Latest news with #Lifeline
Sky News AU
2 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
‘Do our bit': Call to donate to the Kids Helpline
On tonight's episode of Paul Murray Live, Sky News host Paul Murray discusses the kids helpline, cost of living, AI, US politics and more. 'Tonight, we are going to take just a second to remember the people who do not have it as good as us,' Mr Murray said. 'Most importantly the kids who are having a tough time.' If you or anyone you know needs help: Kids Helpline – 1800 55 1800 Lifeline – 13 11 14 Beyond Blue – 1300 22 4636
CNET
5 days ago
- Business
- CNET
My Simple Keys to Negotiating a Better Deal for Your Internet Service
Internet service isn't cheap, with the average monthly internet bill coming to around $78. And that often doesn't include equipment rental fees. On top of that, a recent CNET survey revealed that 63% of US adults are paying more for internet than they did last year. Yet, much of what we do -- including remote work, school, telehealth and staying connected with family -- relies on having a solid internet connection, so it's a necessary expense many of us just accept. But what happens when your bill starts creeping up and you don't qualify for low-income internet programs like Lifeline? One way to fight back is by negotiating with your provider, an old-school tactic that can still save you money. My wife is the champion negotiator and dealmaker of our household. Before we met, she'd already crushed significant life moments, including buying a house, hammering out a great deal on a new car and getting the best possible salary offer for a new job. So when it came time to gather guidance for negotiating with your internet service provider, you'd better believe I started with her. "Kindness is key," she said. "Always be friendly and courteous." Why? Because the person on the other end of the phone (or online chat, as the case may be) is much more likely to work with you if met with decency and patience. Your customer service rep isn't doing an easy job and they want to help, so why not start off on the right foot? I could fill an entire column with my wife's negotiating tips and tricks, but I've also sought professional advice from internet insiders. As you might imagine, some gave me standard company lines about how every customer gets the same high-value offers or how each agent works tirelessly to ensure everyone gets the best possible price daily. You know the drill. Locating local internet providers We all know that's not 100% true, or providers wouldn't constantly be changing their promotions and deals. So, after sifting through the best ideas from the pros, here are five steps you should take when negotiating with your internet service provider. 1. Do your research "I think the first thing is to try to be knowledgeable before you make the call," according to EarthLink CEO Glenn Goad. From his perspective, most people aren't familiar enough with their options when contacting an ISP. That puts them at a disadvantage and can lead to getting roped into add-ons or more speed than they actually need. Here's how you can avoid pitfalls like that. Look in the mirror Spend part of your preparation building a case for yourself as a desirable customer. How long have you been with your ISP? If you're two months into a 24-month contract, you're less likely to get any traction on carving out a better deal: Providers often collect an early termination fee if you bail on your existing contract. On the other hand, if you've been with the same ISP for several years, there's a much better chance of finding a flexible attitude. In that case, the provider should be much more motivated to keep you as a subscriber because there's no financial benefit claimed from your loss. Either way, having this basic information handy will help you better make your claim. You can also do yourself a favor and set the stage for a more profitable exchange by paying your bills on time. Once you've built up months or years of steady, on-time payments, the sales agent will likely see you as a valuable customer and one worth keeping happy. Decide what you actually need Don't be an impulsive internet shopper. Before negotiating with your ISP, determine your goals for the call. Keep in mind it's not always just about cutting a deal for a lower monthly bill. Yes, knocking a few bucks off each month's bill is great, but it might not ultimately be the best approach to your household internet needs. For instance, many of us discovered that our previous internet plan was insufficient for increased work-from-home or remote schooling duties during the pandemic. To keep more people (and devices) online simultaneously, a faster internet option is the way to go. An AT&T spokesperson said she advises customers to turn to a fiber network if possible to deal with bandwidth-heavy applications. "However, when fiber isn't available, we recommend choosing the fastest option available based on the customer's need," she said. "With the average number of connected devices continuing to grow, most households would benefit from fast and more reliable speeds." Keep in mind that, according to findings from OpenVault, the average household uses more than 500Mbps a month. If you signed up for a plan with less speed than that, but you have a fair number of devices and moderate internet users in the house, you should consider an upgrade. Insights from this CNET internet speed guide can help you determine how much internet speed you really need, so start there. Perhaps when you signed on with your provider, you chose a starter plan with 100Mbps download speed, but now your family needs much more than that. Focus on securing a faster speed -- maybe more like 300Mbps -- and aim to get more for your money and decrease your cost per Mbps. A plan with faster speeds may boost