Items tagged with NYSE: T
Because there clearly haven't been enough ISP router vulnerabilities popping up this past year, another one helps usher in the new month. This one is being dubbed "SharknAT&To" (because every vulnerability needs a catchy name!), a portmanteau involving the cult classic in-the-making, Sharknado, and leading internet service provider, AT&T. SharknAT&To was outed by security researcher J Hutchins, whose team discovered a handful of vulnerabilities on AT&T's U-verse modems. At this point, it's not clear just how many devices are affected, but if you are a U-verse subscriber and are equipped with an Arris modem, you may want to be on alert. In particular, confirmed affected models...
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Surprise! AT&T just hiked their activation fee. Customers must now pay $25 instead of $20 in order to activate a new line or upgrade an existing one. The activation fee applies to both devices purchased with an installment agreement and devices the customer already owns. The activation and upgrade fees for two year agreements are $45. Customers can still be charged the activation fee if their device is back-ordered. Verizon also recently upped their activation fee from $20 to $30. Unlike AT&T, Verizon has gotten rid of their two year agreements in favor of payment plans or full retail pricing. AT&T has been full of price hike surprises lately. The company increased the price...
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AT&T and Verizon have struck the latest blow in the battle between themselves and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC had given the telecommunication corporations until December 15th to respond to its concerns over net neutrality and zero-rating services. AT&T and Verizon have spat out their vituperative responses. First off, what is “zero-rating”? Zero-rating is when mobile network operators (MNOs) and ISPs do not charge customers for data used by specific applications or internet services through their network, in limited or metered data plans. According to the FCC, AT&T's Sponsored Data program “denies unaffiliated third parties the same ability to compete over...
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Apple Reportedly Throttling iPhone 7 Models With Qualcomm Modems To Match Versions With Intel Modems
This week, a report ousted Apple's decision to throttle the Qualcomm modem found in most of its iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models to match the performance of the Intel modem found in other versions. Now, according to sources close to the matter, it's absolutely the case but is there a real issue? The issue involves Apple's need to dual-source the iPhone 7's modem block with either a Qualcomm X12 LTE modem or an Intel XMM 7360 chip. As a company that sells millions upon millions of smartphones, Apple needs to plan every launch and production roll-out very strategically and supply chain consistency is critical, hence the need for multiple sources of key components. Further, even...
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In the twenty-first century, many regard Internet as a service that everyone should be able to affordably access. AT&T, however, has used a loophole in its merger with DirecTV to avoid providing inexpensive internet to low-income families. What did the merger specify? The FCC demanded that AT&T offer its services for $10 a month in areas where download speeds of 10 Mbps and 5 Mbps are available. AT&T must also provide services for $5 in places where download speeds of 3 Mbps are available. The FCC did not state what the company should do if downloads speeds are less than 3 Mbps. Consequently, AT&T refuses to provide Internet access to SNAP participants with download speeds of...
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You know what everyone hates? Robocalls. AT&T, Apple, Google, Verizon, and Comcast are joining together to create the “Robocall Strike Force” which will work with the FCC to eliminate the annoyance. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson will lead the effort. A robocall is a phone call with a prerecorded message, and are often used to defraud people. Time Warner Cable was actually forced to pay $230,000 USD in July 2015 for robocalling one woman 153 times. One of the worst cases of fraud is when people fall for a robocall claiming it is from the IRS. This practice is so prevalent that the IRS has a special webpage setup warning against this deception. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration...
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For a handful of reasons, AT&T would like to make a dent - even if it's a tiny one - in the Android-dominated smartphone market. It wants to accomplish this feat even if it means having to use an Android alternative that's actually based on Android. That's where CyanogenMod comes in, a mobile OS that's skyrocketed in popularity over the years due to its "clean slate" and optimized design. Consumers like it because it's fast and clean; vendors like it because they have more control over their software packages. If you're getting a hint that AT&T's ultimate goal here is to use a version of Android that will allow it to add as much bloat to a device...
