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Family Racks Up $19,370 Cell Phone Bill
A Portland family racked up nearly $20,000 on their AT&T bill, local station KPTV reported.
The Terry family said they wished they would have received some kind of warning before receiving their 200-page bill in the mail for $19,370.
In July, their son headed north to Vancouver, Canada, and used a laptop with an AirCard to send photos and e-mails back home. The bill showed he used the service 21 times, but because he was out of the country, the activity added up to thousands of dollars in charges.
The AirCard allows users to connect to e-mail, the Internet and business applications while traveling, according to AT&T's Web site. On the Terry family's bill, they were charged international fees for the service.
The Terry family said they asked an AT&T employee about the service before their son left the country. They said they were told nothing about international fees.
http://www.wftv.com/money/17390103/detail.html A Portland family racked up nearly $20,000 on their AT&T bill, local station KPTV reported. ... more -
FCC Approved Nokia 6650 for AT&T Wireless
"It isn’t a phone that would have people flocking the streets across US as soon as it hits the market but the AT&T users who are looking for a plan upgrade and prefer using suitably priced phones could give it a shot. Recently spotted on the FCC approval list the 6650 has been adapted to function on the 3G bandwith for AT&T although it was earlier believed that the phone would be T-Mobile specific.
Functioning on the Symbian 60 software, it could be an ideal choice for web-surfers with quicker results promised by the maker. A 2 Megapixel Camera and direct music keys on the front panel would make it a good choice for the latest college entrants. Lastly the ones who have a habit of dropping their phones every now and then would find it a good pick too, for it comes in a stainless steel casing, making for an ideal protective cover..." "It isn’t a phone that would have people flocking the streets across US as soon as it hits the market but the AT&T users who ... more -
Apple fans loyal despite iPhone 3G woes
The new iPhone 3G has been marred by bugs, spotty service, disappearing programs for the device and a veil of secrecy over software developers trying to broaden its appeal.
Such a string of mishaps and missteps might throw another electronics company into crisis. But of course, Apple Inc. isn't just another electronics company. Even as iPhone griping rages online, it looks like Apple's sterling reputation will emerge untarnished.
"The objective reality is that Apple does plenty of wrong," said Peter Fader, a marketing professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
However, Fader said, the company's loyal fans and even casual users have come to identify so strongly with Apple's high-end, individualistic vibe that they're willing to look the other way.
"Very few companies have this kind of iconic status where anything they do, even if it is mediocre, will automatically have a halo around it," he said.
Kern Bruce, a 25-year-old Web designer in Boston, Massachusetts, waited in line for 13 hours to buy an original iPhone. He sold it to upgrade to a 3G.
"There was no going back at that point, but after I sold it, I quickly started to regret it," he said. Bruce's complaints echo countless Web forum posts: The device gets uncomfortably warm. Programs crash. And it so seldom connects to AT&T's speedier third-generation, or 3G, data network that Bruce carries the iPhone around with 3G turned off. The new iPhone 3G has been marred by bugs, spotty service, disappearing programs for the device and a veil of secrecy over software de... more -
AT&T’s Rivals Are Happy to Attack Over iPhone’s Network Woes
Apple sold more than a million iPhone 3G cellphones its first weekend — with some stores running out — and two million more since then, analysts say. But its July debut has been nothing less than a public relations headache for AT&T, with eager buyers complaining about dropped calls and poor network connections.
Some fingers point to Apple, which has tried to deflect the complaints. But many others point to AT&T’s cellular network. Whatever the source of the problems, AT&T’s rivals, long irritated by all the attention the iPhone has received, are on the attack and happy to exploit the discontent.
“A phone is only as good as the network it’s on,” said a full-page Verizon Wireless newspaper ad on Thursday, lobbing a shot at AT&T’s 3G, or third generation, high-speed network. A Verizon executive sent an e-mail to Wall Street analysts last week: “So much for a ‘new’ way of doing business at the old AT&T — your father’s phone company.”
For AT&T, the nation’s No. 1 wireless carrier, which exclusively offers the iPhone, the situation is especially tricky because the stakes are so high. Apple’s customers are largely forgiving of any foibles of the iPhone’s maker. But wireless companies like AT&T and Verizon are afforded no such a luxury. The 3G network is supposed to make it easier to surf the Web and watch videos online. With nearly 90 percent of all Americans owning a mobile phone, there is little room to grow and these rivals can ill afford to lose customers.
