T-Mobile Acquisition of SunCom is now Complete

A few weeks ago, I made a post about T-Mobile getting the approval to purchase another company to bolster its wireless network. SunCom Wireless a regional carrier that primarily serves the southeastern United States and some Caribbean islands was in the process of merging with T-Mobile. Now, that deal has been completed.

The proposal for this merger was first announced during September of last year. however, the proposal was only approved by the Federal Communications Commission on the early part of this month.

The companies involved has made an announcement this week that the deal has been finalized. T-Mobile's vaunted customer service and unique wireless products are now made available to more than a million wireless consumers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The president and chief executive officer of T-Mobile USA, Robert Dotson, gave this statement regarding the completion of the acquisition.

“We look forward to offering our new customers in the Southeastern U.S. and Puerto Rico T-Mobile’s industry-leading customer service, quality national network and unique personal communications products and services that help customers stay connected to those who matter most”

The completion of this buyout is also advantageous for T-Mobile. The major wireless network will now have more consumers and a wider network. T-Mobile will not be able to cover about 259 million subscribers with its wider network. As a result of this deal, the carrier will now be able to offer its services to ninety eight of the top 100 national wireless markets.

Customers will probably enjoy the services of T-Mobile as the company has been renowned for the quality of serve it offers to customers. In fact, the wireless network has held the top spot in the J.D. Power and Associates Wireless Customer Care Performance Study for the seventh consecutive time. I hope that all will work well for both the wireless network and the customers.

T-Mobile Gets Approval to Purchase SunCom Wireless Plus the T-Mobile Shadow Update

This piece of news indicates that competition in the mobile phone industry remains to be very stiff. One wireless network will no longer operate while another increases in size and number of customers.

This week, T-Mobile has been granted approval to assimilate SunCom wireless into its fold. The major wireless network reportedly had to shell out twenty four billion dollars in order to merge SunCom into its company. Information about this proposed buyout was first released by both companies during September of last year.

SuncOm Wireless is a regional carrier that primarily serves the southeastern United States and some Carribean islands. More than a million wireless customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are being served by this regional wireless network.

Currently, T-Mobile provides wireless services to more than 27 million customers in the US. When this deal will be completed hopefully at the end of this month, more than a million customers will be added to their customer base as well as expand the carrier's network into new areas.

the Federal Communications Commission explained that approving the buyout is for the good of the public interest because it will promoting competition and the Southeast and the Caribbean will be included in T-Mobile's wireless footprint.

T-Mobile Shadow Update

T-mobile made another important announcement, this time it involves their famous T-Mobile Shadow.

The wireless network has offered a software update to the HTC Shadow Windows Mobile smartphone. This update allows users to add some new features to the amazing.

One of the exciting new features is the "audio postcard' which is exclusively offered by T-Mobile. This unique feature allows users to attach a vocal message to a picture message before sending it.

The MyFaves menu of the T-Mobile Shadow has also been updated. Text entry in now easier some multimedia features, including new ringtones and wallpapers have also been included in the update. There is no doubt that these updates makes the amazing Shadow a more formidable smartphone.

Click to here to download the T-Mobile Shadow update.

Virgin Mobile USA Suffer Continued Losses

It seems that another wireless network is going through a tough time.

It has been reported that despite adding more than 210,000 customers in the final quarter of last year, Virgin Mobile USA Inc. will be taking on a loss of $3 million to $6 million. The company stock was down more than 13% to $6.99 according to the news. Well, if I am an investor, then I will have a pleasant day with those figures.

I don't find it surprising that a lot of consumers decided to choose Virgin mobile over other wireless carriers. After all, this wireless network has been a consumer champion according to some studies. In fact, this company added a total of about 512,000 customers into their network last year and currently have nearly five million customers.

I think that this is a good indication that excellent customer service or providing good consumer satisfaction is a important factor in gaining customers. Some wireless networks who were criticized for subpar customer relations have promised better customer service programs for this year.

Let's go back to the scoop on Virgin Mobile's losses. According to reports the losses were caused by an increasing competitive prepaid landscape combined with economic impacts on the customer base of Virgin Mobile.

The CEO, of Virgin Mobile Inc., Dan Schulman, reassured his company's investors with these words, "We believe that sustainable, disciplined customer acquisition will result in higher return on investment and growth over the long term."

He is hoping that the current decline in the wireless network's stocks is only a short term effect of the economic factors that are affecting the company. He also pointed out that during the final months of the year, Virgin Mobile purposefully avoided cutting prices on its handsets. The CEO further explained that poor customer economics is the common result of temporary, aggressive pricing.

I hope that this slide is indeed only a temporary problem for Virgin mobile. They are doing a good job at providing good and cheap service to their customers. If they can adjust accordingly to the factors that have cause the decline of their stock value, then perhaps they can make their investors happy.

