Posts tagged service
Pre-paid mobile phone service extended in Kashmir, northeast
Apr 2nd
Pre-paid mobile phone service extended in Kashmir, northeast
New Delhi, April 2 (IANS) The government has extended the pre-paid mobile phone service in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and other northeastern telecom service areas for two years.
The extension of service which has come into effect from April 1, will be valid till March 31, 2013.
‘The said permission for continuance of pre-paid mobile services, for a period of two years with effect from April 1, is subject to the condition that the existing security condition already stipulated by licensor shall continue to remain in place,’ the department of telecommunications (DoT) said in a statement.
The DoT has also mentioned that no telecom company will be allowed to offer services after March 31, 2013, on the basis of the permission now given.
Related news:
- Now switch mobile phone operator, but keep your number
- Get ready to pay for mobile banking service from April 2011
- Rediff introduces mobile email service
- Mobile phone firms go all out to woo other’s customers
- TRAI seeks opinion on controlling mobile phone theft
From www.inewsone.com
Cox wireless service goes live in Oklahoma City, Tulsa
Mar 29th
Today, Cox Communications flipped the switch on its wireless phone and mobile broadband service throughout Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
Cox, the nation’s third-largest cable operator, initially said its “Unbelievably Fair” wireless service was coming to the two cities in Oklahoma in February but didn’t provide a specific launch date.
After some delays, Cox first launched its wireless service in Hampton Roads, Va., Omaha, Neb., and Orange County, Calif., in November of last year.
Cox also said today that it would have its Cox Wireless service in 50 percent of its footprint by year’s end, which marked the first time the company provided specific information on its nationwide rollout plan.
Cox said the New England market, which includes Rhode Island and Cox communities in Connecticut and Cleveland, Ohio, would launch “soon,” which was previously reported by CED.
“We are very excited to bring Cox’s fair approach to wireless to consumers in Oklahoma,” said Len Barlik, Cox’s executive vice president of product development and management . “We are introducing new services and features to the Cox bundle that were built on fairness – and our customers are telling us they like it. We plan to bring the same value from bundling services, Unbelievably Fair plans, and easy-to-use products and services to more Cox customers this year.”
Like the first three rollouts, Cox is using Sprint’s 3G CDMA EVDO Rev A network to provision its service in Oklahoma.
Cox’s Unbelievably Fair service includes “MoneyBack Minutes” that give customers credit for unused minutes on that month’s billing cycle. Customers could receive up to $20 a month with MoneyBack Minutes.
Cox said today that MoneyBack Minutes has received “a very enthusiastic response from customers of other providers who would lose unused minutes or carry them over month-to-month with no monetary benefit.”
As part of its overall strategy, Cox has opened nine Cox Solution retail stores in its Oklahoma market. Along with its wireless service, Cox is offering bundled options with its traditional triple-play services, and its customers can see how the products and services are integrated through demos at the store, as well as check out Cox’s lineup of devices.
The Cox Wireless service in Oklahoma features the same Android and Brew devices as the previous launches.
From www.cedmagazine.com
China to launch 4G service in 2014: state media
Mar 13th
China plans to roll out commercial “fourth generation” mobile phone technology nationwide in 2014, state media said Friday, citing the country’s top telecom regulator.
The remarks by Miao Wei, minister of industry and information technology, marked the first time China has given a timetable for the adoption of 4G, which provides faster broadband wireless services, the China Daily said.
China has been pushing for its home-grown 4G standard, known as TD-LTE, to be accepted as a global standard.
TD-LTE is being tested in seven cities and will go into commercial use “when the technology is mature”, China Mobile chairman Wang Jianzhou was quoted by the newspaper as saying last week.
The UN’s International Telecommunications Union (ITU) accepted TD-LTE in October as a candidate to be designated 4G and is watching the tests by China Mobile and its partners to see if it meets 4G transmission standards.
China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile phone operator, said late last year that a number of Chinese and foreign telecom equipment makers would participate in the tests of its 4G candidate, including China’s ZTE Corp, Huawei Technologies, Finnish-German Nokia Siemens and Swedish group Ericsson.
From www.independent.co.uk
uniBank re-launches enhanced mobile banking service
Mar 5th
Mr Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, uniBank Managing Director, said the mobile payment solution was one of many initiatives by the bank to promote increase financial inclusion.
“In this connection, this initiative of enabling banking services to customers via a mobile phone at affordable costs will go a long way in increasing access to financial services in line with broader national objectives,” he said.
uniBank was among the first six banks in the country to introduce three main electronic banking products such as uniweb (internet banking), uni-alert (SMS alert for all transactions) and uni-Mobile, a mobile banking solution.