Further aggravating consumers, neither company has fully explained why calls were dropped and the network was slow. Theories abound, which is causing even more confusion — and finger-pointing. Is it a problem with the phone itself? Richard Windsor of Nomura Securities surmised in a research report that a new radio chip made by Infineon, a German chip maker, was to blame for the iPhone’s spotty service in areas where the cellular signal was weak.
Since Americans are not the only iPhone users complaining — consumers in the Netherlands reported iPhone problems too — some analysts think the iPhone is partly to blame. Apple offered a software fix to mixed reviews — but no explanation. Most analysts put the onus on AT&T. “If consumers are not getting the full 3G experience, that is not Apple’s fault,” said Akshay K. Sharma, a research director of carrier network infrastructure at the Gartner Group, a consulting firm.
Nielsen Mobile, a consulting firm, said that in tests in the 47 largest American cities, it was able to connect to 3G networks 93 percent of the time. (Its sample included all carriers.) By contrast, in the San Francisco area, where many of the iPhone troubles have been reported, that number was 87 percent.
Story Continued at link... Apple sold more than a million iPhone 3G cellphones its first weekend — with some stores running out — and two million more since then... more -
Appeals court sends wiretap case back to lower court
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Thursday declined to rule on whether lawsuits seeking to target President George W. Bush's warrantless wiretapping are covered by secrecy laws or can be challenged in court.
Citing the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday sent the case entitled "Hepting v AT&T" back to a district court that had heard an earlier case.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act governs wiretapping of foreign agents but also spells out ground rules for investigating U.S. citizens suspected of espionage.
The suit against AT&T alleged the telecom company violated federal privacy laws by helping the government wiretap U.S. Internet users. The 9th Circuit panel heard arguments last August but waited to publish its ruling until now.
Companies including AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc face dozens of suits accusing them of improper participation in a warrantless wiretap program launched by Bush after the September 11 attacks.
Earlier this year, the Democratic-led Congress retroactively shielded phone companies from such suits, on the basis that immunity was needed to win future wiretap cooperation. Some Democrats and civil liberties advocates countered that companies should be held accountable for participating in a program critics say was illegal. SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Thursday declined to rule on whether lawsuits seeking to target President George ... more -
AT&T is "carefully considering" spying on you
AT&T is “carefully considering” monitoring the Web-surfing activities of customers who use its Internet service, the company said in a letter in response to an inquiry from the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
While the company said it hadn’t tested such a system for monitoring display advertising viewing habits or committed to a particular technology, it expressed much more interest in the approach than the other big Internet providers who also responded to the committee’s letter.
AT&T did however promise that if it does decide to start tracking its customers online, it will “do so the right way.” In particular, the advertising system will require customers to affirmatively agree to have their surfing monitored. This sort of “opt-in” approach is preferred by privacy experts to the “opt-out” method, practiced by most ad targeting companies today, which records the behavior of anyone who doesn’t explicitly ask to not to be tracked.
[continued] AT&T is “carefully considering” monitoring the Web-surfing activities of customers who use its Internet service, the company said ... more -
AT&T donates $200K to McCain
Tough talk on lobbyists sounds good to the public, but McCain and other politicians know that they will depend on lobbyists for a lot of information for the decisions they make when they get elected. Tough talk on lobbyists sounds good to the public, but McCain and other politicians know that they will depend on lobbyists for a lot... more
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Apple and AT&T Not Speaking... About iPhone 3G Issues.
As complaints mount about the new Apple 3G iPhone, Apple and At&T have nothing to say...
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The global reach of the first million 3G iPhones
Medialets has posted the results of a recent Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research report that details the breakdown of the first 1 million iPhone 3Gs sold worldwide.
Earlier this month Apple announced that it had reached the milestone in only three days, compared to 74 days for the original iPhone. Of course, the two figures are hardly comparable, as the the 3G version launched simultaneously worldwide in 21 countries - the original iPhone was exclusive to the US for months after its release.
