in dual-core Snapdragon. It is powered by a 1.5GHz MSM8260, instead of the previous NVIDIA Tegra 2 that Google uses for its earlier models. The tablet also offers a 12-hour battery life and a minimum of 32GB internal storage.
The LG Thrill 4G, on the other hand, is an Americanized version of the Optimus 3D device. It has a full support for AT&T’s HSPA+ 3G bands, and adds Gameloft 3D games and mSpot 3D movies to its powerful Android 2.2 system. The Thrill is jam-packed with cool features, including a dual 5.0-megapixel cameras that could record 3D videos, and a 4.3-inch, 480×800 screen display that could support glasses-free 3D. Furthermore, the handset also gets a dual-core, 1GHz TI OMAP chip and dual-channel memory, making it one of the fastest smartphones to date. The Thrill 4G could be yours for only $100 on contract.The HTC Jetstream and LG Thrill 4G are finally available on AT&T. The Jetstream... more-
- vinnieadler
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- 5 months ago
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AT&T Lies About Merger
AT&T proves that their merger with T-Moblie is all about ending competition, eliminating jobs, and increasing profits.
In June, thousands of ColorOfChange members spoke out against a proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile, arguing that the deal is likely to destroy jobs, raise the price of cellular service, and threaten net neutrality for wireless high-speed Internet.
Now, there’s one more reason to oppose the merger — and AT&T gave it to us. The company has repeatedly claimed that merging with T-Mobile is the only way it would make good business sense to cover 97% of Americans with the latest mobile broadband technology.
But according to a letter filed by AT&T, the cost of building its 4G wireless system to the entire nation is $3.8 billion — a mere one tenth the cost of the $39 billion merger! And if the merger isn’t approved, AT&T will be obligated to pay T-Mobile a $3 billion fee, more than 75% of the cost of extending 4G coverage to 97% of Americans.
This new revelation makes clear that AT&T’s major public interest rationale for merging with T-Mobile amounts to nothing more than fuzzy math. But Democratic 76 members of Congress, led by North Carolina Rep. G.K. Butterfield, have signed a letter advancing AT&T’s false rationale.
http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/2011/08/stop-atts-dangerous-lies/AT&T proves that their merger with T-Moblie is all about ending competition,... more-
- kvb1
- added this
- 6 months ago
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- 11 comments
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LightSquared's Phil Falcone talks to CNBC, airs his feud with Verizon and AT&T (video)
Time to call in the wireless waahmbulance. LightSquared's billionaire backer Phil Falcone made his television debut on CNBC's Power Lunch to cry foul at the behind-the-scenes lobbying drama that could put the brakes on his 4G dreams. The hedge fund manager pointed his finger at AT&T and Verizon, claiming both are trying to "stomp out innovation" and competition by working in cahoots with the Save Our GPS Coalition. The soon-to-launch LTE network continues to encounter significant opposition from the group, as its tests have shown LightSquared's planned 40,000 stations will transmit signals "up to 800 billion times" more powerful than low-powered GPS, effectively blocking it out. Falcone insists that all parties involved knew of the potential interference issues back in 2003, when the FCC first mandated the network's build-out, and promises a switch to the company's lower block of spectrum will remedy 99 percent of the problem. Whichever side of this he said / they said brouhaha you believe, one thing's for sure -- the 4G race is getting pretty ugly.Time to call in the wireless waahmbulance. LightSquared's billionaire backer Phil... more-
- lordsbassman
- added this
- 6 months ago
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T-Mobile screwed me over just like ALL corporations tend to do. AT&T will make them worse.
Since there is a character limit on what I can post here, I will just post a link to what I posted to the T-Mobile message board. Unfortunately it's a long complaint. This is because T-Mobile wasted 24+ hours of my time to accomplish NOTHING after pinging my account, hijacking my money, not rendering services, and not solving anything. Message board complaint can be found here: http://forums.t-mobile.com/t5/T-Mobile-General/Anyone-else-getting-screwed-followed-by-TERRIBLE-customer-quot/m-p/913219/highlight/false#M32619
SNIPPET:
However, "Bill" and OTHER customer "care" reps were not only incompentent and inconsistent, but incredibly RUDE as well as UNPROFESSIONAL!
* When I was told by "Bill" that it would take somewhere around 48 hours for T-Mobile and/or their so-called legal department to remedy the situation and restore service to my phone, I was very upset and explained that no, this was NOT going to be acceptable. I could possibly lose jobs and income over that much time of being without my phone (which I already paid the bill for of course and now didn't have access to that money since T-Mobile pinged my account but couldn't figure out apparently how to apply the funds to my phone...ridiculous). I pay good money for my phone each month to have a high number of minutes and unlimited texting. It is ESSENTIAL for me to run my business amongst other things. The most Bill was willing to offer me was a $10 credit to my account which was not at all adequate but obviously I was going to take anything they would offer, especially since this is T-Mobile's fault.
* By the way, when I was on skype with my credit union at the same time as on my cell phone with "Bill" the customer "care" SUPERVISOR, "Bill" was phishing for information about my account and my bank teller warned me on Skype (and he was able to hear and I repeated what she said) that what he was asking for was proprietary information and that he was jerking my chain and bullying me.
