Local (Residential) Landlines in Long Term Limbo?

It is no secret that many people have chosen to completely replace their landlines with wireless devices—and have done so for a number of very good reasons: Not only are wireless devices mobile, but you don’t have to worry about making any changes when you relocate to a new residence. And of course smart phones, in particular, are much more than just telephones: They’re capable of all sorts of sophisticated functions that the wired set at home just can’t perform. Although I have no plans to take similar action, I understand why people make this decision.

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Big Wireless Users Get Throttled

Generally speaking, the words “choking,” “throttling” and “squeezing” are not words that are typically associated with Telecommunications. However, one annoyed guy in California took on one of the largest providers and prevailed,  in a small, but meaningful way.  However, customers have also been put on notice that the day of the unlimited data plan is over, despite the status of an existing agreement for unlimited data.

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Dialing 911 from Inside Your Workspace - Are You Properly Prepared?

Periodically, I like to mention to those of my friends, clients and anyone else who I bump into, who work behind multi-line telephone systems (main listed number and numerous extensions in varying locations known as MLTS) about emergency information. As is the case with security systems, it is to be hoped that no one will ever need to dial 911 in the event of a medical or other emergency. But the fact remains that such calls DO need to be made, and when they do, time can absolutely be of the essence. A first responder has no more than 4 minutes to get to someone in cardiac or other medical distress.  Simply put, that’s not very much time.

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A Trio of Timely Telecom Topics

Recently, I ran into two colleagues, both of whom told me that they always read this space, even though the content sometimes gets a bit overly technical.  With an interest in keeping them engaged (and they KNOW who they are, AK and HC), I want to present 3 tantalizing telecom tidbits, none of which is terribly techie, but all of which are interesting, if not totally relevant. They’re about off-shore call centers, and AT&T Mobility’s less than optimal behavior. Let me say up front that AT&T Mobility is hardly alone in its arguably slimy actions—it’s just that, to the best of my knowledge, it’s the only major [wireless] telecommunications provider that’s been caught engaging in these activities. At least this week.

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The Potential Perils of Call Center Offshoring

Most people dislike off-shore call centers. In fact, the largest telecommunications companies know that Americans dislike off-shore call centers with such intensity that those largest companies often use the repatriating off-shore call centers as an incentive to encourage regulatory bodies to approve otherwise less than desirable combinations (read: AT&T’s recent unsuccessful attempt to acquire T-Mobile).  Much to the dismay of those of us who have reached out and touched one of these call centers, what may have been saved by the companies providing overseas call center support has been lost in customer satisfaction. 

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