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<title>WiBu Ventures Inc</title><link>http://www.wibuventures.com/index.php</link><description>Hot News&#x21;</description><dc:language>en</dc:language><dc:creator>chad@wibuventures.com</dc:creator><dc:rights>Copyright 2011 Chad Nordby</dc:rights><dc:date>2012-01-29T16:52:44-06:00</dc:date><admin:generatorAgent rdf:resource="http://www.realmacsoftware.com/" />
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<lastBuildDate>Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:56:37 -0600</lastBuildDate><item><title>Changing Devices With AT&#x26;T: Not So Fast</title><dc:creator>chad@wibuventures.com</dc:creator><category>Wireless Carriers</category><dc:date>2012-01-29T16:52:44-06:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wibuventures.com/page13/files/Changing-Devices-ATT-Not-So-Fast.php#unique-entry-id-105</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wibuventures.com/page13/files/Changing-Devices-ATT-Not-So-Fast.php#unique-entry-id-105</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[CDMA carrier customers on the other hand had to call customer care and manually make the switch with a customer service representative; deally no digits were misread, typed incorrectly, and the over the air provisioning (OTA) was successful. 

...Today CDMA subscribers of many operators, Sprint and Verizon Wireless included, can simply visit their online account management tool, enter the ESN or IMEI and swap devices. 

...In short GSM providers that have migrated to HSPA and now LTE can automatically recognize devices, apply proper billing codes, and push necessary settings with little or no user intervention for devices that at factory bootstrapped or come from outside supply channels even in this far more complex world.


Considering all of these technical capabilities it was not possible on January 21, 2012 to take a AT&T Wireless SIM from a HP Palm Pre 2 and use it with a brand new AT&T Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. 

...Based on the previously mentioned functionality it can be inferred that the device and SIM successfully communicated with the AT&T AuC, HLR, SMSC, etc. but not to the SGSN. 

...Once I reached technical support a representative manually took the Xperia Play's IMEI and confirmed that a different billing code was required. 

...This experience is not an isolated one and a similar amount of hooping jumping had to be done a year ago when swapping an AT&T SIM from an AT&T iPhone 4 to another iPhone 4. 

...AT&T's inability to recognize devises and harmonize the billing and provisioning services of similar device classes creates a negative user experience and drives customer care costs. ...  Even in a BYOD paradigm users seeking to swap a corporate supplied SIM to their own hardware will drive service escalations through the organization and then to the AT&T support staff serving the account. 


...With the lack of differentiation in Android devices and users failing to differentiate between 3G, 4G, and LTE operators would be well served to improve the user experience with automatic device identification, provisioning, and billing. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Ting Launches &#x22;Mobile That Makes Sense&#x22;</title><dc:creator>chad@wibuventures.com</dc:creator><category>Wireless Carriers</category><dc:date>2012-01-16T17:26:18-06:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wibuventures.com/page13/files/Ting-Launches-Mobile-That-Makes-Sense.php#unique-entry-id-104</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wibuventures.com/page13/files/Ting-Launches-Mobile-That-Makes-Sense.php#unique-entry-id-104</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Unlike Republic Wirless Ting does not seek to meld a combination of WiFi enabled VoIP calling with mobile voice service but instead focuses on the user experience. ...  Ting doesn't attempt to disrupt the user experience paradigm with VoIP and instead tackles the transparency and customer service and support challenges with an innovative approach.

Ting doesn&rsquo;t attempt to create the illusion of be something they are not, a wireless operator, and instead clearly points out that they use Sprint's nationwide 3G and 4G networks. ...  This is contrary to the wireless industry that seeks to lock in pricey underlying voice or data plans that can then have features and family users bolted on.

...Ting goes further and allows all users to draw from the same buckets of SMS, data, and voice and even automatically adjust the bucket sizes after the month to match the actual usage. ...  The net result is a service that is highly customizable and with the same benefits of the all-you-can-eat unlimited offers that guarantee no overage wether you use a little or a lot without the high fixed rate.

...What is really interesting and can't be deciphered from the beta invite and marketing speak is the level of technical and customer support Ting can bring based on their background.    Starting over ten years ago the major operators were faced with the challenge of needing to support customers with trouble shooting their device applications and laptops that were using mobile broadband.   Arguably today the major carriers have not advanced very far and trouble shooting becomes a finger pointing game between the carrier, device manufacturer, operating system, third party application developer, and an employees IT department (if it's a device used with or for business).   Frustrating as it is most solutions involve a reboot or the promise of a software upgrade over the air or at a retail store in order to get the customer off the line. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Cricket WIreless: A Niche Play To Serve Only The Underserved?</title><dc:creator>chad@wibuventures.com</dc:creator><category>PrePaid services</category><dc:date>2012-01-06T08:25:35-06:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wibuventures.com/page13/files/Cricket-niche-play-or-nationwide-provider.php#unique-entry-id-103</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wibuventures.com/page13/files/Cricket-niche-play-or-nationwide-provider.php#unique-entry-id-103</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The store, like all Crickets stores I have since visited, had a long waiting line of customers who wanted to pay their bills or have their phone serviced but were not actually activating new service. 

...When I declined the offer to sit another woman, Geni, came over and informed me, while Jessica continued to stare at her computer, that if indeed a Cricket store had matched an online price it was a convenience favor and they had no intention of doing so at this location. ...  Jessica and Geni&rsquo;s actions were doing more to degrade any desire I still had left to purchase Cricket service than to entice me to buy from their alleged product knowledge prowess and so I made one last furtive attempt to talk to the manager. 

