Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

Yes, you can get a discount from AT&T (and from other service providers) if you just ask, and manage your account by making sure that when your offers expire, you call them back to re-new or re-negotiate new offers.  

Doing this was documented last January when I was onGood Morning America demonstrating how this is done.

On December 8, one of my U-Verse discounts expired, so I called the phone company again to re-new.  So now I am good until June 13, 2010.  This will go in my calendar and I will call them yet again on the 14th of June, 2010 and do the same dance.

On January 6, 2010 another one of my discounts expires, so I will call them back on the 7th of January to see what they will do to work with me.

I really like AT&T as a company and I love U-verse.   

No, I don’t want to switch to cable or satellite, or for that matter to Hulu mostly because I really do like the experience of watching live TV and doing so in HD on a nice home theater system.

$10 x 2 = $20 = $260 per year in savings.  Add in another 33% to gross up for taxes and that’s another $85.  Add it all up and that comes to $350 just for picking up the phone, spending 5 minutes 4 times a year and doing this dance.

$10 per month may not be a big deal to one person, but if you had 2,000,000 customers (AT&T has more than 2,000,000 U-verse customers) that comes to a $700,000,000 savings in gross dollars.

Even if you don’t need or miss the $10 per month, do something good with the money. 

Manage this savings and give the $350.00 to someone in need – maybe a charity that was obliterated by Madoff.  Maybe someone less fortunate than you.  Maybe your local PBS station, your church, mosque, or synagogue.

Or, if you are not in the giving mood, take someone you love out for an amazing dinner, a night or two in a nice hotel. 

It’s the little things that add up, and just by calling the phone company, you can save like I do.

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

I’m sorry, but I think this is in pretty bad taste.  Get yours free here.

Source: www.voip-news.com

The U.S. Marine Corps’ Combat Operations Centers will now have Internet-like capabilities from General Dynamics C4 Systems. General Dynamics will also be upgrading the Marine’s situational awareness and Information sharing abilities.

“This effort begins the transition of the Marine Corps Combat Operations Center from a hardware-based system to a secure, software-enabled command and control system that will also facilitate rapid integration of new technologies as they become available,” said Manny Mora, vice president and general manager for Battle Management Systems for General Dynamics C4 Systems.

According to the company:

Identified as the COC Model G, the new system will facilitate sharing of mission rehearsal and execution information among other Marine Corps Combat Operations Centers and joint forces partners. The system will enable services such as electronic ‘chat,’ email and VoIP communications. General Dynamics will also migrate existing hardware-based command and control, tactical data systems and other applications to software-driven services using the Marine Corps’ service-oriented infrastructure.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Skype has no plans of releasing an app for the Palm Pre. Sad. Read about it on The VoIP Weblog.

VoIP News of the UK says that Microsoft plans to compete for enterprise VoIP business with Skype.

Smith on VoIP says that DECT VoIP phones are growing in popularity.

Source: www.voip-news.com

ZipDX supposedly helps you make very clear VoIP calls. Read about it on VoIP News of the UK.

Andy Abramson has some strong words about a press release on the acquition of Jaxtr by another company … interesting. Read it on VoIP Watch.

Smith on VoIP talks about eBay’s mishandling of Skype.

Source: www.voip-news.com

There is a new tool available for commercial maritime operators that can add an additional dedicated VoIP telephone line specifically for crew calling on KVH’s maritime VoIP services. The mini-VSAT Broadband Crew Calling System from KVH Industries

“In the highly competitive commercial maritime industry, offering affordable communications is an easy and effective step to help attract new crew members, improve crew efficiency and satisfaction, and reduce the costs incurred by crew turnover,” explained Brent C. Bruun, KVH’s vice president of sales and business development. “In a recent survey by ShipTalk, Ltd., professional mariners ranked access to a telephone as the second most important facility to have on board a vessel. By adding our crew calling option to a new or existing TracPhone V7 system, vessel owners and operators will take full advantage of their mini-VSAT Broadband service connection while enjoying the benefits to crew morale and retention rates that come when crew members are able to stay in touch with friends and family anywhere on the globe.”

According to KVH:

Adding the crew calling option is a simple process. A dedicated Crew Calling Gateway is connected to the TracPhone V7, thereby establishing a link for a dedicated crew calling phone. Crew members will be able to purchase a calling card from the ship’s captain or buy minutes directly from KVH via credit card. They will then be able to place calls anywhere in the world via this dedicated phone while the ship’s business is handled via the two enhanced VoIP lines that come standard with mini-VSAT Broadband service.

