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Verizon Buys Tracfone for $6.25 billion

The mobile operator Tracfone isn’t exactly a household name, but it does have about 21 million customers in the US. Soon, those customers will fall under the Verizon umbrella, as Verizon just announced it is purchasing Tracfone from its owner America Movil. 

Tracfone has long worked in the US as a prepaid wireless MVNO, leasing wireless spectrum from some of the country's largest mobile carriers including Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. It also operates under a variety of brands, including Straight Talk and Walmart Family Phones, and has a broad distribution presence of more than 90,000 locations at stores such as CVS, Target, and Best Buy.

That being said, it's not clear how Tracfone will work once the contract with Verizon is done. But there's plenty of time to find out, as Verizon claims it won't wait until the second half of 2021 for the deal to finalize.

This isn't the only MVNO to change hands this year — T-Mobile had to get rid of Sprint's Boost Mobile brand as a result of the T-Mobile / Sprint merger. In early July Dish picked it up for $1.4 billion. By contrast, for Tracfone, Verizon pays $3,125 billion in cash and the same sum in Verizon's stock.

Several mergers in recent years have led to an increasingly concentrated wireless industry in the U.S., with the bulk of control. 

Tracfone's top brands include: 

• Tracfone
• Net 10 Wireless
• Total Wireless
• Walmart Family Mobile
• Straight Talk
• Simple Mobile

Should Google Buy TracFone?

If Google is getting into the MVNO business why don't they make a run at buying Tracfone and expand quickly?  I have a hard time believing that Google can execute a plan to organically grow an MVNO busienss.  They failed to organically grow their Nexus phone and the Motorola acquisition didn't go so well.

It seems like Tracfone has figured out the discount carrier marketing game and Google isn't exactly a proficient marketing & sales organization.  It's also hard to see the carrier business consolidating any further.  Tracfone has done an incredible job of expanding throughout the last few years.   Companies like Google could vertically integrate a discount wireless carrier nicely to expand their data / local advertising business and subsidize the phones even more.

Google could also disrupt the connectivity business by using their fiber network.  I would also like to see Google get into the "small cell" wifi business as well to compliment their fiber network.  They also have the largest mobile phone operating system footprint with almost 80% of Worldwide phones using Android.  This gives Google a lot of visibility on how wireless networks are performing regionally. Google could easily improve service levels by optimizing the network for their customers.  They could choose which carrier network to use in various regions.

Comments would be appreciated.  

Walmart & TracFone Offer Prepaid Wireless

The prepaid cell phone market continues to gain lots of momentum as consumers are still looking to save money. The new discount cell phone service is offered exclusively from Walmart through Tracfone Wireless, a subsidiary of America Movil. Walmart is currently offering two plans: the first is a $30 plan that provides 1,000 minutes, 1,000 texts, 30 megabytes of data and unlimited 411 for 30 days; the second for $45 gets you unlimited talk, text and data for 30 days. The discount plans prices do not include phones, which on Walmart.com's Straight Talk brand shop range from LG and Samsung models between a basic $39.98 device and a $328.88 phone with touch-screen, camera and video.

This should bring lots more competition from new sources that AT&T or Verizon cannot just buy out (i.e Alltell or Cingular). This should also translate into more reasonable prices for current plans in the not so distant future.

Ironically there are currently 16 Walmart stores listed in our database as having poor cell phone coverage around the US.  Hopefully, someone diligence from Walmart or Tracfone will find this information and take some action to fix the problems for its' customers.

Related sites:  See Our Tracfone Consumer Generated Coverage Maps

Top Cell Tower Lease Rates by State

Carriers Leasing Cell Phone Tower Space

What is the value of leasing a property or cell tower these days in various states? Here are some lease rate ranges we have uncovered from various sources the internet and have sorted this list from most lucrative to least lucrative.  What is most interesting about the States ranked below is that the most expensive lease states have the worse Verizon Wireless 3G coverage.  Verizon Wireless is spending a lot of money on LTE and we think these are the areas they are focusing on first.  The rates below apply to locations that will have more than 1,000 calls or data connections per hour at peak times and would require multiple carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Clearwire, MetroPCS, Tracfone or another smaller regional carrier to be piggybacking on the same site.  Here is a list of what the rates could be ranked in order:

