The Prepaid Press - February 15, 2008 - (Page 11)

PREPAID WIRELESS February 15 · 2008 - 11 Consumer’s Union Raps Wireless Industry Needs to Offer More Than Promises on Early Termination Fees WASHINGTON, DC (January 24, 2008) The announcements could represent real progress,” Consumer’s Union said it believes it is time for said Murray, “but we need to see some detailswireless phone companies to provide concrete consumer-friendly details-first.” plans and details on promises they have made Consumers also want more transparency from recently on early termination fees and network their wireless phone companies, particularly openness. when it comes to the “subsidies” they offer on In a release, Consumer’s Union, the non-profit phones, according to the company. “We hear a lot publisher of Consumer Reports, said that last from carriers about how they subsidize phones. year, T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon and AT&T all an- How about telling customers what the company nounced they would pro-rate early termination actually pays for specific phones, so we can figure fees (ETFs) in the coming months, which typi- what the ‘real’ subsidy is?” added Murray. On a cally run $200 or more, although some smaller different front, Consumer’s Union said that Vecarriers have not reduced such penalties for cus- rizon and AT&T have announced they will “open tomers who want to leave. Among the largest car- up” their wireless networks to a greater degree. riers, it said only Verizon has actually reduced its CU cited AT&T’s recent claim to already have cost to cancel service by $5/month, which means an “open network,” but ignores its exclusive cona customer leaving a few weeks before his or her tract with Apple on the popular iPhone. “This is two-year contract expires would still face a $60 like saying they are all for professional football, early termination penalty. except for the NFL,” added Murray. The iPhone “These companies have an obligation to tell uses GSM-the open standard used in most of consumers how they plan to make good on these Europe and Asia-but the phone still can’t move promises, in unambiguous, detailed terms. We freely to other GSM carriers. have more than a few reasons to be skeptical,” Verizon Wireless has said it will change its said Chris Murray, Senior Counsel for Consum- currently closed network to a more open one, ers Union. according to the release. CU said the company is Consumers Union said that customers want to reticent to activate phones bought from anyone know specifics such as: other than Verizon on its network. Verizon says · Will promised ETF reductions apply to existing it will open a certification lab for outside applicacustomers or just new ones? tions and devices by the end of 2008/beginning · Will the companies truly prorate their ETFs, or of 2009, but its announcements to date have simply reduce them a little each month, leav- been vague, and have resulted in more questions ing a big fee at the end of the contract? than answers, according to the release. · Will cable and phone companies be charging “We look forward to details on how Verizon’s new ETFs for services such as high-speed In- device and application ‘certification process’ will ternet and cable television? What would be work when the lab opens its doors,” said Murray, the justification? “but just how ‘open’ is Verizon’s network really going to be if all devices and applications still have How will these companies handle ETFs and to be certified by a lab owned and operated by pricing for people who bring their own phones? Verizon? Will they let applications that compete For example, if a consumer brings their own with their core business thrive? We’ll have to phone and isn’t getting a subsidized one from the wait for specifics.” carrier, shouldn’t he or she get a lower monthly Source: Consumer’s Union price on service? “If implemented properly, these carrier (www.consumersunion.org) Prepaid Wireless in Brief BlueCrest Capital Finance, L.P. has provided $10 million in new debt financing to kajeet, raising its total to nearly $74 million in venture capital funding. kajeet is a pay-as-you-go MVNO targeted at children. Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, kajeet has developed Web-based parental controls available that enable tweens, teens and their families to tailor the service to meet their specific needs. kajeet’s strategy is to provide kids with the full-featured phones and mobile content and services they want with no longterm contracts. Parents can manage budget and usage through the Web-based kajeet Configurator. The kajeet service and phones are available at Best Buy, Target, Toys “R” Us, Limited Too and Longs Drugs Stores and on the kajeet website. kajeet – www.kajeet.com. Clip in Touch Ltd., developer and marketer of personalized content solutions for web and mobile messaging, has launched its latest family of personalized messaging solutions. Designed with an easy to use interface, the solutions allow mobile phone and web users to create individualized video messages with that extra personal touch. With a few clicks, users can mix video, music, text and images. The completed message can be sent either over the web, mobile phone network or both. As part of an operator’s service offering, Clip In Touch’s technology can provide a solution for personalized content. As the new service is inter-operable between different networks (including J2ME, BREW, WAP, Windows Mobile) platforms, service providers can enable users to create and send personalized messages at any time, from anywhere. Clip in Touch – www.clipintouch.com Total Call Mobile, a prepaid wireless company in the United States, has extended its promotional rate of $0.02 per minute to three of the largest cities in Mexico--Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. The special rate applies to both new and existing customers on Total Call Mobile’s Prepaid Plan, and is being extended through June 30, 2008. This new low rate is available on all Total Call Mobile prepaid phones and requires no contracts. Total Call Mobile – www.totalcallmobile.com Ecuador’s Telecommunication Superintendency, or Suptel, ordered the local unit of Mexican telecommunications company America Movil to pay $27 million it overcharged its clients in 1999, under local unit, Porta Celular. Suptel said it would take legal action if the company doesn’t pay. Porta Celular was accused in June 2005 of having overcharged some 1.8 million subscribers of its prepaid service, charging them for calls from the moment they pressed the “send” button until the call ended, which resulted in an extra 10 to 20 seconds on average for each call. The company claims that between October 2005 and October 2007, it had compensated all clients with free minutes, at a cost of about $200 million. Source: Dow Jones Network – (www.dowjones.com) Boost Mobile Introduces New $1/Day Chat Plan Drops Price of 600 Minute Premium Plan IRVINE, CA (February 6, 2008) Boost Mo- service. bile, a wholly-owned division of Sprint Nextel Boost Mobile’s Premium Plan is a nationwide (NYSE:S), has introduced the new $1/Day Chat “hybrid prepaid” service that combines the elePlan for Boost Mobile Pay As You Go subscrib- ments of traditional prepaid services with addiers and announced a more affordable price op- tional customer benefits and is offered in three tion for its 600 minute Premium Plan, formerly monthly rate plan packages - $30, $50 and $60. known as Boost Premium Prepaid. Pay As You Boost Mobile just reduced the price of its $60 Go subscribers now have three payment plan 600 minute monthly rate plan from $70, a savoptions, including Basic Pay As You Go, the Chat ings of $10 a month. The new $60 plan includes Plan and the Premium Plan. unlimited nationwide Boost Walkie-Talkie, The new Chat Plan offers unlimited nights, unlimited nights and weekends, 600 minutes unlimited mobile-to-mobile and a low daytime of talk time and reduced daytime per minute rate of $.10 a minute. Customers can continue pricing. to take advantage of unlimited nationwide Boost Walkie-Talkie for an additional $1 a day Source: Boost Mobile (www.boostmobile.com) on the days they use or receive the walkie-talkie Prepaid Reviews Launches Canadian Website Prepaid Cellular Consumer Website Expands Coverage GUELPH, ON (January 16, 2008) PrepaidReviews. com has launched a Canadian version of its popular consumer information website, www. PrepaidReviews.ca, featuring news, reviews and information on Canadian telecom companies who offer prepaid services. Prepaid Reviews Canada features reviews of Canadian prepay providers including Rogers Wireless, Telus and Fido. As with the .com version of the website, each company gets a detailed review and an editorial rating from one of the Prepaid Reviews site editors. Consumers can also leave ratings for each provider which help create an average reviewer score. “The American version of Prepaid Reviews has been such a tremendous success and we kept getting emails requesting that we provide information for Canadian providers as well,” says Rae Hoffman, VP of Marketing for Prepaid Reviews. “We finally made the decision to create the Canadian counterpart.” Established in 2005, Prepaidreviews.com offers in-depth editorial reviews on 25 prepaid wireless providers and features over a thousand user contributed reviews on those same carriers. The site is considered to be the leading resource for information on prepaid phones. The Canadian version, which currently features ten reviews, is expected to expand with more editorial reviews being added before the end of 2008. Additionally, the Prepaid Reviews news blog now features a category for Canadian prepaid industry coverage which will be featured on the Canadian version of the website. The core focus and strength of the Canadian website will be the same as its American counterpart - the consumer oriented reviews. “We break down the plan information as the companies present it into an easy to read and understand fashion. By having two ratings - one that is editorial http://www.kajeet.com http://www.clipintouch.com http://www.totalcallmobile.com http://www.dowjones.com http://www.consumersunion.org http://www.boostmobile.com http://www.Prepaidreviews.com http://www.prepaidreviews.ca http://www.Magicpins.com http://www.Magicpins.com http://www.analysys.com http://www.magicpins.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Prepaid Press - February 15, 2008

