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§ September 26th, 2012 § Filed under hail § Tagged phone § No Comments
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The U.S. has fallen behind much of the Western world when it comes to phone, cable and Internet service. Americans actually pay much more for inferior service compared to their global counterparts.
In his new book, The Fine Print: How Big Companies Use ‘Plain English’ to Rob You Blind, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Cay Johnston highlights these astounding facts:
- Americans pay four times as much as the French for an Internet triple-play package?phone, cable TV and Internet?at an average of $160 per month versus $38 per month.
- The French get global free calling and worldwide live television. Their Internet is also 10 times faster at downloading information and 20 times faster uploading it.
- America has gone from #1 in Internet speed (when we invented it) to 29th in the world and falling.
- Bulgaria is among the countries with faster Internet service.
- Americans pay 38 times as much as the Japanese for Internet data.
Since the mid-1970′s when Ma Bell was cited as holding a monopoly over phone service, Americans have been told more competition would lower their phone bill. But the promise of lower prices has actually led to higher prices, says Johnston.
In his book, he tells of a woman who in 1984 paid $9.51 for her local phone service. He writes:
“By 2003 her bill had swollen fourfold to $38.90. In the two decades since the breakup of the AT&T monopoly, even after adjusting for inflation, [her] telephone cost $2.30 for each dollar paid in 1984. And that was without any charges for long-distance calls.”
Not only have prices increased, phone service providers now charge fees for everything, including options that used to be free, such as directory service. Bills have also become increasingly complicated. A poll of 1,000 people found that only three people actually knew how to read their statement. That means virtually no one understands their phone bill in its entirety.
Of cable service Johnston writes:
“Since 1995, average cable prices have been rising 2.6 times faster than the cost of living, reaching an average of almost $53 a month for basic, no frill service in 2009, FCC reports show….
According to SNL Kagan, a market research firm, the average cable bill in 2011 was $78, almost double the price of $40 in 2001 and significantly higher than the FCC figure.
How did this happen?
“The telecos got the rules changed while we weren’t watching,” says Johnston in the accompanying interview. Basically, the phone and cable companies lobbied Washington to change laws and regulations to favor their business over their customers.
And remember the so-called “Information Superhighway”?
Over the course of the last 20 years, nearly $500 billion has been collected by the telecom companies to (allegedly) bring America into the 21st century with an “Information Superhighway,” says Johnston. That works out ot $3,000 per household to have access to high-speed Internet.
But America did not get what it was promised and much of the country will never get fiber optic lines, Johnston tells The Daily Ticker. And even in cities that do have the faster service, the service is not always accessible.
“This is terrible for commerce and our economic future,” says Johnston, adding that our global competitors are investing in the proper infrastructure.
“The companies essentially have a business model that is antithetical to economic growth,” he says. “Profits go up if they can provide slow Internet at super high prices.”
The relationship between phone and cable providers has essentially become a cartel, says Johnston, who cites the relationship between Verizon and Comcast.
He writes:
Verizon announced in 2008 that it would stop building out its FiOS (fiber-optic system) once it reaches about 16 million of America’s 100 million households….
Instead, it has made deals with Comcast to sell its services using Comcast cables. Verizon said it anticipates similar deals with other cable providers to sell of their systems.
In terms of phone service, what America really got was a duopoly, says Johnston, noting that AT&T and Verizon control 60% of phone service in America.
Tell us what you think!
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Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/why-phone-cable-internet-bills-cost-much-130914030.html
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In a perfect world, your grandparents wouldn’t need a lick of help getting the most out of a smartphone, but let’s face it: the devices are complex, and if you don’t have the proper motivation, they can be a bit difficult to learn. You’ve previously seen the C900 from Clarity, and tonight we stumbled upon its second generation of handsets for senior citizens known as the Pal.
Similar to the predecessor, the phone features a panic button on the back that’ll call and text message up to five people in the case of an emergency. Other features consist of a backlit keypad that can read aloud the numbers that are pressed, along with a talking caller ID and up to 26dB of amplification for the earpiece. We received a quick demo of this last feature, and the volume was sufficient enough to cut through a noisy room while allowing us to hear everything that was said — in other words, we have no doubt that the Clarity Pal will be perfectly suitable for those with moderate hearing impairment. The phone is compatible with GSM networks in the US and Canada, and for more ambitious seniors, it features SMS functionality and Bluetooth for pairing with Clarity’s headset. Fortunately, the company has gone through a good amount of effort to refine and simplify the menu scheme, which is quite helpful for those wanting only the basics. The Clarity Pal will be available on May 28th through the company’s website and will sell for $99. If you’ve got someone in your life who might need a simpler phone, take a peek at the gallery below.