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While millions of Internet users crave the idea of being able to subscribe to a service like Google Fiber, telecoms like AT&T want nothing more than to be able to squash those hopes. We can see a great example of this right now in Louisville, KY. Last month, a Louisville council voted 23-0 in favor of granting third-party access to utility poles. This allows companies like Google to mosey on in and give local residents a compelling reason to leave their existing Internet provider - such as AT&T. After the ordinance passed, councilman Bill Hollander backed up the successful vote by saying, "This will help business locate here and grow here." It's hard to disagree with that sentiment; companies...
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We've sure come a long way since cell phones exploded in popularity. It used to invoke a great feeling to hold out that flip-phone and admire its sheer awesomeness. Today? Most would laugh at those older devices. Now, we have super advanced smartphones that can do everything from take great pictures to play videos to check your heart rate. And, as if that wasn't enough, we've since piled on tablets, smartwatches, and many other smart devices or wearables. With so much personal fragmentation like this, it can be a bit frustrating that if someone calls you, and you happen to be nowhere near your phone, you're not going to know about it. Wouldn't it be nice to leave the house for a jog and be able...
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As with many things, there are both good ways and bad ways to go about advertising. Unfortunately, far too many opt for the latter - especially when your options are limited. The latest culprit is AT&T, which has begun taking advantage of those using its free Wi-Fi hotspots by injecting ads into websites they visit. Right now, some of you might be thinking, "Well, you're using AT&T's free service. It has a right to monetize it.", and that's true. But if there's one thing we've learned from corporations in recent months (or years, for that matter), user security and experience tend to not weigh that heavily on their lists. In this particular case, ads can be injected both at the bottom...
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While the NSA had the support of all US telcos with its spying efforts, it's come to light that none offered the level of assistance that AT&T did. Recent documents that are part of the ongoing Snowden leaks show the NSA heaping a bit of praise on its relationship with AT&T, saying it was "highly collaborative" and that the company had an "extreme willingness to help." Beginning in 2003 and leading up to the time Edward Snowden blew the doors off the far-reaching spy efforts, AT&T gave the NSA access to an enormous amount of information through many methods under different legal rules. In particular, AT&T saw no issue with supplying "billions" of emails to the NSA as they passed...
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What value would you put on your personal information, such as your social security number? To me, that kind of information is invaluable, because in the wrong hands, your life can be made a living hell. But according to FCC, that information is worth about $90, based on the fact that it's just fined AT&T $25 million for the leak of personal data for 280,000 customers. According to the report, the FCC mentions that "at least" the final four digits of the SSN were part of this leak, which does suggest that in some cases, the entire thing was let loose - and that's believable, because there's no reason to believe that complete SSNs were not stored in the database. Flickr: Mike Mozart This leak...
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Today, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed suit against AT&T stating that the wireless carrier misled and deceived millions of its customers through data throttling for those with its unlimited data plan. On top of that, customers who cancelled their accounts because of throttling we then charged early termination fees. "AT&T promised its customers 'unlimited' data, and in many instances, it has failed to deliver on that promise," said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez in a press release. "The issue here is simple: 'unlimited' means unlimited." Image Credit: Flickr (Bill Bradford) According to the FTC, AT&T’s promotional materials for its unlimited plan emphasized the word “unlimited”...
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It seems that the high profit margins AT&T has enjoyed all this time as a mobile carrier hasn't been enough: The company has just been handed a massive fine by the FTC for its part in 'cramming'. Cramming is the act of adding unauthorized charges to a bill; in this case, that happened by way of unsolicited text messages. These messages included anything from horoscopes to love tips, so if you're an AT&T customer and were on the receiving end of these, take note. AT&T's total fine is $105 million; $80 million will go towards paying customers back, $20 million will go towards penalties in each state, and the other $5 million will go to the FTC itself as a fine. FTC chairwoman Edith...
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