Recently in contract terms Category

The free smartphone arena is heating up as retailers both online and big-box discount are offering the AT&T BlackBerry Bold for FREE with a new service agreement and the "unlimited" plan.

The BlackBerry Bold Unlimted service requires

• At least a 1350 minute talk plan (single or family)  that runs $79.99 a month.
  
• Unlimited text messaging $20.00 a month
• The required BlackBerry data plan at least $30.00 at month without the ability to tether the BlackBerry Bold as a modem.

The minimun monthly cost for the freebie is $129.99

LetsTalk.com is offering a free ( 1 cent) BlackBerry Bold: Unlimited Package (AT&T) with a rebate, two year contract and the unlimited service.  It is also available at Walmart

Reviews have been postive for the BlackBerry Bold.  While many speculate that BlackBerry Storm from Verizon will also be offered for free with big data plans.  For some strange reason, technophiles don't like the fact the Wal-Mart highly discounts smartphones and they have turned it into a big controversry.

Leap Wireless International, and MetroPCS Communications, Inc. announced today that they have entered into a national roaming agreement and an agreement to exchange wireless spectrum, and have settled all outstanding litigation between them.

Verizon Wireless customers who don't want to sign a one- or two-year customer agreement now have a month-to-month option.

With Verizon Wireless' new Month-to-Month agreement customers purchase new devices at full-retail price, or use their own CDMA devices without the commitment of a one- or two-year contract. Also, customers can terminate their agreement at the end of any month without paying an Early Termination Fee.

AT&T now offers a wireless policy portal to help customers  locate and understand the most frequently sought information about their wireless service.

When you enter the portal, you can view policies in five categories and browse a timeline of AT&T's customer-focused wireless policies dating back to 1983. The portal shows AT&T customers easy-to-find information at www.att.com/wirelesspolicies.

Srint Nextel now has an online self-service tool that allows consumer customers to analyze their wireless usageto determine if their current plan is the right "fit."

The Sprint Plan Optimizer, available at www.sprint.com/planfit, gives customers a view of their historical cost and usage trends.

After viewing a month-to-month analysis of usage and costs, customers can opt to "Analyze My Plan." If Sprint Plan Optimizer finds a better plan to fit the customer's usage pattern, a plan change is suggested. Customers may then complete any desired plan changes directly online.

 Alltel Wireless, is making it easier and affordable to bundle popular applications with  Alltel Connect Packs. With five bundles to choose from, Alltel is providing customers a wide variety of options to customize their phone to meet their specific needs and budget.

Starting at only $9.99 per month for unlimited web and data wih, Alltel Connect Pack 1 with progressively more services  services which can save up to 40 percent on their monthly bill.

Alltel Connect Packs are available to customers with current postpaid rate plans of $39.99 and higher with capable phones.

Verizon now offers information about its Nationwide Messaging plans in online videos in American Sign Language (ASL) to better serve customers who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The videos feature Tom Boudrow of the Marlboro, Mass.-based Verizon Center for Customers with Disabilities, using American Sign Language to answer frequently asked questions about Verizon Wireless' Nationwide Messaging plans. The video clips can be viewed at http://aboutus.vzw.com/accessibility/nationwide_faq.html.

Verizon is going to offer a bundle discount to wireless customers with Verizon DSL or FIOS.  The discounts will range from $8 to $21 a month, depending on the wireless contract.

The Associated Press reported that the discount applies to DSL service with downloads at 3 megabits per second, and to FIOS broadband at up to 20Mbps, other faster broadband options do not qualify.

A new service online service Skydeck  helps people to take control of their cell phones and their cell phone bills. Skydeck unlocks the  information hidden in a cell phone bill. Their software fetches  bills from the cell phone company and combines that information with the customer's address book to show the name with the phone number, allowing customers to search and organize calls the way their email is searched and organized. There is also a social networking feature.

In the future, Skydeck plans to introduce a range of products and services that will help consumers and small businesses to get maximum value out of their cell phones and we will charge a fee for some of these. But the current version of Skydeck is free to individual consumers and always will be.

Sprint announced it will launch a domestic unlimited pricing plan that gives customers unlimited voice, data, text, e-mail, Web-surfing, Sprint TV, Sprint Music, GPS Navigation, Direct Connect and Group Connect for $99.99 a month. The new pricing plan is available to existing and new customers beginning tomorrow.

