SK Telecom has launched “Overseas Internet Roaming Services”, through which the user can connect easily to the Internet with his/her e-station ID, password and mobile phone number, and allows the use of the Internet at low fees.

“Overseas Roaming Services” targets SK Telecom customers that frequently use their laptops overseas, such as for travel or business trips.

For the “Overseas Internet Roaming Services”, a partnership has been set up with iPass, the world’s largest VNO that has ties with approximately 300 local internet service providers around the world. It is a service through which wireline, wireless access is possible in the airports, cafes and hotels of approximately 70 countries around the world. Without a separate subscription process, the local Internet network can be accessed through the connection program with a single ID (e-station ID, password, mobile phone number), and the advantage is that fees are an average 10% lower than local rates. Payment is settled after usage, and added to the mobile phone usage fee, and thus it is convenient because separate settlement need not be made during travel or business trips.

In the case of laptops with a wireless LAN card installed, the service can be used in approximately 42,000 access points in 67 countries, such as the U.S., Japan and Europe where wireless connection is possible, while in the case of wired access, the service can be used in approximately 1,800 access points (hotels, airports, etc.) in 48 countries including the U.S., Australia and Europe.

Customers that wish to use the “Overseas Internet Roaming Service” must download the access program from SK Telecom’s roaming webpage (www.sktroaming.com) and install it in their laptops, and when overseas, move to wireless or wired line access points, and connect to the Internet with use of the connection program.

Fee plans per region are applied on a daily basis. In the case of wire line access, from 12 pm ~ 12 pm, rates are $9.32/day in North America, $18.7/day in Europe, $16.82/day in Asia-Pacific, and $18.7/day in other regions. For wireless access, from 0 am ~ 0 am, rates are $5.57/day in North America (excluding T-Mobile HotSpots), $9.99/day in North America (T-Mobile HotSpots), $16.82/day in Europe, $6.51/day in Asia-Pacific, and $18.7/day in other regions.

Inquiries into more detailed information on usage method, accessible areas and fee plans are possible through SK Telecom’s roaming webpage (www.sktroaming.com) or roaming customer center (1599-2011, charged) > 1. automatic roaming service guide (open 24hrs on business days, closed on weekends and holidays).

SK Telecom’s head of Global Roaming Business, Lee Sung-Young, remarked, “The overseas Internet roaming services complements the narrow coverage and high rates of existing wireless Internet services. Going forward, we will continue to expand overseas Internet roaming coverage, so that the service becomes an essential in overseas travel along with automatic roaming services.”

Less than seven months after the market launch, more than 700,000 customers are already enjoying the benefits of T-Mobile@home. This means that T-Mobile has exceeded its own targets for this service, which offers inexpensive mobile-phone calls at home and in a large area around it. In order to appeal to a wider clientele for T-Mobile@home, the mobile carrier is linking the offer with an attractive starter tariff called Basix. Furthermore, customers with the Max flat-rate tariff automatically receive a T-Mobile@home fixed-line phone number, so that they can be reached at cheap fixed-network rates within the T-Mobile@home area. The service is made even more convenient by the T-Mobile@home status display on the cell-phone screen and by two phone models that are especially suitable for use with T-Mobile@home.

Favorable option: T-Mobile@home
Mobile-phone calls to numbers in the German fixed network cost only four cents per minute for T-Mobile@home customers. This price applies for calls from their home and an area within a radius of two kilometers: their T-Mobile@home area. Within this area, users can be reached at a fixed-network number made available by T-Mobile – at fixed-network prices. One of the benefits for the customers is that T-Mobile@home gives them a lot more flexibility and freedom of movement compared to a cordless telephone. The T-Mobile@home option can be booked as an addition to the T-Mobile postpay contract. The Single version costs only EUR 4.95 a month. The T-Mobile@home Family & Friends version is tailored to the needs of families and other groups of people who live together. They can call each other within their joint T-Mobile@home area free of charge. Calls from the T-Mobile@home area to members who are outside this area cost only four cents per minute nationwide. An important component of T-Mobile@home Family & Friends is the HomePhone. This is a mobile phone that serves the Family & Friends group as “everyone’s phone” – it is also the control center, e.g. for call forwarding.

Basix – starter offer with T-Mobile@home
T-Mobile@home is already included in the Basix starter tariff at a monthly rental of only EUR 9.95. T-Mobile introduced this offer on August 1, 2006. Nationwide connections using Basix within the German fixed network outside the T-Mobile@home area cost nine cents per minute all day on national holidays and at weekends, and on weekdays from 20 hours to 7 hours. During the day on weekdays, the charge is 29 cents per minute. The charge for calls to the more than 30 million T-Mobile customers and to the Mobilbox is 29 cents per minute. Customers who sign a 24-month contract for Basix including T-Mobile@home can buy a new mobile phone from
EUR 1.

Max – flat rate with T-Mobile@home area
Max, the new flat-rate tariff, automatically includes a T-Mobile fixed-network phone number. Users in their T-Mobile@home area can thus be reached at fixed-network prices. For EUR 35 per month, the Max tariff includes unlimited mobile-phone calls to the German fixed network and the T-Mobile network (connections to special phone numbers are excluded). Thanks to T-Mobile@home, Max customers can be reached at fixed-line prices. This makes Max an interesting alternative to a fixed-network phone for T-Mobile customers.

Knowing when you’re “home”, convenient phones
Up to now, users have been able to tell whether their phone is inside the
T-Mobile@home area by means of an audio signal that can be heard while the connection is being made – or by inquiring using a key code. Now the status is immediately visible: a new program provided free-of-charge by
T-Mobile shows them when they are “home” – i.e. within the T-Mobile@home area – on the display. The software works with the latest generation of mobile cards and selected phone models – e.g. Motorola RAZR, Nokia 6230i and 6280 and Sony Ericsson W810i.

Two new models we recommend for T-Mobile@home – especially as the HomePhone – are the BenQ Siemens S68 and the Nokia 2610. A convenient battery-charging station is standard with both. In the case of the BenQ Siemens S68, both the charging station and the phone itself have an especially attractive design. The Nokia 2610, with its classical mobile-phone style, features MP3 ring tones and an integrated hands-free function.

US telecoms giant AT&T said Tuesday that hackers have stolen personal data, including credit card information, from as many as 19,000 of its customers.

The security breach came to light over the weekend and affects only AT&T customers who bought purchased DSL equipment through the company’s online web store.

“The unauthorised electronic access took place over the weekend, was discovered within hours and the online store was shut down immediately,” a statement form the company said. “AT&T also quickly notified the major credit card companies whose customer accounts were involved. The company is also working with law enforcement to investigate the incident and pursue the perpetrators.”

AT&T said that it has sent out customer notifications by email, phone and letter. The company will also pay for credit monitoring services to assist in protecting the customers involved.

“We recognise that there is an active market for illegally obtained personal information. We are committed to both protecting our customers’ privacy and to weeding out and punishing the violators,” said Priscilla Hill-Ardoin, chief privacy officer for AT&T.

Ironically, AT&T Government Solutions, a business unit of AT&T, was also awarded a $250m network contract from the US Department of Defense (DoD) Tuesday.

“At AT&T, we make it our mission to ensure that our military customers are getting the most reliable, secure and cost-effective solutions available anywhere,” said Don Herring, president of AT&T Government Solutions in the press release.

Earlier this week, Nicholas Lee Jacobsen, the 23 year old hacker who broke into the personal records of T-Mobile USA’s customers in 2004 was given just a $10,000 fine and a year under house arrest.