Mr Owusu-Amoah said through efficient and reliable service about 20,000 customers had signed on and actively using these services, falling in line with the bank’s strategy to get customers move from the use of the traditional visits to the Branch to the use of alternate channels that had been provided.
“Our customers need not walk into our branch to check balances, they need not walk into our branches to get statements or even see all transaction on their account as well as transfer money,” he said.
Mr Owusu-Amoah said the new uni-Mobile runs on the Global Banking Software provider Temenos’ Arc Mobile platform and allowed customers to view the last 10 recent transactions on their mobile phones.
It also enables direct purchases of top up units for customers and third parties from all the mobile phone companies with values loaded straight onto the phone and not through a pin number.
He said the Temenos platform can be used on any mobile handsets, making the service available to all service providers and phone models with internet connection.
“The new uni-mobile initiative certainly has the potential to become a catalyst for extending basic banking services beyond our existing branch networks in the country,” he added.
As part of the promotion in re-launching the product, customers, who sign on to the new service, will receive free coupons for pizza at Eddie’s PIZZA.
GNA
From accra-mail.com
Facebook buys mobile chat service Beluga
Mar 2nd
Bangalore: Social networking giant Facebook has completed the buy-out of Beluga, a mobile group messaging service. Facebook is interested in the technology behind Beluga which was formed by three ex-Google employees. Beluga, founded in July 2010, provides an app for mobile phones that allows instant group chats from your phone. The Facebook-Beluga deal news was broken by TechCrunch, however the figures of the buy-out is not yet known.
Facebook will retain the staff of Beluga that comprises of Ben Davenport, Lucy Zhang and Jonathan Perlow. They will now work for the messaging team of Facebook. The acquisition could offshoot to a more group-oriented chat service from Facebook on the mobile medium.
As of now, Beluga will continue to function as it does and users of Beluga service will have their accounts intact. Facebook will announce its future plans for Beluga soon.
The timing of Facebook buying Beluga could have been more apt as the latter was all set to raise funds in an angel funding round anytime soon.
From www.siliconindia.com
Households drop landline phone service to go cell-only
Feb 20th
(2 of 2)
For him, keeping the landline telephone would be akin to holding on to a relic, a “dinosaur” as he puts it. “It’s unnecessary duplication of efforts,” he said.
Michael Hanley, an associate professor of advertising at Ball State University and director of the university’s Institute for Mobile Media Research, said tech-savvy young adults between 25 and 40 are the fastest-growing demographic to drop the landline after having a cell phone.
He said people 60 and older are more reluctant to follow the trend because of the expense, a lack of interest or a fear of technology.
Hanley predicts that within a decade or so, a majority of households will be cell-phone exclusive because the 40-year-olds who use and prefer cell phones now will take that preference with them as they age.
As with any new technology, there are benefits and disadvantages to weigh. Glenn Sparks, a communications professor at Purdue University, said this cell phone-exclusive trend reaffirms the idea that we are living in a state of “perpetual connection” to technological devices.
While it has obvious benefits, such as information, entertainment and communication constantly at your fingertips, there are downsides to its pervasiveness.
“I actually think that we are quickly evolving to an environment where if you are not connected to a technological device at every minute, it’s going to produce feelings of discomfort and anxiety,” he said.
Perpetual connection also intrudes on interaction in the public square, he said. Instead of people being available to talk or meet face-to-face in public places such as the grocery store or farmers market, they are texting, browsing or listening to music with earphones.
The bottom line is they are more attuned to their mobile devices.
“Carrying this technology with us may isolate us from other people even when we are physically in the public square,” he said. “We are not quite as available to interact with them. I see that as a potential disadvantage.”
And so, in 60 years we’ve gone from party lines to telephone isolation.
Whether that’s progress is your call.
From www.jconline.com
Assurance Wireless Assures Eligible Unemployed of Free Phone Service
Feb 17th
Mobile Communications Featured Article
Assurance Wireless Assures Eligible Unemployed of Free Phone Service
By Mini Swamy, TMCnet Contributor
Using the Sprint (News 
– Alert) Network—which reaches more than 275 million people—Assurance Wireless launched in Pennsylvania to help the more than 5.5 million unemployed residents, of whom more than 17.5 percent are living below the federal poverty line.
Assurance Wireless, one of Sprint’s prepaid brands, is supported by the Lifeline Assistance program, part of the Low Income Program of the federal Universal Service Fund, which is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company. The program ensures that low-income customers have access to quality telecommunications services at reasonable and affordable rates.
The program provides a free wireless phone and 250 minutes of free wireless voice service monthly to those who are eligible. According to a nationwide survey from Assurance Wireless, adults with an income of less than $25,000 are as likely to use their mobile phone for employment searches as those with higher incomes.