Massachusetts - $91K - $535K
New York - $30K to $535K
New Jersey - $39K - $514K
Maryland - $121K - $489K
Vermont - $92K - $412K
Arizona - $17K - $283K
New Hampshire - $158K - $412K
Pennsylvania - $23K - $331K
Florida - $20K - $310K
Georgia - $25K - $265K
Rhode Island - $27K - $290K
Virginia - $65K - $230K
Alabama - $25K - $226K
North Carolina - $23K - $206K
Alaska - $14K - $161K
Maine - $88K - $157K
West Virginia - $87K - $105K
Washington DC - $80K - $123K
South Carolina - $25K - $83K

Some of the variable determining lease rates include: Location, Cell Tower Type, Height, Latitude and Longitude, FCC Identification Number (if registered), Carriers on the Tower (if any), Owner of the Tower, Initial Owner/Developer of the Tower, Ground Lease Rate, Collocation Lease Rates

Unlimited Mobile to Mobile Calling Plans?

Bait & Switch Unlimited Calling Plans . . . 

Every carrier now has unlimited calling plans.  However, we are doing some research on which wireless carriers claim to provide unlimited calling plans but then charge a fee something else.  The old "bait and switch" billing method without full disclosure.  Cell phone calling plans have always been complicated and somewhat confusing as they are now being blended with unlimited data plans.  Most people expect a flat fee every month but then see charges that they don't recognize or understand.

Please tell us below under comments below which carriers trick you into paying for an unlimited plan and then charge you for something else without fully disclosing it.   

Cheapest Unlimited Data Plans

Average Cell Phone Voice Minutes Used by Age

The smartphone data usage trend and the decline in cellular voice minute usage are concerning to the telecom industry.  In theory, you really don't really need to buy talk time minutes if you have a data plan or only use WiFi for making VoIP calls.  Carriers are constantly pushing their fast new 4G LTE networks but in reality, they compete with Free WiFi.  So as a consumer you should be smart about what you buy.  Here is a list of data plans in order of pricing. The trick is buying a phone on the provider network or having an unlocked phone that works on any of these networks.

Virgin Mobile - No Contract plan for $25 per month which includes unlimited data, text, and 300 calling minutes on 3G.

Tracfone / Net10 - No Contract $45 per month with unlimited data, text, and talk on 3G.

MetroPCS - No Contract for $40 per month with unlimited talk, and text. Some data roaming charges may apply as the network is limited in size but they do have an LTE network that is fast.

Boost Mobile  - No Contract: for $40 per month with unlimited talk, text, data, no roaming charges. 3G is available with some phones.

T-Mobile (Best Value!)- No Contract for $40 per month which includes unlimited data on 3G and 4G HSPA+ Blackberry phones will cost you $50 per month for unlimited data.  If you are an older customer hopefully you have been grandfathered into their old plan which costs $25 per month.  

Sprint - Requires a 2-year contract for $69.99 per month which includes unlimited data, text, and calling.

AT&T data plan - plans range in price from $15 for a 200 MB data plan and $25 per month for 2 MB. If are conscious about downloading video on WiFi their pricing plans might work for you. Caution because just like texting they have crazy data charges of $10 per 1 GB of data if you go over and the data is not reusable on monthly basis.  AT&T is also rolling out a 4G HSPA+ network.

Verizon Wireless - Requires customers to buy a mobile package that is more than $30 per month and you’re limited to 5GB per month.  They do have an LTE network coming out in 2011 but this will require you to purchase an LTE compatible phone.

Prepaid Wireless Networks Uncovered (MVNO's)

Which Network Are You Really On?

Unlike the major carriers (ie. Verizon Wireless, Sprint / Nextel, T-Mobile, AT&T), Amp'd, Boost Mobile, TracFone, MetroPCS & Virgin Mobile do not own its own network of cell towers. These prepaid cellular phone companies are all MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operator). MVNOs buy large batches of minutes from the traditional wireless carriers, piggybacking on their national networks. Amp'd leases Verizon's network, Boost Mobile uses Nextel's network, TracFone uses AT&T's network and Virgin uses Sprint's network. Hence, the reason we do not list these carriers in our list of coverage complaints. If you experience dead zone while using any prepaid phones please submit their respective network operator.

