FCC Says It Extended Discounted Phone-Line Rates
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T&amp;T, MCI and other telephone companies that provide local calling by renting other carriers&#39; equipment have received a six-month extension on discounted leasing rates while regulators work on new competition rules.
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State regulators unanimously voted Tuesday to allow SBC Communications Inc. to charge competitors more to use its network, but it was unclear when, or if, that increase would be felt
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Government regulators approved rules yesterday that would phase out discounts the four major regional telephone companies offer rivals for access to their networks, a move likely to lead to higher phone bills for some 18 million residential phone customers served by AT&amp;T Corp., MCI Inc., and other carriers.
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The F.C.C. adopted rules that will enable utility companies to offer an alternative to broadband services provided by cable and phone companies.
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AT&amp;T Corp. and Internet telephone provider Vonage said on Thursday they were cutting prices for their residential Internet calling services by $5 per month, the strongest
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Verizon Communications Inc. yesterday launched a new $7.95-a-month messaging and call-forwarding service that lets people get many of the benefits of advanced Internet phone systems, even if they have only conventional telephone lines and dial-up Net access -- or no computer at all.
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com September 9, 2004, 4:46 PM PT. Federal telephone regulators on Thursday set aside more spectrum for third-generation cell phone calls and other advanced wireless services, in a move
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AT&T Corp. T.N  and Internet  telephone provider Vonage on Thursday said they were cutting  prices for their residential Internet calling services by $5  per month, the strongest signs yet of a price war in the  nascent market.
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Customers of mobile-phone carriers shouldn&#39;t have to pay early termination fees if they&#39;re called to overseas military service or have their contracts automatically extended every time they call customer support, critics said Wednesday.Several lawmakers called for the U.S. Congress to pass a mobile-phone subscriber bill of rights during a hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.Last month, Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, and Senator Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, introduced the Cell Phone Consumer Empowerment Act, , which would require mobile phone carriers to give customers more complete information on their coverage, prorate early termination fees, and prohibit carriers from misidentifying their own fees as government taxes.More information about coverage and dropped calls is needed, Klobuchar said. Verizon Wireless currently has a billboard near Fosston, a town in northwestern Minnesota, that says, &quot;Count on Verizon Wireless to keep you connected.&quot; Yet, Verizon phones don&#39;t get a signal near the billboard, she said.&quot;I believe you can have a competitive industry when people have full knowledge and are able to make decisions based on price comparisons ... or the service-quality comparisons,&quot; Klobuchar said. &quot;It&#39;s very difficult for my middle-class people in Minnesota, who don&#39;t have a lot of disposable income, to make their decisions if they don&#39;t have full information.&quot;The Minnesota Attorney General&#39;s Office has fielded complaints from military members headed overseas who have to pay hundreds of dollars to get out of their mobile phone contracts, said Lori Swanson, the attorney general. In another case, customers who made small changes to their service, such as buying batteries, had their service contracts extended without their knowledge; one woman who called Sprint Nextel to complain that she had been overbilled had her contract automatically extended, Swanson said.&quot;The burden should not be on the consumer to figure out the rules of the cell-phone shell game,&quot; Swanson said. &quot;There needs to be more transparency and more fundamental fairness.&quot;Sprint Nextel denied that it was extending contracts without letting customers know. &quot;We dispute every single one of her allegations,&quot; spokesman John Taylor said of Swanson.Klobuchar&#39;s bill would limit customer choices, he added. Service contracts help pay the subsidies for phone handsets that would otherwise cost $300 or more, he said.But Lowell McAdam, CEO of Verizon Wireless, and some Republican senators questioned the need for more regulations. Verizon Wireless publishes its coverage maps, gives customers a 30-day trial for new service, and prorates early termination fees, McAdam said.The U.S. mobile-phone industry is extremely competitive, McAdam said. The Cell Phone Consumer Empowerment Act would &quot;slow down a very innovative and dynamic industry,&quot; he said.Many of the provisions in the bill are already being adopted by mobile-phone carriers, added Senator Jim DeMint, a South Carolina Republican. &quot;For us to suggest that somehow we are going to be able to design a system that more effectively protects than a competitive market is well-intended but very naive,&quot; he said. &quot;Once we create a format here that everyone has to follow, that&#39;s the end of competition and best practices.&quot;But some senators complained that competition isn&#39;t protecting consumers enough. Although Verizon Wireless prorates termination fees and AT&amp;T just announced it would also do so, many other carriers do not, senators said. And published coverage maps can be inaccurate, Klobuchar said.Carriers should publish information on coverage and dropped calls on a county or Zip-code level, she said. &quot;We&#39;re not forcing you to put up towers,&quot; she added. &quot;We&#39;re simply saying, give the people the correct information.&quot;Verizon&#39;s McAdam suggested customers should look for other ways to determine whose service they should subscribe to. &quot;Like any consumer product, I think the best thing is to ask your friend and neighbors and try the service yourself,&quot; he said.
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Customers are now able to add wireless to a Verizon service bundle to get even more discounts.
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WASHINGTON The Associated Press reports some details are coming out today about proposed federal rules for regional phone companies.
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In an attempt to spark growth in its Net phone offer, the company reduces rates and offers new customers a month free.
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In a move that could help small and medium-size businesses save money, telecom carrier XO Communications has rolled out a new pricing model for VoIP.
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AT&T Corp  on Thursday said it was lowering the price on its CallVantage Internet calling service by &#36;5 per month, matching the price from several other suppliers.
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The F.C.C. adopted rules that will enable utility companies to offer an alternative to broadband services now provided by cable and phone companies.
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AT&amp;T has lowered the price of its CallVantage telephone service to $29.99 per month. It includes unlimited local and long distance calling within the US and Canada.
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By Vicki Lee Parker, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.  Sep. 10--An e-mail is making the rounds that warns people not to dial area codes 809, 284 and 876 because their accounts will be billed $2,425.