You"ll want to know this if your #mobile service provider happens to be #AT&T. - http://clapway.com/2015/08/16/att-has-been-helping-the-nsa-spy-on-internet-traffic-333/

Some newly disclosed documents, dating from 2003 to 2013, cite that the telecom company, AT&T, has been helping the U.S. NSA to spy on the Internet traffic passing across the United States. The topic was first brought to light by the former NSA contractor, Edward Snowden and started a huge debate about individuals’ privacy.

WHAT’S NEW?

The New York Times reported on Saturday that AT&T gave technical support to the National Security Agency, after carrying out an undercover court order, which gave permission to the government of the United States to intercept all web communications of the company’s customers in the United Nations.

HOW DID THAT HELP THE NSA?

Also, the telecom giant helped the spy agency with a series of classified activities, and the documents describe the connection between the NSA and AT&T as “a partnership and not a contractual relationship.” The telecom company helped the NSA to organize and carry out surveillance of international web communications that weathered through junction networks in the United States, and according to the NSA document, AT&T has been providing access to other telecoms and Internet Service Providers as well.

The reason why this access provided is extremely important is because a huge amount of the world’s web communication is transmitted through U.S. cables. The surveillance equipment that AT&T installed in, at least, 17 of its Internet hubs in America is located far away from Verizon’s equipment, and the first who tried the new technology were the company’s engineers.

AT&T’S COMMENTS

The Times report that in 2011 AT&T started giving the agency access to more than 1.1 billion private cellphone calls on a daily basis, in order to prepare for the 9/11 10th anniversary, as the document cites.

AT&T spokesman, Brad Burns, was asked to comment on the New York Times report and he chose to respond by an email to Reuters, saying that the company provides selected information to investigating authorities, only when a person’s life is in danger and time is valuable: “For example, in a kidnapping situation we could provide help tracking down called numbers to assist law enforcement,” he continued.

Burns added that the company has nothing more to report.

AT&T Has Been Helping the NSA Spy on Internet Traffic

Verizon Kills off Contracts and Subsidies - http://clapway.com/2015/08/08/verizon-kills-off-contracts-and-subsidies-101/

Verizon has announced that it will officially be the second carrier to stop wrangling their customers into two-year contracts every time they purchase a new phone. Verizon subscribers will be able to choose from a new selection of cheaper plans (sans the subsidy fee), but that means customers will have to purchase the phone outright — by either paying for it in-full or through monthly payment installations.

Verizon Kills Subsidies

T-Mobile was the first wireless carrier in the US to cut ties with subsidizing phones for its customers, but in doing so they set forth a ripple effect that has convinced the other carriers to follow suit.

For customers, this means that they’ll now have to purchase phones outright, which incentivizes manufacturers to offer phones at more competitive prices and, hopefully, entices them to put smartphones on sale more often.

According to Verizon, the subsidy fee they charged in a two-year contract was about $19 a month. Multiplying that number by the number of months in two years means customers were paying around $456 a year. An iPhone 6 is currently $649 through Verizon, so if you tack on the $200 a user would typically pay for a subsidized iPhone 6 then it’s easy to see that users won’t really pay any more or less without a contract. Suddenly that subsidy doesn’t really seem like much of a subsidy.

Verizon to Offer a New Range of Plans

Starting on August 13, Verizon is also going to be offering a new set of plans that range from four main options: small, medium, large, and extra large. Verizon will be eliminating the subsidy fee, which will discount voice, text, and data plans by about $20 a month. The amount will depend based on each plan, however.

The different “sizes” refer to the amount of data each plan offers. A small plan only offers 1GB of data, while an extra large plan offers up to 12GB. Here is a quick price breakdown for single lines:

Small – $30/month 1GB of data

Medium – $45/month 3GB of data

Large – $60/month 6GB of data

Extra Large – $80/month 12GB of data

Grandfathering is Alive and Well

Current customers who don’t want to switch plans will still be able to keep the same plans they have now. Verizon mentioned that there would be some restrictions that may apply (perhaps with regard to the few still holding onto their unlimited data plans), but Verizon didn’t give any precise details about what the stipulations might be.

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WHEN YOU HAVE A BREAK FROM PHONE WOES, TAKE A LOOK AT ATMOPH

 

Verizon Kills off Contracts and Subsidies