July 3, 2009

You could make payments by cell phone in the near future. Instead of cash or debit cards you will be able to use your cell phones as a 21st-century form of high-tech wallet

July 2, 2009

MetroPCS Communications Inc on Wednesday unveiled a discounted international calling service, its latest effort to appeal to cost conscious U.S. consumers.

July 1, 2009

Cell phone users in the European Union will enjoy significant savings when "roaming" within the bloc's 27 member states from July 1 with the introduction of new pricing rules.

June 30, 2009

The world's ten major mobile phone manufacturers have agreed to produce a universal charger for users across Europe, with the first such chargers expected to be introduced on the EU market next year

June 29, 2009

Verizon and Alltel have agreed to refund an estimated $30 million to Florida cell phone customers billed for ringtones and other features that people did not order or did not know would add monthly fees from $9.99 to $49.99.

June 25, 2009

Customer Care Ratings

T-Mobile Tops JD Power’s 2007 Customer Care Study --

Wireless Provider Performance Declines Significantly When Customer Care Issues Are Handled by a Computerized Response System

According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Wireless Customer Care Performance Study realeased in January 2007, customer service issues that are handled by a computer automated response system (ARS) on the telephone generate significantly lower customer care ratings when compared with issues handled by a live representative.

The semi-annual study provides a detailed report card on wireless provider customer care performance based on customer experiences with three point-of-contact methods: telephone calls with a service representative and/or automated response system (ARS); visits to a retail wireless store; and online Internet connection. Within each contact method, processing issues such as problem resolution efficiency and hold-time duration are also measured.

For a fifth consecutive reporting period, T-Mobile ranks highest among the five largest wireless service providers by creating a positive experience among customers who contact the carrier for service or assistance. With an index score of 107 points, T-Mobile performs well across all factors that determine overall satisfaction, particularly in the ARS and retail contact channels, and in the overall hold-time duration on the phone. Verizon Wireless (101) and Alltel (99), respectively, follow T-Mobile in the rankings.

Carrier	Index Score
T-Mobile	107
Verizon Wireless	101
AllTel	99
Cingular	94
Sprint Nextel	92

Source: J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Wireless Customer Care Performance Study

The study also finds several key wireless customer care patterns:

More than one-half (55%) of wireless users have contacted the customer service department for assistance within the past year, marking a nearly 7 percent decline from the most recent reporting period (July 2006).
The average number of contacts necessary to resolve an inquiry by phone is 1.87—up from 1.76 in the previous reporting period.
Among customers who contact their provider, 73 percent do so by telephone and 24 percent do so through their provider’s retail store. E-mail/Internet accounts for only 3 percent of customer contacts.
The average initial reported hold time on calls to the customer service department is 3.58 minutes. In comparison, it takes an average of 8 minutes before speaking in-person to a representative at one of the provider’s retail stores.
More than four in 10 customers (42%) contact their provider with a billing-related service inquiry, with 55 percent of these contacts attributed to inaccurate charges. Additionally, 30 percent of all customer care inquiries are call-quality related.