T-Mobile blocks Twitter?
Post last updated at 12/14/07 9:17 PM CSTAfter several days of no Twitter SMS service I contacted T-Mobile customer support. After the standard technical support for my phone (even though ALL phones on my account are denied access to Twitter SMS via 40404) I was told that they would NOT open a ticket as they don’t support SMS to that number. A friend of mine was told they are actively blocking Twitter SMS because they do not have a contract with Twitter. Of course, I don’t know what the truh is at this point since I had to explain what a short code was and what Twitter was. If they are blocking Twitter I have a problem with this on several levels:1) To block a certain number is like saying we are going to stop you from calling dear old Grandma because she is on AT&T.2) My unlimited text messaging plan is not unlimited if I am blocked from sending to anyone that is not “partnered” with T-Mobile.I have sent a request for confirmation or explanation to T-Mobile’s media relations department. If you are on T-Mobile, I recommend you contact them as well. Hopefully this is a misunderstanding or technical issue with their SMS gateway and will be resolved (or explained) soon. I have sent a message to Twitter support as well. I will update with more info as I get it.Update I still have not received a response from T-Mobile although Twitter has posted that they are working on the issue. I was able to reactivate my cell with Twitter a few minutes ago and am receiving messages from Twitter on it as of this minute. I am still receiving errors when I send an update to 40404.A friend contacted T-Mobile via email and has posted the response on his blog, part of which reads:“Twitter is not an authorized third-party service provider, and therefore you are not able to utilize service from this provide any longer.”My Nagios server isn’t an authorized third-party service provider either does that mean I can’t get SMS alerts from it? C’mon now, lets be serious! It then continues with more excellent customer service: “T-Mobile would like to bring to your attention that the Terms and Conditions of service, to which you agreed at activation, indicate “… some Services are not available on third-party networks or while roaming. We may impose credit, usage, or other limits to Service, cancel or suspend Service, or block certain types of calls, messages, or sessions (such as international, 900, or 976 calls) at our discretion.” Therefore, T-Mobile is not in violation of any agreement by not providing service to Twitter. T-Mobile regrets any inconvenience, however please note that if you remain under contract and choose to cancel service, you will be responsible for the $200 early termination fee that would be assessed to the account at cancellation.”Ok, that is really crappy. The responder is Marianne Maestas of the Executive Customer Relations department at T-Mobile. If you are a T-Mobile customer I would suggest that you let them know that this just isn’t acceptable. You can call them at800-937-8997 or email the CEO’s office at rdotson@t-mobile.com. Even if you AREN’T a T-Mobile customer, call them and tell them you never want to be a customer based on the fact that they censor your service.Update 12/14/07 9:17 PM CST: Biz Stone of Twitter has confirmed that they are seeing the block from T-Mobile at Get Satisfaction. Wow, this can’t be good PR for a company that has signed on with Google on Android and is saying they are supporting an open platform. Guess they don’t mind the open platform, just not open service. What will this mean for the third party apps, will they even work on the T-Mobile network?
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- 12.13.07 / 10pm
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