Cingular's Network Is So Great, All Telemarketers' Calls Get Connected
from the telcos-doing-something dept
While the Do Not Call list has been around for a while, there are still plenty of people receiving unsolicited telemarketing calls. While it's mainly been the FTC that has cracked down on violators, it looks like the telcos are getting in the game. Telemarketing calls are supposed to be off-limits to telemarketers even if they aren't on the DNC list, but apparently that hasn't stopped some. Cingular is now suing three different firms for telemarketing to Cingular customers. What may be interesting is that at least two of the firms being sued apparently contracted with companies outside of the US to actually make the calls (an increasingly common practice) -- though, that seems unlikely to get them out of any kind of legal trouble.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Good For Them!
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Re: Willis Black
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You're showing your ignorance or that you work for another cell phone company. If what you say is true then you have chosen the wrong plan. Anyone nowadays that pays a $1000 month for a cell phone bill for individual calls made within the USA to anywhere in the USA is just plain stupid. I keep checking the major cell phone companies and for those of us that travel a lot Cingular has the best going deals so far. Get the right plan then come and complain. Gee!!!!
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Larry: You're showing your own ignorance, read his whole comment. He didn't say he spent 1000 dollars a month, he said that the last few months together totaled about 1000 dollars due to 'roaming' charges since he makes most of his calls away from his home.
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I have Revol and pay the same charge each month, never get a dropped call, and have some roaming too.
Scott
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are you serious, what the hell kind of plan do you have???
I have never had a problem with cingular, seems great, i've never had telemarketing call either, and i've had them for about 3 years.
btw, if you've got a problem w/ cingular, there are a few other companies out there that you can switch to...christ
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telemarketing and cingular
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Opps?
That's very interesting. I wonder how they manage to make any phone calls then. :-)
How about "Cellphones are supposed to be off-limits to telemarketing calls ..." instead?
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Re: Opps?
I had a friend who had all sorts of telemarketing calls on his cell phone, and each time he patiently explained that they were not to be calling cell phones for these types of calls. It helped that he worked for a cell phone company, and he didn't have to pay for the call to begin with.
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Sprint uses CDMA 1x, EV-DO rev0, and EV-DO Rev A. They ONLY allow phones on their network that have been fully customized for them. Not just a GSM phone, with a simple Cingular UI.
Cingular charges $20 for normal phone access and $45 for PDA. Sprint only charges $10 and $15 for ANY phone.
Sprint offers nights starting at 6PM for $10, while Cing offers nights starting at 7 for $7.
Cingular's insurance has to be added on Day One or not at all. Sprint is anytime you get a new phone (NEW or USED).
So tell me, what does Cingular have that is so much better then Sprint? Sounds like you are a bandwagon sitter. Someone who goes with the trend.
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bad editorializing
This is not only wrong but doesn't make sense. While it is illegal for telemarketers to call cellular numbers for telemarketing purposes (even if it is not on the DNC list), they can legally call any landline that is not on the DNC list that they want to.
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Mike, you gotte be more careful with the headlines
By the way, I've had phones with 3 different companies here in Chicago and Cingular is by far the best for quality and strength of signal. I'm wondering if Willis Black above isn't a telco sockpuppet.
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futile
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Re: futile
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Just
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Sprint Sucks.
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What a retard. Cingular will even switch you to a new plan for a month or two if you just have the foresight to call them. I have done this many times while travelling. But that would, as I said, take foresight.
Nice try. Your unfounded indignation is telling. Your next lie should have a little more truth behind it. Try telling us that you have a girlfriend in the Niagara Falls area who is a model, it's less easy to disprove.
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agree with Sarojin
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Cingular
I have not yet been spammed called and hope not, if cingular started to charge a dollar per month to help combat it, id gladly pay two
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QUOTE
Telephia initially refused to provide details on its study, and a spokesman for the company has said, according to the Boston Globe, that "Cingular shouldn't have even mentioned the company's name to a reporter." The research company later stated that Cingular had a "statistically significant lower dropped-call rate than the competition across some market/time period groupings," but that Telephia had "no knowledge of the specific methodology... Cingular used to reach the nationwide 'lowest dropped call' conclusion.
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best phone company?
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Bad wording on my part?
Meaning: 3-4 months of cell phone bills added up to over $1,000, when it should take closer to a year to add up to a $1,000.
I'm not an idiot, and I know the available plans. :)
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