2006 J.D. Power Wireless Call Quality Performance Study

May 5, 2008

T-Mobile USA launched its first commercial high-speed wireless service in New York City, and plans to expand the service to 20 to 25 other major U.S. markets by the end of the year.

April 23, 2008

The battle over cell phones in schools ended with the state's appeals court voting to uphold a ban on cell phones in public schools in New York city.

April 15, 2008

Cuban government has eased restrictions on buying cellular phones for the first time and also allowed registering those they had held illegally.

April 10, 2008

The FCC has approved a new nationwide alert system that will send text messages to cell phones to alert Americans when an emergency, disaster or attack occurs. The plan itself will deliver three different types of charge-free text alerts to mobile phone users.

April 8, 2008

The European Union has approved in-flight cell phone use for all of its 27 member nations. An on-board base station will relay phone signals to either a satellite or ground towers.

April 2, 2008

AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega said that AT&T was expecting a 3G iPhone within the next few months., when asked about plans to sell a third-generation (3G) iPhone.

2006 J.D. Power Wireless Call Quality Performance Study

According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Wireless Call Quality Performance StudySM released in September 2006, the percentage of wireless calls being made and received inside buildings, such as at home and work, now exceeds those made outside, impacting the overall rate of customers experiencing a wireless call quality problem, .

J.D. Power found that 51% of wireless call transactions are generated indoors, compared to 47% last year, and claimed that the increase in indoor calls affects the overall rate of customers experiencing a wireless call quality problem. It noted that 29% of all wireless calls are now placed indoors in homes, increasing from 27% in 2005, while wireless calls made in vehicles have decreased to 27% from 31% last year.

The study measures the number of problems experienced with wireless call quality on a semi-annual basis. Call quality is based on seven customer-reported problem areas that impact overall carrier performance. They are: dropped/disconnected calls; static/interference; connection on first try; voice distortion; echoes; timely voice mail notification; and timely text message notification.

Verizon Wireless ranks highest in three of the six U.S. regions included in the study. Alltel and T-Mobile rank highest in two regions, while U.S. Cellular ranks highest in one region.

2006 J.D. Power and Associates' Wireless Call Quality Award Recipients:

Regions*	Carrier Ranking in Highest Satisfaction (2006 Award Recipients)
Northeast	Verizon Wireless
Mid-Atlantic	Verizon Wireless
Southeast	Alltel (tie) T-Mobile (tie) Verizon Wireless (tie)
Southwest	Alltel
North Central	U.S. Cellular
West	T-Mobile

source: J.D. Power and Associates

* Regions

Northeast Region includes: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Mid-Atlantic Region includes: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
Southeast Region includes: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
North Central Region includes: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Southwest Region includes: Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
West Region includes: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, South Dakota, Washington and Wyoming.