Eircom Fined €2.5 Million Due to Overcharging Its Customers
The Irish Commission For Communications Regulation (ComReg) fined Eircom, owner of Eir mobile operator, €2.5 million for overcharging approximately 76,000 customers from 2015 to 2021. ComReg ruled that Eir must refund affected customers, totaling an estimated €6.7 million, equating to around €88 per customer. Eircom acknowledged a “broken bundle” issue and committed to identifying and reimbursing affected customers, although the process may take time. Eir plans to implement system updates, including a new billing system, to prevent similar problems in the future. The company aims to complete all agreed measures by the end of the year.
TalkTalk Partners with CityFibre
TalkTalk has formed a strategic partnership with CityFibre, enabling its wholesale customers to access CityFibre’s business Ethernet infrastructure. This collaboration is part of TalkTalk’s strategy to work with multiple providers and expand its product offerings. The move is seen as a blow to BT, as alternative network providers gain traction, potentially resulting in a £100 million annual loss for BT. The increasing presence of alternative providers poses challenges for incumbents like BT, as competition for network access intensifies. The partnership between TalkTalk and CityFibre signals a shift in the industry toward diversifying supplier networks and offering more competitive services.
Net2phone Recognized for Contact Center & UC Solutions
net2phone, a leading communications-as-a-service provider, has been recognized by CIOReview as offering promising solutions in the contact center and unified communications markets. CIOReview features net2phone in its Contact Center and Unified Communications editions, acknowledging the company’s ability to meet and exceed industry expectations. net2phone’s uContact customer experience platform and UNITE unified communications solutions provide tailored strategies, integrations, and automations to meet unique business needs. Their cloud-based solutions offer voice, video, chat, and text capabilities with seamless CRM integration, advanced analytics, and user-friendly interfaces, enabling businesses to enhance productivity and deliver exceptional customer experiences.
OpenAI Launches ChatGPT iOS App for Mobile Access
OpenAI has launched an official iOS app for its ChatGPT AI chatbot, providing users with mobile access to the service. The app is ad-free, offers voice input, and will initially be available to U.S. users. With the app, users can interact with the chatbot to ask questions, seek advice, and conduct research. The launch of ChatGPT’s mobile app could pose a challenge to Apple’s Siri and potentially impact Google, as it offers an alternative search and information retrieval method on mobile devices. The app will sync search history across devices and is integrated with OpenAI’s Whisper speech recognition system.
FCC Seeks Verification Boost for Affordable Connectivity Program
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has requested Charter, Cox, and Starry, the largest providers for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), to verify subscriber eligibility through the government’s National Verifier system. The FCC aims to strengthen the verification process and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. The National Verifier, managed by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), is a centralized system for ACP applications, but it has faced challenges with manual reviews. The FCC’s move follows an investigation into inconsistencies and irregularities in ACP enrollment verification and emphasizes the need for close monitoring and evaluation of the program.
