Should broadband Internet service be treated as a basic utility in the United States, like electricity, water, and …
AT&T
$47 a Month? Why You’re Probably Paying Double the ‘Average’ Cell Phone Bill
A new report from the CTIA Wireless Association has it that the average monthly cell phone is $47.16. So how does it feel to be well above average?
Groceries or Mobile Phone? Plenty of Consumers Spend More on the Latter
Based on all the excitement over Apple’s new iPhone 5, there’s no denying plenty of consumers just can’t get enough of their gadgets. But do some people care more about their mobile phones than they do about food—you know, the …
7 Surprising Things Lurking In Online ‘Terms of Service’ Agreements
UPDATE, DEC. 18: The popular photo-sharing platform Instagram faced harsh online criticism today from users who discovered that an upcoming change to the site’s Terms of Service will allow the company to sell users’ uploaded …
PayPal-Discover Pact Boosts Mobile Payments Momentum
The mobile payments/digital wallet drama now unfolding is fascinating for three reasons: First, paying with your mobile phone is the most fundamental shift in retail commerce since the credit card was invented 60 years ago. …
Walmart, Target Challenge Google, Square as Mobile Payments Heat Up
Retail titans like Walmart, Target and Best Buy are challenging tech upstarts like Google, Paypal and Square for advantage as the mobile payments space heats up.
Time to Do the Math and Switch to a Prepaid Smart Phone?
The number of smart-phone users electing to skip the locked-in two-year contract and instead go with a prepaid plan is on the rise. But considering how much consumers stand to save by switching to prepaid — easily more than …
The New Math on Smartphone Plans & Providers
Soon, you’ll be able to use an iPhone for as little as $30 per month. Alternately, your iPhone could lock you into a contract that costs upwards of $140 monthly. A new lineup of shared family plans from Verizon might run far more …
Small Claims, Big Wins: When David Takes Goliath to Court
Like Building Refrigerators: Bell Labs and the End of Game-Changing Innovation
In the years immediately after the breakup of the Bell System in 1984, a question arose: What was the purpose of this company—and what was the purpose of its laboratory, arguably the finest in the world—going forward?
There’s a Good Chance You’re Overpaying for Data on Your Phone
AT&T no longer offers new subscribers the option to have unlimited data on their phones. So many subscribers feel lucky if they have been grandfathered in with their old plans and still pay $30 per month for unlimited data. But a …
Cord Cutting Can Wait: Subscription TV Added 343,000 Subs in Q4
With the rise of Netflix, Amazon and other alternatives to subscription TV, there’s been plenty of talk about the death of cable. But based on fourth-quarter data, subscription TV may have more life left in it than people …
