33 Years of the Digest ... founded August 21, 1981
Copyright © 2015 E. William Horne. All Rights Reserved.

The Telecom Digest for Jan 3, 2015
Volume 34 : Issue 2 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
Re: Government Report: No High Speed Broadband Competition (Neal McLain)
Verizon has started shutting down its 3G network (Bill Horne)
Verizon Shells Out $1.3 Million to settle overcharging claim (Bill Horne)
CenturyLink confirms outage (Bill Horne)
Scammers Targeting Verizon Wireless Users (Bill Horne)

The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.  - Franklin D. Roosevelt

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Date: Fri, 2 Jan 2015 13:23:42 -0800 (PST) From: Neal McLain <nmclain.remove-this@and-this-too.annsgarden.com> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Government Report: No High Speed Broadband Competition Message-ID: <f9216bad-4a3a-41e9-9abb-1bedc454514a@googlegroups.com> On Sunday, December 28, 2014 10:32:33 AM UTC-6, Bill Horne wrote: > Government Report: No High Speed Broadband Competition: > Blame AT&T, Verizon & CenturyLink's Two Decades of Broken > Promises. The cited report states seven conclusions, one of which is: > This has allowed the cable companies to have a monopoly > for broadband and cable service in most of the country, > or even in the markets where there are two providers, a > duopoly. All of this means no competition to lower > prices. Once again I ask my long-standing question: Does building two wireline networks really promote lower retail prices? In my experience it costs a lot of money to build a wireline network. Overbuilding an existing wireline network would cost *at least as much* -- and probably more than the cost of building the first network. In a previous (2004) T-D post I wrote an extensive post addressing this issue: "Re: Verizon Cable TV?" 5 posts by 4 authors. 8/22/04. https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.dcom.telecom/H4fIsd8EY38/gpIFUQ60RtIJ -or- http://tinyurl.com/pzsjjeb In this report I cited three reasons to justify my argument: 1. Simple economics. 2. Buried-cable construction costs. 3. Franchise requirements. But even if the cost of the second network were the same as the first network, it should be obvious that the total capital investment to build two networks would be double the investment to build one network. Yet the number of potential subscribers would remain the same, so each company's potential subscriber base would be reduced. If, for example, each company got 50% of the subscribers, its total revenue would be only half of the total. In short, each company's ROI would be cut in half. I simply don't understand how this situation would result in lower retail prices. Neal McLain
Date: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 23:02:16 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Verizon has started shutting down its 3G network Message-ID: <m87pjf$5g4$1@dont-email.me> Verizon has started shutting down its 3G network by Ryan Whitwam It's the beginning of the end for 3G networks in the US. Verizon, a carrier that once touted its supremacy in 3G coverage, has started switching it off. In place of its 3G network, Verizon will expand 4G LTE coverage, which has been its main push since the first locations went online back in 2010. If you're still relying on Big Red's 3G network, you might be looking at a device upgrade before long. Verizon's LTE network started out in the 700MHz block C range, but has since been expanded to AWS 1700/2100. Verizon calls this XLTE, but that's just a marketing term - it's just another LTE frequency to increase bandwidth. The 3G network runs on 1900 and 850MHz, and is used for both voice and 3G data known as EV-DO. While EV-DO has a theoretical max of 3.1Mbps, Verizon has been diverting backhaul to the 4G network for years. You're lucky to get more than a few hundred kilobits on Verizon's 3G anymore. http://www.geek.com/mobile/verizon-has-started-shutting-down-its-3g-network-1610986/ -or- http://goo.gl/XpCUJs -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my address to write to me directly)
Date: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 22:49:36 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Verizon Shells Out $1.3 Million to settle overcharging claim Message-ID: <m87orn$3cu$1@dont-email.me> Verizon Shells Out $1.3 Million to Resolve Allegations That It Overcharged [Massachusetts] by Hannah Sparks Verizon New England Inc. paid more than $1.3 million to settle a lawsuit pending in Hampshire Superior Court alleging that it overcharged the Commonwealth for phone services, the Attorney General's Office said Tuesday. Between September 2006 and October 2012, the AG contends that Verizon invoiced some of its state contract customers for items and services including local calling usage, regional toll service, flat rate business lines, flat rate trunks, and business listings at a higher rate than the statewide procurement contract allowed. http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/12/30/verizon-shells-out-million-resolve-allegations-that-overcharged-the-state/b01HUopcD6gNON3A9Z3BWL/story.html -or- http://goo.gl/Q3xXF2 -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my address to write to me directly)
Date: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 23:11:33 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: CenturyLink confirms outage Message-ID: <m87q4s$6oo$1@dont-email.me> CenturyLink confirms outage by Rachel Huber A brief phone outage in the Jacksonville area seems to have gone mostly unnoticed by area businesses. A piece of equipment in a local Century Link office caused problems for customers using land lines in the city for about an hour starting around 9 a.m. Friday (December 26), said Derek Kelly, market development manager at CenturyLink. About half of the Jacksonville residents that use CenturyLink were affected. http://www.jdnews.com/jdnewstream/centurylink-confirms-outage-1.417916 -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my address to write to me directly)
Date: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 22:58:33 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Scammers Targeting Verizon Wireless Users Message-ID: <m87pcf$4m7$1@dont-email.me> Scammers Targeting Verizon Wireless Users by Ali Ingersoll STATE COLLEGE, Centre County (Pennsylvania) -- Scammers are calling Verizon customers and asking them to take a quick survey then stealing their personal information. David Morgan who is the regional manager at Wireless Made Simple says their first customer came in a few days ago at their Johnstown location. Since then, around 30 customers have called or visited the three Wireless Made Simple [stores that] Morgan oversees. http://www.wearecentralpa.com/story/d/story/scammers-targeting-verizon-wireless-users/24754/uDHVallu1UCLkZfc0iOgzw -or- http://goo.gl/UjGX24 -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my address to write to me directly)

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