AT&T

AT&T, Sprint waive overage fees for Oklahoma tornado victims

AT&T is trying to do its part to help victims of the Oklahoma's massive tornado.

The carrier will bring in extra telecommunications resources to the affected area and will waive overage charges for affected customers through June 30.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the tornado," the company said Tuesday. "We are coordinating with local authorities and bringing in additional resources. We recommend text messaging for communications with family, friends, and loved ones given heavy call volumes."

AT&T subscribers who want to aid the Red Cross in its … Read more

Customers not as happy with iPhone as they were last year

More customers are satisfied with Apple's phones than any other handsets, but they're not as happy as they were last year, a new report said.

According to an American Customer Satisfaction Index report issued today, Apple received a score of 81 (on a scale of 100) in terms of customer satisfaction. But the company dropped 2 percent from its 2012 position, and the iPhone lags the customer satisfaction rating of 86 for Apple's desktop, laptop, and tablet business.

At the same time, satisfaction with Motorola phones jumped 5 percent from 2012 to 77, and Nokia grew 1 … Read more

AT&T to open mobile video chat for all customers

AT&T customers should be able to use any mobile video chat app before too much longer.

Preloaded video-chat apps will work over AT&T's cellular network for all customers, regardless of device or data plan, by the end of 2013, according to a statement from AT&T.

Customers with unlimited data and an LTE device should expect to be able to use video chat apps from Apple, Samsung, and BlackBerry over the AT&T network by mid-June.

Here is the full statement from AT&T:

For video chat apps that come preloaded on … Read more

AT&T CEO: We'll piggyback on Google's Fiber rollout plans

AT&T seems perfectly willing to let Google blaze the trail when it comes to fiber-optic deployment.

Google has said it plans to deploy its fiber network in select neighborhoods in Austin, Texas. AT&T said it would also like to build a fiber network -- under the same kinds of terms and conditions.

"We will probably piggyback on the rules and terms and condition that Google received in Austin and do our own build in Austin," CEO Randall Stephenson said Wednesday at a J.P. Morgan tech investor conference in Boston, which offered a live … Read more

Top mobile carriers join forces to stop texting while driving

The four major wireless carriers are putting their sway behind a massive ad campaign that aims to lower the amount of people that text while driving in the U.S.

Initiated by AT&T, the multi-million dollar "It Can Wait" campaign now has the support of Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and more than 200 other organizations. Besides rolling out TV, radio, and Internet ads throughout the summer, the campaign will also travel to thousands of retail stores, create a social media presence, and display messaging on Goodyear blimps.

"Texting while driving is a deadly habit that makes … Read more

Nokia Lumia 925: Great phone, wrong carrier

ORLANDO, Fla.--The Nokia Lumia 925 is a sexy-looking smartphone. Too bad a vast majority of U.S. consumers aren't going to even consider it.

Nokia unveiled its latest flagship smartphone at an event in London on Tuesday. But U.S. customers will care most about where it will sell here, and the news isn't great.

T-Mobile, the smallest nationwide carrier -- by far -- will get exclusive rights to sell the Lumia 925.

In an era when the top-tier handset vendors are moving away from exclusive deals, Nokia appears to be betting even more heavily on them. … Read more

FCC again balks on telephone network shutdown

Six months after wireline telephone operators and trade groups asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to begin shutting down their aging switched networks, the agency responded late Friday, calling for further study.

In a public notice (PDF) issued by an agency task force created in December 2012, the FCC reiterated the importance of accelerating the transition from switched networks to native IP infrastructure. But rather than approving limited trials to test technical and regulatory obstacles to a full conversion, the agency instead raised more questions about the trials and called for more rounds of comments.

The task force also … Read more

HTC's Facebook phone: Not dead yet

No, the first Facebook phone, also known as the HTC First, isn't ready for the smartphone graveyard just yet.

BGR reported Monday that AT&T would discontinue selling the HTC First and return unsold inventory back to the manufacturer once it met the contractual obligations of its in-store display arrangement with HTC.

But AT&T has not made a decision to discontinue the First, according to a person familiar with the carrier's plans.

"I am not aware of any discussion ever taking place about sending the phones back or to stop selling the First," … Read more

Recent FCC filings support rumors of Motorola X phone

The highly anticipated and hotly rumored Motorola X phone may have just popped up in FCC filings earlier this week.

According to the paperwork, the Motorola device includes the model number XT1058, and supports earlier rumors that the X phone will be available on AT&T.

For one thing, the handset is enabled for a GSM network, and it appears to be operating on 1900/850 bands -- both factors are indicative of an AT&T device.

The report also notes that the phone has 4G LTE and NFC capabilities.

Ever since Google acquired Motorola, talk of the … Read more