God, Gays and Lesbians Approve of the T-Mobile / AT&T Merger?: [19th Oct 2011]

In an attempt to garner support for the merger with T-mobile, AT&T have now asked the Shreveport-Bossier Rescue Mission to lobby for support. The faith based provider is to receive a donation of $50,000 for their troubles. The Reverend in charge has equated calling on God with the ability to make telephone calls. It is even hinted that God would support the merger. Although the Mission did accept it was an odd thing for them to do to get involved in a merger such as this. This latest AT&T move comes after they were criticized for using the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to lobby for support.


It has been revealed that Verizon customers will now have to opt in for privacy under new plans. Verizon Wireless is to log and sell information on their customers browsing habits and locations unless customers say specifically that they do not agree. The data will be sold anonymously to analysts and other interested parties. The breakdown of information could include age, gender, type of phone, location and more. Verizon will receive a fee for giving away these facts. This move is being seen as significant as it is the first time a provider has assumed consent for the spread of this type of data. Usually customers are offered incentives such as fewer advertisements if the agree to their information being sold.


It has emerged this week that the Commerce Department has identified a further 1500 MHz of federal spectrum which could be used for wireless broadband. In addition Congress is deciding whether to put in place legislation to reassign 120 MHz of TV spectrum, also for broadband. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is currently working out what percentage of this spectrum can be used for broadband and how feasible it is for the agencies which currently use it to either move or share the space. It is thought that 115 MHz could be ready for use within five years although it is undecided how this will be achieved. Report have now been submitted on the estimated costs and timetables for the relocations and this will be reported on later this year.


Research in Motion, the company behind the Blackberry is this week deciding on what compensation they will offer to those affected by their outages last week. They have already agreed that carriers will be reimbursed financially and there will be one month of technical support and free online applications for businesses and customers affected. With many already starting to question the reliability of the RIM network, some pundits are suggesting that the Blackberry may soon become a thing of the past.


The FCC has made an announcement this week that they have come up with a solution to the "bill shock" problem experienced by many mobile broadband users. Phone and tablet providers must send their customers a warning when they are approaching their data, SMS and voice limits. These notifications must be free and they can be opted out of for those who wish. A website will also be put in place to track how well this alert system is being implemented. The problem was identified last year and most carriers have been following many of the new rules for some time. However the new rules offer a framework which providers must adhere to. Although if they fail to follow the rules there are no penalties in place. The guidelines will be known as The Wireless Consumer Usage Notification Guidelines".