* I was quite irritated and mentioned things like the TRUTH about the FCC and the regulatory fees (see above commentary) in addition to what I had researched the night before on T-Mobile's PAC and the fact that T-Mobile's PAC lobbyists (like all corporations who incidentally have more personhood rights in terms of campaign financing than REAL people as per Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 08-205 (2010) . Note: T-Mobile's PAC donates to Democrats AND Republicans just like most corporate PACs/lobbyists do. It's the tactic of course for corporations to bribe all major politicians and candidates from either side of the aisle in order to strong-arm our elected officials into getting their way despite whatever the masses of REAL people want and/or need. Not to mention, I brought up details like how if/when AT&T "merges" (takes over) T-Mobile, it will not only screw over consumers such as myself (as is the case with any monopolized system), but it is predicted about 1/3 of T-Mobile employees would be laid off in such a scenario. Bad for the consumers. Bad for the workers. Bad for the already struggling economy. Yet giant corporations such as T-Mobile or their CEO get out of paying their fair share of taxes due the the Bush tax loopholes that the GOP continues to refuse to repeal while the other 98% of the public is forced to suffer and sacrifice.
* "Bill" the T-Mobile customer "care" SUPERVISOR had the following rude and inaccurate responses to everything I had said during our phone conversation; "You think too much", "The problems you are having with your phone and phone service are your fault", and, "The reason your transaction was declined is you have insufficient funds in your checking account"!!!
# "You think too much."Since there is a character limit on what I can post here, I will just post a link to... more-
- dawgkat
- added this
- 7 months ago
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- 8 comments
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Big Brother turns out to not be Government but America's Largest Phone Companies
Right on the heels of a rash of copyright lawsuits, comes the news that your Internet Service Provider may soon become an attack dog for the film and recording industry, according to an online report. Major U.S. ISPs including AT&T, Comcast and Verizon are reportedly close to an agreement with the entertainment industry to monitor how you use your Internet connection and punish you if you step out of line. The plan, which has not been finalized, calls for a "graduated response" to stop users from pirating video, music and other copyrighted content. Punishments can include bandwidth throttling and restricted Web access, according to CNET.
Here's how the plan would work: rights holders keep an eye out for copyright material being traded over peer-to-peer file sharing such as BitTorrent. The companies would then identify the pirates trading the material (presumably by IP address), and alert the ISP about the scallywag sailing their digital shores. The ISP would then send you a notice called a Copyright Alert, CNET says, warning you about your actions.
Reeducation camp
If you fail to heed the warning (and any potential subsequent warnings) you would then be subject to restrictions on your Internet service, as mentioned above, until you stop trading in copyrighted files. If that wasn't bad enough, the ISP could even go so far as to ask you to participate in a program that educates you on "copyright law and the rights of copyright holders."
There's no word on what the process would be for reintegration after you complete copyright reeducation camp. But I'm guessing your ISP restrictions won't be lifted until you declare your love for Big Brother and the Party.Right on the heels of a rash of copyright lawsuits, comes the news that your Internet... more-
- BKsaysAction
- added this
- 8 months ago
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- 10 comments
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FCC Opens Black-Hole of Data Roaming Rules
Voting along party lines in a 3-2 vote, the FCC has again over-stepped its authority to regulate data carriers in an ever-going battle to make the agency more relevant in a fast changing broadband technology world, where innovation and competition already exists. On April 7, 2011, new data roaming rules were adopted that would require mobile operators to negotiate and offer data roaming to all competitors across US markets.Voting along party lines in a 3-2 vote, the FCC has again over-stepped its authority... more-
- LenGrace
- added this
- 9 months ago
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- 0 comments
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The Wavelength: “Underdog” AT&T Tells FCC That Eliminating Competitors Will Increase Competition
by Eric K. Arnold, Media Consortium blogger
The proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger continues to dominate media policy headlines, but the wireless merger isn’t the only game in town. AOL’s recent buyout of the Huffington Post has raised intellectual property issues, rural communities still lack speedy broadband access, and a proposed Verizon antenna in Oakland has come under fire by neighborhood activists.
AT&T an Underdog?
Telecommunications giant AT&T is many things, and an underdog in need of federal assistance isn’t one of them. Yet Colorlines.com’s Jamilah King says that’s exactly how the company is portraying itself in its proposed $39 billion dollar takeover of T-Mobile.
In its official filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), King reports, “AT&T spends nearly 90 pages describing T-Mobile’s weaknesses, while detailing the roadblocks it says it’ll face if federal regulators don’t green light the deal.” If federal regulators block the deal, AT&T argues, its customers “would face a greater number of blocked and dropped calls as well as less reliable and slower data connections. And in some markets, AT&T’s customers would be left without access to more advanced technologies.”
It’s hard to feel sorry for AT&T, though, since the deal has raised concerns that consumers ultimately will pay more for cell phone service, which could adversely impact low-income, minority, and immigrant users who rely on the low-cost plans currently offered by T-Mobile. If the merger passes federal muster, King writes, “it’ll likely mean the unheralded return to prominence of the former Ma Bell monopoly that ruled American telecommunications for most of the twentieth century.”