Consumer Reports Cell Service Ratings by City

Does this Consumer Reports survey of 66,000 people have any credibility for a cell phone service shopper? This survey represents a narrow demographic of respondents. Even Consumer Reports states their “Findings might not reflect the general U.S. population.” Also, it is indeed a survey and does not contain any empirical testing of the type that has made Consumer Reports the respected entity it is today.

But the main reason these results are not meaningful, or fair for that matter, is the lack of information regarding smartphone users vs. old school phone users, broken down by the wireless provider being rated. Why is this important? Smartphones demand a much higher quality of service and bandwidth to operate. Even Consumer Reports implies that users who use their wireless devices primarily for talking and texting (non smartphone customers) are easier to please than those who have smartphones, who require more demanding tasks such as web surfing and watching videos.

Consumer Reports does not provide any data as to which providers in the survey were rated by smartphone subscribers vs. non smartphone subscribers. Thus, their results are comparing apples-to-oranges. For example, is it meaningful or fair to compare Provider A who, for example, was rated by customers who primarily use smartphones vs. Provider B, who was rated by customers who primarily use non smartphones? I think not.

Based on my years of running this web site, I can conclude that some wireless providers have a larger percentage of smartphone subscribers than others. These smartphone subscribers are, by nature, sophisticated, demanding and particular. Other providers have a larger percentage of non smartphone subscribers who are typically lower paying, less sophisticated customers who are happy with status quo and using older phones. These customers, of course, would be happier with their service.

My take? Consumer Reports should divulge the percentage of smartphone and non smartphones subs rating each wireless provider. This key information would allow readers to make fair and meaningful comparisons.

Deadcellzones.com surveys an audience of similar size of 60,000 but does so on a monthly basis. Thus we survey an audience that is 10 times larger than consumer reports. DCZ also provide searchable maps with very specific geographic information about coverage problems. Ask yourself which is more useful as a consumer shopping for service in your area?

GSM CDMA Carrier Handset Competition Fair?

AT&T will soon consolidate T-Mobile and become the only GSM carrier in the US.  Tracfone is a pre-paid carrier that offers both GSM and CDMA so it doesn't really count.  Is this fair competition?  T-Mobile has been the only GSM alternative to AT&T and post-acquisition there will be none.  What happens to consumers who purchased GSM phones and want to move to another carrier?  What happens to the handset manufacturers around the World who want to sell their products in the US?  Why should consumers care about GSM?  If you travel internationally you will know what I am talking about.  GSM is the World standard for phones and allows you to travel in most countries around the World without buying a new phone.

Consumers will be facing very limited choices for wireless service in most regions. The result will be only two competing technologies (CDMA & GSM) that all wireless carriers use, all the small regional carriers have to negotiate roaming deals with either Verizon or AT&T if they want to offer full coverage to their customers. The deal would further entrench the playing field with one CDMA giant and one GSM giant and fair negotiations would be even harder.

Verizon is a CDMA carrier and Sprint operates iDen and CDMA phones that donot work in most countries when you travel around the world.   Smaller regional carriers MetroPCS, Leap, US Cellular and Tracfone all use  CDMA as well.  

US Wireless Subscribers Pie Chart Post AT&T & T-Mobile Merger

This is what the US wireless subscriber market will look like post an AT&T and T-Mobile merger.  Does this look like a pie chart that is promoting fair competition?  Is it fair that these two companies are the highest paying dividend stocks (5% annual) on Wall Street?   shareholder payout is approximately $10 billion dollars per year and the Verizon dividend is approximately $5 billion dollars per year.  Are our FCC and DOJ protecting us from the competition when the US is far behind the rest of the World with data speeds and connectivity?

If AT&T controls 130M customers and Verizon 102 million this will wipe out any ability for competition.  Sprint is already in trouble with its financial problems and will never be a formidable competitor. T-Mobile was actually starting to do some disruptive things to the largest two carriers Verizon and AT&T before the acquisition took place.  The technology disruption in using WiFi, 4G, and HSPA+ alone was enough to get AT&T to swoop in a buy the company to shut them up.   This chart alone should concern the Department of Justice when considering if there is fair competition in an already corrupt industry.  I will go on record to say that this merger will be the worst in US history for customers and competition if it goes through.  

