VOIP WATCH
Some VoIP Customers Unable to Port Numbers Away - With some 2.44 million consumers having made the switch to VoIP calling services such as Vonage, AT&T’s CallVantage, and others, many consumers are finding that these services are not living up to the hype. Bad service quality is an increasingly frequent concern, as many VoIP operators’ networks simply aren’t capable of handling the increased traffic. For consumers that have taken the time and effort to switch their service to a VoIP carrier, these kinds of issues can be frustrating. VoIP users who are fed up with VoIP and want to switch back to their old landline carrier may be in for a rude shock, however. While consumers can switch (or “port”) their existing phone numbers to a VoIP carrier, many smaller VoIP service providers lack the technology to port a number back to another carrier. The larger VoIP providers such as Vonage, CallVantage, and Verizon’s VoiceWing are all able to port numbers out of their systems, but subscribers to smaller services such as BroadVoice report that the company has refused their requests to port their numbers to another carrier. While the FCC is likely to address this issue sometime in the future, there is currently no regulation that prevents VoIP carriers from doing this. This makes it especially important for consumers considering a switch to VoIP to check with their prospective carrier before making the switch to find out if their can take their number with them if they decide to leave the service.
BUCKS WATCH
BellSouth $25 Cashback Promotion to End December 31 - Last October, BellSouth began offering new long distance plan subscribers a $25 cashback promotion for switching to one of eight unlimited long distance plans, when the plan was combined with a Complete Choice or PreferredPack local and local toll calling plan. Effective October 6, 2005, two new long distance plans have been added to the promotion; the BellSouth PreferredPack Unlimited Plan and the BellSouth PreferredPack Unlimited Savings Value Plan. BellSouth Complete Choice local calling plans range from $30.00 to $35.00 per month (varies by state). BellSouth PreferredPack local calling plans cost between $26.00 and $30.00 (again, depending on state). Consumers should note that these prices exclude taxes fees and surcharges, which can add an additional 10-20% on to the monthly bill. The $25 cashback option will end on December 31, so consumers in one of the 9 southern states served by BellSouth who have been considering switching to an unlimited local and long distance plan may want to do so before the end of the year. Customers wishing to apply for the $25 cashback must fill out and return the coupon provided by BellSouth when the switch is made within 90 days of the plan order date. A complete list of long distance plans eligible for the promotion is as follows:
- BellSouth Unlimited Plan
- BellSouth Unlimited MultiLine Plan
- BellSouth Unlimited Savings Value Plan
- BellSouth Unlimited Plan II (available in Mississippi only)
- BellSouth Basic Unlimited II Plan
- BellSouth Basic Unlimited II Value Plan
- BellSouth Basic Unlimited II Savings Plan
- BellSouth Basic Unlimited II Savings Value Plan
- BellSouth PreferredPack Unlimited Plan
- BellSouth PreferredPack Unlimited Savings Value Plan
Current subscribers to one of these plans should note that customers who change from one eligible calling Plan to another or deactivate then reactivate their existing calling plan during the promotion availability period are not eligible for this promotion. For additional information on these plans and the BellSouth $25 Consumer Cash Back Promotion, click here.
WIRELESS WATCH
Nokia Launches First Smartphone with Virus Protection - Until this summer, the possibility of computer viruses spreading over mobile phone networks was only a theoretical possibility. However, between June and August, three new viruses were detected which were programmed to spread over wireless data networks. In June, Cabir, a network worm infecting phones running the Symbian mobile phone operating system, was discovered. In August, the so-called Backdoor.Bardor.A virus, a Windows CE Trojan horse program designed to give attackers control over Pocket PC mobile devices was announced. This was followed closely by another Symbian Trojan program, which gave hackers the ability to make the phones send text messages without the knowledge of the user. In response to these threats, the mobile phone industry stepped up its anti-virus research. Last month, Finnish handset giant Nokia announced that it will offer mobile anti-virus software through F-Secure as one of the features in its new Nokia 6670 smart phone, scheduled to be released in October. Users of the other phones in the Nokia Series 60 line will also be able to purchase anti-virus software for their phones. F-Secure plans to offer a subscription service priced at around $3.63 per month to keep the software automatically updated. The service is targeted mostly at business users who use their wireless phones to exchange data, e-mails, and other sensitive information. However, consumers who keep any kind of sensitive information stored in their wireless phones may want to keep an eye out for anti-virus software, as many companies will soon be bringing these new programs to market. For additional information on the F-Secure software for the Nokia Series 60, click here.
TRAC AND YOU
Another Tip on Reaching Human Customer Service - Last week’s story in TRACNotes about ways to reach human customer service for telephone companies prompted one reader from Olympia, Washington to write in with a great “old-fashioned” tip:
“Another way to get through an IVR (interactive voice response), to a (hopefully) live person is to simply not dial anything once you've reached the IVR. Most (decent) IVR applications will have an ‘out’ for those with rotary dial phones, who can't supply tones.”
Thanks for the tip! Got a suggestion on how to reach “human” customer service? E-mail them to trac@trac.org. We’ll choose the best suggestions and include them in an upcoming issue of TRACNotes.
INTERESTING LINKS
FCC Main Page: http://www.fcc.gov
FCC Complaint Form - http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cib/fcc475.cfm
List of State Regulatory Commissions: http://www.naruc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=15
What do you think? Got a tip you want to share? Nominate your "Scam of the Week" and your "Tip of the Week" - If we select your submission, we'll give you a one-year free membership in TRAC and acknowledge your contribution by name in TRACNotes. Send an e-mail to trac@trac.org to submit your ideas!
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©2005 Telecommunications Research and Action Center. TRAC grants unlimited rights to reproduce TRACNotes or any information contained in it provided attribution is given as follows: "Source: Telecommunications Research and Action Center. http://www.trac.org"