Competition without Competitors
As Nancy Scola writes in The American Prospect, AT&T’s 381-page FCC filing essentially comes down to this: “you can have the benefits of competition without actual competitors.”
Scola traces the history of the telecommunications industry, touching on the 1982 antitrust case which resulted in the break-up of Ma Bell (aka AT&T) into seven Baby Bells, as well as analyzing current media policy in Washington:
As a powerful company that just announced $31 billion in revenues last quarter AT&T retains great sway. The FCC often defers to the company’s role as the founders of American telecommunications. And Congress, a recipient of large sums of AT&T cash, often seems dazzled by the company’s bright lobbyists who talk in confusing but exciting ways about ‘spectrum synergies’ and ‘LTE deployment.’
The takeaway? Congress and federal regulators need to put consumers’ needs ahead of the telecoms:
In 21st-century America, mobile phones are simply far too important a technology for Washington to give them the usual treatment. With a breathtaking nine out of 10 Americans now owning a cell phone, the wireless market is one that has to work for consumers.
HuffPo Lawsuit, Boycott Highlight IP Issues in New Media Era
The AT&T/T-Mobile merger has garnered a lot of media attention, but it’s not the only merger worth scrutinizing. Truthout’s Nadia Prupis takes a closer look at reactions to the class-action lawsuit recently filed on behalf of Huffington Post’s unpaid bloggers. HuffPo was recently sold to AOL for $315 million. As Prupis reports, “the class-action suit, filed by freelance journalist Jonathan Tasini, alleges that the posts created by unpaid writers were worth an estimated $105 million, and that the profit should have been used as compensation.”
HuffPo founder Arianna Huffington is quoted as saying, “The vast majority of our bloggers are thrilled to contribute – and we’re thrilled to have them.”
Yet the merger—and the lawsuit—highlight one of the biggest issues facing contemporary journalism: The devaluation of intellectual property. For that reason, a number of former bloggers have instituted a boycott of HuffPo. As Prupis notes, “The Newspaper Guild of America, the National Writers Union and the AFL-CIO have all endorsed the boycott, with many of their members refusing to contribute to the web site until Huffington agrees to talk with the unions about how best to approach the changing landscape of online journalism.”
Rural Broadband Access Still Slow
Mark Scheerer of Public News Service tackles the issue of broadband access in rural communities – an important topic in a down economy, since faster connectivity could result in economic stimulus for small businesses, such as livestock farmers.
A new report (PDF at link) issued by the Center for Rural Strategies concludes that “communities without broadband service could be hobbled economically, losing the race to those with faster connections.”
Farmers in places like Stamping Ground, Kentucky, Scheerer says, are paying for high-speed broadband, yet receiving dial-up download speeds, which hinders efforts to “streamline and economize their livestock sales.”
The report essentially mirrors the FCC’s 2010 findings: “broadband providers are not expanding their services in a timely and satisfactory fashion.”
Activists Push Back Against Verizon Antenna
As Oakland Local’s Dennis Rowcliffe reports, a proposal by Verizon to install a powerful cellular antenna close to two schools and several residential units has been met with opposition by community groups.
“The residents, school parents and teachers express concerns about the potential health effects of sustained nearby exposure to increased levels of the electromagnetic frequency, or EMF, radiation emitted by the antennas,” Rowcliffe writes, adding that a group called East Bay Residents for Responsible Antenna Placement (EBR-RAP) has suggested several alternate sites, all of which were rejected by Verizon.
Verizon executive John Johnson is quoted as saying, “Please note that we intend to retain our rights to the city-approved location and to use it as the project site if we are unable to identify a viable alternative after further review.”
However, EBR-RAP members say they intend to keep up the pressure on Verizon until an alternate site is found.
This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets. This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about media policy and media-related matters by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. To read more of the Wavelength, click here. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, environment, health care and immigration issues, check out The Audit, The Mulch, and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets, and is produced with the support of the Media Democracy Fund.by Eric K. Arnold, Media Consortium blogger The proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger... more-
- MediaConsortium
- added this
- 9 months ago
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Wavelength: “Underdog” AT&T Tells FCC That Eliminating Competitors Will Increase Competition
by Eric K. Arnold, Media Consortium blogger
The proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger continues to dominate media policy headlines, but the wireless merger isn’t the only game in town. AOL’s recent buyout of the Huffington Post has raised intellectual property issues, rural communities still lack speedy broadband access, and a proposed Verizon antenna in Oakland has come under fire by neighborhood activists.
AT&T an Underdog?
Telecommunications giant AT&T is many things, and an underdog in need of federal assistance isn’t one of them. Yet Colorlines.com’s Jamilah King says that’s exactly how the company is portraying itself in its proposed $39 billion dollar takeover of T-Mobile.
In its official filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), King reports, “AT&T spends nearly 90 pages describing T-Mobile’s weaknesses, while detailing the roadblocks it says it’ll face if federal regulators don’t green light the deal.” If federal regulators block the deal, AT&T argues, its customers “would face a greater number of blocked and dropped calls as well as less reliable and slower data connections. And in some markets, AT&T’s customers would be left without access to more advanced technologies.”