your network capabilities, and if you consider cost per Mbps, it may also be a better value. Trey Paul/CNET On the flip side, perhaps you signed up for a multi-gigabit speed plan because your ISP touted it as the fastest residential plan available. But do you and the rest of your household really use that much? You might find significant savings by downgrading to a plan that lets you do all the same activities without any discernible difference in performance. For instance, many homes won't notice much difference between a gigabit plan and 500Mbps. 2. Don't always splurge for the speediest plan While download speed is undoubtedly essential in figuring out what type of plan best fits you, it's not the only factor. An Xfinity spokesperson said it's best to look into the total value of an internet service rather than simply stopping at speed. Can you get mobile service included? How about access to Wi-Fi hotspots? Value can come in multiple ways, not just in your download speed. The AT&T spokesperson agreed. "What discounts or special offers are available to you? There may be discount offers for qualifying customers that you should inquire about. Some providers may also offer subscriptions for streaming and other services that could make a package more enticing," she said. You can help yourself out by putting in just a little work before the call. For instance, look beyond download speed and consider your data usage. Are you paying extra for unlimited data and not using it? Or, perhaps more commonly, do you tend to exceed your data limit and incur additional charges? Consider if there's an unlimited add-on option that'll save you money in the long run. Also, gather your facts about what you're currently paying. Do you already have a promo rate? Are there any deals you're taking advantage of right now? You can check out our round-up of some of the best deals, TV bundles and mobile bundles for internet customers. Don't get caught flat-footed, or you'll risk losing a reasonable price in the hunt for a better bargain. If you're not taking advantage of any deals or offers, look up the promotional discounts offered to new customers and ask your ISP to match that. It's also worthwhile to check for online-only deals so you can ask for the equivalent for your existing account. fizkes/Getty Images 3. Know your options before you call Sorry to mix metaphors, but if you plan on playing hardball, don't bluff if you have no hand. Before you threaten to cancel your subscription, ensure your address is serviceable for other providers by using tools like the FCC broadband coverage map to see what internet options are available at your address. Otherwise, your ISP will know that you don't have other options. On the other hand, you can politely but squarely use this to your advantage if you do have options. At face value, you might have a cheaper plan than what you found on a competitor's site. But as you consider that alternative option, you might discover it's a fiber connection with much faster upload and download speeds. You could get a faster, better online experience at a lower cost per Mbps for just slightly more per month. But such a pivot might not be available to all. In addition to serviceability, you also have to answer another question. Is switching to another ISP even an option? For instance, if you live in an apartment complex, does your leasing company have an exclusivity agreement with your provider? My wife and I learned this the hard way. When we moved to the Charlotte area, we were excited about ditching our old ISP, but our hopes were dashed when we learned that our housing development had a contract with the same provider, so we didn't have the same range of choices as other city residents. Consider the different internet connection types available at your address. Is satellite internet an option? It's often cast as the only viable alternative for rural or suburban customers. But be aware of satellite dish installation regulations in your area, set by your homeowners association or in your lease rules. Lastly, is 5G home internet an option at your address? Verizon and T-Mobile are aggressively expanding the coverage areas for their respective services and looking to lure new customers. These services offer better download speeds than satellite and much more affordable rates. (Unlike satellite services, there are no equipment rental or purchase fees to add to your monthly costs.) Slow internet? We've got tips to speed it up Slow internet? We've got tips to speed it up Click to unmute Video Player is loading. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Next playlist item Unmute Current Time 0:31 / Duration 1:32 Loaded : 100.00% 0:31 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 1:01 Share Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Slow internet? We've got tips to speed it up 4. Ask for what you want before you give up You've researched, collected your facts and jotted down your goals for the call. Preparation is the key to success, but now it's time to seal the deal. To get the best deal for your budget, you need to call and ask for what you want. "Any customer has the right to seek changes to their plan if they choose to do so," the AT&T spokesperson said. "There's not really a specific time of year for deals, but customers should check ISPs' websites regularly for any new updates or offers they can take advantage of." Goad offered that moving season from May to October is a prime time to find offers, incentives and promotions. That said, it's also a time when your customer experience might not be as good as if you called during a different time. "If you think about it, if you're going to shop on Black Friday, it's a different experience than if you shop on March 12," Goad said. "So maybe you do your research in the first and second quarter of the year and do your buying in the third quarter when you're fully prepared." If you decide to make your move during the busy season, strongly consider not calling during the busiest time of the day: the lunch hour. Whenever you choose to leap, it's worth repeating: always be courteous. That is foundational to having a good call. Try to be friendly, speak of your length of time with the provider, and highlight your excellent payment history. 