UCAN

Big business really wants to shove the $700 billion bailout down America's throat. AT&T and others want to scare us into supporting the bailout.

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In this morning's keynote from the "CTIA Wireless & Entertainment 2008" expo, show, extravaganza, cabal, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon agreed to speak in vague generalities and put no meat on the open access or open networks bones. Each carrier talks about major caveats to its "open" policies, and each carrier has significant differences in how they define "open." So for now, think of "open" as the new marketing buzzword, the new "green" if you will. Look for the use of "open" to increase in use as a feel good marketing tool, and its meaning and substance to be inversely proportional.

Here's an article on the keynotes from FierceWireless, CTIA: Carriers talk "open" network but no clear definition

A Sprint PCS customer in Connecticut wrote UCAN the following question and explained her personal story: How does joining an international calling plan for about a mone-month trip to Israel end up costing double the entire cost of the trip?  The customer stated she couldn't find out how this amount was derived because her bill had no itemized call breakdowns to show how the billing total was determined. The customer called to dispute the bill and requested itemization of her bill.  The response was a demand for payment or service termination within ten days of the date of the notice.  The notice was recieved on or about August 18, 2008 and was dated August 10, 2008.

Fierce Wireless, one of the industry's leading electronic news monitoring sources, stated today in an article by Sue Marek, that Apple's IPhone didn't measure up to what it advertised and represented to consumers.  The main issues in the lawsuit included the fact that the connectivity speed for data, Internet & like functions were allegedly much slower than advertised and that there was erratic connection in general.  Read More.

Los Angeles Times - Consumer columnist David Lazarus reports on new strategies being developed by cable and telecom companies that may not be as beneficial to consumers as the companies predict.  MORE

Telecom political action groups gave twice as much money to Democrats who switched from opposing to supporting legal amnesty to Telecoms that aided the government's warrantless wiretapping program. More.

Using a cell phone without hands-free equipment while driving is now unlawful. However, studies show that hands-free driving isn't necessarily any safer than having a cell phone glued to your ear, and that simply talking on any phone is as dangerous as driving drunk. Yet oddly, talking to a fellow passenger while driving or listening to the radio does not seem to be a significant cause of accidents. Why? Is it possible that driving poorly while talking on the phone is a function of age? More.

California law prohibiting handheld cell phone usage takes effect July 1st. This blog explains the details, limitations, and exceptions to the law.

Hands off the cell phone or pay the fine is expressed in a San Diego Union Tribune article written by staff writer Pauline Repard.  She presents the difference in rules for teens and adults and points out how ironic it is that legally adult drivers are not barred from sending text messages even though they are barred from talking on the phone while driving. 

Phone Fraud on the Prowl: LawyersandSettlements.com interviews UCAN Advocate Sue Macomber urges consumers to inspect for their phone bills for cramming - a form of white collar phone billing fraud. READ MORE