By Josh Centers on October 15th, 2009
The Federal Communications Commission is asking for expert opinions on how to make cell phone bills simpler to understand.
Billshrink.com, a site that helps consumers find ways to save on their cell phone bills, filed its comment on Tuesday.
“The plans are complicated,” said Billshrink president and co-founder Schwark Satyavolu, “and there’s no way for consumers to stay on top of that.”
Billshrink said in its statement that the average cellphone subscriber overspends by $300 a year. It continued, saying that it had found $800 million
Continue reading Billshrink Offers FCC Ways to Simplify Cellular Bills
By Josh Centers on October 15th, 2009
California’s “Cool Cars” initiative seemed like it might be a cool idea: Ban the sale of darker colored vehicles, which in the long run would lead to less energy usage when cooling them down. Neat idea, if not a little…okay, extremely authoritarian. But now things are getting even more ridiculous.
Now the California Air Resources Board is insisting that automakers make windows more energy efficient. That seems reasonable. A 45% decrease in solar energy entering each vehicle by 2014. Also seems reasonable. A 60%
Continue reading Bureaucratix: California “Green” Regulation Will Block Radio Signals Inside Cars
By Josh Centers on October 10th, 2009
The Federal Communications Communication began an inquiry yesterday into Google Voice, the invite-only call forwarding and voicemail service.
The issue at hand is Google’s blocking of calls to select rural areas. Rural carriers are allowed to charge high termination fees. Fees that carriers such as AT&T are usually forced to absorb. Some businesses, such as sex hotlines and conference calling services, set up shop in these places to take advantage.
However, the FCC does not allow phone companies to block outgoing phone calls. AT&T
Continue reading FCC Launches Probe into Google Voice
By Josh Centers on October 8th, 2009
By Josh Centers on October 6th, 2009
ISP and VoIP provider Speakeasy is following MagicJack and Google Voice in blocking calls to rural areas, and may be violating FCC regulations in doing so.
Harold Feld at Wetmachine.com posted an email on Oct. 1, sent by Michael Czerwinski, VP of Customer Service at Speakeasy, informing users of the update to the Terms of Service. The email explains that certain numbers are being blocked, such as those from “adult lines” and “free conferencing” services that
Continue reading Speakeasy Latest VoIP Provider to Block Calls, Thumb Nose at FCC
The Federal Communications Commission is asking for expert opinions on how to make cell phone bills simpler to understand.