Unsurprisingly, the report says the United states accounts for 60% of all units sold during the three day period, with a total of 600,000. Trailing by a factor of nearly ten fold is Japan, with 70,000 units sold. Japan’s finish in second place may well be a result of pent up demand, as the original iPhone was never officially sold there (even unlocked phones wouldn’t work, as the original iPhone doesn’t support UMTS). Medialets has posted the results of a recent Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research report that details the breakdown of the first 1... more -
AT&T tells the FCC it'll cut off wireless P2P users
It looks like the FCC's investigation into Comcast's questionable traffic management is turning up a number of interesting details, the latest of which comes from AT&T's Robert Quinn, who told FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell that, "use of a P2P file sharing application would constitute a material breach of contract for which the user's service could be terminated." Quinn was apparently quick to add, however, that AT&T hasn't yet kicked anyone off the network for using P2P. Still, Commissioner McDowell apparently intends to use AT&T's statement to argue against the FCC's forthcoming order that contends Comcast secretly downgraded P2P traffic, saying that Comcast's throttling of traffic isn't as bad as AT&T blocking it all together. The merits of that arguement aside, as TechDirt points out, given that AT&T's beef with P2P is that it makes use of "continuous (rather than bursty) transmissions at high data rates," their position does open up a number of interesting questions about streaming apps like Pandora, which are similarly data-intensive but, last we checked, still working just fine on AT&T's network. It looks like the FCC's investigation into Comcast's questionable traffic management is turning up a number of interesting d... more
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AT&T mistakenly announces free Wi-Fi for iPhone users...again
AT&T iPhone users will not be getting free Wi-Fi access after all.
For the second time in less than six months, AT&T mistakenly published a notice on its Web site indicating that Apple iPhone users would get free access to the wireless operator's more than 17,000 Wi-Fi hot spots around the country.
News of free access to AT&T Wi-Fi hot spots was reported on several blogs Friday morning after it was discovered that a notice had been posted on AT&T's Web site. The notice, which was still live at 8:30 a.m. PDT but then was removed by 9:30 a.m., said:
"AT&T knows Wi-Fi is hot, and free Wi-Fi even hotter, which is why we are proud to offer iPhone customers free access to the nation's largest Wi-Fi hot-spot network with more than 17,000 hot spots, including Starbucks. Now users can relax and access music, e-mail, and Web browsing services with their favorite blend in hand from the comfort of their favorite location."
But Wes Warnock, an AT&T spokesman, told CNET News that the notice was published in error.
"We have not made any announcement regarding free Wi-Fi and iPhone," he said in an e-mail. "The Web page was posted in error and is being removed."
The same thing happened in May when AT&T first launched free Wi-Fi access to its Laptop Connect customers, who subscribe to the company's 3G data service for laptops. Then, like now, a notice had been published briefly on AT&T's Web site indicating free Wi-Fi access for iPhone users. It was promptly removed. And at the time, a company representative told The New York Times that the notice had been published in error.
I asked Warnock why AT&T had inadvertently published this information not once, but twice, and he had no comment. An AT&T spokesman had told me when the Laptop Connect program launched that smartphones, including the iPhone, would be added to the list of free of Wi-Fi access later in the year. But when I asked Warnock to verify this information, he again declined to comment.
It's frustrating enough as it is sifting through the barrage of iPhone rumors and misinformation on the Web. But to have misinformation disseminated by AT&T's official Web site is even more disconcerting. I'd love to hear what readers have to say on this matter. I can't imagine it's winning AT&T any points among customers or potential customers in terms of customer service. AT&T iPhone users will not be getting free Wi-Fi access after all. ... more -
X Games coming to AT&T and Verizon Wireless subscribers
For the upcoming X Games 14, July 31 through August 3, ESPN and MediaFlo USA have teamed up to bring coverage of the games to AT&T and Verizon Wireless subscribers. For the upcoming X Games 14, July 31 through August 3, ESPN and MediaFlo USA have teamed up to bring coverage of the games to AT&T... more
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T-Mobile Live Streams iPhone Launch from the Netherlands
T-Mobile has livestreaming video of the iPhone 3G launch in the Netherlands (outside a T-Mobile shop in Rotterdam to be precise). If you're in a timezone where the iPhone isn't on sale yet, this might help you pass the time.
