| Charges for Bogus Collect Calls on Hold
07/11/2007
At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal judge has halted a massive fraudulent billing scheme that has collected more than $25 million in bogus collect call charges from hundreds of thousands of consumers.The FTC charged three companies and their principals with deceptive and unfair billing practices for cramming the unauthorized billing of charges on phone bills since at least... |
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| Study Warns Cell Phones Could Cause Airliner Crash
07/11/2007
There are worse things than sleeping with your dog. Sleeping with your cell phone, for example . Jeannine of Plymouth, N.C., was rudely awakened the other night by the frantic barking of her sons Labrador Retriever, who was sharing the bed with Jeannines 15yearold son and his Motorola cell phone. The cell phones battery overheated during the night, setting fire to the bed. "The dog pulled... |
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| Phone Card Marketing Plans Get Close Look
07/11/2007
To head off potential fraudulent marketing schemes, state regulators are investigating several companies efforts to mass market phone cards. Companies such as Destiny Telecomm International Inc., Oakland, Calif., and startup Fox Telcom Inc., Memphis, Tenn., are undergoing the investigations by regulators in such states as Alabama, North Carolina and Michigan. Dennis Wright, an associate... |
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| Florida Investigates Fake Caller IDs
07/11/2007
Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist has issued investigative subpoenas to a website company that allegedly sells calling cards that allow parties to display fraudulent numbers on caller ID, a practice known as "spoofing." Crist said spoffing allows stalkers, identity thieves, home intruders, telemarketers and possibly worse, to hide their identity when making calls to consumers.One... |
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| Supreme Court Asked to Rule on OneSided Cell Phone Contracts
07/11/2007
Nothing irritates wireless customers more than learning after the fact that their cell phone provider has unilaterally changed the terms of their service agreement. Now, the U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to rule on the issue. Virtually every cell phone contract gives companies permission to change service agreements. Most also require consumers to agree that they will not file suit to... |
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| Do Extended Wireless Contracts Help Carriers Or Subs?
07/11/2007
Prepaid mobile telephony has become particularly popular in Europe during the last few years due to a number of practical incentives. For one, it is generally thought to be a more affordable service than contract mobile phones, because prepaid packages do not charge a rental fee the subscriber has to pay every month (they do, however, tend to charge a oneoff connection fee for the service). In... |
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| Sprint Nextel speeds rollout of 3G network
07/11/2007
Sprint Nextel, the thirdlargest US mobile carrier, is accelerating the rollout of its 3G highspeed data network, which should reach a estimated 190m people by year end. The network, dubbed Sprint Power Vision` and based on Qualcomm`s EVDO (Evolution Data Optimised) technology, is currently available to about 150m people, or half the US population.At the same time, Sprint said it plans to... |
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| Feds Surrender, Kill 108YearOld Telephone Tax
07/11/2007
The Treasury Department says it will eliminate a tax on longdistance telephone calls and refund about $13 billion collected from consumers. Noting that its not often that the government kills a tax, Treasury Secretary John Snow announced the federal excise tax on telephone service will officially expire at the end of July.Originally established in 1898 as a "luxury" tax on wealthy... |
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| India Phone Wireless Market to Triple by 2011
07/11/2007
Research firm, iSuppli Corp., expects the Indian cell phone market to triple over the next three years, as mobile handsets become increasingly accessible in rural areas of the south Asian country.The number of Indian wireless subscribers nearly doubled last year alone, reaching 149.5 million by the end of December, and with 5.5 million new customers signing up every month, subscriber numbers are... |
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| LG PRADA to Dethrone the iPhone?
07/11/2007
South Korean handset maker, LG Electronics, announced the pending availability of its very own highend music phone last week, triggering speculation that it will be a major competitor to the muchhyped Apple iPhone.Like the iPhone, LG`s PRADA handset (designed by the luxury fashion company of that name) will feature an advanced touchscreen interface, 2megapixel digital camera, and microSD card... |
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