CenturyLink says E-Rate funding should not be used to fund residential broadband

CenturyLink says a request from a consortium of parties, including Microsoft, to extend E-Rate services to rural students' homes is not in line with the way the statute was written.

E-Rate debate.

Fusion Connect is a disaster!  I have moved two clients from Fusion Connect this year and their policies and contracts are non-standard customer rip-offs.  Their standard contract bills two months from the date of the termination request.  One of my customers ported their numbers but Fusion Connect did not close the account.  When notified they charged an additional two months.  The second customer had his daughter working for him paying the bills and she left the business.  Her email account was not attended and Fusion Connect used that account to notify the business of non-payment.  They did not call or send a letter and turned off the phones.  They were paid the day the phones went off and said the phones would be turned back on the next day.  When the phones did not go on the next day I contacted them again and they said they could not turn the phones back on because the account was closed.  They also said they had released the businesses phone numbers.  Standard policy for every other phone company is to hold the numbers for a month so the business can re-establish their account or so the phone traffic declines and the number can be given to another client.  I was able to track down where the numbers went and established new service for my client in less than a week.  Fusion Connect is losing money and their stock price is falling.  I believe their lack of concern for their customer's interests is contributing to their decline.

Riverbed bolsters SD-WAN capabilities with Ocedo acquisition

Riverbed Technology is expanding its software-defined networking and software-defined WAN capabilities. The company acquired Germany-based Ocedo, a developer of SDN and SD-WAN products, with the intention of providing next-generation SDN products.

Fierce Enterprise Communications

How Comcast Business Contracts Work

A customer of mine signed a “Business Service Order Agreement” with Comcast and in the process of trying to get him out of a three year contract and into a two year contract I learned a lot about Comcast and their processes. 

When a business salesman from Comcast speaks with a prospect he will examine his current offers and come up with a suggestion.  The document that has the current regional list of Comcast Business Packages is marked that it is “not to be distributed to the general public or shared with customers”.  The reason for this is simple.  The Comcast salesman has an advantage if the customer is kept in the dark about available discounts or terms of service.   I asked several Retention Agents how my customer was to know that Comcast offers 12, 24 and 36 month terms.  I also asked how the customer was to know about the available offers.  I was told that it is the responsibility of the customer to read the contract, to read multiple documents that are referenced by URL links in the contract and to go to Comcast’s website and surf for current offers.  Both the Retention Agents and the Billing Agents told me they could not explain the Comcast Business Packages and how they worked.  I was told in several instances that it is the customer’s responsibility to figure out the obligations of the contract and that once you sign it you are stuck with no way out.  There is a 30 day satisfaction clause but that only applies to new contracts.  I find this unreasonable because even if you read all of the information in the contract, referenced documents and the Comcast website the list of available packages is not available and there is no documentation available as to how the process would work if you move or chose to add another product.  I believe that Comcast has enabled their salesmen to maximize terms and prices because that is how they maximize Comcast revenue.  It is in the salesman’s interest because longer terms and higher prices increase his commission.

Since my customer was moving to another office the Comcast move process was critical.  There is no documentation for this process.  There is documentation for what happens if a customer terminates a contract.  Whatever services a customer has when they terminate will result in them paying 75% of the remaining revenue of the contract.  I think even Comcast thought it was harsh to make customers pay the 75% if they moved to a new location and contracted for Comcast services.  In this instance they work on a revenue replacement model.  If you sign a three year deal and move your office after a year then you must sign a comparable deal for a minimum of two years.  My customer was offered a three year deal even though his Comcast Business Package allowed a two year contract.  If you have one year and a month remaining you will have to sign a two year contract.  It turns out that you are able to turn down the services on your contract as long as they have no effect on the Comcast Business Package you have received.  For instance if you are contracted for three phone lines you could turn that down to one phone line if your package allowed.  It is clear you should turn down your services as far as you can if you are going to terminate your contract.  The critical item on the contract is the block of text below the “Comcast Business Services” header on the first page of the Business Service Order Agreement.  The voice, internet and TV services are listed and an “X” is next to the items that you are under contract for.  I was told another amazing thing.  If you are under a two year contract and decide six months in that you want to add TV to your phone and internet package, Comcast will have you sign a new two year agreement listing the selection of TV along with phone and internet.  In this way they can hold you liable for 75% of the remaining TV revenue if you terminate the contract.

I now realize that signing Comcast Business Order Agreements is very dangerous.  If you would like my help feel free to contact me.

Facebook tests new version of Messenger for Android with a refreshed look, quicker access to chats

Starting today, Facebook is testing a “faster and more reliable” Messenger app for Android users. For starters, the mobile software is getting a new look which boasts easier navigation of the chatting landscape.

Engadget

Firefox plugin reveals how your internet browsing is being monitored

Mozilla has released Lightbeam, a Firefox plugin that visualizes which sites are tracking your browsing history and how those sites are connected.

engadget

How a Free OS Will Pay Off for Apple

For Apple, offering its new OS X Mavericks operating system to Mac users for free isn’t a new idea, but a return to an old one.

AllThingsD