The Prepaid Press - February 2008 Beachfront Property for Sale Cardholder Facing Systems Contents The Retske Report: Getting the Word Out 5 Minutes With Mark Flanagan, CEO of PrepaidWireless.com Regulatory Rundown: Mid-Winter Update 2008 Prepaid Wireless Handsets Consumer’s Union Raps Wireless Industry Prepaid Reviews Launches Canadian Website Maginpins and TúYo Mobile Form Alliance Prepaid Wireless in Brief Boost Mobile Introduces New $1/Day Chat Plan Mobile Voice to Overtake Fixed in Europe Prepaid Wireless Roundup Another Kind of Prepaid Calling Spot Rates VSNL Wins ATLANTIC-ACM Award The Legal Line Calling Cards in Brief Sapotek Partners with DigiLinea Pactolus Goes Live at Cable MSO Low-Income Market Initiatives to Drive Mobile Banking Payments in Brief Monitise Americas Expands Payments Network Charge Anywhere Mobile POS Wins Award Hypercom Introduces System for Small Merchants TIO Networks Announces TIO Prepaid MasterCard NPBCA Makes Leadership Change A Walk Down the Aisle Branding Your Retail Store Retailers Welcome Senate Approval of Stimulus Bill NRF Forecasts 3.5 Percent Growth in Retail Sales Cyphermint Teams With DHL Retail Focus in Brief Our Advertisers Contact Us

The Prepaid Press - February 15, 2008

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