Technology News: Telecom

Wireless Industry Sounds Off About FCC's Net Neutrality Plans
January 14, 2010

The organization representing the wireless industry -- CTIA - The Wireless Association -- is fighting to head off a possible expansion of the Federal Communication Commission's Net neutrality proposals. CTIA on Thursday filed comments in response to recent proposals made by the FCC.

Alcatel Kicks Off Project to Make Telecom Nets 1,000 Times Greener
January 11, 2010

Alcatel-Lucent's Bell Labs on Monday launched Green Touch, a project aimed at making communications networks 1,000 times more more energy-efficient. The project's founding members include service providers such as AT&T; research labs such as the MIT Research Lab for Electronics and Bell Labs; and government and nonprofit research institutions such as the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control.

Comcast, FCC Take Net Neutrality Tussle to Court
January 08, 2010

The Federal Communications Commission staked out new ground nearly three months ago when it began drafting rules that would require Internet providers to give equal treatment to all data flowing over their networks. Now the FCC hopes to use a dispute with the nation's largest cable TV and Internet provider to establish its legal authority to adopt such "Internet neutrality" regulations.

White House Aims to Juice ISP Competition With More Spectrum
January 05, 2010

The Obama administration is calling on federal regulators to make more radio spectrum available for wireless Internet services so they can compete with broadband plans provided by the major phone and cable companies. Lawrence Strickling, head of the NTIA, said in a letter to the FCC on Monday that wireless connections offer the best hope for injecting new competition into the duopoly market for broadband services.

Giving Telcos a Ladder to the Cloud
December 27, 2009

HP has significantly elevated its efforts to become an indispensable full-service supplier to cloud computing aspirants, especially telecommunications, mobile and Internet service providers. At Software Universe in Hamburg, Germany, HP this month announced three new offerings designed to enable cloud providers and enterprises to securely lower barriers to adoption.

Analyst: Verizon's Defense for Whopping Fees 'Disingenuous'
December 21, 2009

Verizon recently doubled its early termination fees to US$350 for customers who want out of their wireless phone contracts -- a fee much higher than competing carriers charge. However, there's no need to worry; the extra money coming into Verizon not only helps the nation meet its mobile broadband goals, it also helps lower-income consumers to consider buying a smartphone.

Net Neutrality, VoIP and the First Amendment
December 19, 2009

As the FCC continues to consider regulations that would limit an Internet service provider's ability to restrict customers' access to specific services in the name of traffic management, it is now no longer possible to foresee an outcome to the debate without someone claiming that Constitutional rights are being violated somewhere.

Tips for E-Commerce-Challenged Telcos
December 07, 2009

Selling wireless and media products online is a complex challenge that often falls short of the expectations of seasoned online shoppers and results in a frustrating user experience. Despite telcos' efforts to prevent it, the complexities of back-end provisioning processes and legacy business rules often surface for customers to see.

Google to Deepen Voice With Gizmo5 Buy
November 13, 2009

Google's purchase of VoIP company Gizmo5, announced Thursday, accomplishes two things for the search giant: It brings new levels of potential business-class service to Google Voice, and it gives AT&T ammunition in its regulatory fight with Mountain View. Google isn't providing much detail regarding how Gizmo5's technology will fit into Voice.

Free Flow of Internet Traffic Requires Sensible Road Rules
November 04, 2009

Free marketeers' primary argument against Net neutrality is that a government watchdog role in protecting neutrality is bound to be "political" -- and that any government agency will ultimately start a slippery slide to full-bore regulation of the Internet. This all-or-nothing approach is a false choice.

The Audacity of Droid
October 30, 2009

The Android mobile operating system is graduating soon to 2.0 status, and Google gave it a pretty nice present to celebrate: a free turn-by-turn navigation app called "Google Maps Navigation." It'll run on Android 2.0 phones with GPS, and it'll use the phone's cellular Internet connection to get live map information.

How to Solve the Net Neutrality Issue
October 28, 2009

The FCC recently voted to move forward on a rule-making process that could lead to new government regulations for the Internet. It claims to be supporting only "neutrality," but even key players seem confused. The Open Internet Coalition says neutrality "is about keeping the hands of several powerful network operators -- AT&T, Verizon and Comcast -- off the Internet.

McCain Locks Horns With FCC on Net Neutrality
October 23, 2009

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has introduced the Internet Freedom Act of 2009, legislation that would negate many of the principles underlying the concept of Net neutrality, which aims to ensure that Internet users have equal and unfettered access to all services available on the Web. The McCain bill calls for continued unfettered competition for Internet activity.

Sprint's iPCS Buy Means More Customers, Fewer Legal Headaches
October 19, 2009

Sprint Nextel is acquiring iPCS, an affiliate that sells its branded products, in a deal that will put an end to a number of legal clashes between the two. It will also bring an additional 710,000 subscribers under the Sprint Nextel corporate umbrella. The acquisition means that Sprint will not have to divest its iDEN network in certain iPCS territories in the Midwest.

Sidekick Snafu: The Data Saved and the Damage Done
October 16, 2009

T-Mobile's Sidekick users had a pretty rough time this week thanks to a mistake that first looked enormous but eventually was pretty much fixed, though with no small amount of worry and strife in between. An unfortunate series of events caused a major inconvenience for users of the smartphone.

FCC Digs Deeper Into Google Voice Dilemma
October 12, 2009

If you view AT&T and Google as squabbling high-tech siblings and the Federal Communications Commission as the harried parent, then AT&T has won the latest round of attention-getting theatrics, thanks to the FCC's Friday decision to investigate Google Voice. It was the carrier's initial complaint against Google in late September that prompted the government's probe regarding Voice.