Posts Tagged ‘AT&T’
Stacey Higginbotham
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Monday, July 6, 2009 |
2:38 PM PT |
If the Department of Justice wants to scrutinize the telecommunications industry, as The Wall Street Journal suggests it does, then it should get in line behind the new FCC, Congress and possibly the Federal Trade Commission. It also should focus on the much less sexy aspect of middle-mile access, rather than which network operator gets exclusive access to the iPhone. The Journal cites sources in the DOJ that say the agency is taking a close look at the influence and relationships Verizon and AT&T have, and how they use their market power.
Potential targets for the investigation include handset exclusivity on wireless networks and net neutrality, according to the sources cited in the story. But for the Justice Department to bring a case, it needs to be sure it can prove that these firms have a monopoly, and that they are using their power to artificially keep it — something that could prove difficult in the above-mentioned areas, given the number of competitors in the wireless market and the amount of ISPs on the wired side. Continue »
Om Malik
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Thursday, July 2, 2009 |
5:10 PM PT |
The launch of Apple’s new iPhone 3GS was the best sales day ever for AT&T’s retail stores, while the number of orders taken at its online store also hit an all-time high, according to an internal memo obtained by MacDailyNews, a blog devoted to all things Apple. While the memo doesn’t outline the precise number of devices sold, it does reveal other details.
On this year’s launch day, iPhone sales exceeded sales recorded on 2008’s iPhone launch day, Black Friday 2008 and Dec. 26, 2008 — all heavy-volume sales days. In fact, this year we surpassed 2008’s launch day sales at about noon Central time, and sustained our previous peak hour record, also set in 2008, for 11 straight hours.
Apple sold a million iPhones the weekend of the 3GS launch. A survey by Piper Jaffrey shows that nearly 56 percent of iPhone 3GS buyers were upgrading from the old device and only 28 percent were switching to AT&T — but that’s still about 280,000 new subscribers that will be handing over a lot of money to the carrier. As I pointed out in a previous post, “[T]he average iPhone user gave AT&T about $94.74 a month vs. an average postpaid AT&T customer, who spends about $59.21 a month.”
Stacey Higginbotham
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Tuesday, June 23, 2009 |
9:00 PM PT |
The other night I watched “Corpse Bride.” The Tim Burton flick was streamed from Netflix via my Time Warner broadband subscription, though my Linksys router to my Roku box, and from there through an HDMI cable to my television. But I could have watched a different movie on my TV using Time Warner’s video-on-demand service, sent through the set-top box provided by my cable company.
A few years back I couldn’t get movies delivered on demand, unless it was through my cable provider. But now services like Netflix — or better yet, Amazon — provide me with high-definition versions of new releases streamed via my Roku box for about as much as it costs through Time Warner or as part of a trip to the closest Blockbuster. In other words, my PC has become — as it has for so many others — the gateway to much of my entertainment. And that trend is worrying service providers, which don’t want to see their customers switch from paying for a triple-play package of voice, video and data to just data. Continue »
Stacey Higginbotham
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Monday, June 22, 2009 |
10:37 AM PT |
Stacey Higginbotham
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Friday, June 19, 2009 |
7:12 AM PT |
Stacey Higginbotham
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Wednesday, June 17, 2009 |
9:59 AM PT |
Updated: Rep. Eric Massa (D-Corning) today introduced legislation that would force Internet Service Providers that want to implement usage-based pricing plans to go through several regulatory hurdles, including public hearings, to determine if such pricing is anti-competitive. Such usage-based plans may involve tiered pricing or caps based on the amount of data downloaded.
Massa is one of the two New York congressmen who spoke out strongly against efforts by Time Warner Cable to expand its tiered billing trials. Under its plan, announced March 31, residential customers in five cities would have paid a different price based on the amount of data downloaded each month. However, a little more than two weeks after it was proposed, the trials were canceled after the public and members of Congress protested. AT&T has a similar trial underway in Beaumont, Texas and in Reno, Nev. Continue »
Stacey Higginbotham
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Tuesday, June 16, 2009 |
6:00 PM PT |
The iPhone has sure brought a lot of whiners out of the woodwork. Today Sen. John Kerry joined them by publishing a blog post on the Save The Internet blog arguing against exclusivity of certain phones on some wireless networks. Yesterday, Kerry sent a letter to the FCC in preparation for hearings scheduled tomorrow that called for investigation into exclusivity arrangements such as AT&T’s lock on the iPhone or Sprint’s six-month exclusive on the Pre, asking if those arrangements hurt consumers.
As an example, the letter asks if such deals result in a consumer not being able to use the full features on a device (for example, if a carrier prohibits tethering). Other concerns are whether these deals are becoming more common, and whether it stifles innovation in the handset market.
In March, I wrote about exclusivity arrangements, and questioned whether the government should get involved. I think that most consumers still have access to a variety of competitive devices on other networks. Plus, in most areas they can choose whatever cell phone provider they want and still have an array of devices to choose from. If you want an iPhone, you can get one in most places in the U.S. by signing up for AT&T’s network and forking over a few hundred dollars. These crusaders are confusing a lot of issues with complaints about exclusivity, associating it with higher prices for devices and net neutrality on wireless networks. Continue »
Jennifer Martinez
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Monday, June 15, 2009 |
3:36 PM PT |
Sling Media is developing a version of its SlingPlayer application, which allows users to access TV content from their mobile phones, for the Palm Pre that would work on both on Wi-Fi and 3G. But Sling’s hopes for 3G support could be dashed by the Pre’s mobile carrier, Sprint, which is currently locked in an agreement with privately held MobiTV to deliver mobile television content. That’s a shame, because allowing SlingPlayer on Sprint’s 3G network would help Palm gain more traction in the smartphone landscape — and give the Pre an edge over the iPhone.
AT&T, of course, opted against supporting the SlingPlayer app on its 3G network, which resulted in an outcry from iPhone users. Depending on what Sprint decides, it’s a decision that could end up working heavily in Palm’s favor. Continue »
Om Malik
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Saturday, June 13, 2009 |
7:21 PM PT |
Stacey Higginbotham
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Monday, June 8, 2009 |
5:30 PM PT |