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Thursday 29 October 2015

Despite Contracts, Verizon and Others Using New Pricing Plans





Those who have complained for years about issues with cell phone plans, contracts and data services, they are confused about the bills they have recently received. Many wireless companies are shifting towards a different pricing system. 

Verizon has recently announced its new plan sizes.

“We listened to our customers and our customers told us they wanted a simplified plan,” says Kyle Lyles, the general manager of the company’s Pooler store. “We want to give our customers as many choices as possible.”

It is an era where traditional contracts have come to an end. Lyles announced a new kind of data plan ranging from $30 per month to $80 per month for the extra-large plan. He stated there is flexibility in the plans as they can be changed according to the requirements. If you want to opt for a small plan for the first month and a bigger one in another month, then you can switch easily.
 
People are aware of the fact that companies keep on changing their plans and the offer of the free phone is no longer absolute. In most cases, you will not pay for a phone or tablet with the monthly data. Lyles says the company has brought transparency in the bills so the customers are happy.  In the case of Verizon, a smartphone will be $20 per month and a tablet will be $10 per month. He feels it can’t get any simpler than $20 for a phone, $10 for a tablet, then $30 for one Gigabyte of data.
Considering the plan, it will definitely enable customers to get connected without the traditional annual contract or credit checks. However, Lyles clarified that customers can certainly continue with a more traditional pricing contract, but their feedback indicates that most of them don’t want too many options.

Sunday 18 October 2015

Verizon Will Now Share User's Browsing Habits with AOL's Network


When Verizon was clubbed with AOL earlier this year, both the companies claimed they were teaming up to pursue and build up the most significant media platform in the world. There is another thing that they both are sharing and that is your personal data. From November, Verizon will start relaying information shared by its supercookie as an identifier in mobile used as a standard for customer networks. AOL’s network is present on 40% of all websites and now will be able to match data plan users with the details they have and verify the same. Briefly, Verizon will build profiles of the browsing habits of users and target them with particular ads based on their cell phone usage.

This new shift has raised eyebrows because this tracking method will allow the third party to follow you around the internet. Unfortunately, the method is not only invasive but also unencrypted, enabling outside sources to more easily get their hands on it. Earlier in November, AT&T had banned the use of the supercookie after a public outrage. Verizon persisted, by saying it was "unlikely that sites and ad entities will attempt to build customer profiles." A few months later, it was revealed that the ad company Turn was reviving tracking "supercookies" on Verizon customers' phones even after they had attempted to delete it. In response, Verizon said it would work with Turn to ensure that its use of the supercookie was "consistent with the purposes we intended."

The second largest network in the U.S allowed its customers to opt for the supercookie option and is enabled on Verizon phones but most users don’t know about its existence. However, with Verizon’s clubbing with AOL, which is a massive ad network, traffic tracking will get aggressive and less transparent. 

Monday 12 October 2015

Obama Allows US Telecom Carriers to Go to Cuba





As part of Washington's normalization with Cuba, the Treasury Department is relaxing more of its sanctions against the small island nation. Now, any American can easily travel to Cuba. Moreover, it has become simple to transfer money and set up bank accounts there. The current change in the policy has laid the groundwork for a substantial transformation of the culture and politics of Cuba.

The Obama administration has not only opened diplomatic relations by allowing their telecom services in the nation but is also permitting U.S. telecom carriers to enter Cuba in a meaningful way. Surprisingly, U.S. telecom companies can also open their shops in Cuba by partnering with Cuban entities and enter into a licensing agreement with the providers to benefit the country with connectivity. What’s more, Americans are free to hire Cuban software developers and bring their mobile apps into their country. This will surely turn out to be a huge deal. According to U.S. venture capitalists, this step is a fantastic investment that will benefit both countries. Cuba designed apps will help facilitate interaction between family members who live far off and this will also help the country to grow the local economy. 

"Cuba has a lot of educated, tech-savvy young people," said Jack Nadler, a lawyer at Squire Patton Boggs who's advised developing countries on their telecommunications policies. "Assuming the Cuban government allows those relationships to develop, this could be a big win-win for both countries."

 ubans access global internet as mobile internet from the state run wireless carrier, ETESCA that is costing $2 per hour which is approximately 10% of what a Cuban government official makes every month. Though things are evolving rapidly. However, don’t expect Cubans to flock the internet suddenly and lift the restrictions on U.S. telecom and Internet firms. 

Monday 5 October 2015

Verizon Starts to Offer Cellphone Roaming in Cuba


Verizon recently announced that it would start roaming wireless services in Cuba. It is the first company ever to offer such service in Cuba. This is the first attempt from Verizon Inc. to improve relations between Cuba and US. 

The US has always been known for its excellent telecommunication services and its helping hand towards Cuba would make communications there better. This attempt has thereby improved the relation between the nations in telecommunications. Telecom equipment were the exempted services of the US economic embargo after Havana and Washington proposed to restore diplomatic relations in December. 

Verizon is making the option expensive by offering voice call services at the rate of $2.99 per minute and $2.05 per megabyte for data. Americans need to purchase a pay as you go cellphone through ETECSA (Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba SA) in order to get cellular service in the island or it should have a cellular account in a third country. ETECSA won’t offer data.

Boost Mobile, that is part of Sprint, released a prepaid plan in April for US subscribers which was termed as calling and texting Cuba. US based IDT Corp clubbed with ETECSA in an agreement in April to offer its customers direct international long distance services. Earlier, phone communication between both these countries had to pass through the third country. 

Only 2 million people in Cuba own a cellphone out of a population of 11 million. Cuba officials announced that the US embargo has weak development and they feel they will reach 60% mobile phone access by 2020.