AT&T: Free Mobile to Landline Calls.....whoop de doo

NetworkWorld reports,

"Following on the heels of their mobile video announcement, Cingular and AT&T last week announced that the Cingular Wireless brand would take the AT&T name. But what we believe was the more important announcement last week is of a new offer for unlimited free calling between wireless and wireline phone numbers."

This story is all over the stinkin' Internet.

And I just have to ask...."is it really that big of a deal....really?"

C'mon, they've had the capacity to do this for years. But they finally decide to unfurl this "awesome" solution just because AT&T purchased another company and bequeathed upon them the blessing of the AT&T name?

Go figure. Well, at a time when many of us are giving up our landlines (and the checks we've been sending to AT&T for the last 30+ years), I'm so impressed that we're being told we can have free mobile to landline calls.

There's a phrase we used in Junior High....let's see, it went something like this:

Whoop De Doo.

Dennis
WirelessJobs.com

The Telecom Conundrum (not for the faint of heart)

It's almost as if John Madden is responsible for creating the diagram that sent this whole Telecom-thing in to a tailspin.

Ok, we need some clarity, and Stephen Colbert is just the guy to do it.

Honestly, if somebody explained the evolution of Telecom to you back in 1956, would you have believed 'em?

Click below and be prepared to crack up.

Wireless Provider to use AT&T Name

No shocker here:

Cingular wireless may have the fewest dropped calls, but the popular brand name is being dropped in favor of the global AT&T Inc. nameplate, effective Jan. 15.

In a move that comes about following the completion of the AT&T/BellSouth merger, the 6-year-old Cingular brand will now be known as AT&T Wireless.

"AT&T, BellSouth and Cingular are now one company, and going to market with our services under one brand is the right thing to do,"

Edward Whitacre Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of AT&T, said in a statement.

The new branding campaign will be called "Raising It Higher."

Cingular's 58.7 million customers won't have to change telephone numbers or get new equipment during the transition.

source: Detroit Free Press (Freep.com), BY ALEJANDRO BODIPO-MEMBA

Cingular ups SMS fee to 15 cents

Cingular has announced a 50% price increase for the price for an SMS message. Starting January 21st SMS messages will cost 15 cents (this applies to both sending and receiving). Sprint made this same move back in October.

Despite the hefty price increase, Cingular customers will not be able to renig on their contracts. Sprint allowed users without a bulk rate SMS plan to cancel their contracts without an early termination free (usually around $200) after the price hike. Sprint did not reveal how many customers took advantage of that offer however.

Cingular will try to use this move as a way to get more customers to sign up for a bulk SMS plan. The base plan is $5 monthly for 200 messages and the top plan is $20 for 3,000.

T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless still offer messages at 10 cents apiece.

Source: MobileTracker