Sprint Nextel and Clearwire Resume WiMax Talks

According to numerous reports, major wireless phone carrier Sprint Nextel and Clearwire have resumed talks that have stalled last year.

Clearwire Corp. is a wireless Internet provider that is in negotiation with Sprint in an effort to combine their high-speed wireless WiMax networks. The company currently operates pre-WiMax networks in 46 U.S. markets, including Seattle, Syracuse, N.Y., and Duluth, Minn. Wimax networks have the capacity to grant faster wireless Web connection speeds for laptops and cell phones.

Last November, talks about combining the high-speed wireless WiMax networks of both companies have bogged down. As a result of this failure, the shares of the much smaller Clearwire went down to more than 40 percent.

Sprint Nextel may have also been affected by this event as there has been reports that the wireless network may be planning huge lay-off. Some estimated that the major wireless network will give up thousands of employees and make drastic changes within the company. However, other factors may have played a greater role in Sprint's decline.

Fortunately, reports have indicated that these ailing companies have crafted a new plan. Some say that it involves spinning off Sprint's WiMax unit and merging it with Clearwire networks. This venture seems to have caught the attention of Intel Corp. which may be a good source of funds to help seal the deal.

It also appears that the negotiations between the two companies have brought good results. Fro instance, Clearwire shares have skyrocketed and the stock of Sprint Nextel have increased in value. I hope that the talks between these companies will succeed. After all, we can all benefit from the faster online connection that Wimax networks can offer.

New Mobile Phones from Alltel

I have some exciting news for Alltel customers and other wireless network enthusiasts.

A few days ago, Alltel wireless has announced that they will add two new mobile phones and a new Blackberry to their lineup. The red BlackBerry Pearl 8130 will now be a member of Alltel's smartphone lineup. The LG Scoop and the Samsung Muse will also be available in the upcoming months.

Let's preview these exciting wireless devices. let's begin with the red BlackBerry Pearl 8130.

The BlackBerry 8130 is marketed as "Research In Motion" and is the first Pearl designed for CDMA networks. This smart phone is also more advanced when compared to the original Pearl.

It sports a 2 megapixel camera with video capture, stereo Bluetooth, 3.5mm headphone jack and an improved SureType keypad. Customers will also benefit from other exciting features such as push email, EVDO data, GPS, and the memory card slot. This smart phone cost $150 with a $100 mail-in rebate and a two-year contract.

The Pearl 8130 offered by Alltel is essentially the same device that is being offered by Verizon Wireless and Sprint. The feature list remains unchanged but the main difference is in color. Alltel offers a Red BlackBerry 8130 so those who love to carry a flashy smart phone will love this device.

Let us now proceed to the Samsung Muse u706 that is to be offered by Alltel. This mobile phone is a mid-range flip phone that music lovers will love.

To provide great musical experience, the dedicated music player keys and XM Radio Mobile compatibility will do the work. This phone also works with Alltel's new Celltop music-streaming application so it's a great toy for music loving customers .

Customers will also enjoy the 2 Megapixel camera, GPS, stereo Bluetooth, and other exciting features that are included in this wonderful mobile phone. The GPS feature is also a big attraction to this phone. It is complemented by Alltel's Axcess Mobile Guide navigation application that provides turn-by-turn directions and maps to help customers find their destination.

Lastly, let us check out the LG Scoop. Alltel customers who like an affordable but classy and effective phone will appreciate the Scoop. This device is the re-branded version of the LG Rumor.

The device is designed for messaging and slides open sideways to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard. Customers who like to send text messages will appreciate this feature. This wireless device will work with Alltel's Axcess Voice2TXT service. This service will allow customers to that converts voicemails they receive into to text messages.

However, this phone is more than just a messaging phone. It also offers a a 1.3 Megapixel camera and Bluetooth capabilities. Customers can purchase the Scoop in three colors. Alltel has not yet released a price for the Scoop and the LG Muse.

I hope that you will be pleased with this piece of wireless network information. I think Alltel will release more info about these devices including the prices of the Scoop and the Muse so tune in to their website if you are interested.

Judge Rules in Favor of Alltel!

Last week, I made a post about Alltell being sued by Verizon Wireless for false advertising.

An Alltel ad that claimed only Alltel gives wireless customers the ability to change their calling plans without having to extend the term of their contracts is the root of the problem. Since Verizon have began to allow their customers to change their wireless plans without requiring an extension of their contracts about two months ago, they filed a complaint against Alltel.

However, things did not go Verizon's way as a U.S. District Judge in Richmond, Va has refused to grant a temporary restraining order that would have forced Alltel Wireless to drop the controversial ad.

Alltel’s Laura Cook announce that, “We are very pleased with Friday’s ruling and that the court recognized Verizon did not have grounds for the injunction it requested.”

This is certainly interesting. I wonder how Verizon will respond to this setback. They have declined to comment on this ruling but I expect Verizon to make an appropriate response to this conflict.