Rural Cellular Association Conference

Rural Cellular Coverage Map

Did you know there are almost 160+ rural cellular companies that compete with AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and others?  RCA is an association representing rural wireless telecommunications providers across the United States. rca-usa.org  Many of these same rural wireless carriers could be your best friend in the near future as wireless services become increasingly more competitive and local.  We think there is an enormous opportunity for these rural carriers to flex media marketing muscle and compete against the larger multi-billion dollar marketing behemoths.  We will be there to meet regional wireless operators, service providers and expose them to our database of rural cell phone dead zones and dropped call areas.

18th Annual RCA Convention - APRIL 27-30, 2010 - Rio Hotel & Casino • Las Vegas • Nevada

Hot Topics at the Conference 
04/21/10 RCA Applauds FCC's Vote to Eliminate In-Market Roaming Exclusion
04/08/10 FCC Announces Broadband Action Agenda
04/02/10 FCC to Hold Workshop on Critical Infrastructure and Information Collection
03/31/10 RCA Comments on 700 MHz Mobile Equipment Capability

Exhibiting Companies Include: 
AeroVoice
Airway Technologies
Alcatel-Lucent
ArdaCOM
ARIS Software, Inc.
Associated Network Partners, Inc. (ANPI)
Astellia, Inc.
Brightpoint
Cellatel, LLC
CellCast Technologies, LLC
Cellebrite USA
ClearSky Mobile Media
Commnet Supply - Telmar Network Technology
CommSoft
Connectiv Solutions
DigiCell International, Inc.
Eastpointe Industries, Inc.
eSecuritel
Exalt Communications, Inc.
Fibrebond Corporation
Flash Technology
GetWireless, LLC
G Unwired, Inc.
HickoryTech - Information Solutions
Hyde Company
Info Directions
Interop Techonologies
Intrado
Jinny Software, Ltd.
JTWO Wireless, LLC
Kyocera Communications, Inc.
Lemko Corporation
LG Electronics Mobilecomm USA, Inc.
MACH Americas
Mid America Computer Corporation
Movius
National Information Solutions (NISC)
Nexlink Communications, LLC
OSG Billing Services
Pario Solutions
Personal Communciations Devices, LLC
Planet Cellular, Inc.
Platinum Wireless
Primal Technologies
PSA
RADWIN
Rosenberger LEONI Site Solutions
Sabre Industries, Inc.
SaskTel International
Sonoran Systems, Inc.
Syniverse Technologies
Talley, Inc.
Taqua
TeleCommunication Systems, Inc.
Telsasoft
Tempest Telecom Solutions, LLC
Trango Systems
Transaction Network Services
US Mobile Phones
USA Digital Communications
V-Comm, LLC
Velleros, Inc.
Walker & Associates
WAU, Inc.
Wes-Tec, Inc.
Wireless One
Xentris Wireless
YAM Wireless
Yap, Inc.

Walmart & Target Indoor Reception Problems

Does Your Local Walmart or Target Store Have Cell Reception Problems Indoors?

I was shocked to learn after doing some database mining this week that Target and Walmart had some of the most complaints listed in our dead zones database.  Walmart (4,000 US stores) has over 20 locations listed as dead zones and Target (1,700+ US stores) has 15 locations listed as having poor reception in our consumer-generated coverage database.  This can't be a good thing especially for Walmart who recently announced a partnership offering TracFone pre-paid wireless plans.  These retailers are going to sell millions of cell phones yet many of them do not have good cell phone reception indoors.  I am sure we are not even scratching the surface of other Walmart and Target stores that also have horrible coverage.  Ironically, there was only one Best Buy store (1,000 US stores) listed in the database so they must be doing something different with their in-building coverage. 

To submit a coverage problem in a store, first, search our database and find out if your store is listed.  If not, submit the reception problem by dragging a pin into the location of the store on the map.  Cell phone reception can be improved indoors but someone needs to be informed that it doesn't work first! 

