Posted by: AT&T Blog Team on July 29, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Background – Congresswoman Jane Harman has introduced the ‘‘Next Generation Public Safety Device Act of 2010,’’ legislation that directs NTIA to conduct competitions and award grants for the development of next generation public safety devices. The following statement may be attributed to AT&T Executive Vice President-Federal Relations Tim McKone:
“We applaud Congresswoman Harman for introducing legislation that provides a solid foundation for funding the development of next generation devices for public safety. Importantly, the legislation gives priority to projects that are interoperable with other commercial bands, which will give first responders the comfort in knowing that vital communications will work in emergencies.
“Also, AT&T believes that backward compatibility with 3G and 2G commercial networks should be a minimum requirement for public safety devices as it enhances interoperability for the men and women of the public safety community.”
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Posted by: AT&T Blog Team on July 29, 2010 at 2:11 pm
By Mike Bennett, AT&T Executive Director-Consumer & Government Affairs
Did you know that during the last half of 2009, the wireless industry handled the equivalent of the entire catalog of books in the Library of Congress every single hour of every single day? And that amount of traffic is projected to double each year through 2014. Impressive, huh? How about the fact that, in addition to this incredible data growth, the industry handled over 2 trillion voice minutes, over 1.5 trillion text messages, and 35 billion picture/video messages?
It’s pretty incredible when you think about all the benefits the U.S. wireless market brings to consumers, and the country, every day. It is a true American success story. Since it was released May 20, we’ve been addressing various aspects of the Commission’s 14th Annual Wireless Competition Report, which failed to celebrate this success by not concluding that there is effective competition in the wireless marketplace. This was both baffling and troubling. The wireless industry may well be the most competitive industry in America, and we have shown that it is certainly the most competitive wireless market in the world.
All that we have highlighted in this series of blogs – from investment to price competition to non-price competition – accrues to the benefit of the consumer. The industry has rolled out numerous consumer-friendly practices in the past several years, including the elimination of roaming and long distance charges as well as the introduction of unlimited calling plans. Customer disclosure material at the point of sale has been substantially improved and detailed street level coverage map tools are now widely available. The return period for service and equipment has increased, as have customer self-service capabilities. Consumers can also easily set limits on their usage, and carriers now provide courtesy usage alerts to help customers manage monthly bills.
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Posted by: AT&T Blog Team on July 28, 2010 at 6:34 pm
By Celia Nogales, Assistant Vice President of Regulatory
Today, CTIA – The Wireless Association, released an updated version of the “Consumer Code for Wireless Service.” Developed seven years ago, the Code is designed to ensure consumers have the information they need in choosing and managing wireless services. With the rapidly changing marketplace, consumers can choose from a wide, and ever expanding, variety of exciting mobile technologies and services.
AT&T has been a proud supporter of the Code since its inception and we are pleased to join CTIA and our fellow industry members in today’s effort. The 2010 updates to the Code include critical changes that reflect the growing marketplace and address issues such as data usage and network management practices.
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