Rebtel and Verizon press coverage

There are a couple of interesting entries in the blog here

http://blog.rebtel.com

about Verizon Wireless (and AT&T) business practices with respect
to Rebtel, a potential teeny, tiny competitor for part of their
business.

For those who don't want to read I can post the summary. Rebtel
provides a dial-through overseas call service. One of the ways
they support for setting up contacts depends on sending and
receiving text messages. To do this in the US requires getting
an SMS short code. Rebtel applied for one last year, and while
Sprint accepted the application and AT&T said they'd think about
it, the other carriers, including Verizon, declined outright.
Rebtel works around this by using a UK number for sending and
receiving text messages.

Verizon's refusal of Rebtel's application got a small bit of
press coverage (and even some FCC attention) after Verizon refused
another short code application from Naral Pro-Choice, with Rebtel
talking to the press. Apparently in response, Verizon began
blocking text messages sent from Rebtel's UK service (that's what
Rebtel says, and Rebtel's messages stopped arriving at my Verizon
phone). According to Rebtel, Verizon contacted them and offered
to remove the text message block if Rebtel would say nice things
about Verizon in the press. Rebtel says they did that, but now
Verizon won't talk to them at all. I can confirm that Rebtel
text messages still don't arrive on my Verizon phone.

I only mention this because there's at least one press quote,
in Business Week, here

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine...4034911363.htm

where a Verizon spokesman says Rebtel can still send its
customers text messages. This was after text messages from
Rebtel stopped arriving on my Verizon phone, so I don't think
that statement was accurate.

I point this out for the benefit of anyone who thinks that whatever
a Verizon spokesman says to the press must be entirely true.

Dennis Ferguson