How to Report Cell Reception Problems

How to Report Cell Phone Reception Problems to AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, MetroPCS, TracFone (Video)

Wireless coverage is a personal issue and most customers want transparency about where wireless service will work as advertised. Most coverage problems can be fixed with new cell phone towers, distributed antenna systems, picocells, repeaters and femtocells provided by the carrier

Step 1 - Select a carrier AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile or Other Carrier and search the map by zip code, city, state. Double click on pins to review the comments from others.
Step 2 - Grab the pin on the left-hand side of the map and drag it to the new location and add comments about the problem location and how often it occurs - In-building, Outdoors, Data Congestion, Dropped Calls
Step 3 - Share the map with your family, friends and colleagues to get the attention of your carrier in your neighborhood.
Step 4 - Check back frequently for comments posted by others, service providers to the carriers who try to fix the coverage problem with new antennas, cell phone towers, femtocells or repeaters.

False Advertising of Cell Service Availability

David (deadzones.com) vs. Goliath (carriers)

After some increased blogger and social media exposure in rural areas of the US, we have started to notice a groundswell data from customers located in smaller US cities who are falling victim to continued false advertising from mainly the bigger carriers Verizon and AT&T.  We have decided to focus our efforts and begin exposing these areas more prominently in our blog and on Twitter @deadzones to show where consumers are getting screwed.  Our goal is to raise the level of exposure in these neglected smaller cities in order to help improve service in the local area.  The following towns and cities are just some of the areas listed on dead zones map in the last 90 days that specifically highlight that Verizon's Coverage Map is making false claims.

Where Do Verizon's Coverage Maps Lie?
Olinda, California - "No service Verizon even though the coverage map says excellent coverage"
Gresham, Michigan - "Dead zone your coverage maps are a lie"
Bridger, Montana - "Map shows coverage, the whole town is a dead zone."
Madison, North Carolina - "How does Verizon get away with their coverage maps that certainly do not reflect actual coverage???"
Lake Mack Forrest Hills, Florida  - "Bad inside and outside. It was the same with Sprint, but Sprint's coverage map showed I would have trouble Verizon's coverage map shows I should have a full signal. Verizon wants to blame the phone I am using they are FOS."

Verizon Consumer Generated Coverage Map

Why have we picked on Verizon? Because they are the most aggressive about hyping their coverage maps and someone needs to make them accountable to their claims. We will get to AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and others as well in due time. Here are links to other carriers coverage maps that we recommend you check before claiming their coverage maps lie on our site: AT&T Sprint/Nextel, T-Mobile, Tracfone, Alltel, US Cellular, Cricket Comm, Qwest Wireless, Metro PCS

RadioShack Bolsters Sales Using Kiosks

RadioShack Bolsters Sales Using Kiosks at Target and Sam's Club

RadioShack third-quarter profits were down 24 percent but the company benefited from better-than-expected sales, some of which was attributed to the company's introduction of Verizon Wireless to its Sam's Club kiosks. In September RadioShack announced it will introduce Verizon Wireless in neary 450 Sam's Club wireless kiosks that it operates nationwide. Verizon -- the largest U.S. wireless carrier with about 80 million subscribers -- will make its hand-held devices and services available through Sam's Club wireless kiosks operated by RadioShack effective Oct. 1.

Radio Shack’s Kiosk Operations division is also launching their BullsEye Mobile Solutions inside of Target stores. Roll out begins in California with 104 stores. Nationwide roll-out total locations inside of Target is expected to be 1100 to 1500 locations by end of 2010, with eventually leading to a total of 1800 retail locations, including locations inside of Sam’s club. The Target locations will consist of three carriers which are Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. In addition, Radio Shack is already inside of Sam’s club locations but with one diffference; an additional carrier, Sprint are carried at the Sam’s club locations. Pricing will be extremely competitive with Best Buy and other retail locations.

Specifically, RadioShack reported a net income of $37.4 million, down from a net income of $49.1 million in third-quarter 2008. Sales from the company's 1,300 RadioShack stores dropped 15.7 percent and online sales fell 5.1 percent from the same quarter a year ago. Wireless represents more than one-third of RadioShack's total sales.  Company executives said that there was some uptick toward the end of the quarter because of netbook sales and other mobile products. Company executives said RadioShack benefited from having a full range of mobile products--the retailer recently added T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless to a lineup that includes Sprint Nextel and AT&T Mobility.