It’s hard to feel sorry for AT&T, though, since the deal has raised concerns that consumers ultimately will pay more for cell phone service, which could adversely impact low-income, minority, and immigrant users who rely on the low-cost plans currently offered by T-Mobile. If the merger passes federal muster, King writes, “it’ll likely mean the unheralded return to prominence of the former Ma Bell monopoly that ruled American telecommunications for most of the twentieth century.”
Competition without Competitors
As Nancy Scola writes in The American Prospect, AT&T’s 381-page FCC filing essentially comes down to this: “you can have the benefits of competition without actual competitors.”
Scola traces the history of the telecommunications industry, touching on the 1982 antitrust case which resulted in the break-up of Ma Bell (aka AT&T) into seven Baby Bells, as well as analyzing current media policy in Washington:
As a powerful company that just announced $31 billion in revenues last quarter AT&T retains great sway. The FCC often defers to the company’s role as the founders of American telecommunications. And Congress, a recipient of large sums of AT&T cash, often seems dazzled by the company’s bright lobbyists who talk in confusing but exciting ways about ‘spectrum synergies’ and ‘LTE deployment.’
The takeaway? Congress and federal regulators need to put consumers’ needs ahead of the telecoms:
In 21st-century America, mobile phones are simply far too important a technology for Washington to give them the usual treatment. With a breathtaking nine out of 10 Americans now owning a cell phone, the wireless market is one that has to work for consumers.
HuffPo Lawsuit, Boycott Highlight IP Issues in New Media Era
The AT&T/T-Mobile merger has garnered a lot of media attention, but it’s not the only merger worth scrutinizing. Truthout’s Nadia Prupis takes a closer look at reactions to the class-action lawsuit recently filed on behalf of Huffington Post’s unpaid bloggers. HuffPo was recently sold to AOL for $315 million. As Prupis reports, “the class-action suit, filed by freelance journalist Jonathan Tasini, alleges that the posts created by unpaid writers were worth an estimated $105 million, and that the profit should have been used as compensation.”
HuffPo founder Arianna Huffington is quoted as saying, “The vast majority of our bloggers are thrilled to contribute – and we’re thrilled to have them.”
Yet the merger—and the lawsuit—highlight one of the biggest issues facing contemporary journalism: The devaluation of intellectual property. For that reason, a number of former bloggers have instituted a boycott of HuffPo. As Prupis notes, “The Newspaper Guild of America, the National Writers Union and the AFL-CIO have all endorsed the boycott, with many of their members refusing to contribute to the web site until Huffington agrees to talk with the unions about how best to approach the changing landscape of online journalism.”
Rural Broadband Access Still Slow
Mark Scheerer of Public News Service tackles the issue of broadband access in rural communities – an important topic in a down economy, since faster connectivity could result in economic stimulus for small businesses, such as livestock farmers.
A new report (PDF at link) issued by the Center for Rural Strategies concludes that “communities without broadband service could be hobbled economically, losing the race to those with faster connections.”
Farmers in places like Stamping Ground, Kentucky, Scheerer says, are paying for high-speed broadband, yet receiving dial-up download speeds, which hinders efforts to “streamline and economize their livestock sales.”
The report essentially mirrors the FCC’s 2010 findings: “broadband providers are not expanding their services in a timely and satisfactory fashion.”
Activists Push Back Against Verizon Antenna
As Oakland Local’s Dennis Rowcliffe reports, a proposal by Verizon to install a powerful cellular antenna close to two schools and several residential units has been met with opposition by community groups.
“The residents, school parents and teachers express concerns about the potential health effects of sustained nearby exposure to increased levels of the electromagnetic frequency, or EMF, radiation emitted by the antennas,” Rowcliffe writes, adding that a group called East Bay Residents for Responsible Antenna Placement (EBR-RAP) has suggested several alternate sites, all of which were rejected by Verizon.
Verizon executive John Johnson is quoted as saying, “Please note that we intend to retain our rights to the city-approved location and to use it as the project site if we are unable to identify a viable alternative after further review.”
However, EBR-RAP members say they intend to keep up the pressure on Verizon until an alternate site is found.
This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets. This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about media policy and media-related matters by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. To read more of the Wavelength, click here. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, environment, health care and immigration issues, check out The Audit, The Mulch, and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets, and is produced with the support of the Media Democracy Fund.by Eric K. Arnold, Media Consortium blogger The proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger... more-
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- 9 months ago
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The Wavelength: The Battle Over Net Neutrality Rages On
By Eric K. Arnold, Media Consortium blogger
Four months after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) supposedly settled the issue, the battle over Net Neutrality is still raging. If anything, it’s just beginning to heat up. On April 8, the Republican-controlled Congress resolved to repeal the FCC’s recent legislation surrounding Internet protections, and conservative activists are fighting tooth and nail to push back any apparent gains before they are realized. At the same time, media reform advocates say that the FCC’s December ruling on broadband policy did not go far enough in establishing consumer-friendly regulatory guidelines across both Internet and mobile platforms.
Meanwhile, the impact of the announced merger between AT&T and T-Mobile is still up for debate, and federal officials are raising anti-trust concerns against Google.
