Calls restricted in New Zealand quake zone
By Editor on February 25, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Telecommunications companies have repeated their call for people to continue to use text messages instead of calling on mobile phones when contacting people in Christchurch.
Telecom, Vodafone and 2degrees are working to repair their networks following yesterday’s devastating magnitude 6.3 earthquake.
Ongoing power problems remained the main problem disrupting Christchurch’s cell phone network and the companies were working to get backup generators to mobile sites without power.
People in Christchurch were also asked to change their voicemail messages to let callers know their location and give alternate contact details if possible.
Filed under Mobile · Tagged with 2degrees, 6.3 earthquake, ÂVodafone, Christchurch, Mobile, Mobile Phones, telecom, Text Messages, voicemail message
Brokers spreading ‘sensational charges’: Ambani (India)
By Editor on February 14, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Anil Ambani’s group stated that it knows that brokers who spread sensational charges†after a $2.6 billion loss in value on Feb. 9. The statement came after analysts predicted flagship Reliance Communications Ltd. might post a sixth straight drop in profit on Monday.
According to the company’s email, Reliance ADA Group stated that brokers sent e-mails and text messages, and made telephone calls disseminating baseless†accusations about its firms. No brokers or brokerages were named in the statement, which also didn’t detail the allegations.
Ambani’s group, which has power, mobile-phone and infrastructure businesses, sought an investigation by India’s capital-markets regulator and punitive interim orders against guilty brokers.â€
Filed under Mobile · Tagged with Anil Ambani, Brokers, capital-markets regulator, e-mails, India, Mobile, Reliance ADA Group, Reliance Communications Ltd, sensational charges, Text Messages, USA
Etisalat launches ‘My BusinessPlan’ postpaid mobile service for businesses
By Editor on December 20, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Etisalat today announced the introduction of ‘My BusinessPlan’ the most comprehensive, convenient and affordable postpaid business mobility package for enterprise and SMB customers. Available for existing postpaid and prepaid customers, as well as new postpaid customers, the package promises to deliver an unmatched mobility experience, through enhanced convenience and increased savings.
The new ‘My BusinessPlan’ postpaid mobile service offers flexible package options for local and international calls, text messages and mobile data, in addition to an attractive advantage of getting a latest smartphone free or discounted. Under the new My BusinessPlan service, companies opting for the ‘Basic Package’ can receive back either 100 minutes of local calls or 15 minutes of international calls.
In addition, My BusinessPlan offers three distinct bundles that are tailored to suit varying requirements of businesses. Enterprise customers can subscribe to packages for calls, text messages and mobile Internet at a discounted price, depending on their usage patterns and requirements. Calls and text messages outside of the subscribed packages will be charged at the regular rates.
The ‘Plus Package’ offers customers 200 minutes of local phone calls along with 25 minutes of international calls, 50 local text messages, as well as 20MB of data. The “Extra Package” offers customers 350 minutes of local calls, 50 minutes of international calls, 75 local text messages and 100 MB of data access.
The “Ultra Package” offers 550 minutes of local calls, 100 minutes of international calls, 100 local text messages and 400 MB data access.
Optionally, customers subscribing to Plus, Extra or Ultra packages can buy an additional 1GB of data per month.
“These new mobility packages offer the best value proposition in terms of business mobility services in the UAE today,” said Abdulla Hashim, Senior VP, Business Solutions, Etisalat. “They will greatly reduce the total cost of ownership and increase business productivity by providing enterprises and SMBs with the requisite mobility tools of their choice for both voice and secure internet connectivity.”
“Given that most businesses and their workforce are on the move, mobility solutions are critical in enhancing productivity and helping them maintain their competitive edge. In such an environment, Etisalat with its deep insights into current customer requirements has come up with a single window solution with My BusinessPlan,” Hashim added.
Filed under Mobile · Tagged with Abdulla Hashim, Basic package, Business Solutions, Etisalat, International Calls, Mobile, Mobile Data, Mobile Service, My BusinessPlan, postpaid, Prepaid, Senior VP, SMB customer, Text Messages, USA
USA considers allowing Text Messages to 911 Emergency Services
By Editor on November 24, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Americans who need the requirement of contacting the emergency services could soon be able to send text messages or even photos and videos taken with camera phones to the emergency centres if proposals by the telecoms regulator, the FCC are approved.
According to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, she is expected to outline the reforms that would update the regulations surrounding emergency communications to take into account changing phone usage. It is already estimated that some 70% of emergency calls come from mobile phones, which are also now required to support location-based tracking for when the caller cannot provide their exact location to the emergency services.
As per the release from FCC, the technological limitations of 9-1-1 can have tragic, real-world consequences. During the 2007 Virginia Tech campus shooting, students and witnesses desperately tried to send texts to 9-1-1 that local dispatchers never received. If these messages had gone through, first responders may have arrived on the scene faster with firsthand intelligence about the life-threatening situation that was unfolding.
The proposals would also include allowing automatic alerts being sent from sensors – such as those increasingly fitted in motor vehicles – to the emergency services to alert them of possible problems.
Filed under Mobile · Tagged with 911 Emergency Services, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, Mobile, Text Messages, USA, Virginia
Russian Networks instructed to Improve Roaming Services
By Editor on October 25, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has instructed MegaFon, MTS and VimpelCom – to lower the tariffs they charge while the user is on roaming in CIS countries and improve the way they communicate the prices to customers.
FAS had carried out an investigation into the roaming services in partnership with their counterparts in Kazakhstan, and the FAS reports that it found the networks were generating excessive profits from their roaming rates.
Particular concern was also raised about the delay in settling roaming accounts, leaving consumers with potentially substantial bills in the future.