5. If at first you don't succeed, try again Here's another tip from my wife: If she gets an agent who doesn't seem willing to work with her or share the same courteous approach, she'll politely end the conversation and try again. If you forget the first four steps, don't get what you need and the conversation goes south, you can try again with a new customer service rep. One colleague I spoke with echoed this advice and shared a story about her customer experience. She was so frustrated with her bill increases that she decided to get on the phone and threatened to cancel. Her hope was the provider would beg her to stay and offer a new promotion. Instead, the provider canceled her service. She sheepishly called back later and spoke with a different representative. Figuring honesty was the best policy, she shared her story and ended up with a new deal and the advice to call and just ask next time. Be prepared that it might not go your way the first time, but don't give up. You might need to call a few times to find an agent willing to work with you or find the right promotions to suit your goals. If it means a lower bill or a better plan, it's well worth the effort.
Miami Herald
7 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Wealthy owner of Florida telecom firm gets 5 years for fleecing $110M from U.S.
The wealthy owner of a major South Florida telecommunications company was sentenced on Thursday to five years in prison and ordered to pay about $110 million to the U.S. government for fleecing a federal program known as 'Lifeline' that provides discounted phone services to low-income customers. Issa Asad, CEO of Q Link Wireless LLC, and his Dania Beach-based company pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to defraud the U.S. government program, including theft of public funds, before U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz in Miami federal court. At the same time, Asad, 52, of Southwest Ranches, also pleaded guilty to bilking a government loan program meant to help struggling businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the terms of the plea deals with prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office, Asad and Q Link agreed to pay back the Federal Communications Commission in one of the largest financial penalties in the agency's history. Court records show they have paid almost all of the $110 million in restitution to the FCC. Also, Asad paid a criminal penalty of $17.5 to the government, representing his ill-gotten income from Q Link's Lifeline phone services scam. Asad also paid about $1.8 million in restitution to the Small Business Administration for laundering loan proceeds that his company received from the Paycheck Protection Program during the pandemic. He admitted to using that fraudulent money for construction on his new home, and more than $140,000 on property taxes, jewelry and donations to a local university. Asad must surrender to federal prison authorities in two months, Judge Ruiz ordered on Thursday. This was not Asad's first brush with the law. In 2014, Asad was charged with murder in connection with driving his Mercedes over a groundskeeper at his Dania Beach business following a dispute over $65 in pay for lawn services. Five years later, Asad pleaded no contest to misdemeanor culpuable negligence and was given one year of probation in Broward Circuit Court, according to court documents. Asad was also ordered to pay a $225 fine. Court records provided no explanation for the dramatically different outcome in the criminal case. But while the case was pending, the groundkeeper's family sued Asad over her brother's death in civil court, ending in a confidential settlement before the murder charge was substantially reduced to a misdemeanor. In Miami federal court, Asad and his company admitted to a longtime scheme to defraud the FCC's Lifeline program. It makes everyday communications services more affordable for low-income customers by providing deep discounts on certain monthly cellphone service, broadband internet service and bundled voice-broadband packages purchased from participating telecom provider. Asad and Q Link, represented by the law firm Kobre & Kim, admitted that they purposely conspired to defraud the FCC program between 2012 and 2021 by providing false information about their Lifeline customers and making repeated false claims for government reimbursement, according to a factual statement filed with their plea agreements. They also admitted to retaining Lifeline funds that they were not entitled to receive and deceiving the FCC about the company's compliance with program rules. 'Upon learning that the FCC was investigating their Lifeline billing, Q Link and Asad created and provided false records to the FCC to conceal the scam and to continue collecting reimbursement,' according to a sentencing memo filed by prosecutors Elizabeth Young and John Shipley. 'As part of this plan, they simply manufactured cellphone activity on behalf of Q Link customers who were not using their cellphones. 'At no point did Q Link amend past Lifeline claims for customers who were not using their cellphones or return any of the Lifeline payments (something they could have done),' they wrote in the memo. The case, filed last year, was investigated by the FCC, IRS, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Special Inspector for Pandemic Recovery.
