Tuesday, November 17, 2009
AT&T’s Verizon Ad Battle: Who’s Being Hurt Worse?
First, let’s set the scene: In one corner, you have Verizon.
First, let’s set the scene: In one corner, you have Verizon.
Verizon began advertising its 3G coverage against AT&T’s in a series of ads poking fun at Apple’s “there’s an app for that” iPhone commercials, presenting coverage maps of its own 3G CDMA/EVDO network in red against much more limited 3G service coverage maps for AT&T’s 3G network presented in blue.
Verizon Wireless’s “There’s a Map For That” ads are already a fading memory for those eyeing the newer Droid campaign, but AT&T hasn’t forgotten them.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mounted a recent push to turn network neutrality “principles” into official regulations–and in doing so has stirred up the net neutrality hornet’s nest once again.
In the early years of the Internet, the more time people spent online, the more they paid a provider like AOL for their connection. But as customers have shifted to always-on broadband services, many Web surfers have enjoyed all-you-can-eat Internet for a flat rate.
AT&T’s top lobbyist, Jim Cicconi, sent a letter to all of the telecom giant’s 300,000 employees on Sunday, urging them to express their concerns over a net neutrality proposal under consideration by the Federal Communications Commission.
Wow, this is pretty strange behavior for a company that is hemorrhaging access lines.
AT&T has unveiled plans to raise landline phone rates by more than 20 percent in California, according to both the San Jose Mercury News and the San Francisco Chronicle.
The already intensively competitive wireless sector today finds itself with a tough new player: Wal-Mart. The retailing giant has teamed up with American Movil to sell low-cost service under the Straight Talk brand. The company is offering unlimited voice and text minutes for $45 a month, or 1,000 minutes and 1,000 text messages for $30 a month.
The Department of Justice has finally admitted it in court papers: The nation’s telecom companies are an arm of the government–at least when it comes to secret spying.
On Wednesday, a startup called OnLive that’s generating a lot of buzz–and skepticism–in the videogame world raised a new round of financing from AT&T, Warner Bros. and others. We spoke to OnLive founder Steve Perlman, a well-known serial entrepreneur, about the investment (which wasn’t quantified) and some of the implications if OnLive or startups like it are successful.
Three weeks ago, I got a call on a friend’s iPhone while in the middle of a desert; cell phone coverage had come to Burning Man. By contrast, several calls I made last night to my parents from my San Francisco apartment were dropped and a subsequent connection became garbled.
Top U.S. telecommunications executives Thursday gave a mixed outlook on the economy, saying business conditions have stabilized but they don’t see signs of a quick recovery.
The telecom industry has been relatively shielded from the worst effects of the downturn thanks to the growing need for wireless and Internet services. But it isn’t completely immune, as carriers face continued landline losses, weak demand from businesses and pricing pressure in wireless.
So, AT&T has jumped into action in response to the growing chorus of complaints about the deteriorating quality of the company’s wireless network: they’ve posted a video by someone called Seth the Blogger Guy. (He’s actually Seth Bloom, who works in the telco’s PR group.)
I see a trend.
Back in July, I wrote a post based on a Bernstein Research report which considered the question of whether the Apple iPhone has been a blessing or a curse for AT&T, citing among other factors the strain the data-happy iPhone users are placing on the company’s 3G network.
In the latest, weirdest twist to the crazy trading in Vonage, there apparently are rumors that the company could be acquired by AT&T. That just might be the dumbest rumor I’ve ever heard.
For starters, AT&T a few years ago started its own voice over IP service called CallVantage–but quietly shut down the service earlier this year.
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