RadioShack is facing increased competition in mobile from the likes of Best Buy Mobile and Wal-Mart Mobile. Best Buy is expanding its Best Buy Mobile stores to more markets, and Wal-Mart recently started selling TracFone's prepaid service Straight Talk nationwide.

These retailers may soon be jumping on the consumer generated coverage map bandwagon, realizing their consumers are tired of looking at carrier generated coverage maps from 50,000 feet.  We think is most important for consumer generated coverage maps to reflect real customer experiences indoors and outdoors.  Its also, very important to have granular data down to the individual house, neighborhood, street and zip code level. Many of these retailers are trying to figure out what data is important and how they can the acquire it.  Keep your eyes open for mobile retailers who may soon begin offering beta map products soon.

Cell Phone Reception Through Wifi

Cell phones can use your home's wireless internet connection to make and receive calls. It's a handy technology if the cell phone coverage in and around your house is in a dead zone. Phones will automatically select Wifi if it's there but will require a compromise between economy and mobility. For example, Voice over Wifi offers potentially free service but is only available within the coverage area of a Wifi Access Point and currently will not allow you to hop between networks.

VoIP mobile applications that may be compatible with your phone's operating system.

Skype - iPhone, Windows Mobile, Nokia
Line2 - iPhone, Android

Truphone - Nokia-Symbian, iPhone, Android, Blackberry

Jajah - Windows Mobile, Symbian OS

fring - Symbian 8.x and 9.x, Windows Mobile 5 and 6, iPhone, Maemo

Nimbuzz!- J2ME, S60, Windows Mobile, iPhone

Gizmo5 - Windows Mobile, Motorola, Nokia, Blackberry, Java PDA, Sony-Ericsson, Samsung

Windows Mobile 6 - Windows Mobile 6 Professional/Standard


3 Mobile VoIP Protocols The Applications Above Are Built On

Skype - closed proprietary peer to peer network and working on video mobile phones

SIP - the standard used by most VoIP services

UMA - the Unlicensed Mobile Access Generic Access Network, designed in response to Skype by a group of carriers to allow VoIP to run over the GSM cellular backbone.

See Wikipedia VoIP software platforms for more details. The challenge for the mobile operator industry is to deliver the benefits and innovations of IP without losing control of the network service. Users like the Internet to be free and high speed without extra charges for browsing the internet. VoIP services challenges the most valuable service in the telecommunications industry — voice — and threatens to change the nature of the global communications industry.  Net neutrality is an important issue with the FCC for these reasons.

Related article: UMA Phone + Wi-Fi = Home Cell Coverage

End Data Discrimination

As expected, the FCC voted to move forward with a proposal to codify its four net neutrality principles and add non-discrimination and transparency rules to the regulations that will govern both wireless and wired broadband networks.

The first of the new principles would prevent Internet access providers from discriminating against particular Internet content or applications while allowing for reasonable network management. The second would ensure that Internet access providers are transparent about the network management practices they implement. The other four are:

• To encourage broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet, consumers are entitled to access the lawful Internet content of their choice.
• To encourage broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet, consumers are entitled to run applications and use services of their choice, subject to the needs of law enforcement.
• To encourage broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet, consumers are entitled to connect their choice of legal devices that do not harm the network.
• To encourage broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet, consumers are entitled to competition among network providers, application and service providers, and content providers.

FCC votes for the net neutrality rule-making process

The commission voted 5-0 to begin the rule-making process. The next steps will likely involve months of debate now that the FCC is asked for comments on the proposal. Initial comments are due on Jan. 14. Hours later, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced legislation aimed at prohibiting the FCC from enacting rules that would regulate access to the Internet. The legislation, called 'The Internet Freedom Act of 2009,' aimed at keeping the Internet from being regulated by the government. 'Keeping businesses free from oppressive regulations is the best stimulus for the current economy,' he said. The two Republican FCC commissioners, Robert McDowell and Meredith Attwell Baker dissented in part on last week's vote, arguing that the commission should proceed with its eyes open to the unintended consequences of the new regulations. They said they were unsure that there was enough of a problem to warrant new regulations, and questioned whether the FCC had the authority to impose the new rules. The GOP commissioners' dissent essentially signals that they intend to move forward with the action, but disagree with the current language in the proposal.

