Western Wireless Corp. subsidiary Cellular One said it completed the expansion of its CDMA 1x network upgrades in Arkansas, Nevada and Texas following upgrades to its CDMA digital network in Kansas and Nebraska last year and upgrades to existing CDMA markets in Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah. The carrier also upgraded its Minnesota network from TDMA to CDMA 1x technology. It acquired the network from HickoryTech Corp. late last year. Cellular One noted the upgrades would provide customers in 110 markets access to its advanced services, including its OpenDoor 1x-based wireless Internet service, Hello2Fun BREW-based downloadable content service and Hello2Pix multimedia messaging service. Western Wireless is also deploying GSM/ GPRS technology in half its cell sites to facilitate roaming as part of its overlay plan.
Cingular Wireless L.L.C. said it fixed a security problem with a recently deployed Internet and telephone-based payment system that drew concern from customers over the possibility of subscriber information being exposed. A company spokesman noted the security issues have been addressed, and no customer information was revealed. The carrier said the trial service allowed customers to quickly view and pay their account balances online using only their ZIP codes and telephone numbers as verification, but has been updated to now require passwords. A telephone-based version of the service has been scrapped, though the carrier still offers its *Star bill payment service through subscribers’ handsets.
Alltel Corp. updated its nationwide Total Freedom rate plans, allowing customers to access their plans’ anytime minutes, 1,000 mobile-to-mobile minutes and 1,000 night and weekend calling minutes from anywhere in the country without roaming or long-distance charges. The rate plans begin at $40 per month for 200 anytime calling minutes and ramp up to $300 per month for 3,000 anytime calling minutes.The carrier’s previous Total Freedom offering provided unlimited night and weekend and mobile-to-mobile minutes that could be accessed only when calling from their local service areas.