Eligible customers are provided with a free phone and a contact number for prospective employers to return calls thus improving the chances of securing jobs and also providing a simple way of being connected with family in times of emergencies.
Customers eligible for Assurance Wireless include those who participate in Medicaid, food stamps/SNAP, temporary assistance to needy families, supplemental security income, general Assistance, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program or National School Lunch Program’s Free lunch program and also those who qualify based on low household income. Eligibility is different in different states.
In a press release, Dave Trimble (News – Alert), vice president for Assurance Wireless acknowledged that times were tough for Pennsylvanian residents and was glad that Assurance Wireless could offer to help eligible customers in their search for employment.
Business columnist and personal finance expert Louis Barajas emphasized the significant role that programs like Assurance played in helping individuals and families stay on, or get back on their feet and succeed in these difficult financial times.
In addition to the free phone and service that Assurance Wireless provides, it also introduced affordable choices to give its customers the opportunity to add voice minutes and text messaging to their free wireless service on small payments. Keeping the core offer intact, customers can buy additional minutes or texts at 10 cents each. While the $5 Talk offer increases the amount of minutes available each month to 500; the $20 Talk and Text offer increases the minutes to 1,000 and adds 1,000 text messages.
A service protector feature is also tagged on that guarantees the basic 250 free minutes each month, in case the customer is unable to pay the additional dollars during a particular month. In addition to voice mail and call waiting, Assurance Wireless provides caller ID and access to 911 in case of emergency. All Assurance Wireless subscribers are entitled to these new offers.
Eligible residents can apply for Assurance Wireless by calling the toll free 800-395-2171, or visiting the Assurance Wireless website.
On Jan. 28, TMCnet reported that Assurance Wireless launched in South Carolina and provided a free wireless phone and 250 free minutes of wireless voice service monthly to its eligible customers.
Mini Swamy is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Janice McDuffee
From fixed-mobile-convergence.tmcnet.com
Verizon Wireless launches home phone service
Feb 17th
After a brief trial that began late last year, Verizon’s new home-phone service—which lets you make unlimited domestic calls on a traditional landline phone for $20 a month, all with the help of a wireless router that taps into the carrier’s cellular network—is now open for business.
Word of Verizon’s Home Phone Connect service first surfaced back in December, and Boy Genius Report spotted a promo for the plan on the Verizon Wireless website on Thursday.
Initial reports about Home Phone Connect (including my own) had it that the service would only be open to existing Verizon Wireless subscribers, but from looks of the latest promo, it appears that anyone—including new customers—can sign up.
Here’s how it works (and keep in mind that I haven’t tested the service myself yet): You take any standard landline phone and simply plug it into Verizon’s AC-powered Home Phone Connect base station, which looks like a home Wi-Fi router.
Once it’s activated (and yes, you can port over your home phone number if you like), the Home Connect service offers up your usual menu of calling services—including call waiting, forwarding, caller ID, three-way calling, voice mail, and 911 service—along with unlimited calling to any U.S. number, for $20 a month.
Another option is add a line to an existing Verizon Wireless family plan for $10 a month, although your new home phone will have to share minutes with everyone else on the plan.
There’s also the cost of the base station to consider: $129, with discounts available if you sign a contract (free for a two-year commitment, or $50 with a one year contract).
Verizon Wireless isn’t the first cell phone carrier to offer a home-phone service; after all, T-Mobile had its @Home service up and running back in 2008. But T-Mobile shuttered @Home last year.
Besides competing with traditional landlines service, Verizon’s Home Connect plan is also up against such bargain (or free) broadband-based alternatives as Skype, Ooma, MagicJack, and Vonage.
MagicJack, for example, lets you make VoIP calls on your home phone (with a little help from your PC and a broadband connection) for as little as $20 a year after a 12-month free trial.
But Verizon argues you don’t need a broadband connection to use Home Phone Connect. The Home Connect base station also boasts a GPS chip that pinpoints your position when making a 911 call (VoIP service usually require you to register your address for 911 service), along with a battery pack in case of a power outage.
So, would you consider trading in your landline (assuming you still have one) for Verizon’s new home-phone service? Or would you rather go the VoIP way?
— Ben Patterson is a technology blogger for Yahoo! News.
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From news.yahoo.com
Consumers complain about mobile service quality
Feb 17th
VietNamNet Bridge – mobile phone subscribers are not only disturbed by advertisement SMSs, but also when a they are woken up at night just because service providers inform them that the money left in their accounts is 28,000 dong.
Lap, a subscriber of MobiFone complaines that every day since January he has been receiving two messages from the operator informing him how much money is left in his account. The worst thing is that these messages are always sent at midnight when he is deep asleep.