As promised by Chairman Julius Genachowski, the proposed rules governing wireless networks took into account that wireless networks have different network architectures, market structures, patterns of consumer usage, and regulatory history than wired networks. The draft rules will seek comment on how in what time frames and to what extent the rules should apply to wireless. Moreover, another point of debate will likely center on what "reasonable network management" means as it pertains to an operator's ability to manage network traffic (based on tiered access?). The draft rules say that such management includes practices that reduce or mitigate network congestion, address traffic that is unlawful, unwanted by users, or deemed harmful. The commission staff also noted that nothing in the rules will prohibit service providers from delivering emergency communications. Additionally, the notice seeks comment on how to define managed services, such as subscription video services, telemedicine, or smart grids, and how the new policies should apply to them. The commission also is going to form a technical outreach group to discuss network management issues and all other issues that have technical ramifications.

Instances of data discrimination listed on Wikipedia from 2004-2007, unfortunately, cause hardship for other applications that get grouped into the same categories and get blocked. 

• In 2004, a small North Carolina telecom company, Madison River Communications, blocked their DSL customers from using the Vonage VoIP service. Service was restored after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) intervened and entered into a consent decree that had Madison River pay a fine of $15,000.^[6]
• In 2005, Canadian telephone giant Telus blocked access to voices-for-change.ca, a website supporting the company's labor union during a labor dispute, as well as over 600 other websites, for about sixteen hours after pictures were posted on the website of employees crossing the picket line.^[7]
• In April 2006, Time Warner's AOL (America On-Line) blocked all e-mails that mentioned dearaol.com, an advocacy campaign opposing the company's pay-to-send e-mail scheme. An AOL spokesman called the issue an unintentional glitch.
• In February 2006, some of Cox Cable's customers were unable to access Craig's List because of a confluence of a software bug in the Authentium personal firewall distributed by Cox Cable to improve customers' security and the way that Craigslist had their servers misconfigured. Save the Internet said this was an intentional act on the part of Cox Cable to protect classified ad services offered by its partners. The issue was resolved by the correction of the software as well as a change in the network configuration used by Craig's List. Craig's List founder Craig Newmark stated that he believed the blocking was unintentional.
• In September 2007, Verizon Wireless prevented a pro-choice organization from sending text messages to its members coordinating a public demonstration, despite the fact that the intended recipients had explicitly signed up to receive such messages.
• In October 2007, Comcast was found to be preventing or at least severely delaying uploads on BitTorrent.

COMMENTARY: All this seems great in theory but it still seems to indicate that tiered network access is coming and carriers are still going to largely be able to control and discriminate packets across their network. Is that good for companies who want open access like Skype, Google, Slingbox who don't control the pipes? I suppose it depends upon which tier of access they end up on. Hopefully its the top tier.

Related Net Neutrality articles:
Verizon's Seidenberg blasts net neutrality as debate continues
AT&T urges employees to lobby FCC against net neutrality
Democrats, Internet firms lobby FCC on net neutrality
Net neutrality debate heats up ahead of vote
Opposing net neutrality, GOP puts pressure back on FCC

Wireless Powered Cell Phones

Gigaom: Wireless Power Is Still Pretty Useless:

Your cell phone uses a lot more power when connecting a call than when it is has a low cell signal. Often, your battery can be strong enough to attempt a call, but not strong enough to find a signal. Bad cellular signals are a big contributor to battery drain problems. The weaker the signal the more battery drain. The stronger the cellular signal the less battery drain. It's amazing to me how many iPhone users tolerate their poor battery life and purchase external batteries.

The technology industry has invested a lot of marketing energy and dollars into getting consumers excited about wireless power, the promise is that it will free us from the size and feature constraints imposed by batteries. There’s a consortium of bigwigs from Nokia to Dell trying to advance a standard called Qi, and Intel and WiTricity are trying to develop an even more compelling technology that will transfer power over the air. But we’re still a long way from cutting the cord.