Sean Cooper contributed to this report
Clarity Pal hands-on, a new phone for senior citizens originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 22:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The new flagship Android superphone stumbles out of the gate
While there are several smartphone manufacturers that use Google’s?Android operating system, the Nexus line is often considered the cream of the crop. The Nexus line is the only series of handsets designed with the help of Google, and therefore the phone are always the first to get updates to the OS. The new Samsung?Galaxy Nexus debuted on December 17, and almost immediately customers began to report issues with some of the phone’s key features.
Signal strength
The most widespread problem deals with the phone’s less-than-impressive signal strength. Numerous customers are reporting that their shiny new smartphones simply can’t get a decent?3G or 4G connection. The outcry has become so broad that Verizon?issued a statement letting new Nexus owners know that a fix is on the way, though no date has been revealed for when the update will go live.
Finicky Face Unlock
But it’s not just signal strength that has new Nexus owners up in arms: it appears that Face Unlock ? a marquee feature of the brand new?Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system ? isn’t exactly perfect. In fact, our own testing confirmed that the new facial recognition technology, which unlocks your phone without so much as a tap, was only accurate about 50% of the time. The feature requires almost perfect lighting and a direct view of your face to even have a chance of unlocking your phone. If the device is even slightly askew, it tends to default to the secondary security function.
Touchy touchscreen
A lesser-reported issue ? and one that we weren’t able to produce on our own Galaxy Nexus ? has to do with a faulty touchscreen. Several users?report that their device’s massive 4.65″ multi-touch display fails to detect tactile input in some apps and games. Certain apps appear to be affected more than others:?the games?Heavy Gunner 3D,?Pew Pew 2,?ShadowGun and?Gun Bros. are confirmed as having the bug.?The issue can usually be corrected by exiting the offending app and then locking and unlocking the device; however, re-opening an app that has the bug will cause the problem to resurface.
Needless to say, some customers aren’t entirely pleased with their new purchase, and while the majority ? if not all ? of these problems can likely be solved through a free, over-the-air software update, Android early adopters are feeling the sting. If you’re one of the unlucky few experiencing a less-than-satisfactory introduction to your new?Galaxy Nexus, you can either wait until a fix appears, exchange it via your carrier’s return policy (most are 30-day), or jump ship entirely ? though the latter option?will definitely cost you.
This article originally appeared on Tecca
More from Tecca:
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20111220/tc_yblog_technews/galaxy-nexus-early-adopters-report-issues-with-signal-touchscreen
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WASHINGTON ? Federal regulators have unveiled a plan for overhauling the $8 billion fund that subsidizes phone service in rural areas and for the poor. It redirects the money toward broadband expansion.
The Federal Communications Commission’s plan, adopted Thursday, establishes a new “Connect America Fund” for mobile telephone and broadband in rural communities and needy areas.
The money will continue to come from a surcharge on consumers’ and businesses’ monthly phone bills. Rates should stay flat or decline for most consumers, an FCC commissioner said. The size of the fund will be capped at $4.5 billion annually.
The FCC also approved new rules for the complex system that governs how phone companies pay each other for phone calls.
The changes represent the Obama administration’s most significant overhaul of telecommunications regulations.
The administration has identified universal broadband as critical to driving economic development, producing jobs and expanding the reach of cutting-edge medicine and educational opportunities.
Overhaul of the system has been held up for years by competing interests.
The new fund will underwrite the cost of building and operating high-speed Internet networks in places that are too sparsely populated to justify costly corporate investments.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski called the action “a momentous step in our efforts to harness the benefits of broadband for every American.” It will enhance the U.S. position in a “fiercely competitive” global economy, he said before the 4-0 vote.
The agency estimates that the program will bring high-speed Internet access to about 7 million people living in rural areas over the next six years and will create some 500,000 jobs.
In addition, Genachowski said, changing the system governing how phone companies pay each other for calls will eliminate billions of dollars in “hidden subsidies” in phone bills and put millions back in consumers’ pockets.
The current system, virtually everyone in the industry agrees, is outdated and leads to perverse schemes by carriers to stimulate certain kinds of phone traffic.
“I don’t expect that overall consumer rates will go up as a result of this” action, Genachowski told reporters after the meeting. The overhaul “will deliver massive benefits to consumers” by expanding broadband capacity, he said.
The Universal Service Fund was created to ensure that all Americans have access to a basic telephone line. The program subsidizes phone service for the poor and pays for Internet access in schools, libraries and rural health clinics. But more than half the money goes to pay phone companies that provide phone service in rural places where lines are supposedly unprofitable.
Public Knowledge, a consumer advocacy group, said it was concerned that the new program “will lead to higher prices at a time when the average American is watching every penny.”
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111027/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_rural_broadband
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§ August 22nd, 2011 § Filed under hail § Tagged phone § No Comments
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You should consider how often you’ll a GPS when deciding how much to spend.
Source: http://techgadgetinfo.com/uncategorized/have-gps-will-travel/
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