...Unfortunately the new technical service representative said they could not activate a new number without a new payment of $55 and the loss of the existing $55 payment that had only a single day of service used on it. 

...The final straw with this representative was the insistence that even with a California area code, assuming they could find one, it would not be possible to program the phone while I was physically in Texas. 

...For example if Austin was an affiliate market for Cricket without any network to network integration then it would make sense for the provisioning to not work but this was not the case. 

...Sasha also insisted that if the provisioning did not work, and based on the recordings, I would not be eligible for a refund of the original $55 payment for service for the 512 number or the subsequent $55 payment to activate the 619 number. 

...During this brief discussion the store manager, Jim, overheard the conversation and indicated that it may be possible if I had a local San Diego address that they could enter into the market/NPA-NXX lookup tool and obtain a 619 number for me. 

...Until Cricket finds and trains more employees like Jim and Juliana they will be stuck in a niche play serving the under and unserved, no credit, and cash market portion of the population that can&rsquo;t or won&rsquo;t go to the larger brands like United States Cellular, MetroPCS, AT&T Wireless, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, and Sprint.   Jim&rsquo;s awareness of the activity in his store and Juliana&rsquo;s willingness try something outside of her normal experience saved a customer and restored for now my faith in the no-contract facilities based carrier alternative to AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile that Cricket Wireless represents.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Cricket Wireless and Google Voice</title><dc:creator>chad@wibuventures.com</dc:creator><category>PrePaid services</category><dc:date>2012-01-04T22:32:08-06:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wibuventures.com/page13/files/cricket-google-voice-call-forwarding.php#unique-entry-id-102</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wibuventures.com/page13/files/cricket-google-voice-call-forwarding.php#unique-entry-id-102</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Ever since Google relaunched GrandCentral as Google Voice I have relied on the single number service for all my voice calling and SMS across several mobile devices. 

...It was a surprise today when configuring a new Huawei Mercury Android phone from Cricket that the *74########## code generated a message that said the feature was not available.   A double check of Cricket&rsquo;s site validated that the $55 Android plan included call forwarding and that the code indeed started with *74. ...  So why the failure of the *74 code on the Huawei Mercury and not the Ascend II from several months ago?


...These could be the reason why Cricket only allows call-forwarding within local exchange (area code) of the assigned mobile number. ...  Still it would make sense that Cricket would connect its POPs in various markets with IP transport instead of TDM SS7 circuits and then terminate the calls on a intraLATA basis.   Cricket most likely does do this and yet still keeps the call-forwarding local exchange restriction either as a policy holdover or as originally stated a cost control, albeit a small one.


The answer to the question of why did the *74 conditional call forwarding fail on the Huawei Mercury comes from the different area codes between the two numbers.   The original Huawei Ascend II from several months ago had the same area code as my Google Voice number (both Southern California).   The new Huawei Mercury was assigned an Austin, Texas 512 area code and therefore if the fine print had been read should not and does not forward to the southern California 619 Google Voice number.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Rural Wireless Coverage Overview: Part I</title><dc:creator>chad@wibuventures.com</dc:creator><category>Wireless Carriers</category><category>Roaming</category><dc:date>2011-09-16T18:43:41-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wibuventures.com/page13/files/rural-wireless-coverage-overview-part-I.php#unique-entry-id-100</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wibuventures.com/page13/files/rural-wireless-coverage-overview-part-I.php#unique-entry-id-100</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[A review of the major national coverage maps from AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint would lead one to believe that in one form or another national coverage has already been achieved. 

...The national players&rsquo;s history came from either the PCS auctions and greenfield construction in the mid-late 90s (T-Mobile and Sprint) or from rollups of the legacy cellular carriers (Verizon Wireless and AT&T Wireless) that generated very different early on coverage footprints. ...  A large part of the reason for this approach resided in both the FCC buildout requirements of each license (population based and not geographic) as well as the introduction of licenses based on major trading areas (MTAs) versus the much smaller RSA/CSA licenses of the cellular world. 

...The smaller geographic license size, many years of buildout (licenses issued in early/mid 80s), the 800 MHz frequency propagation characteristics as well as the local telephone company seeking to overlay their copper network resulted in greater coverage of the total license geography in most areas.   AT&T&rsquo;s rollup of many of these legacy cellular carriers can clearly be seen in the local coverage areas in some regions that cover large geographic swathes and in others just the interstates and population centers are served.


...During the PCS buildout of the late 90s and early 00s, early days of cellular growth, and later during the consolidation period of 2000-2009 the wireless industry relied heavily on roaming partners (regional and rural carriers) and affiliated carriers to fill the coverage gaps.   Some of these regional carriers (Dobson, RCC, Midwest Cellular, Alltel, and Centennial Communications) no longer exist and after being purchased by AT&T or Verizon Wireless. ...  Now Sprint uses Strategic Roaming/Rural Alliance partners in many areas (GCI - Alaska, N-Telos- West Virginia, NexTech Wireless- Kansas/Colorado, Pioneer Cellular-Oklahoma/Kansas, SI Wireless-Illinois area) that operate independently branded wireless offerings as well as offer seamless home service for Sprint customers. 

...To a lesser extent Sprint&rsquo;s use of Rural Alliance reveals the same financial limitations of extending coverage however their indigenous network footprint is also considerably smaller than Verizon Wireless&rsquo; network. ...  In most cases the live and work are profitable because of the population density however play areas outside of major population centers or popular destinations generally do not represent a comparatively good investment for the national operators. ]]></content:encoded></item></channel>
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