Alltell Sued by Verizon for False Advertising

It seems that another dispute between two major wireless phone carriers or networks has began.

Apparently, Verizon Wireless has filed a civil suit in the federal court in Richmond, Va. against Alltel Corp. on the grounds of making false advertising claims. The origin of this problem is an Alltel ad that claimed only Alltel gives wireless customers the ability to change their calling plans without having to extend the term of their contracts.

Verizon reacted unfavorably to this Altell Ad because they have began to allow their customers to change their wireless plans without requiring an extension of their contracts about two months ago. After this important decision they contacted Alltel about the carrier’s ad to request that it be changed.

Now, Altell claims that it granted Verizon Wireless' request to cahnge the ad. Andrew Moreau, a spokesman for Alltel said, “We did make edits to that ad to accommodate Verizon’s position. The version of the ad that Verizon filed with its complaint was a prior version of the ad so it didn’t reflect the edits that we made.”

However, Verizon Wireless claims Alltel continued to air the unedited advertisement throughout last year and into 2008. The carrier wrote in court documents that,

"Verizon Wireless notified Alltel of these falsehoods and reasonably believed that any such false advertising would cease on or before Thanksgiving. However, Alltel has continued to run advertising falsely and misleadingly contending that only Alltel offers wireless customers the ability to change their service without changing their contract term.”

As of this time Verizon Wireless declined to make any comment beyonds the lawsuit. Read more about this wireless network news at rcrnews.com

Water Proof Cellphones Through New Chemical

Have you ever thought about the possibility of Mobile Phones that can withstand water?

Think about it for a while.

Water proof cellphones can increase the reach of mobile phone communication. You can now bring your phone to the shower or it might even be possible to use your phone while swimming in the beach or pool. But you might ask, how would this be possible?

Well, electronics companies are planning to tap into military technology to make mobile telephones and other equipment resistant to water. They are planning to use a special coating derived from the research used to find ways to protect soldiers from chemical attacks.

The coating will be invisible to the naked eye. It is chemically bonded to the surface of the device and is designed to repel water and prevent it from seeping into the device where it could damage circuitry. This technology has been developed by Ministry of Defence scientists at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in Porton Down, Wilts.

The coating will protect the phones from from moisture, rain and accidental immersion. Experts say that test results show that phones can be used in wet environments without damage when treated with the special coating.

If electronics companies can develop the coating successfully and use it to effectively protect mobile phones from water, then it will be a significant development for the wireless phone industry. One of the top reasons for insurance claims on mobile phones is damage from water. In fact, more than 1.2 million devices have been dropped in lavatories, drinks or put through washing machines last year.

Being able to survive the destructive powers of water or moisture can be a unique selling point. It eliminates a common weakness in mobile devices and will make customers more confident about the safety of their device. Several wireless networks have made negotiations with the company that is developing this technology. You can read more about this news by following this link.

The Continuing Struggle to Please Customers

Compared to retailers and credit-card companies, wireless carriers provide a less useful and enjoyable customer experience. This was the information gathered from a study done by Forrester research. Perhaps this information also moved some carriers to promise better programs to increase consumer satisfaction next year.

It certainly seem logical for wireless service providers to pay attention to giving better service because the study ranked them fifth among nine industries. Retailers, investment firms, insurance companies and credit-card providers were all rated as giving better service than wireless networks.

Of course, wireless providers have also scored some points with their customers because they consider Internet service providers, TV service providers and medical insurance providers inferior to wireless carriers in terms of customer satisfaction. However, considering that the wireless phone industry is probably the fastest growing and most lucrative industry in this age, increasing the level of customer satisfaction should be made a priority. After all, a
happy and satisfied customer will be willing to spend more.

Sprint and Nextel brands, Alltel Corp., Virgin Mobile USA and prepaid provider Tracfone Wireless Inc. were included in the Forrester survey. The results showed that Virgin Mobile USA Inc. received the top ranking while the Sprint and Nextel brands received the lowest marks. Alltel ranked second followed by T-Mobile USA Inc. Verizon Wireless came in at No. 4, followed by Tracfone, and AT&T Mobility.

Virgin Mobile USA received “excellent” rating for ease of use. it also garnered the highest rank for its usefulness and whether or not their experience with the company was enjoyable. This is interesting since Mobile USA’s service runs on Sprint Nextel Corp.’s CDMA network.

It seems that Sprint Nextel is consistently earning thumbs-down from various consumer surveys. For instance, Consumer Reports’ said that it would not recommend service from Sprint unless a customer specifically wanted push-to-talk service. The company has also ranked near the bottom of customer satisfaction surveys by J.D. Power and Associates.

Fortunately, Sprint has responded to this ratings by hiring several thousand more customer care representatives to improve the customer experience. The company is also planning to increase its focus on retaining subscribers rather than trying to bring in new ones and launch loyalty-based incentive programs. Hopefully, the company will be able to increase it's stature in terms of providing customer care.