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Date Fairness.com Resource Read it at:
Aug 19, 2011 Your Voice Mail May Be Even Less Secure Than You Thought

QUOTE: AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile do not require cellphone customers to use a password on their voice mail boxes, and plenty of people never bother to set one up. But if you don’t, people using a service colloquially known as caller ID spoofing could disguise their phone as yours and get access to your messages. This is possible because voice mail systems often grant access to callers who appear to be phoning from their own number.

New York Times
Feb 10, 2011 The Ethics of Free Cellphone Calls

QUOTE: The trick relies on a handy feature of Google Voice: you can place outgoing calls through Google instead of your phone company... There’s nothing technically illegal about it; it’s clearly an unintended loophole. But you aren’t paying for the calls.

New York Times
Jun 22, 2010 Tips for Using Your Cellphone Abroad

QUOTE: one way to reduce the international bill, at least for travel to some countries: Call your mobile service provider ahead of time and temporarily change your phone plan.

New York Times
Oct 14, 2009 The pocket spy: Will your smartphone rat you out?

QUOTE: According to the UK government's Design and Technology Alliance Against Crime (DTAAC), 80 per cent of us carry information on our handsets that could be used to commit fraud... I thought my Nokia N96 would hold few surprises, though, since I had only been using it for a few weeks when I submitted it to DiskLabs. Yet their analysts proved me wrong.

New Scientist
Oct 09, 2009 Epicenter The Business of Tech The Empire Strikes Back: FCC Probes Google Voice (Updated) (Epicenter)

QUOTE: AT&T has just given Google a taste of its own mandated openness medicine, successfully goading federal regulators into officially looking into why Google’s Voice service blocks phone calls to certain rural numbers.

Wired
Aug 28, 2009 FCC launches far-reaching investigation of cellular industry: The FCC has launched an investigation of the wireless industry that takes the agency into new, and for some, uncomfortable terrain.

QUOTE: the three Notices of Inquiry that the agency [Federal communications Commission] announced at its Open Commission meeting notably and perhaps even radically expand the array of questions that it usually asks of the wireless service sector.

Ars Technica
Aug 18, 2009 Cellphones problematic for 911

QUOTE: r the millions of Americans giving up their land lines in favor of cellphones, dialing 911 may no longer mean a quick response. It can lead to misrouted calls, delayed information about the location of the caller and, most important, a slower emergency response.

USA TODAY
Aug 18, 2009 Why AT&T Killed Google Voice: Telecom operators are yesterday's business. It's time for a national data policy that encourages innovation.

QUOTE: AT&T is dragging down the rest of us by overcharging us for voice calls and stifling innovation in a mobile data market critical to the U.S. economy.

Wall Street Journal, The (WSJ)
Jul 31, 2009 Probing The iPhone's Secrets: FCC investigates Apple ban on Google Voice.

QUOTE: Some of the great iPhone mysteries--including the secret terms of any deal between AT&T and Apple to limit what tricks iPhones can perform--could soon be made public, thanks to a series of pointed letters from the Federal Communications Commission.

Forbes
Jul 30, 2009 Take Back the Beep Campaign (From the Desk of David Pogue)

QUOTE: Last week, in The Times and on my blog, I've been ranting about one particularly blatant money-grab by U.S. cellphone carriers: the mandatory 15-second voicemail instructions.

New York Times
Mar 25, 2009 What Do Your Minutes Cost? You Can’t Tell by the Cellphone Bill (Phone Smart)

QUOTE: many people don’t bother to closely read their cellphone bills....Now a consumer advocacy group is arguing that, actually, there’s not enough information on a wireless bill.

New York Times
Dec 29, 2008 Persistence is an art: One reader wins the game of customer service (Gripe Line)

QUOTE: Often, people simply give up, sacrificing their own (or their company's) hard-earned money rather than visit the feeling of helplessness that comes from navigating a bureaucracy. I know from long experience that most of these problems can be worked out given a little time and a lot of patience.

InfoWorld
Nov 20, 2008 How I Slashed My Bills with Tech (Part 1): Time for some technological belt-tightening. How I cut $40 from my monthly phone bills within a few hours.

QUOTE: 1. Change your wireless carrier right now....2. Kill your land line....3. Get a bill assessment...

PC Magazine
Nov 03, 2008 Campaign Calls to Cellphones Invade Privacy, Voters Say

QUOTE: Telemarketing to cellphones for general consumer purposes, such as car warranty sales pitches, was outlawed in 2003 so as to not penalize consumers, whose cellphone plans typically require that they pay for minutes used. But an exemption in the law allowed political candidates to call people, whether on their cellphones or their landlines.

Washington Post
Mar 25, 2008 Trust, But Verify: Retail salespeople are often well informed, but there are enough predatory types out there to warrant researching purchases beforehand.

QUOTE: [buying cell phones is a] particular concern since they come with required two-year contracts and cancellation penalties. Granted, there's usually a 30-day return policy (20 in the case of T-Mobile). But once that period expires, you're stuck—and there's certainly reason to be worried.

Smart Device Central
Nov 04, 2007 Devices Enforce Cellular Silence, Sweet but Illegal

QUOTE: The technology is not new, but overseas exporters of jammers say demand is rising and they are sending hundreds of them a month into the United States — prompting scrutiny from federal regulators and new concern last week from the cellphone industry. The buyers include owners of cafes and hair salons, hoteliers, public speakers, theater operators, bus drivers and, increasingly, commuters on public transportation.

New York Times
Oct 11, 2007 Court Clears Way for Mobile-Phone-Unlocking Lawsuit Against T-Mobile

QUOTE: The Supreme Court's refusal to hear the challenge clears the way for a class-action lawsuit seeking a court injunction barring T-Mobile from collecting a termination-of-service fee of about $200.

Wired
Aug 18, 2007 Static Mounts Over Cellphone Contracts

QUOTE: Most cellphone owners find themselves committed to two-year service contracts with wireless companies, facing hefty fees for an early escape. But as customer satisfaction with these firms continues to slide, consumers are taking more drastic actions to shed their contracts.

Washington Post
May 22, 2004 Cellular Mobility Has Its Limits: Contracts, Glitches Complicate Number Portability

QUOTE: There are plenty of consumers like Clausen who would love to count themselves among the 3.3 million mobile-phone users who've switched carriers and kept their phone numbers but are held back by long-term deals.

Washington Post
Apr 16, 2003 Keeping Numbers

QUOTE: Cell-phone companies asked a federal court yesterday to block a regulation that would force them to let consumers keep their phone numbers when switching wireless carriers.

Washington Times
Dec 13, 2001 Spotty Service Angers Cell Phone Users

QUOTE: ...customers say the nation's wireless firms aren't delivering. They're tired of dropped calls and busy signals caused by overburdened networks. They're angry at having to pay high "roaming" charges even if they're in their own neighborhoods because of network dead spots or weak signals.

USA TODAY