Perth Now
24-07-2025
- Perth Now
Indigenous teen's killer appeals verdicts and sentence
One of the men found guilty of killing an Indigenous teenager, who was chased into bushland and violently bashed, is appealing his convictions and sentence. Cassius Turvey, a Noongar Yamatji boy, died in hospital 10 days after he was deliberately struck to the head with a metal pole in Perth's eastern suburbs on October 13, 2022. Jack Steven James Brearley, 24, and Brodie Lee Palmer, 30, were sentenced to life behind bars for murdering the 15-year-old after a 12-week trial in the West Australian Supreme Court. Mitchell Colin Forth, 27, who was also accused of Cassius's murder, was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to a total 12 years' imprisonment, eligible for parole after serving 10 years. He has since lodged legal challenges against his convictions and manslaughter sentence imposed by Chief Justice Peter Quinlan. The guilty verdicts were unreasonable and unsupported, and the nine-year sentence for manslaughter was excessive given the circumstances, court documents said. Forth, who was convicted of six offences, was also given cumulative terms of one year and two years for two counts of deprivation of liberty committed on October 9 against two other youths. Forth will be eligible for parole in January 2033 after his sentence was backdated to January 2023. His other convictions for two counts of assault and stealing are for offences committed on October 9 and 13, for which he was handed concurrent sentences totalling five years and two months. Brearley delivered the fatal blows on Cassius while "hunting for kids" because somebody had smashed his car windows. He chased Cassius into bushland and knocked the teen to the ground and hit him in the head with a metal pole, causing bleeding in his brain that led to his death. When delivering the sentences for the three men in June, Justice Quinlan said the trio had cut Cassius's life short in a horrendous and vengeful act of aggression, violence and brutality. He said Forth was never the main offender in the shameful course of events but always there in the background. "You were just following along in the excitement of trying to be a tough guy," the judge said. "And you followed Mr Brearley all the way to a conviction for manslaughter." Brearley will be eligible for parole after serving 22 years and Palmer after serving 18 years. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14
Broadcast Pro
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Broadcast Pro
ATV Distribution licenses Turkish dramas to Noor Play for MENA expansion
Each of the selected titles brings a distinctive narrative and emotional resonance to Noor Play's library. ATV Distribution has finalised a new multi-title licensing agreement with Noor Play, one of the Middle East's digital entertainment platforms. As part of this ongoing partnership, Noor Play has secured streaming rights to four Turkish dramas from ATV's premium catalogue: Street Birds (Ateş Kuşları), Lifeline (Sen Anlat Karadeniz), Zembilli and Akinci. This strategic acquisition strengthens the longstanding relationship between ATV and Noor Play, underlining a mutual dedication to delivering emotionally powerful and culturally resonant stories to audiences across the MENA region. Each selected title brings a blend of compelling storytelling and thematic depth, further enriching Noor Play's content library. Street Birds tells the story of a group of abandoned children who discover an infant left behind like themselves and form a tight-knit chosen family to rebuild their lives. Lifeline offers a raw and unfiltered narrative about a woman's courageous escape from domestic abuse and her journey to reclaim her identity and dignity. In Zembilli, viewers are immersed in the layered realities of small-town life, where young people wrestle with love, grief and social pressures. Meanwhile, Akinci presents a high-octane, action-driven saga of a modern-day vigilante whose pursuit of justice is deeply entangled with questions of identity and purpose. This latest deal highlights the rising global appetite for Turkish drama and underscores ATV Distribution's growing influence in the international content market.