Together with the KVH TracPhone V7, the mini-VSAT Broadband service comprises the first end-to-end 24-inch VSAT hardware, service, and support package available for maritime communications. The mini-VSAT Broadband service currently offers Voice over IP telephone and Internet access as fast as 512 Kbps (upload) and 2 Mbps (download) at fixed monthly rates to mariners throughout North America, the Caribbean, the North Atlantic, Europe, the Northern Pacific, and the Persian Gulf. KVH also recently announced an agreement with SP-JSAT to expand mini-VSAT Broadband coverage into Asia Pacific waters and the Indian Ocean.

Source: www.voip-news.com

MIPS Technologies has joined the Open Embedded Software Foundation, which works towards standardization and development of Android platforms for embedded devices such as set-top boxes, home media players and VoIP devices.

“With OESF’s goal of creating viable Android-based platforms for embedded products beyond mobile phones, we are pleased to welcome MIPS Technologies, who offers the leading processor architecture in most segments of the digital home,” said Mr. Masataka Miura, chairman of the Open Embedded Software Foundation. “The open source Android platform has the potential to become the platform of choice for embedded products, decreasing OEM development costs and creating new business opportunities. We look forward to working with MIPS to leverage its technology and deep expertise and the broad ecosystem around its processor architecture to speed standardization and development of Android for consumer markets.”

Android, which is known best for its intention for use in things like the T-Mobile G1 mobile phone, can be used across a variety of devices.

“By releasing Android to open source, Google created the opportunity for widespread proliferation of the Android platform, and now the work the OESF is doing will help drive the platform in new directions,” said Art Swift, vice president of marketing, MIPS Technologies. “We look forward to playing a key role in proliferating Android into digital consumer devices such as DTVs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), digital picture frames (DPFs) and set-top boxes. MIPS will be at the core of the Android experience in the digital home.”

Source: www.voip-news.com

Good news for Active Control Technology, the company that created ActiveMine – the wireless voice, tracking and data network for mines. One of the company’s customers has ordered seven more MSHA-approved wireless Wi-Fi nodes and network equipment for a West Virginia mine. This comes just one month after the first installation.

“Existing customers like this one generate recurring revenues for ACT through sales of additional nodes, networking and other equipment as their operations expand,” said Steve Barrett, President and CEO, Active Control. “ActiveMine’s plug-and-play installation makes it easy and cost-effective for our customers to expand their underground wireless networks.”

According to Active Control Technology:

The expanded installation is the largest MSHA approved wireless Wi-Fi mesh network in the U.S. and is believed to be the largest underground Wi-Fi mesh network anywhere. The mine’s ActiveMine network now has 57 nodes extending several miles underground to two separate mine faces.

ActiveMine’s industry-leading, low latency technology enables clear, distortion-free digital voice communications over a mesh network with many wireless ‘hops’ (signal transmission from one node to the next). In contrast, with other Wi-Fi mesh technologies, voice transmission may not be possible after more than five to six hops. This unique performance is made possible by ActiveMine’s use of third-generation Wi-Fi mesh networking technology from MeshDynamics.

“ActiveMine’s unique wireless capabilities – above all its reliable, crystal clear voice quality over many hops – have made it a core part of our customers’ mining operations,” Barrett said. “We thank MeshDynamics for partnering with us to make this technology available to our customers, and for their tremendous ongoing support.”

ActiveMine uses Voice over WiFi technology to connect miners with the outside world, increasing the safety and security of the dangerous occupation.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Solectek is going to be providing infrastructure for VoiceNetworkx’s 3.65 GHz WiMAX deployment in Southern California.

“We have researched the space for almost a year and are very satisfied with the technical analysis and real world deployment capabilities of our partner. But as far as the wireless portion of the deployment, it is settled,” said Malcolm Leal, Ph.D. President and CEO of VoiceNetworkx, Inc. “The proximity and availability of the engineering team at Solectek, the experience and reputation in the market of this company provide a level of business confidence that is unmatched, in our opinion.”

According to VoiceNetworkx:

Installation of the base stations and related infrastructure will begin at selected Points of Presence promptly in accordance with VoiceNetworkx’s deployment schedule. VoiceNetworkx plans to develop 12 Points of Presence along their 100 mile long fiber optic circuit that extends from Hemet, CA to 1 Wilshire, in the heart of downtown Los Angeles.

Source: www.voip-news.com

VoIP is persona non grata in the new Microsoft Mobile Market store set to launch later this year. So are applications that will change the default browser on a Windows-based mobile phone.  … but that’s not all.