“This is a bold, unprecedented move,” said Dan Hesse, president and CEO, Sprint Nextel. “Wireless today is about much more than just voice. It is about data services - texting, email, video, pictures, music, navigation, surfing the Web and more. Customers want these applications, but without complexity and without having to worry about their bill. The $99.99 Simply Everything plan delivers it all right to the palm of their hand now.

The $99.99 Simply Everything plan is available to customers on both Sprint’s CDMA and iDEN networks. Existing Sprint customers can switch to the Simply Everything plan without extending their current contract either by contacting Sprint customer service or by stopping by any participating Sprint retail location. New line activations require a two-year agreement.

U.S. Cellular announced the addition of a $99 unlimited national calling plan for new and existing customers to offer convenience and service to both consumer and business customers.  The new national plan allows customers to make unlimited voice calls.

“We recognize that cell phones are critical to helping customers keep connected with the people and activities that matter most to them,” said Jay Ellison, executive vice president and COO of U.S. Cellular.

In addition to the unlimited national calling plan, U.S. Cellular offers a $14.95 unlimited texting plan and a $9.95 unlimited easyedge data package to provide customers with a variety of services to satisfy their individual needs. The company also offers a wide variety of plans that include unlimited free incoming calls and texts.

Information on this limited-time offer will soon be available to customers at www.uscellular.com or at local retail stores.

AT&T, also announced an unlimited plan today:

AT&T Inc. announced new unlimited wireless voice plans for $99.99 a month for unlimited U.S. calling on all devices with no domestic roaming or long distance charges. The plans can be combined with any current wireless data plan.

The new plans, available Feb. 22, can be ordered at one of AT&T’s 2,200 company-owned retail stores and kiosks, at www.att.com, or at one of the thousands of authorized AT&T retail locations. Existing customers can choose unlimited calling without extending their contract. New customers have the option of a month-to-month, 12 or 24 month contract.

As with other voice calling plans, AT&T customers can choose from a variety of data and messaging plans to meet their needs. For example, customers with standard wireless phones* can choose a data plan such as $5 for 200 text, picture, video and instant messages or $35 for unlimited messaging and MEdia Net access.

“We are pleased to offer our customers these great new plans that deliver value and simplified pricing,” said Ralph de la Vega, president & CEO, AT&T Mobility. “This is a highly competitive market and we’re committed to moving fast to meet customer needs.”

*Standard wireless phones do not include smartphones or PDAs or the iPhone.

Verizon Wireless announced the immediate availability of new Nationwide Unlimited Anytime Minute Plans. The plans give customers all their calls - anytime to anyone in the U.S., including landline phones - at a flat rate for $99.99 monthly access.

The broadband access was not as unlimited as leaked. BroadbandAccess Plans are change so customers now have two choices for Internet browsing, e-mail access and downloading files. The new BroadbandAccess plans, available on March 2, will offer customers monthly data plan options of 50 Megabytes (MB) or 5 Gigabytes (GB) (5,120 MB).

BroadbandAccess, the company’s flagship data service, allows customers to experience average download speeds of 600 kilobits per second (kbps) to 1.4 megabits per second and average upload speeds of 500-800 kbps, which means customers can download a 1 MB e-mail attachment in about eight seconds and upload the same-sized file in less than 13 seconds. Customers will be able to take full advantage of these speeds with two options: 50 MB data usage for $39.99 monthly access or 5 GB data usage for $59.99 monthly access.

It’s $140 a month for the Premium plan, which includes unlimited voice, unlimited messaging, and access to e-mail and Verizon’s walled-garden VCAST service without per-MB charges. For more information go to http://estore.vzwshop.com/unlimited/.

Sprint is ending termination fees, pushing more push-to-talk, seeking long-time Xhom contracts, and considering a flat rate plan to regain market share.

Verizon Wireless announced that their Open Development Conference will be held in New York City on March 19-20, 2008.

News of the conference, which will focus largely on development for new devices to run on the Verizon Wireless network, comes just eight weeks after Verizon Wireless announced that later this year it will provide customers the option to use, on its nationwide wireless network, wireless devices, software and applications not offered by the company.