Subject: [NEXTEL-1] The Devil's In The Dialing

From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 10:17:45 -0400

Telecom
The Devil's In The Dialing
08.21.03, 6:00 PM ET

MCI's rivals claimed to be shocked over supposedly new allegations last month that
the troubled telecom firm has been disguising long-distance calls as local calls
to avoid paying access fees. In truth, the only shocking thing about the dust-up
may be the timing--just as MCI struggles to emerge from Chapter 11.

The telecom industry has a legacy fraught with squeezing customers. AT&T (nyse: T
- news - people ), Sprint (nyse: FON - news - people ), Verizon's (nyse: VZ - news
- people ) wireless unit and Nextel (nasdaq: NXTL - news - people ) have all been
involved in bare-knuckle spats or faced charges of customer abuse.
http://www.forbes.com/2003/08/21/cx_el_0821telecomintro.html?partner=yahoo&referrer=

OutFront
Let Him Who Is Without Sin...
Neil Weinberg, 09.01.03

Shocked. That's what MCI's rivals claimed to be over supposedly new allegations
last month that the troubled telecom firm has been disguising long-distance calls
as local calls to avoid paying access fees. In truth, the only shocking thing
about the dust-up may be the timing--just as MCI struggles to emerge from Chapter
11. Like it or not, bare-knuckled spats and customer abuse are long-standing
telecom traditions. A few examples.

IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM, JOIN 'EM

AT&T sought to block rival IDT some years back from "stealing the ring": IDT
detected overseas calls without picking them up; then it called back for customers
using cheap outgoing U.S. rates. After regulators denied AT&T's appeal, it
launched its own callback service.

1-800-RIPOFFS

ASC Telecom, a unit of Sprint, and Opticom were caught in "fat finger dialing"
scams last year. The firms charged high fees to callers who, instead of punching
popular numbers like 1-800-Collect, misdialed permutations such as 1-800-Coolect.
The Federal Communications Commission has proposed fining the firms $6.5 million.

FUZZY MATH

Verizon Wireless was accused in 2000 of such hanky-panky as wrongfully extending
contracts and charging for unanswered calls, nonconversation time, toll-free calls
and local calls. It has amended its customer service agreements and may offer
rebates to 40 million customers.

BLAME THE FEDS

Nextel and Sprint labeled fee hikes as charges for official-sounding "Federal
Programs Cost Recovery" and "USA Regulatory Obligations and Fees," respectively.
In a July settlement with Missouri each firm agreed to revise its wording and pay
a $50,000 fine.

NUKE THE COMPETITION

After WorldCom bought MCI in 1998, regulators forced it to sell part of its
long-distance Internet backbone. Then it allegedly sabotaged the operation by
blocking databases. WorldCom paid $200 million to settle the charges.
THE BIGGEST THEFT OF ALL
The 14% tax on the average wireless phone bill (20% in New York).

http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2003/0901/056b.html

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