Carrier Wrap: T-Mobile US targets premium SMS fraud; Cellcom adds Apple tablets

Editor’s Note: Wireless operators are a busy bunch, and as such RCR Wireless News will attempt to gather some of the important announcements that may slip through the cracks from the world’s largest carriers in a weekly wrap-up. Enjoy!
—T-Mobile US this week announced that it would begin reaching out to customers that may have been incorrectly charged for third-party, premium messaging services that the carrier used to allow access to through its billing platform.
The carrier noted that customers will be able to request refunds for any unauthorized charges for services provided by those third-parties. T-Mobile US explained that “despite protections and processes put in place by T-Mobile and the industry, not all premium SMS vendors acted responsibly.”
“If you’ve been charged for a third-party service you didn’t sign up for, it should be easy to get a refund,” said Mike Sievert, CMO for T-Mobile US. “If customers were charged for services they didn’t want, we’ll make it right.”
T-Mobile US announced last November that it would stop supporting such billing arrangements.
The premium SMS services market has gained a reputation as being filled with fraudulent billing schemes, which wireless carriers have tried to combat.
—SK Telecom and Nokia announced the successful aggregation of 10 spectrum frequencies encompassing a total of 200 megahertz of spectrum that produced a throughput speed of 3.78 gigabits per second running across both TDD and FDD versions of LTE.
The trail used Nokia’s Single RAN solution, bolstered by software to aggregate carriers on both TDD and FDD LTE spectrum and to implement LTE-Advanced multiple-input, multiple-output technology.
—AT&T announced plans to pilot test a location-based service offer targeting enterprises that allow for the ability to confirm the location of users when traveling internationally and is designed to protect against fraud.
AT&T said the service would be made available across more than 150 countries, with the trial set to begin this summer and the service scheduled to roll out later this year. The platform is designed to notify companies when a customer who opts-in for the service arrives in a new country.
—Verizon Wireless recently completed its acquisitions of rural operator Golden State Cellular, buying out the partnership interest of Sierra Cellular and two other parties. Financial terms of the deal were not released.
The acquisition bolsters Verizon Wireless’ network assets in East Central California, covering approximately 160,000 potential customers in Amador, Alpine, Calaveras, Tuolumne and Mariposa counties, including much of Yosemite National Park. When first announced, the deal included approximately 18,000 customers.
–Regional wireless operator Cellcom added cellular-versions of Apple’s iPad Air and iPad Mini to its device lineup, both with access to the carrier’s LTE network. The devices are priced similar to what Apple charges for those same models.
Customers can add either a mobile broadband data package or add the devices to a mobile share plan that includes at least 300 megabytes of data.
Additional carrier news can be found on the RCR Wireless News “Carriers” page.
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