The Beginning Of The End For Landline Phone Service?
June 25, 2008
T-Mobile today announced a new service which allows home users to abandon their expensive home phone services without losing their phone numbers. Is the end of wired line home phone service soon to be a thing of the past?
The offering gives the customer a wireless router for a one time charge of $50 and a monthly fee of just $10 per month for unlimited nationwide calling over the WiFi internet connection. Customers simply plug their touch tone or wireless home phone into the new router and will then be able to make and receive calls as they once did on their landline (customer needs a broadband connection). Read more
Let the Phone Wars Begin!
June 24, 2008
Virgin Mobile, the embattled MVNO carrier, fired a shot right across the bow of the major carriers today with the announcement of a new unlimited calling plan for just $79.99 per month. The new rate will be available on July 1st. This is a big drop from their previous $100 for 1000 minute plan (with free nights and weekends).
Sprint offers an unlimited plan for $89.99 (which includes free messaging) and Verizon Wireless has a $99.99 monthly plan. The economy is tightening and wireless sales are off from last years pace. Lower priced plans and phones might keep customers flowing into stores, but will lower cost rate plans hurt the bottom line?
It will be interesting to watch how the industry reacts to the iPhone 2.0 launch in July.
Helio in the Fire
June 23, 2008
It appears that the potential merger between Virgin Mobile and SK Telecom’s Helio have fallen apart. Gizmodo is reporting that Helio stores and kiosks will soon start shutting down. The companies have been in discussions since May. Read more
Telecom Industry Association (TIA) Reboots EIATrack.Org - Environment Legislation Tracker
June 17, 2008
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) has acquired EIATrack.org from the defunct Electronic Industries Alliance and has re-launched the site. EIATrack is related to industry regulation regarding recycling and the environment.
EIATrack.org keeps track of over 6,000 pieces of legislation from around the world. To keep the site humming, TIA has hired a project manager, Ellen Farmer, whose background includes environmental research for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and for the U.S. Postal Service. Consultants were hired to develop real-time updates and language conversions.
TIA hopes to expand the service into markets like India and China in the near future.
Telephone on the cob
June 16, 2008
We have a little phone corn for you today, two tasty tidbits about phones and . . . well . . . corn!
They’re biodegradable and made without petroleum, lead, mercury, cadmium, PVC and something called “brominated flame retardant.” No, the handsets aren’t edible but they also won’t spend the next million years in a landfill. Samsung is releasing a line “green” handsets designed to make you feel less guilty about replacing your phone every year or two. The new phones hit the market in June. Samsung’s new biodegradable handsets
And in case your looking for a little video diversion, check out another story involving cell phones and corn. This YouTube video shows kids popping corn using their cell phones. The subtext is clear, perhaps my brain is getting cooked by the radio waves from my cell phone:
But is it for real? In true marketing style, the whole thing was revealed to be a viral hoax (or clever marketing depending on your point of view): The story behind the corn - Cardio Wireless
iPhone Reborn
June 13, 2008
The web has been abuzz since Steve Job’s announcement on Monday the 9th about the new 3G iPhone. Anticipation had been high and speculation had already covered every possible scenario in the months leading up to this announcement. Would there be video conferencing? Would the phone be good for enterprise customers? How much faster would 3G be than Edge? The results were mostly positive with one thin shadow threatening to derail Apple stock. Read more
Come back later - the Internet is full
June 5, 2008
AT&T is bringing down my Internet buzz. Vice president of legislative affairs, Jim Cicconi, recently spoke to the web 2.0 forum in London and warned that without significant world wide investment, the Internet would reach the limits of its capacity by 2010. He went on to claim that in just three years’ time, 20 typical households will generate more traffic than the entire Internet currently uses! Read more
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