Genachowski comes to Oakland
Last week, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski met with mayors from the Bay Area in Oakland to tout a mobile apps contest (a partnership with the Knight Foundation) as a way to reduce the digital divide, which has left one-third of Americans without broadband access. Genachowski remarked that those facing digital exclusion were primarily immigrants, minorities, disabled people, and other underserved communities. However, as I reported for Oakland Local, the visit was perhaps more notable for what Genachowski didn’t say.
At the press conference I attended, Genachowski didn’t take any questions, so asking him about the omission of Net Neutrality provisions for wireless carriers wasn’t possible. Nor could I ask him about the upcoming threat posed to low-power TV stations by mobile TV, which could hit 20 U.S. markets this year. Mobile TV could deprive low-power stations of critical bandwidth. Many of these stations reach diverse demographics that are underserved by network and mainstream cable television.
FCC Commissioner at NCMR: System ‘Out of Control’
The lack of a two-way discussion between the nation’s most powerful telecommunications official was disappointing, especially since numerous concerns remain over how the FCC will enforce media policy moving forward. As FCC Commissioner Michael Copps recently said at the National Conference for Media Reform, held April 8-10 in Boston: “just give us some sign that the FCC is putting the brakes on a system that is spinning dangerously out of control.”
Copps’ fiery speech was only one of many highlights at the NCMR, which was attended by thousands of people that are passionately interested in changing media. Some of the most inspiring moments included panels on music journalism and localism; comics as journalism’s future; race as a media issue; and how old-school journos are adapting to today’s new media world; and performance artist Sarah Jones inhabiting a range of different characters at the opening plenary.
Truthout’s Susie Cagle has an illustrated recap of NCMR here, and an archive of GRITtv’s segments from the conference is available here.
House Disapproves of Net Neutrality
In a follow-up to an earlier story, Truthout’s Nadia Prupis writes about an April 8 resolution by Congress to repeal the FCC’s Net Neutrality regulations. The vote, which passed 240-179, was largely partisan, with only six Democrats crossing party lines to support it. Republicans characterized the FCC’s regulation of the Internet as a “power grab,” questioning the agency’s authority to establish guidelines for cyberspace.
But Democrats countered that the resolution “disables a free and open Internet” and is an attempt to stifle innovation in the tech sector, a charge which is disputed by right-wing nonprofits like FreedomWorks. As Prupis reports, however, that group has received funding from both Verizon and AT&T, and the telecommunications companies “stand to benefit if the law is overturned.”
Despite the partisan rhetoric, the vote was largely symbolic, as the Democratic-controlled Senate is not expected to endorse the resolution.
Tea Party: Net Neutrality = ‘Media Marxism’
As Mother Jones’ Stephanie Mencimer reports, Net Neutrality has also come under fire from the Tea Party. Mencimer points out the irony of such a stance, noting that while an open Internet allows “even the smallest, poorest tea party group… the potential to reach a large audience,” the right-wing activists “inexplicably equate net neutrality with Marxism.”
Tea Party spokesman and Virginia Senate candidate James Radtke is quoted as saying “Net neutrality is an innocuous sounding term for what is really media Marxism.” He goes on to call it “an ideological attempt by those on the left to control the greatest means for the distribution of information ever devised.”
Yet Mencimer points out that much of the netroots activism practiced by the Tea Party has relied on an open Internet, unrestricted by ideological content, which Net Neutrality is intended to protect.
“The tea party’s position on net neutrality,” she writes, “has seemed counterintuitive, given just how badly conservative activists could be screwed by the big cable and phone companies should net neutrality rules be repealed. The whole movement has been organized online, making the Internet’s level playing field a crucial element to its success.”
Wireless Mega-Mergers and Ethnic Communities
New York Community Media Alliance’s Jehangir Khattak details how the AT&T/T-Mobile mega-merger could impact ethnic communities. The skinny: Ethnic populations “could be confronted by reduced service access and higher costs,” Khattak writes.
Khattak outlines the basic provisions of the merger and AT&T’s spin; according to the company, the deal could bring 4G LTE technology to 95 percent of the U.S. population. He also speaks with several members of the ethnic press, who voice concerns that the deal might allow the telecommunications giant to “control the quality of services, such as by dictating the available applications, software or the amount of data they’d allow to be transferred.”
Another concern: the “arcane”, “jargon-ridden” tech-speak of media policy is difficult for immigrant populations to decipher.
Khattak also notes that Genachowski’s compromise on Net Neutrality suggests the FCC Chairman is “unlikely to take the hard line, pro-regulatory stance… expected of him” by ethnic media advocates.
Google Under Federal Scrutiny—Again
Also in Truthout, Nadia Prupis reports that Google has come under scrutiny by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice, which are considering launching an antitrust probe against the popular search engine.
As Prupis writes, “The DOJ recently approved Google’s $700 million deal with travel company ITA Software, but antitrust regulators are concerned that the acquisition may threaten competition in the travel information industry; specifically, the FTC is worried that Google could use the software to direct users to its own sites, depriving similar web sites such as Orbitz, Kayak and TripAdvisor of fair competition.”