[Via TUAW] T-Mobile has livestreaming video of the iPhone 3G launch in the Netherlands (outside a T-Mobile shop in Rotterdam to be precise). If y... more -
AT&T’s Text Messages Cost $1,310 per Megabyte
Check out the prices for a text message plan on AT&T, the exclusive carrier of the iPhone 3G in the United States. AT&T wants twenty cents ($0.20) per text message if you don’t sign up for a plan. A text message is nothing more than 160 bytes of data. The max is 160 characters, and one character equals one byte of data. Great.
In other words, if AT&T charged data downloads at the rate they charge text messages downloading 1MB of data would cost you $1,310.72. Check out the prices for a text message plan on AT&T, the exclusive carrier of the iPhone 3G in the United States. AT&T wants ... more -
SPOTLIGHT: Telco PACs Gave $8K to Dems Who Changed Their Vote on FISA Bill | MAPLi...
a nice analysis by Maplight.org indicating that those Democratic representatives who changed their vote on telecom immunity between March and June received on average 40% more in contributions from telecom interests than those Democrats who held firm. Maplight asks, "Why did these ninety-four House members have a change of heart? Their constituents deserve answers." Across both parties, representatives who voted for immunity in June had received almost twice a much telecom money as those who voted against. Wired's coverage includes a quote from Larry Lessig, who is on the Maplight board: "Money corrupts the process of reasoning. [Lawmakers] get a sixth sense of how what they do might affect how they raise money."
http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/27/141024...
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/06/telecom-amnest... a nice analysis by Maplight.org indicating that those Democratic representatives who changed their vote on telecom immunity between Ma... more -
The Worst Corporations Of 2008
This video highlights a few a the worst corporations in 2008. It shows why they are the worst corporations.
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T-Mobile sues Starbucks over Wi-Fi deal
T-Mobile USA is suing Starbucks, accusing the coffee behemoth of a breach of contract by allowing AT&T to provide customers with free Wi-Fi access in its cafes.
In a complaint filed Thursday in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, T-Mobile says Starbucks "secretly" developed a plan with AT&T to provide Wi-Fi at its cafes, despite an exclusive partnership with T-Mobile. T-Mobile, which is seeking unspecified damages, alleges the companies broke an agreement over how Starbucks should transition the service from T-Mobile to AT&T, according to Reuters.
T-Mobile said that, under the agreement, it had the exclusive right to "sell, market, and promote" its services in Starbucks up until the stores were completely transitioned to AT&T's system, according to the lawsuit. T-Mobile says it is currently bearing the brunt of the cost of the service because it is providing the technology and equipment in all but two of Starbucks' U.S. markets--the San Antonio, Texas, and Bakersfield, California, markets.
In February, Starbucks ended its seven-year partnership with T-Mobile in favor of an agreement with AT&T. Under the old partnership with T-Mobile, customers would sign up for Wi-Fi for hourly and daily rates.
Under the new partnership, Starbucks in June began offering two hours of free Wi-Fi Internet service via AT&T to customers who purchase a Starbucks Reward Card with a minimum $5 credit on it. To keep the card active, customers must use their Starbucks Card at least once a month. New members of the service also get a voucher for a free drink.
By Desiree Everts// CNET Tech news blog T-Mobile USA is suing Starbucks, accusing the coffee behemoth of a breach of contract by allowing AT&T to provide customers with f... more -
Phone companies spying on Americans: the case against retroactive amnesty for tele...
Congress is now considering whether the President has unilateral power to ask companies to break American law.
Don't let these corporations get away with invading our privacy. If we do, a dangerous precedent will be set and you will see not just the phone companies, but electric, gas, and any company that has information on you to read your mail, tap your phones, find out what toilet paper you use, or whatever.... without a warrant. Without a court order and totally illegal since the corps will know the government will protect them from felonies involving any of this. MAKE THEM PAY for their crimes!!!
For more than five years, AT&T and other telephone companies broke the law and violated their customers' privacy rights by sending billions of private domestic internet and telephone communications and records to the National Security Agency. (See Diagram)
1. Reporting from every major American media outlet and undisputed whistleblower evidence show that AT&T and other phone companies were complicit in the NSA's warrantless surveillance. This included the records and full content of the private domestic communications of millions of ordinary Americans. The President and the phone companies hid this information from Congress and the American people for at least six years.