“Sometimes the messages are sent at 3 am”, said Lap. All say the same” “The money left n your account is 28,000 VND…” and “You have just added three messages to your SMS account…”.
“I have reported the problem to MobiFone, but until yesterday nothing has changed”, says Lap.
some subscribers of Viettel also complain they often receive the operators’ messages at inappropriate times.
Thinh, a customer at Viettel, said that three months ago, he downloaded eight songs to his mobile phone. When a song was successfully downloaded, he received three messages. And when the time-limit for these songs ended, another three messages was sent to his mobile phone to inform him.
Thinh’s mobile phone even broke down once when it received 24 messages at a time. The messages came at 12 pm when he was taking a nap. This continued on the following day and annoyed me very much”, he adds.
Thuy, a Vietnamobile subscriber, complains that she receives about 15 advertisements a week. Though she found it very troublesome, she does not use the block-message service,afraid that she would miss some important ones.
Viettel’s representative said that Viettel has received complaints from its customers about messages sent at inappropriate times. “Every time we receive complaints from consumers, we check the system and fix the problem”.
As for Lap’s case, Mobifone says that they have checked and solved the problem already. “We made an apology to the customer”, said one of the managersof MobiFone.
A Viettel customer, Long, complaines that he had been charged a roaming fee to China during his trip to Phanxipan Mount, despite the fact that he hadn’t left Vietnamese territory.
When he climbed to the mountain top, he discovered that the domestic mobile phone signal was intermittent while the foreign mobile operator’s signal – China Unicom – was very strong. Long’s mobile phone was set on the automatic roaming mode, so it caught the signal of China Unicom, instead of Viettel or other domestic Operators.
Long noticed this, but he ignored it since he was still on Vietnamese territory and couldn’t be charged roaming fee.
After the trip, Long received a message from Viettel i that his roaming fee to China was 20,000 dong. Although surprised and annoyed, but since the charge was not high,he decided not to complain to the mobile service provider. He said: “Lucky for me, I just received short phone calls. If I kept boasting about getting to Phanxipan’s top, I would have died because of thei phone bill now”.
A source f information from Viettel explained that for some kinds of cell phones, foreign mobile phone signal is stronger than domestic ones. If the phone is set on the roaming mode, it will automatically catch the stronger signal.
C. V
From english.vietnamnet.vn
CREWKERNE: New mobile phone service is ‘In Touch’
Feb 4th
4th February 2011CREWKERNE: New mobile phone service is ‘In Touch’
By Marion Draper HAPPY to be working practically on his doorstep, mobile phone expert Jonathan Edgington with colleague David Spens-Black has opened a up-to-the minute mobile phone shop with old fashioned values, in the Victoria Mews in Crewkerne.
Nestled behind Oscars Wine Bar, and surrounded by what he describes as ‘Narnia’ lampposts, In- Touch mobile solutions opened on Saturday.
It offers a new concept among the hectic world of technology and sales by way of sofas, space and real time with the customer.
Tired of being pressured himself by high powered selling demanded from some of the mobile companies for the last five years, Jonathan decided he wanted to be able to offer a more personal service and the In -Touch concept was born.
He does not deal in ‘Pay as You Go’ which means his clients do not get interrupted and can order the right contract without feeling rushed or pressured.
Customers can make an appointment, just like they would for the hairdresser or the bank and have the one of the guys go through their contract to set them up with exactly what they need instead of paying for the wrong amount of texts or minutes.
Business customers can have an appointment up to 7.30pm and a site visit to make sure they have a good signal, which is very useful and popular with farmers.
There is also an after sales service which means they will monitor the useage of a client and see if they need to change their contract to a more suitable balance.
The shop itself is family and disability friendly and although very contemporary inside there is a corner with toys to keep children occupied thanks to input from Jonathan’s wife and mother-in-law.
Chris and Catherine Jessiman were among the first to check out the new premises. Mr Jessiman, who has a history of retail business and sales himself, has dealt with Jonathan for a few years. He commented: “He is not just selling, he is offering a service. Few people actually listen to what you want, instead they tell you what you should have, that’s why I keep coming back.”
Jonathan is in discussion with Richard Hall owner of Oscars Wine Bar and the Kings Arms and they hope to make the Victoria Mews more of the feature it should be in the town. He said the recent introduction of the traders’ map in the main car park was a very positive move for the town and the fact that both Waitrose and M & Co had come meant it was a good place to open. He said: “They do a lot of research before they come to a town, and for me it was perfect. My kids were just in the panto at the Victoria Hall and I have my business on the doorstep. It’s ideal.”
PICTURE: HAPPY TO BE IN CREWKERNE – David Spens-Black and Jonathan Edgington offering a real service for mobile phone users
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From www.viewfrompublishing.co.uk