The FTC’s interest in the case comes on the heels of DOJ’s antitrust division filing a civil lawsuit to block Google’s acquisition of ITA, citing concerns that airfare websites should have access to ITA’s software to keep competition “robust.” Though Google reportedly agreed to license that software to competitors, the FTC’s concern indicates that serious questions remain about Google’s potential to unfairly dominate the market, should the deal go through.By Eric K. Arnold, Media Consortium blogger Four months after the Federal... more-
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- 10 months ago
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The Wavelength: Original Reporting—What’s it Worth? Plus: Tracking the AT&T/T-Mobile Merger
By Eric Arnold, Media Consortium blogger
Last week, the New York Times debuted a long-awaited paywall, and stats blogger Nate Silver used the launch as an opportunity to explore the value of a news organization based on the amount of original reporting it produces. While Silver’s rankings could be a valuable tool for news organizations, Mother Jones‘ Nick Baumann finds Silver’s methodology wanting.
“The results, as you might expect, made the Times [paywall] look like a pretty good value,” Baumann writes. But the real problems are in how Silver ranks “original reporting”– namely that online citations don’t always identify the outlet, and that larger, established news organizations sometimes get credit for breaking stories when smaller orgs actually had the scoop first. That’s not to say that rankings like this don’t have incredible value for media, but that they need to be explored in a deeper manner. Baumann writes:
It’d be nice to see a foundation interested in journalism—the Knight Foundation, say, or Google.org—invest some time and money to expand and rework the rankings. It would be great to see media outlets competing to produce more and better original reporting.
Ultimately, Baumann believes rankings like this, if done right, could be a valuable barometer for measuring quality in journalism. Let’s hope someone takes up his call to arms.
AT&T/T-Mobile Merger still a very bad idea
Free Press’s Tim Karr weighs in on the mega-merger with five reasons why it’s not so great for consumers. According to Karr, “consolidation of the scale being proposed by AT&T resembles the old railroad and oil trusts of the 19th century.”
Karr also notes that the merger would erode competition, result in higher prices and fewer choices for consumers, eliminate perhaps tens of thousands of jobs, stifle innovation in the tech sector, and threaten free speech.
How will the merger affect POC users?
The disappearance of T-Mobile, whose low-cost plans offering unlimited data appealed to low-income wireless users, could have a huge impact on communities of color who rely on unrestricted text and web plans, especially those who don’t own computers.
At Colorlines.com, Jamilah King notes that “Mobile broadband is fast becoming the future of the Internet, and it’s already an important way in which communities of color are helping to close the digital divide. ” Blacks and Latinos, she says, are among the biggest users of mobile technology, “and in many cases, it’s the primary way that they surf the Web.”
If unlimited data plans end, and prices for wireless service rise for current T-Mobile users if and when a merger is completed, the digital divide separating under served communities from customers who can afford higher fees will almost certainly widen. This could have a devastating ripple effect on everything from people who use phones for business to people who use phones for social networking — and may affect African Americans, Latinos, and immigrant populations disproportionately.
Impact of merger on Net Neutrality
How will the potential mega merger affect Net Neutrality? Truthout’s Nadia Prupis recently interviewed Free Press political adviser Joel Kelsey, who says the FCC’s December decision not to regulate wireless carriers now seems shortsighted. “[The FCC’s] justification was that you’re less likely to see some of the same types of anti-competitive actions for fear that a carrier would lose a large number of customers … looking at it through the lens of this merger, I think that justification has kind of gone out the window.”
Did ISPs buy anti-Net Neutrality votes?
Speaking of Net Neutrality, Crunchgear had an eye-opening article outlining the amount of money donated by ISPs over the last four election cycles to the 15 members of the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology who opposed Net Neutrality. The article’s findings perhaps aren’t that surprising, but are revelatory: “Looking at the 15 congressmen who voted against Net Neutrality, the top three ISPs gave their campaigns some $868,024 over the past four election cycles. You can interpret that as, well, they were able to knock down Net Neutrality for less than $1 million, which is pretty much a drop in the bucket for these companies.”
Oh, Canada – Why Can’t America Be More Like You?
The AT&T merger is dominating the media policy news cycle, but we shouldn’t let it distract us from an interesting ruling for media made by our neighbors to the north. As Yes! Magazine’s Dave Saldana reports, a Canadian law which prohibits broadcast news from knowingly spreading disinformation—an anti-lying law—was recently upheld by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
Saldana writes: “With little fanfare, the CRTC last month scrapped a proposal to revoke or relax a rule on ‘prohibited programming content’ that includes ‘broadcasting false or misleading news.’ The CRTC withdrew the plan when a legislative committee determined that the rule does not run afoul of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which like the U.S. Constitution, guarantees press freedoms.”
He goes on to raise the obvious question: If Canada can do this, why can’t the United States? After all, there have been cases where journalists have been pressured into knowingly inserting false statements into stories under orders from executives, in order to protect big business interests engaged in harmful practices.
Unfortunately, the media’s legal right to lie is protected by the First Amendment. But if Canada can ban false reporting without violating freedom of the press, why can’t we choose truth over truthiness?
New Study Details Women in Media Globally
Inter Press Service’s Andrea Lunt reports on a recently completed a study of women in news media covering more than 170,000 people in 500 companies across 60 countries. The study was produced by the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF).
