Things are looking up for Houston Astros fans. The team isn’t currently in last place, and the ‘stros are outperforming the even more woeful Texas Rangers. Now comes news that some Houston-area sports fans may even get to watch their favorite teams on TV after a bankruptcy court determined to hand over ownership of Comcast SportsNet Houston to AT&T and DirecTV. [More]
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AT&T, DirecTV To Take Over Comcast SportsNet Houston; Will Fans Finally Be Able To See Games?
By 8.7.14
All Four National Wireless Companies Accused Of Breaking FCC Rules By Hiding Information About Data Throttling
By 8.7.14
Just over two weeks ago, the FCC not-so-gently reminded all four big wireless carriers that although true “net neutrality” might not apply to them, there are still rules about transparency and disclosures that they have to follow. At the time, FCC chairman Tom Wheeler said that companies had no excuse to think the FCC wasn’t watching them — and the FCC isn’t the only group putting wireless companies on notice over their lack of transparency. [More]
Wireless Carriers Are Victims Of Phone Cramming Too, They Just Make Billions Of Dollars Instead Of Losing It
By 7.31.14
Opening your monthly mobile phone bill to find it significantly more expensive than it’s supposed to be can be infuriating. Finding out that it’s more expensive because you were charged for products you never requested is even worse. But wireless cramming is a practice that more and more consumers – and wireless providers (huh?) – are finding themselves victims of. [More]
T-Mobile Unveils $100, 10GB Family Plan. Is It Any Good?
By 7.28.14
Family plans are all the rage with wireless companies. Get groups of customers to buy a bucket of data together for a discounted price. This morning, T-Mobile announced a new plan that it hopes will lure customers in from AT&T, but the company isn’t making a big deal out a major restriction that could make the offer unattractive to some families. [More]
From AT&T To Verizon: What The Web’s Biggest Players Told The FCC About Net Neutrality
By 7.18.14
The FCC originally planned to stop taking comments about their net neutrality proposal on Tuesday. But after demand overwhelmed and crashed their antique IT system, they extended the deadline to 11:59 p.m. (EDT) tonight. As of yesterday, well over one million comments had been entered, and that number’s still going up. Clearly, the public cares — but what is the public saying? [More]
Senator Challenges Comcast, AT&T Execs On Opposition To Municipal Broadband
By 7.16.14
The Senate Commerce Committee held hearing today on broadband competition, media consolidation, and the future of online video transmission. Among the witnesses were Comcast exec David L. Cohen and AT&T bigwig John T. Stankey. During the hearing, Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey directly asked the two about competition from municipal broadband providers. [More]
Verizon Trying To Twitter-Snipe Mildly Annoyed Customers Of Other Carriers
By 7.14.14
Having written about every major wireless carrier over the last 4+ years, I’ve come to realize one thing: Just about everyone hates their current wireless provider and is constantly talking about switching. So it makes sense that these competitors would scour the competition’s social media feeds and try to lure away disgruntled customers. Yet only Verizon, by far the largest carrier in the U.S., seems to be making a go of it. [More]
AT&T Says DirecTV Merger Will Save Money, But Not For Customers
By 6.25.14
While the folks at AT&T and DirecTV try to claim that their proposed merger is different from the pending marriage of Comcast and Time Warner Cable, both deals have one bit of double-talk in common, with the companies all saying their respective deals will help them be more efficient and save money while no one is willing to commit to passing those savings on to customers. [More]
Here’s Why You Should Think Twice About Using AT&T Or Comcast WiFi Hotspots
By 6.23.14
If you’re a customer of AT&T or Comcast, you’re probably very aware of these two companies’ efforts to create massive networks of free WiFi for their subscribers to use when away from home. But a new report shows just how easy it is for an unseemly character to fake one of these hotspots and steal your information. [More]
Amazon Finally Unveils Details Of 3-D Fire Phone
By 6.18.14
After weeks, months, millennia of speculation that Amazon would get into the phone business, the e-tail giant has finally unveiled the smartphone it had been promising (via “leaked” stories and quotes from “people close to the situation”) since the dawn of man. So what is it and is it worth spending your hard-earned (or even your stolen) money on? [More]
New Amazon Phone Will Reportedly Be An AT&T Exclusive
By 6.17.14
Seven years ago, AT&T scored millions of new customers by being the only U.S. wireless provider to offer the Apple iPhone. That exclusive has long since faded into memory and the iPhone is no longer the market dominator it once was. But it looks like AT&T might be hoping that lightning strikes twice, as a new report claims that the Death Star will be the sole carrier for Amazon’s rumored smartphone and/or sex toy. [More]
AT&T Confirms Some Wireless Customers’ Phone Records, SSNs Accessed In April Security Breach
By 6.16.14
Check your mail, AT&T wireless customers — you might have an announcement from the company disclosing a data security breach that happened two months ago. Snail, mail indeed. AT&T confirmed over the weekend that three workers at one of the company’s vendors accessed an undisclosed amount of AT&T Mobility customers’ records. [More]
AT&T/DirecTV File Merger Docs With FCC, Argue They Need To Merge To Compete Against Comcast
By 6.12.14
The busy summer telecom merger season continues apace. Late yesterday, AT&T filed its paperwork with the FCC, officially kicking off the regulatory process that the company needs to get through in order to buy DirecTV and allow the two to live happily ever after. [More]
FCC Could Use Mergers To Force Net Neutrality, But Shouldn’t
By 5.23.14
It’s a big year for the FCC. It’s got two huge mergers to review — Comcast/Time Warner Cable, AT&T/DirecTV — while also trying to reinstate the recently gutted net neutrality laws without ticking off the entire Internet. These related issues put the FCC in a position to force some cable operators to accept stricter net neutrality, but that’s really just kicking the can down the road. [More]
6 Things Consumers Can Expect If AT&T and DirecTV Merge
By 5.21.14
2014 is apparently the year of the TV merger. Over the weekend AT&T and DirecTV announced their plans to join in corporate marriage. So if a phone giant buys a satellite giant, what’s the end result for consumers? [More]
AT&T Can Walk Away From DirecTV Deal If NFL Sunday Ticket Not Renewed
By 5.20.14
Over the weekend, AT&T and DirecTV announced a huge $49 billion merger deal to make the nation’s largest satellite provider even larger and bolster the second-largest wireless provider’s efforts to compete with Verizon. But this merger could all fall to pieces if DirecTV doesn’t renew its exclusive deal with the NFL. [More]
AT&T Makes Deal To Acquire DirecTV, Bring Satellite Service To Death Star
By 5.18.14
After weeks of being spotted together walking hand in hand in the park (under the mindful eyes of their banker chaperones), AT&T and DirecTV have officially announced they want to spend the rest of their lives in wedded bliss. Of course, since happiness isn’t always free, said bliss involves AT&T paying $49 billion in stock and cash. [More]
AT&T & DirecTV Reportedly Near $50 Billion Deal To Put Satellite On Death Star
By 5.12.14
Spring is in the air, and the rumors of a blossoming romance between AT&T and DirecTV are heating up. The latest gossip from those always dependable “sources close to the situation” is that the nation’s #2 wireless provider and its #1 satellite TV service are haggling over the details of a deal worth $50 billion. [More]
