Verizon Wireless to refund $50 million over software glitch
Following an investigation with the FCC, Verizon Wireless agreed to credit customers who were erroneously charged for accessing data services on their cell phone.
Burning Questions: Do telcos understand variable cost economics?
Somewhere from my fuzzy recollection of economics classes, I seem to remember that as products evolved in their lifecycles, you moved from “charge what market will bear” to “variable cost pricing “ – i.e. make sure price covers your variable costs and there is some left over to cover residual fixed costs. If anything, I [...]
The new normal in telecom
I led a lively session at the Cognizant Community in Phoenix with Deb Lucas of Comcast and Thomas Knight of AT&T. I used 2 slides (extract below) to summarize all the innovation and challenges around telecomms showcased in my upcoming book The New Polymath. Deb described the automation and efficiencies Comcast is building into its [...]
After the iPad – Wireless Price Wars?
Image by Getty Images via Daylife First I should get my opinion on the $AAPL iPad out of the way. Yes, I want one – but I will probably get rid of my iPhone if I do. Lack of multitasking and a keyboard drives me nuts. I want a $GOOG Android phone. iPad is cool media [...]
Dumb and Dumber – pipes
As I researched my upcoming book on innovation, I was struck by how much innovation there has been in telecommunications in the last decade. Alexander Bell, he of patent 174,465, must be looking down in awe. Apple, its app store,…
Poor Poor pitiful ATT
The Fake Steve Jobs unloads in a hilarious post on AT&T for trying to create “incentives that would encourage people to stop using AT&T’s data network so much.” Along comes Randall Stross in New York Times and quotes Roger Entner,…
Verizon pulling defeat from jaws of victory
I liked Verizon’s list of technology trends here In 2006, I said the future is so bright for telcos as they sit bang in the middle of 5 “mega-trends” – Globalization – SaaS – Mobility – Collaboration – Telemetry (GPS,…
Not free, but reasonably priced, conference calling
I have written positively about my experience with FreeConference.com for almost a decade now. You and others pay your own long-distance charges to a common conference number, usually in a rural state like Iowa. The service provider then charges termination…
Net Neutrality – Winners & Losers
Regardless of how free-marketeers (like me) feel about it, ‘Net Neutrality‘ is about to be upon us, as the FCC yesterday voted unamimously to begin drafting new rules on network providers.
Challenges are already being posed, and if there is a significant change in the makeup of Congress in the 2010 elections this legislation could be [...]