2. These actions violated at least four major privacy laws that have protected Americans' privacy for over 30 years. The laws deliberately and specifically require telephone companies to safeguard the privacy of their customers communications, especially when the government seeks to access them. The violation of these laws is at the core of almost forty pending lawsuits against AT&T, Verizon, MCI, Sprint and other telephone companies. These lawsuits have been consolidated before Judge Vaughn Walker in California.
3. Now, the phone companies and the Bush administration are trying to bar Americans from defending their privacy. Their arguments in favor of retroactive immunity are manipulative, illogical and simply unconvincing.
4. The American people deserve their day in court. Companies that break the law deserve to be held accountable. Oppose retroactive amnesty for telecommunications companies.
“AT&T cannot seriously contend that a reasonable entity in its position could have believed that the alleged domestic dragnet was legal."
-Judge Vaughn Walker
"The Whistleblower Vs. The Spies"
AT&T Technician Mark Klein speaks out
http://www.eff.org/pages/news-coverage-mark-klein-washi...
This guy worked there and helped the NSA set up all the equipment at AT&T which allowed the government to collect info on all Americans going thru AT&T. He figured it was not right and now spoke out about it.
And, when you've finished reading the above and the article and any document you want to examine, please go to this page http://www.stopthespying.org/ to determine who you representative in congress is and let em know you don't want the phone companies getting away with what they did. Again its at:
http://www.stopthespying.org/ Congress is now considering whether the President has unilateral power to ask companies to break American law. ... more -
Starbucks turns on free Wi-Fi for everyone
Good news for anyone in need of a quick internet fix: Starbucks is turning on free Wi-Fi today, courtesy of its partner AT&T
The deal, according to USA Today: Users will get two hours of free internet usage when they purchase a $5 reloadable Starbucks Card and register for the Starbucks Rewards Card program. Starbucks' relationship with AT&T was first announced in February, and the two sides of slowly rolled out the program since then, with AT&T users getting first crack at it in April.
Two hours isn't enough time to make Starbucks your office for the afternoon, but it'll be helpful for those times when you just have to get a blog post up right then. And if you need more time online, then you can spend some of that two hours searching for free Wi-Fi hotspots in your area.
Of course, T-Mobile's Wi-Fi service (which is not free) will continue to co-exist in Starbucks with AT&T for some time. In the case of offering two hours of free Wi-Fi, it will be interesting to see if there are more laptop couch surfers at Starbucks than even before. If so, that might even create the opposite affect from what they were looking for?it may drive people away...there's nothing more annoying when your battery is dead and all the outlets are taken, or you keep getting bumped off due to network congestion. That might be fine for the casual surfer, but for the business user, paying a premium for a quality service was a small price. Good news for anyone in need of a quick internet fix: Starbucks is turning on free Wi-Fi today, courtesy of its partner AT&T ... more -
Free Wi-Fi for Starbucks....with a Catch
The second biggest Starbucks complaint has now been remedied as the massive coffee chain has rolled out a mostly free Wi-Fi service courtesy of AT&T. Prior to this deal, Starbucks has an exclusive partnership with T-Mobile that had users paying upwards of $10 for a day of Internet service.
Here's how the new Starbucks "free Wi-Fi" plan works: Customers purchase a Starbucks Card, which is like a gift card to yourself, with a minimum of $5 on the card. Then you go online to register the card for the rewards program. The rewards program grants you up to two hours of consecutive access every day. The $5 on the card can be used to buy coffee, snacks or other goods from Starbucks.
The Catch
The Starbucks rewards program isn't limited to free Wi-Fi, either. The service is a couple months old and offers free syrup and milk as well as free refills for frequent buyers and more.
The catch for this service is that the rewards card has to be used at least once per month with a Starbucks purchase to keep the rewards active. AT&T will send you four solicitation e-mails per year.
This recent move reportedly comes after Starbucks' sales have been floundering due to the current state of the economy. With a ka-jillion different Starbucks locations worldwide, this isn't too bad of a deal for the workers with a mobile office. Now if they would just do something about that $4 coffee. The second biggest Starbucks complaint has now been remedied as the massive coffee chain has rolled out a mostly free Wi-Fi service co... more
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