Lunt says the study shows that gender inequality in the media sphere has been institutionalized. The good news is that the gap appears to be closing, especially at the executive level, where women have more than doubled their presence in the past fifteen years. A 1995 study showed women 12% of the top management positions in 239 nations, yet the IWMF report shows women now hold 26% of the governing and 27% of the top management jobs.
Progress? Certainly. But there’s still a long way to go.
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about media policy and media-related matters by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. To read more of the Wavelength, click here. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, environment, health care and immigration issues, check out The Audit, The Mulch, and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.By Eric Arnold, Media Consortium blogger Last week, the New York Times debuted a... more-
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AT&T's Internet Usage Billing is off by 4,700%
( and these people should be allowed to merge w/ T-mobile ?! geez what would ever be a reason not to...)
If gas goes up this summer above $4 per gallon, or even $5 per gallon, how comfortable would you be pulling in to a full-service station whose pump dial spun randomly and you were charged according to how many gallons the attendant figured had gone into your tank while holding down the lever and counting "one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi" at about 50 cents per Mississippi?
It might happen to your Internet costs if carriers are able to move to usage based billing under current FCC regulations and a shocking degree of their own incompetence.
Two weeks ago, according to a story in DSLReports.com, AT&T confirmed that it is putting caps on data customers can download -- 150 GB per month for its DSL customers and 250GB/month on subscribers to its U-Verse fiberoptic service, which offers speeds of up to 24 Mbit/sec downstream.
Customers who go over the limit three times during the entire life of the account will have to pay $10 for every 50GB over the limit.
Usage-based billing is routine for business users, though it's unusual in consumer markets. AT&T and other carriers have experimented with it, to widespread complaints from customers.
Those complaints got louder following AT&T's revelation of the usage-based billing plan when it became clear it had a real problem measuring the volume of data individual customers use.
In one case AT&T's metrics varied so wildly it under-reported one household's usage by 91 percent on one day and over-estimated it by 4,700 percent another( and these people should be allowed to merge w/ T-mobile ?! geez what would ever be a... more-
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AT&T Takeover of T-Mobile: Winners, Losers
Computerworld - AT&T and its investors would clearly be winners if the $39 billion proposed takeover of T-Mobile USA is approved by federal regulators. The deal would make AT&T the largest U.S. wireless carrier by far, with 130 million subscribers.
But some other winners might come as a surprise: Apple is one, gaining quick access to T-Mobile's 34 million customers as potential buyers of iPads and iPhones. Enterprise customers of both AT&T and T-Mobile are also winners, several analysts said, because of the combined networks' expanded coverage in the U.S. and the opportunity to move to LTE networks faster in 95% of the U.S.
As for losers, Sprint, which had been rumored for months to be poised to buy T-Mobile from Deustche Telekom, is most adversely affected by the deal. Sprint has already registered concerns that consolidating the market from four major national carriers to three will limit customer choice.
For consumers or enterprise users, AT&T expects that a majority of the smartphones and handsets that AT&T and T-Mobile sell will work in either carrier's network. However, some T-Mobile customers now using devices that run over what is called the AWS network will be migrated into the 850 or 1900 bands of AT&T's wireless spectrum, which would require some kind of new handset, according to AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega, who spoke during a Monday morning press conference.Computerworld - AT&T and its investors would clearly be winners if the $39 billion... more-
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The Wavelength: What does proposed AT&T and T-Mobile Merger Mean?
By Eric K. Arnold, Media Consortium Blogger
Welcome to the Wavelength, your bi-weekly field guide to the world of media policy. Over the next four months, we’ll be compiling great content, connecting the dots, building context, and reporting how media policy impacts the lives of everyday people. From the ongoing battle over Net Neutrality to the wild world of Internet regulation, from partisan crusades to media accountability, the Wavelength is here to keep you in the know.
This week, we’re focusing on major mergers, holding telecom giants accountable, and the revolving door at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
So, without further ado, let’s take a spin through the media zone.
AT&T to Absorb T-Mobile?
On Sunday, AT&T announced it had reached an agreement with T-Mobile to buy the mobile phone service provider for $39 billion. As reported in the New York Times, the deal would “create the largest wireless carrier in the nation and promised to reshape the industry.”
The immediate upshot is that the number of nationwide wireless carriers would drop from four to three, with Sprint Nextel running a distant third behind AT&T/T-Mobile and Verizon. Another impact could be higher rates for current T-Mobile customers. Advocates of the deal suggest it could improve AT&T’s oft-criticized service, resulting in fewer dropped calls. However, critics note that the roughly $3 billion in projected annual cost savings will likely come at the expense of workers at the hundreds of retail outlets expected to close, if the deal goes through.
Both the Justice Department and the FCC have to sign off on the merger before it can be approved, a process that could take up to a year.
House adds insult to NPR’s injury
On St. Patrick’s Day, the Republican-controlled House voted 228-192 to end federal funding for NPR. The move came on the heels of a secretly recorded video from conservative activist James O’Keefe that purportedly showed NPR fundraiser Ronald Schiller expressing support for Islamic fundamentalism and disavowing the Tea Party as “racist” — leading Schiller and NPR CEO Vivian Schiller (no relation) to resign. The video was later revealed to be excerpted and heavily edited from a longer video which places Schiller’s remarks in context.
