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Cellular Phones/subpoena txt message records

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Expert: - 12/9/2009


Question
I'm writing a book and am trying to obtain a copy of my text message contents dateing back to july. I have T-mobile and they told me the only way I can get that is with a subpoena. Since I'm not taking any legal action against any one how do I go about getting my text message recods?

Answer
What they didn't tell you is that even with a subpoena, you still can't get your text messages. Messages from July are no longer available. T-Mobile and the other carriers only have a couple of days worth of messages, at most and then you can only get the info with a subpoena. There is absolutely, positively no other way around this, I can assure you. Unfortunately, most people don't realize this and when they see things on television with people using old text messages, they don't realize that these people saved the messages, they didn't subpoena the records. It's unfortunate that the person you talked to at T-Mobile didn't know to tell you that the messages are purged and are not available, because they are long gone. T-Mobile and the other carriers are not required by the FCC to keep the content of text messages for any amount of time. They are only required to keep a record of the message, i.e., the date/time and number. That is all. I hope this helps and sorry that I didn't have better news for you. Thanks. DebiN

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DebiN

Expertise

I can answer questions on cellular phones, the physical device, the network, contracts, billing, ordering, porting and what to look for when purchasing cell phones. I am located in the United States. I am an expert on BlackBerrys, Treos, HTC devices and iPhones as well as cellphones and aircards. I have over 15 years of experience in both the wireless and wireline world with the carriers. I have a lot of knowledge regarding the wireless providers - their services, prices and policies, both GSM AT&T and T-Mobile) and CDMA (Verizon, Sprint/Nextel). I am very familiar with the individual devices and their specifications. I can also answer questions regarding BlackBerrys, iPhones and other PDAs, both Palm-based and Windows-based. I can troubleshoot most any problem someone is having with their cellular device or with the provider.

Experience

Over 20 years in the Telecom industry working for the carriers with individuals, small business, medium business and large corporations(Fortune 500). Also worked as a professor in Maryland for 10 years teaching telecommunications.

Organizations
I belong to several organizations

Education/Credentials
Master's in Telecommunications

Awards and Honors
Received several awards for papers that I have published over the years

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