Telecommies

Have It Your Way - Verizon is the Burger King of the Cell Phone Market

Verizon took another bold step towards consumer choice yesterday, by embracing linux on cell phones. The Tribune reports:

Verizon became the first U.S. wireless carrier to join what’s called the LiMo Foundation, a group of companies pushing to create an open, Linux-based operating system for wireless products. The now 40-member group also includes phonemakers Motorola, Samsung and LG…

Over the coming year Verizon previously announced plans to remove restrictions on the types of cell phones compatible with their wireless service. Moving this direction, allowing consumers to alter their phones’ operating system, is a natural extension of their new open wireless service business model.

Yesterday Verizon’s wireless divison announced 9.8% increase in first quarter earnings, attributed to a growing customer base. In particular, during a conference call with investors, the company mentioned strong sales with it’s $99 per month/unlimited calling. The share of new customers opting for the unlimited calling blossomed from 4 up to 13 percent.

On Tuesday a bill to ban new cell phone taxes was introduced into the House. Rep. Lofgren (CA-16) led the bill as the sponsor, with seven cosponsors: Cannon (UT-3); Chabot (OH-1); Cohen (TN-9); Eshoo (CA-14); Keller (FL-8); Meeks (NY-6); and Sensenbrenner (WI-5).

A press release from Rep. Logren’s office explains:

Today, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced the bi-partisan, pro-consumer “Cell Tax Fairness Act,” which provides for a 5-year moratorium on any new discriminatory wireless tax or fee. A typical consumer already pays 15.19% in federal, state, and local taxes on their cell phone bill as compared to 7.07% for most other taxable goods and services. Between January 2003 and July 2007, the effective rate of taxation on wireless service increased four times faster than the rate for other taxable goods and services. The bill does not disturb current state and local taxes on wireless service. (more)

Continually mounting cellphone taxes are a major grip of mine. My cell phone taxes have gone from $2 to well over $10 a month. I’m glad someone’s addressing it.

Cell phones are not a “luxury” utility.

Verizon just lowered the price for unlimited mobile internet on a few cell phones to $29.99 a month. Now the plan is limited to the Verizon SMT5800, Verizon Wireless XV6800, and Motorola’s Q9m (shown in image). This plan will expand to more smart phone models in the future.

Turn Your Smart Phone Into a Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot, Associate Press (4/8/08)

Software by Taproot Systems Inc.

It’s about time your cell phone internet connection and laptop worked in harmony… without paying an extra fee.

These cell phone signal boosters, “femtocells,” designed for home use are one more reason to ditch your landline. The Associate Press explains:

Not only do femtocells improve coverage indoors, where the carrier has a hard time reaching, they reduce traffic on regular, outdoor cellular towers. Perhaps best of all, the carrier doesn’t have to pay to carry the traffic from the femtocell to its network, because the device plugs into a home broadband connection. The so-called “backhaul” traffic, which carries calls from a cellular tower to the wired network, is a major part of the cost of operating a wireless network.

While these gadgets threaten already suffering landline business of Verizon and AT&T, market forces may force them to embrace it anyway. Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin comments, “‘They’re afraid that by deploying these femtocells, at least where they have a landline footprint, they might be putting their landline business at risk’… But that business is at risk anyway – a lack of femtocells may make cellular subscribers keep their landlines for another year or so, but not for long[.]”

Right now Sprint has a competitive lead, already offering them for $49.99 plus $15 a month for unlimited home calling.

Source: Wireless industry works to boost cell phone coverage in the home, Associate Press (4/3/08)