Leap Wireless International Inc. has expanded the availability of its Travel Time roaming service to all of its Cricket markets. The roaming service allows Cricket customers to use their phones outside of their home calling areas on a prepaid basis for 59 cents per minute or 69 cents per minute for Jump by Cricket prepaid subscribers. Leap initially announced the Travel Time service earlier this year when it signed a nationwide roaming agreement with Verizon Wireless.
Sprint PCS is offering its voice-dialing service free to users who are blind, visually impaired or physically disabled. The free service, which works on any Sprint phone, allows calls to be dialed by speaking the desired contact or phone number, and includes 10 directory-assistance calls per month at no charge. Sprint offers its PCS Voice Command at $5 a month. Cingular Wireless L.L.C. has a similar offering.
SunCom Wireless, formerly known as Triton PCS, launched new nationwide and international calling plans with no roaming charges anywhere in the United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico. The SunCom America plans offer 600, 900 or 1,500 anytime minutes starting at $40 per month, including all taxes and fees. The plans include free text messaging. The carrier also launched an international long-distance plan for $5 a month.
Rural telecommunications provider Citizens Wireless reported plans to begin deploying a wireless broadband network using Flarion Technologies Inc.’s Flash-OFDM technology covering parts of Blacksburg, Christiansburg and Radford, Va. Citizens said the network will use its 700 MHz licensed spectrum and be available to business and residential customers, state universities, and local public and safety organizations.
Vodafone Group plc and MSN will launch an instant messaging service between mobile phones and PCs. The offering will allow users to exchange messages between PC-based MSN Messenger and the carrier’s mobile IM service, and will include IM features such as presence.
