Sprint, nation’s third carrier, has been slapped with a penalty of $70.1 million, by a California judge. This is a tentative penality for early termination fees charged to subscribers throughout the state, AP reports. The company was ordered to pay $18.3 million to customers who sued over the fees and credit $54.8 million to subscribers that were charged the fee, but never paid.
The issue of ETFs has made its way into federal and state courthouses around the country and the Federal Communications Commission is weighing options it could impose on carriers to regulate the fees and thereby shield them from more class-action lawsuits at the state level. T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon have all committed to reducing the fees on a pro-rated basis over the life of a contract and Sprint said it plans to follow suit next year. The FCC is expected to make a similar industry-wide decision in August.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Trapeze Networks®, the award-winning provider of Smart Mobile(TM) wireless solutions, today announced that PricewaterhouseCoopers in Norway has deployed a Trapeze Smart Mobile wireless network across all 23 of its Norwegian offices, providing wireless mobility for more than 1,000 employees across the country, regardless of which office they are working in. PwC provides assurance, tax, and advisory services to clients in both the public and commercial sectors. The deployment was led by Move AS, an authorized Trapeze channel partner.Security was PwC’s highest priority in selecting a wireless network solution.
Additionally, it had to be easy to implement, centrally managed, and user friendly, as well as able to deliver sufficient coverage and output to support the company’s head office and all branch sites. The Trapeze solution met all the requirements, enabling PwC, along with Move AS, to easily deploy the network and seamlessly integrate it with PwC’s wired network. The entire 23-site network is managed through a single, central system using RingMaster® software, providing real-time visibility and control of network operations.
The Trapeze solution enables employees to securely log into and seamlessly roam across the wireless network, giving them the flexibility to move about and work from virtually any location within PwC’s Norway offices, including cafeterias, meeting rooms, and lobbies. The Trapeze solution also provides guest access, delivering secure, convenient, and efficient network connectivity for clients visiting PwC offices.
“For today’s busy, on-the-move professionals like those at PricewaterhouseCoopers, mobility is a key requirement for achieving high rates of productivity and client satisfaction,” said Jim Vogt, president and CEO of Trapeze Networks. “Along with our partner Move AS, we are extremely proud to provide this business-critical mobility solution for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Norway.”
About Trapeze Networks
Trapeze Networks delivers Smart Mobile(TM) — a ground-breaking approach to wireless networking, enabling organizations to deploy massively scalable mobile applications that leverage their existing infrastructure. Smart Mobile achieves this breakthrough by introducing intelligent switching, the first and only WLAN architecture that optimizes network traffic based on the underlying application. With Smart Mobile intelligent switching, organizations can support the most demanding next generation wireless applications such as toll-quality voice over WLAN for thousands of users, seamless indoor/outdoor mobility, and high-speed networks based on 802.11n — all without requiring expensive forklift upgrades. Trapeze Networks is well-capitalized, with strategic investments from networking industry leaders including Juniper Networks, Motorola, and Nortel Networks. Founded in March 2002, Trapeze is headquartered in Pleasanton, California, with operations in Europe, Japan, and Asia-Pacific.
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Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
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Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile unit said it won’t comment on conflicting reports about a possible contract to distribute Apple Inc.’s iPhone in Germany.
T-Mobile beat Vodafone Group Plc to win an exclusive contract and will sell the iPhone for about 450 euros ($613) from Nov. 1. Negotiations are still going on and no winner has been decided.
“There are so many different rumors going around,'’ T- Mobile’s Bonn-based spokeswoman Marion Kessing said via telephone today. “We won’t comment.'’
T-Mobile, based in Bonn, has 33 million customers and is Germany’s largest wireless operator by clients.
The iPhone, which combines features of the iPod music player with those of a phone handset, went on sale in the U.S. on June 29 and buyers emptied more than half of Apple’s outlets in less than a week. Cupertino, California-based Apple is selling two models, priced at $499 and $599.
Shares of Deutsche Telekom rose 11 cents, or 0.8 percent, to 13.78 euros as of 9:38 a.m. in Frankfurt, after gaining as much as 1.5 percent.
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Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
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They made you reachable wherever you are; they entertained and informed you while on the move; and now, cellular phones are all geared up to act as life saving devices in case of emergency. The officials in California are planning to send warnings about threats ranging from terrorist attacks, floods, earthquakes, road calamities, wildfires, tsunamis, and campus massacres through cell phonesIn an information-gathering hearing, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, from the state Emergency Council, informed that California is working with U.S. agencies that are developing a federal alert system via cell phone to implement the mobile alert system. But California is also well equipped to proceed without them. Garamendi, who served in the Clinton administration, feels that the federal government may not act as quickly as the authorities in California. He indicated that the exigency of the moment should encourage California to act now and implement the system as soon as possible.
Indeed, Californians may see this system implemented soon, as the authorities there are already working on cell phone towers to broadcast tone and text warnings of imminent dangers. These warnings will be sent out to all cell phones and Blackberry-type devices in a specific zone. When receiving a warning, the user will hear a different tone unlike the usual ring tones. Implementing this system does not necessitate passing any legislation and it also has utility regulators’ backing.
When such uninvited warning messages are being sent to everyone, the phone owners privacy issue will also need to be taken care of. But the authorities in California feel that sending out mass warning messages will not invade the privacy as the message sent out to all those phones served by a particular communications relay tower near a danger/accident zone. In this way, the messages are not “targeted� and the senders of the message do not know who owns the phone.
The state’s emergency panel has not set any deadline to implement the system. It will shortly hold meeting with state homeland security agents, Public Utilities Commission representatives and emergency services officials. It will also hold meetings with cell-phone providers who need to broadcast the warning to customers. According to Henry Renteria, director of the governor’s Office of Emergency Services, the system could be ready and start working in the next 12 to 14 months.
The Californian lawmakers are also planning to add the new cell-alert system to some other public warning systems like National Weather Service bulletins, Emergency Broadcast System, and the Amber Alert System.
An important point to consider when sending out the warning messages is the possibility of mass hysteria. But studies have shown that public will actually be less panicky than had been expected when they receive an alert. The system is currently being tested in Contra Costa County, which, according to authorities, “has the most advanced, integrated, comprehensive, all-hazard warning system in the state.�
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
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Telegeography writes…corporationfinaloval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the first WiMAX laptop card. The card will connect to the Clearwire network and is on target to be available during the second half of 2007. Clearwire Chairman and CEO Perry Satterlee said ‘The FCC’s approval of our laptop card is a significant milestone in bringing to market a ‘true broadband’ wireless service with a device that facilitates even greater portability than our existing modem permits.’
Clearwire offers service in 37 metro markets, covering approximately 8.9 million people in more than 350 municipalities in Alaska, California, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin in the United States, as well as 1.2 million people in Ireland, Belgium and Denmark (under the Clearwire name through Danske Telecom).
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Sprint slapped with a penalty of $70.1 million (California, US)
