EarthVision Newsletter Archive Sent: November 26, 1999 Subject: EarthVision Cellular Consumer News! BAM LOOKING TO BUILD WAP INTERNET SUBSCRIBER BASE GPS/CELLULAR PHONE - MAYDAY BUTTON BAM LOOKING TO OFFER CALLING PARTY PAYS CELLULAR WILL WE HAVE CELLULAR PHONE SHORTAGES? COMPANY BRIEFS - FEATURING SPRINT PCS & PRIMECO CONSUMER COMMENTS ABOUT EARTHVISION CELLULAR BUYING PREPAID CELLULAR SERVICE AS A GIFT - WHAT TO KNOW SPECIAL OFFER TO EARTHVISION CELLULAR SUBSCRIBERS EarthVision Cellular Consumer News Issue #1 Volume 12.9 ___________________________________________________________ BAM LOOKING TO BUILD WAP INTERNET SUBSCRIBER BASE ___________________________________________________________ If you live on the east coast and are looking for WAP services, you may want to hold on buying that Sprint PCS phone. We all know that BAM is a pretty tough competitor in the market place for cellular phone carriers. They are living up to their reputation. BAM is looking to offer internet service to it's customers which should have launched November 17th. Unlike Sprint PCS with it's add on packages for internet service, BAM will include the internet service into their plans. Which means that BAM users will be able to purchase a package from them and use if for voice or data minutes. Right now you should be able to get the Qualcomm 860 digital phone starting at $119. They will be offering other phones next month which should be the Qualcomm PDQ 800 and the Motorola Star Tac 7860. BAM has claimed that their web access phone will allow a user to connect to the internet within seconds. However, in the favor of Sprint PCS, they do have nationwide service with as many as 10 phones that can offer web internet service. So when making your choice, you will need to look at what will work best for you. Business professionals that have to travel nationwide would probably want Sprint PCS service. For everyone else on the east coast, BAM would probably be your best bet. _________________________________________________________________ GPS/CELLULAR PHONE - MAYDAY BUTTON _________________________________________________________________ Okay. So we write about novelty cellular items coming onto the market. But we figured that if we didn't tell you about them and they came to market, you may beat us up for not saying something about it sooner. That is why we carry the novelty items that we do. Just in case, you were looking for something for that person who had it all. You may have heard about GPS. Global Positioning Systems. They can pinpoint your location via satellites. Our main reason for telling you about this item is because it would be good for emergencies if your were stranded or wanted your children to have one. Please read on and see just how easy it is to use even in a panic. Chapman Technologies Inc. is about to launch the Chapman PSC (Personal Security Companion). It is a mobile device that combines analog cellular and GPS services. It will be linked to a command center that can offer roadside assistance, assist with medical aid, traffic information, and more. It will use one red button to activate the services. The button can be pushed multiple times to activate various services and will be able to store up to nine phone numbers for calling. The GM Motors Corp. On star system is very similar to this device. The item itself will probably cost about $399 and will have packages available in the ranges of $14.95 to $23.95 a month. Additional charges for non emergency calls will cost extra on a per minute basis. ________________________________________________________________ BAM LOOKING TO OFFER CALLING PARTY PAYS CELLULAR _________________________________________________________________ Last week, BAM started doing a test in Delaware offering a calling party pays program. Subcribers will not be paying extra for the "call me" option either. Airtouch currently offers this service for a fee but has had run into serious competition by SBC. The caller paying for the time will be informed that they are calling a BAM wireless subscriber and that they will be charged 25 cents per minute plus tax. However, it is comprable to calling from a payphone. And the ultimate goal is to displace landline usage by offering CPP and making wireless service more affordable to users. BAM has stated that they will do all that they can to make the service to be as customer friendly as possible. The pricing is slight higher for credit card users at 35 cents per minute. The notification will mention that normal long distance and other tolls will apply. The caller is then given the option to hang up or connect to the call. The current test being done in Delaware allows subscribers to create a priority list of five customers that they would pay to have calls come from. Plus subscribers would not be required to get a new phone number as has been done in tests conducted by AT&T wireless and Bell South wireless. BAM is hoping to pick up the budget conscious and low volume users with this program. The industry appears to think that if any carrier can make CPP a reality, it will be BAM. _________________________________________________________________ WILL WE HAVE CELLULAR PHONE SHORTAGES? _________________________________________________________________ Manufacturers are loving the boost in sales and in setting all time records. But then another problem is then presented. The components need to build the phones may not be as readily available. The word out on the street is that all manufacturers are starting to face the challenge of component shortages due to the demand for cellular phones. And in the pecking order, the smaller manufacuturers will be the last to be supplied. In 1999, it has been predicted that an astounding 291 million new cellular phones will have been sold. A major increase compared to the number of new cellular phones sold in 1998 was only 168 million. Motorola has reiterated that they are facing a shortage for compoents to meet demand. Nokia and Ericsson