Logan Abbott

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has just reported that, as of 12/31/04, there were 181.1 million wireless subscribers in the U.S. and 178 million landline (wired) lines. This is the first time wireless has surpassed wireline, and it is unlikely for that trend to reverse in the foreseeable future.

The Walt Disney Company announced today that it will sell wireless services beginning next year. It will function as an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) which basically means they will be reselling airtime they buy from a network wireless provider, in this case Sprint PCS. Previously, Disney's ESPN group made a similar announcement.

You may recall (although we're not sure why anyone would) that a couple years back, when Dish Network and DIRECTV were trying to merge, one of the reasons they gave the Feds was that it would let them add more local market broadcast networks (NBC, CBS, etc.) -- something they were unable to do as separate entities.

If you talk a lot on your cell phone but don't want to sign a contract, there's a new option out there called Net10 Wireless. As the name implies, it is 10 cents a minute for all calls local, long distance or roaming across a nationwide network.

If you're considering satellite TV, here's a couple cool new tools you can use to configure your system, one for Dish Network and one for DIRECTV.

On June 9th, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reaffirmed previously issued rules that will require some hearing-aid compatible phones by September 16th, 2005. Here's a summary of the ruling:

Who the ruling applies to: The 5 national wireless providers (Cingular, Nextel, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon)

Sneaky..sneaky...sneaky. The wireless carriers, particularly Verizon and Cingular, have done two things recently that will increase their average revenues per subscriber, even though they didn't actually go out and announce a price increase.

Cingular's rate plans changed on June 1st... they got rid of most (or all, we haven't figured it out yet) of their regional plans, while making slight modifications to their national plans.

If you haven't read our Guide to Buying a Cell Phone and Plan, what are you waiting for? If you have, you know that one of the things we harp on in there are the disadvantages of signing a two year contract. However, one year contracts are pretty hard to find these days, except with T-Mobile, where they are standard.

PC Magazine named MyRatePlan one of its "Top 100 sites you didn't know you couldn't live without", specifically featuring our nifty interactive phone finder.