---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <20190531212339.GA20716@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 31 May 2019 21:23:39 +0000 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: As AT&T Releases Q4 Earnings, CWA Denounces Ongoing Layoffs, Slashing of 11,000+ Jobs Since Tax Cut Today, as AT&T announced its Q4 earnings, the company faces calls for a Congressional investigation due to unfulfilled promises on jobs. AT&T reported net profits of $19.4 billion for 2018 and is projecting free cash flow of $26 billion for 2019. The company sees steady growth in all its business units and increased profitability in wireless. Despite these strong results the company is making deep cuts in its workforce. Today's report shows that AT&T has eliminated 11,780 jobs in 2018 alone (see table below). AT&T is also on track to pay out three-quarters of its 2018 profits to shareholders in the form of dividends and share buybacks. Members of the Communications Workers of America, who are bargaining with the company for a new contract in the Midwest and Legacy T units, have serious concerns about the company's gutting of good, family-supporting jobs. https://cwa-union.org/news/releases/att-releases-q4-earnings-cwa-denounces-ongoing-layoffs-slashing-of-11000-jobs-tax-cut -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <9068719C-2F66-4BB0-88D7-D3633B0251D5@roscom.com> Date: 29 May 2019 16:36:06 -0400 From: "Monty Solomon" <monty@roscom.com> Subject: How to limit iPhone app tracking Our tech columnist offers some practical advice for fighting back against iOS apps hungry for your personal data. By Geoffrey A. Fowler Apps tracking your activity - even while you sleep - is a pervasive practice, including on Apple's iPhone. What can you do to limit some of it? https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/05/28/how-limit-iphone-app-tracking/ ***** Moderator's Note ***** Or, you could buy a phone from a vendor which doesn't think you're a sheep to be shorn ... Bill Horne Moderator ------------------------------ Message-ID: <4542E6FF-0910-4F44-A4EE-985C30FB5DEE@roscom.com> Date: 29 May 2019 16:21:28 -0400 From: "Monty Solomon" <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Verizon Share Name ID The caller ID displayed on calls to land lines from Verizon cell phones, for any line on the account, is now the account owner instead of "wireless caller". It looks like you can use the Share Name ID feature to edit the name displayed for each line on your Verizon account. Share Name ID FAQs https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/share-name-id-faqs/ ***** Moderator's Note ***** OMG, I love it! I'm going to change my name to "The Great and Powerful Oz!" Bill Horne Moderator ------------------------------ Message-ID: <0959C941-2928-4880-AC1E-10DE65B0A081@roscom.com> Date: 1 Jun 2019 11:22:59 -0400 From: "Monty Solomon" <monty@roscom.com> Subject: How Qualcomm shook down the cell phone industry for almost 20 years We did a deep-dive into the 233-page ruling declaring Qualcomm a monopolist. By Timothy B. Lee In 2005, Apple contacted Qualcomm as a potential supplier for modem chips in the first iPhone. Qualcomm's response was unusual: a letter demanding that Apple sign a patent licensing agreement before Qualcomm would even consider supplying chips. "I'd spent 20 years in the industry, I had never seen a letter like this," said Tony Blevins, Apple's vice president of procurement. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/05/how-qualcomm-shook-down-the-cell-phone-industry-for-almost-20-years/ ***** Moderator's Note ***** I'm always amused when a brand name player has a temper tantrum about a supplier that refuses to prostrate themselves at the mega-corp door. Bill Horne Moderator ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Sun, 02 Jun 2019