According to PC World:

Among the list of prohibited applications is VoIP services that run over an operator’s network. That’s a common item on such lists because operators fear that the services will displace their own voice offerings, which bring in the bulk of their revenue. Developers presumably will be able to offer VoIP applications that use Wi-Fi, though.

Also forbidden are programs that allow people to shop at competing application stores, or that change a phone’s default browser, search client or media player. Developers will also be unable to build programs that change the default phone dialer, short message service or multimedia messaging service interface. That could help ensure that standards for services like MMS are upheld.

Seems like a lot of rein-holding to me. And if there is one thing that we all know, it’s that the tighter you hold the reins, the less control you have.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Get behind the scenes and see what call centers really look like…

The ICMI Contact Center Management Conference & Expo is coming next month in Austin, Texas. Scheduled for June 1-3, the conference will include call center tours with guides from International Customer Management Institute to explain the whole thing.

“This will be the first ICMI conference that will offer Call Center Tours each day of the event,” said Joy Sobhani, ICMI Conference Program Director. “Our attendees have continually voiced their interest in having multiple time slots to choose from as they consider these site tours to be a major highlight of their conference experience.”

According to ICMI:

Call Center Tours will include:

Harte Hanks

The Harte-Hanks Response Management Austin – Wells Branch is one of Harte-Hanks’ three Austin locations, and the second largest in its global contact center operations. The facility currently houses upwards of 700 contact center seats and provides a broad range of inbound customer care, tier one and tier two technical support, and outbound telesales solutions for a number of the nation’s premier consumer electronics, gaming systems, and consumer package goods manufacturers.

American Cancer Society

The National Cancer Information Center (NCIC) operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, empowering constituents to prevent, manage and survive cancer. The NCIC is a unit of the American Cancer Society (ACS), which is a nationwide, community-based, voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem. NCIC employs approximately 600 staff, with over 60 specialists supporting constituents in a work-at-home capacity. Specialists engage with constituents via inbound/outbound phone, email and chat, handling 1 million inbound calls, 50,000 email messages, and more than 100,000 outbound contacts annually.

Employees Retirement System of Texas

This Texas state agency administers benefit programs including retirement and insurance benefits for all State of Texas employees, retirees and their families. With $22.3 billion in assets and 343,000 members, ERS is the 54th largest pension fund in the U.S. and the 33rd largest public pension fund. ERS has almost 280 employees, including a 25-seat contact center and six work-at-home agents that handle over 450,000 calls annually. On this tour, you’ll see how technology is used to improve customer service and increase efficiency in a small contact center environment.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

This call center supports over 2.2 million customer interactions a year, and serves a number of Starwood interests, including the Starwood Preferred Guest program, general reservations, Starwood Preferred Business, Global Distribution, Global Content, as well as the CCC’s training, quality and communications leadership. The Austin Customer Contact Center serves a special niche role among the seven global reservations centers, as it houses a family of specialty departments ranging from a dedicated Luxury Collection & St. Regis brand reservations desk to Global Web Services.

Farmers Insurance

Founded in 1928, Farmers is one of the largest and most respected insurance brands in the United States. The Austin facility opened in April, 2007 and is one of three Farmers ServicePoint(R) operations in the U.S., which represent a complete re-engineering of the service support structure for their agency force and customers. Also located in this facility is the Commercial Business Center, which provides similar services for business insurance, and the Agency Support Center, which provides system application, network and other technical support to Farmers’ agency force across the country. There are about 900 employees in Austin, of which approximately 400 are phone reps who receive 2.1 million calls annually.

The Contact Center Management Conference & Expo is presented by the International Customer Management Institute (ICMI), one of the call center industry’s most respected organizations. To register to attend this event, or to find out more about the conference, media registration, and exhibition opportunities, please visit http://www.icmi.com/CCM2009.

Source: www.voip-news.com

The U.S. Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration has now fully approved ActiveMine from Active Control Technology. The wireless voice communications and locating system is designed for use in mines to link workers with the outside world.

The approval includes ActiveMine’s wireless Wi-Fi phones, which can be used in all areas of the underground coal mines.

“This is great news for customers who want to get the productivity and safety benefits of ActiveMine to work as quickly as possible in their mines,” said Steve Barrett, President and CEO, Active Control. “We thank customers for their confidence in ActiveMine’s successful approval, and MSHA for their assistance throughout the process.”

According to Active Control:

The completion of ActiveMine MSHA approvals comes approximately two months before the June 15, 2009 MINER Act deadline for all underground coal mines in the U.S. to submit mine safety plans that include provisions for wireless two-way communication and electronic tracking. There are approximately 650 underground coal mines in the U.S.