have stated they are doing okay for now. But the future itself has still to unfold. Qualcomm is considered one of the smaller manufacturers and is expected to feel a bit of a crunch. Be prepared for some lengthy backorders for new phones in the next 6 months unless you are willing to settle for a used phone. Which if it is a popular phone, even getting a used one could be somewhat difficult to obtain. You may even see an increase on phone prices since demand will outweigh the supply available. _________________________________________________________________ COMPANY BRIEFS - FEATURING SPRINT PCS & PRIMECO _________________________________________________________________ Sprint PCS adding new phones: Sprint PCS will be adding 3 new Motorola Phones to the wireless web WAP lines. The phones will be the Star Tac ST7867, the Timeport P8167, and the Talkabout T8167. The Star Tac will be offered for $249.99 each, Timeport $299.99 each, and the Talkabout will go for $229.99 each. You will be able to find the phones at all Sprint PCS centers, Radio Shack stores, and other retailers. The features they will offer will be an enhanced phone book, nine ringer options, built in headset jack, and backlighting. PrimeCo to offer flat rate roaming fee: PrimeCo has announced that it will be offering a flat roaming fee to over 6.300 cities. The Preferred PrimeTravel package plan will offer a flat fee of 15 cents per minute including long distance. An additional 10,000 cities are covered at 39 cents per mintue but long distance is extra. Not a bad deal when you consider that roaming rates can be as high as $2.95 per minute. [We were unable to find out if customers would be tapped with a network daily access fee that some carriers charge to subscribers of competing carriers within the plan area.] _________________________________________________________________ BUYING PREPAID CELLULAR SERVICE AS A GIFT - WHAT TO KNOW _________________________________________________________________ So you are looking to buy a prepaid cellular phone either for emergencies or as a gift for Christmas. You will need to look at a few things before making your decision. The first thing, you will be looking at is price of course. And you should. Not only to see if it fits your budget, but to know that you will be getting what you pay for too. Some things to ask the provider of prepaid cellular service: Is the service only for local service area coverage? Does the phone allow for roaming? What does it cost for roaming fees per minute? Will you be charged a daily access fee when roaming onto a competing carriers network? How long is the warranty offered on the phone? Does unused airtime expire? What promotional items come free with the phone if any? Do they charge an activation fee to set up service? Do you have to pay first to replace a defective phone and wait for a credit? These are just a few of the questions you should ask. Some carriers only allow for local coverage areas. And when roaming, you could pay as much as $2.95 per minute. Some competing carriers also have a daily access fee that they charge to subscribers of a competing carrier. You also need to know if you are being sold a low end phone that only comes with a 30, 60, or 90 day warranty. Some retail shops sell a used phone with a 30 day warranty for prepaid service. Review the airtime units expiration date. Some airtime cards will expire if you don't use the time within a specified period of time. As is most often the case, you are simply sold a phone with a limited amount of time and you are not given any "freebies" as is given to contractual subscribers. Not to mention that some retail units will sell a package with listing the used phone at a price, then stating an activation fee and so many units of airtime. If you order a phone online and find it is defective, see what happens when you have to return it. You will have to pay for the replacement or send it back wait for a credit/replacement and be without phone service the whole time. Why do we mention this to you? Because it is what makes us unique from our competitors. You are given a "freebie" with every national prepaid cellular package we offer. And our phones will work on any analog network within the US. We want you to know that we appreciate your doing business with us. And none of the other issues above apply to us or our carrier. We are confident that we offer the lowest pricing available for what we offer. And we do everything in our power to keep our customers satisfied with the services and products we offer. _________________________________________________________________ SPECIAL OFFER TO EARTHVISION CELLULAR SUBSCRIBERS _________________________________________________________________ SURPRISE BONUS! WIN A FREE PLUG N START CAR JUMPSTARTER! A total value of $29.90 to you. Most stores charge $49.95 for this item. It allows you to plug in a cigarette lighter from your car and connect it to another car's cigarette lighter to draw in juice to jumpstart it without ever leaving your car. Keep it or give it away as a gift. How to win: Find what is out of place with this newsletter. The first subscriber to write back with the correct answer will win the FREE prize. Hint: A baker's dozen will not be found here. For everyone else. Only those who are getting this newsletter are eligible for this special offer. Buy a rapid car charger by December 4th and get a leather case of the same model absolutely FREE. [shipping still applies to orders under $40 though.] These are real leather cases with double stitching and not the "fake" single stitched leather cases that are commonly found. Make sure your email address is the same listed in our subscriber database to get the credit. PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES ABOUT OUR NEWSLETTER. WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE IN MAKING OUR NEWSLETTER A SUCCESS. EarthVision Communications Inc. "Taking Cellular to Mach II Speed" www.earthvisioncellular.com Back