Telecommunications

2007-09-04 -- Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch today issued the following statement regarding SmartLimits for Wireless, a new web-based parental control feature for wireless service that AT&T is offering to its customers. The safety feature allows parents to block calls and text messages to and from numbers they don't approve, filter access to inappropriate Internet content, and teach their children to use their cell phones more responsibly.    » read more »

Company used sweepstakes mailings to try to get people to sign away Do Not Call rights

September 4, 2007 -- Raleigh: A company that used sweepstakes mailings to try to get people on the Do Not Call Registry to sign away their right not to get telemarketing calls has agreed to stop, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said today.

“Tricking people into signing away their right to stop telemarketing calls isn’t the way to do business,” said Cooper. “Telemarketers should respect the wishes of people who’ve made it clear they don’t want these calls."    » read more »

Company to resolve consumers’ complaints about DSL Internet rebates, maintain better records

August 29, 2007 -- Raleigh: AT&T North Carolina, which provides DSL Internet service to North Carolina consumers, has agreed to improve its rebate program, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper announced today.

“Some people who were entitled to rebates for Internet service had trouble getting their money,” said Cooper.    » read more »

Aug. 23, 2007 -- WASHINGTON - NASA, in coordination with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES-R) Program, has awarded a contract to the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The total estimated value is $92 million, including options.    » read more »

The Leading Telco Operator Chooses BEA WebLogic Platform to Automate DSL and Triple Play Service Provisioning

08/22/2007 -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced $25 million in new grants for health care and technology projects, which could help expand access to specialty doctors in rural and other underserved parts of the state. Projects eligible for funding could include technology improvements for safety net providers such as rural health clinics, critical access hospitals and county health departments. Other projects could include preventive health care or medical education programs.    » read more »

August 21, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today announced a loan of $15,902,000 in rural development funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for broadband access in Clarion, Eagle Grove, Goldfield, Humboldt and Renwick. Harkin is Chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee.    » read more »

Failing To Register Under The Health Club Act

August 14, 2007 -- BELLE VERNON - Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett today announced that a Belle Vernon health club owner and a Florida-based telemarketing firm must pay investigation costs and fines to resolve complaints from consumers who received solicitation calls while enrolled on the Pennsylvania Do Not Call list.    » read more »

August 13, 2007 -- "AT&T's request for reconsideration is without basis in law or fact, a blatant delaying tactic to forestall state licensing and regulation of its internet television service.

The likelihood of the court reversing itself is virtually zero -- a fact the company and its lawyers surely know. This futile attempt at postponement and procrastination only delays the inevitable: a Connecticut cable license and state regulation to protect and benefit consumers.    » read more »

August 13, 2007 -- INDIANAPOLIS, IN - Tuesday, August 21 is the next deadline to register for the state’s Do Not Call list announced Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter. Phone numbers placed on the list by midnight EDT Tuesday will begin receiving benefits of the law starting October 1, 2007.

There are currently more than 1.8 million phone numbers registered on the Do Not Call list.

Reregistering is not necessary if you retain the same phone number. The law currently benefits more than 3.5 million people.
Register by Effective
August 21 October 1
November 20 January 1, 2008    » read more »

August 6, 2007 -- LANSING - Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox and AARP's Associate State Director for Government Affairs, Bill Knox, today announced a settlement agreement in a Verizon telephone rate case. This agreement will result in Verizon lowering its low-cost, no-frills Call Plan 100 or Value Pak 100 plan by 80¢ a month and freezing the rate until July 1, 2009. Yearly savings will approach $250,000, based on the total number of customers.    » read more »

August 1, 2007 -- HARRISBURG - Five years ago, the Pennsylvania Do Not Call law went into effect and allowed consumers, for the first time, to significantly reduce the unsolicited and unwanted telemarketing calls they received at home. The Office of Attorney General is responsible for enforcing the Do Not Call law and handling registrations. One million Pennsylvanians registered for the list in the first two weeks alone, and now it is time to re-register.    » read more »

Company will enact policies to prevent third-party billing without consumers’ consent

July 10, 2007 -- TALLAHASSEE, FL – Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced a new consumer protection initiative for Florida’s telephone consumers as part of an agreement reached with Verizon. Under the agreement, the company will develop an early warning system designed to identify third-party companies that may attempt to place unauthorized charges on consumers’ phone bills.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, DC, July 3, 2007—The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a member of the World Bank Group, said today it is supporting a new investment that will provide state-of-the-art telecommunications services in Afghanistan. The guarantee, totaling $76.5 million in coverage, will protect the investment against the noncommercial risks of transfer restriction, and expropriation.    » read more »

30 June 2007 -- Customers across the United States waited in line for hours, or even days, to be the first buyers of computer maker Apple's coveted new iPhone.

The sleek phone, which went on sale Friday, is also a music and video player and it allows owners to store photos and access the Internet. It costs $500 for the basic version or $600 for one with twice the memory.

The cost for phone service is at least $59 a month.

From New York City to California, eager buyers lined up early before retail stores selling the much-anticipated device opened their doors at 6 p.m.    » read more »