The operators have been instructed to lesser their roaming rates, improve the billing settlement delays and send text messages to roaming customers informing them of the charges and any issues occurring from their roaming service.
Filed under Mobile · Tagged with CIS, FAS, Kazakhstan, MegaFon, Mobile, MTS, Roaming Services, Russia, Text Messages, VimpelCom
T-Mobile to offer new Data Plans for Prepaid customers
By Editor on October 14, 2010 · Leave a Comment
T-Mobile is planning to introduce new prepaid data plans on October 18 which will offer users to access not only data, but voice minutes and text messages. The latest changes to T-Mobile’s prepaid plans are attractive and would be included with smartphones and for USB laptop sticks.
The new plans will include US$70/month Unlimited Talk and Text with 2 GB of Data, US$50/month Unlimited Talk and Text with 100 MB of Data, US$30/month 1,500 Talk and Text (mix and match voice and text messages) with 30 MB of Data, Unlimited Text and US$0.10/minute and US$1.49/day Web DayPass
T-Mobile is also launching a new Jet Prepaid USB Laptop Stick. The Jet Prepaid USB Laptop Stick comes in white, pre-packaged with a prepaid SIM card, user guide, and plug & play connection manager software. It will be available with the US$10 week pass with 100 MB download; the other plan includes US$30 month pass with 300 MB of download and a US$50 month pass with 1 GB of download. These plans have no annual contract, credit check, overages and can be used with any of the company’s mobile broadband products.
Filed under Mobile · Tagged with Data, Data Plans, Mobile, new Jet Prepaid USB, Prepaid customers, SIM Card, smartphones, T-Mobile, Text Messages, USB laptop stick, user guide, Voice Minutes
MTNL joins per second billing system club (India)
By Editor on December 3, 2009 · Leave a Comment
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The 2G and 3G customers of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) in Delhi and Mumbai circles can now enjoy per second billing scheme. The announcement was made after the launch of per second billing systems by other telecom majors like Tata Teleservices, Reliance Communications and Bharti Airtel.
As per the plan, any call made within the same network across the country will cost half paise per second and the calls made to other networks will cost one paise per second. Even video calls through 3G network will cost one paise per second.
The cost of text messages has also been reduced with 25 paise for local messages Re 1 for national messages while international messages will cost Rs.2.50.
Filed under Mobile · Tagged with 3G, ASIA, Bharti Airtel, Billing System, Delhi, India, international messages, LAN, MTNL, Mumbai, Reliance Communications, South Asia, Tata Teleservices, telecom, Text Messages
Text capital of the world reconsiders tax on texting.
By Editor on September 23, 2009 · Leave a Comment
The House of Representatives in Phillipines is backing off on its plan to charge a five-centavo(US$0.001) tax on text messages after strong opposition from Consumer groups and a lawsuit.
The Cellphone Owners and Users of the Philippines (COUP) has separately filed a lawsuit to put a halt on the legislation.
“The class suit is filed in order to prevent temporarily, and later on permanently, the illegal, prohibitive and unconstitutional imposition of an excise tax on SMS and overseas calls.” the lawsuit claimed.
A House of Reps committee has agreed to revert back to the proposed bill on the text tax barely two weeks after approving it for plenary voting on September 8.
Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said Congress should give more thought to the tax on text by conducting more public hearings to get the sentiment of consumer groups who would be directly affected by the additional levy that was supposed to generate up to US$700 million in revenue for the government.
Filed under Mobile · Tagged with Overseas Calls, Philippines, Phillipines, SMS, Tax on Texting, Text, Text Messages
Mobile calls to be cut by 10%
By Editor on August 15, 2006 · Leave a Comment
BIG price cuts could be on the way for mobile phone customers.
The telecoms watchdog, Ofcom, has ordered four more years of cuts on calls and said it will investigate text messaging charges.
Customers could see parts of their mobile bills cut by almost 10%, analysts said today.
Two years ago Ofcom ordered a 3% cut in the charges mobile operators make for calls to someone on another network-or those to landlines – so-called termination charges.
Vodafone, O2, T-Mobile,
Orange
and 3, passed on some, but not all, of the cuts to consumers. Charges dropped between 13 and 14%.
Today the watchdog ordered further cuts in prices – of up to 19% – and said they will also apply to the new third generation of mobile phones and should last until March 2011. For
Orange
and T-Mobile this means the termination charge will have to drop from 6.31p per minute to around 5.3p. Vodafone and O2 have been told to cut their charges from 5.63p to the same 5.3p.
Ofcom also launched an inquiry into the multi-billion text messaging market.
It said that it would look at how the mobile networks charge each other and the likes of BT for sending their customers’ messages to other networks.
UK
customers spent £2.1bn on texts last year and it now makes up around a fifth of the mobile networks’ annual revenues
Britons send an over 85 million text messages a day and on average send 28 texts a week.
For basic pay as you go tariffs, Vodafone charges 30p a minute for calls and 12p for texts.
Orange
is 40p/10p; T-Mobile 12p/10p; 02 35p/12p; Virgin Mobile 35p;10p.
Source- http://www.thisismoney.co.uk
Technorati : Mobile, O2, Ofcom, Operator, Orange, T-Mobile, Vodafone
Ice Rocket : Mobile, O2, Ofcom, Operator, Orange, T-Mobile, Vodafone
Filed under Mobile · Tagged with Annual Revenue, Basic Pay, Bills, Landline, Landlines, Mobile Bill, Mobile Bills, Mobile networks, Ofcom, Telecoms Watchdog, Termination Charges, Text Messages, Text Messaging, Texts, Virgin, Virgin Mobile, watchdog