At TAPPED, Lindsay Beyerstein watched the entire two hour video, and notes that:
"O’Keefe’s provocateurs didn’t get what they were looking for. They were ostensibly offering $5 million to NPR. Their goal is clearly to get Schiller and his colleague Betsy Liley to agree to slant coverage for cash. Again and again, they refuse, saying that NPR just wants to report the facts and be a nonpartisan voice of reason."
As reported in the Washington Times, the Democratic-controlled Senate is unlikely to pass the bill, making NPR’s federal funding safe—for now. However, the timing of the vote suggests that House Republicans are essentially endorsing O’Keefe’s questionable tactics, showing that their dislike of the so-called liberal media is of greater concern.
Telecoms add ramming to their list of illegal practices
A recent AlterNet story by David Rosen and Bruce Kushnick details sneaky, unethical, and possibly illegal telecom tactics, the most recent of which is “ramming.”
“Ramming” happens “when a phone company‘s customer is put on a service plan or package s/he did not need or want or cannot even use.” According to the article, “An estimated 80 percent of phone company customers have been overcharged or are on plans they did not need or even order. These and other scams can cost residential customers $20 or more a month extra and small business customers up to thousands of dollars a month.”
These practices are insidious because modern telephone bills are so cryptic that it’s not easy for even the most astute customer to figure out they’ve been duped.
Powell’s next move
Last Tuesday, former FCC chair Michael Powell announced that he has taken over as president of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association. Leading media advocacy organization Free Press snarkily congratulated Powell via a statement from Managing Director Craig Aaron:
"If you wonder why common sense, public interest policies never see the light of day in Washington, look no further than the furiously spinning revolving door between industry and the FCC.
Former Chairman Michael Powell is the natural choice to lead the nation’s most powerful cable lobby, having looked out for the interests of companies like Comcast and Time Warner during his tenure at the Commission and having already served as a figurehead for the industry front group Broadband for America."
AT&T imposes monthly usage caps
Finally, we’ve got more bad news for those unlucky enough to have AT&T as their Internet and cable service provider. As Truthout’s Nadia Prupis recently reported, AT&T customers who use the company’s U-Verse cable TV service and DSL hi-speed Internet services in the United States can expect a bump in their monthly bills if they exceed a new usage cap – 50GB for DSL customers and 250 GB for U-Verse users. Those who exceed the storage fee will be charged $10 extra for every 50GB over the limit.
Surprisingly, the telecom behemoth continues to insist their price-gouging moves are in the consumer’s best interests. According to an AT&T press release: “Our new plan addresses another concern: customers strongly believe that only those who use the most bandwidth should pay more than those who don’t use as much.”
Personally, I don’t spend too much time thinking about how much bandwidth other people are using, as long as I’m getting the download speeds I’m paying for.
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about media policy and media-related matters by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint and repost. To read more of The Wavelength, click here. For the best progressive reporting on critical economy, environment, health care and immigration issues, check out The Audit, The Mulch, The Pulse and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.By Eric K. Arnold, Media Consortium Blogger Welcome to the Wavelength, your... more-
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AT&T And T-Mobile Deal News Video
AT&T And T-Mobile Deal News Video
The AT&T Inc. is the second- largest provider of fixed telephony and mobile telephony service in the United States. This largest Telecommunications Company ‘AT&T Inc.’ announced that, “On Sunday it will buy T-Mobile's U.S. operations from Deutsche Telekom AG in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $39 billion. And this deal would make it the largest Cell phone company in the U.S.” This deal will have no effect on the ownership of T-Mobile operations in Europe. This deal would give to AT&T, 129 million subscribers. And then this combined company would serve about 43 percent of U.S. cell phone customers. T-Mobile USA subscribers would get access to AT&T's phone line-up, including the iPhone subscribers.AT&T And T-Mobile Deal News Video The AT&T Inc. is the second- largest... more-
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AT&T acquires T-Mobile USA for $25 billion in Cash and $14 billion in Stock | Tech Prezz
Finally, AT&T and Deutsche Telekom have found an Agreement on the sale of T-Mobile to AT&T, the Company AT&T will take over the T-Mobile USA for $39 billion in cash and stocks. This deal will bring 34 million subscribers to AT&T, will be the largest US Carrier with 130 million customers in a years time.
http://techprezz.com/2011/03/att-acquires-tmobile-usa-25-billion-cash-14-billion-stock/Finally, AT&T and Deutsche Telekom have found an Agreement on the sale of T-Mobile... more-
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AT&T and T-Mobile Merger: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
AT&T (NYSE-T) has just announced its intentions, through an agreement with Deutsche Telecom (OTC-DTEGY), to purchase T-Mobile USA a subsidiary of Deutsche Telecom for a reported $39 Billion. See (AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom) The merger announcement was quickly endorsed by the CWA touting the synergies and benefits to faster mobile deployment within the U.S. while providing increased security for T-Mobile union employees who will be under the management of AT&T. Currently, AT&T has 42,000 union workers. See (T-Mobile USA and AT&T Merger Means Faster and More Widespread Broadband)AT&T (NYSE-T) has just announced its intentions, through an agreement with... more-
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