Consumers intent on living a wireless life have two new options this holiday season — both of which are getting a lot of attention: mats on which they can wirelessly charge their mobile devices. Unfortunately, this sounds far cooler than it really is. The two products — the Powermat, which goes on sale Sunday at Amazon, and the Duracell MyGrid, which went on sale earlier this month — use different techniques to charge a device, but both require the mat to be plugged into an outlet, which eliminates the wire to the device, but not the one to the wall.

After years of hope (and no little amount of hype), wireless power is finally getting into consumer's hands. However, the technology that is showing up on trade show floors and store shelves is a far cry from the truly disruptive promise of wireless power. As we cram more computing power into our mobile phones and use them to deliver the web, take photos and shoot video (as well as talk), a key limitation has become the battery. Anyone who has experienced a three-hour battery life after surfing on a Wi-Fi network knows first-hand that battery life can impede the enjoyment of a full-featured mobile device. And that problem is the one that wireless power will one day solve.

Below is a comparison of total system efficiencies versus the transmitting range of the various technologies. Efficiency describes how much power is wasted and how much heat is dissipated during power transmission. Inductive systems have the highest system efficiencies of any wireless system.

UMA Phone + Wi-Fi = Home Cell Coverage

Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) provides access to cellular mobile voice and data services over unlicensed spectrum technologies, such Bluetooth or Wi-Fi (802.11). A UMA phone will use a cellular networks (GSM, CDMA, etc.) when out and about, and automatically switch to a UMA-enabled Bluetooth or Wi-Fi local network when in range, such as at home or in the office. UMA technology is the 3GPP global standard for fixed-mobile convergence. UMA enables secure, scalable access to mobile voice, data and IMS services over broadband IP access networks. By deploying UMA technology, mobile operators can deliver a number of compelling fixed-mobile convergence services. The most well-known applications of UMA include dual-mode cellular/Wi-Fi handsets and 3G femtocells access points.

Leading operators around the world have embraced UMA technology as the foundation for their fixed-mobile convergence strategy, including Orange/France Telecom, British Telecom, T-Mobile US, TeliaSonera, Netcom, Saunalahti and Cincinnati Bell. UMA enables secure, scalable access to mobile voice, data and IMS services over broadband IP access networks. By deploying UMA technology, mobile operators can deliver a number of compelling fixed-mobile convergence services. The most well-known applications of UMA include dual-mode cellular/Wi-Fi handsets and 3G femtocells access points. Leading operators around the world have embraced UMA technology as the foundation for their fixed-mobile convergence strategy, including Orange/France Telecom, British Telecom, T-Mobile US, TeliaSonera, Netcom, Saunalahti and Cincinnati Bell.

Improving coverage in areas where cellular signals are weak is an important issue for many organizations. UMA extends coverage to the workplace without forcing employees to change the way they use their cell phones. The only difference is that the phone will switch to Wi-Fi when it loses cellular coverage. To improve coverage with UMA, an organization sets up Wi-Fi access points in areas with poor cellular coverage to overcome coverage gaps and call dead zones. Companies with state-of-the-art, centrally managed wireless LANs (WLAN) can make a global configuration change to enable Wi-Fi UMA access from any location.

UMA-enabled Dual-Mode Wi-Fi Handsets: By far the most well-known UMA service is dual-mode cellular/Wi-Fi handsets (DMH), which enables operators to provide high-performance, low-cost mobile services to subscribers when in range of a home, office or public Wi-Fi network. With a UMA-enabled dual-mode Wi-Fi handset, subscribers can automatically roam and handover between cellular and Wi-Fi access, receiving a consistent set of services as they transition between networks.

UMA-enabled Femtocells: UMA-enabled femtocells represent a growing UMA service opportunity. The wireless industry has been searching for low-cost licensed indoor coverage solutions since the beginning of mobile networks. Unfortunately, the bulk of this opportunity (i.e. residential environments) has been beyond the addressable market for cost and operational reasons. To be successful, a residential licensed access point (i.e. femtocell) deployment must include low-cost femtocells (under €150), a reasonable approach for managing RF interference, and a standard, scalable, IP-based approach for core network integration.
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