Headline Feeds|
Google, FCC Showdown Spotlights Technology Law Lag April 30, 2012 
Google is trying to do damage control and prove it had no nefarious goals with its ambitious Street View project, following an FCC into the search giant's collection and storage of data from millions of unknowing households across the country. The FCC determined in its report that the data collection was not illegal; however, it slapped Google with a $25,000 fine for obstructing its investigation -- a contention Google has denied.
|
Apple and Microsoft Take Heat for High Prices Down Under April 30, 2012 
Today in international tech news: Lawmakers investigate why software and downloads are so much more expensive in Australia, a mobile network is lobbying to speed up the introduction of 4G in Britain, a wireless provider might try to block Skype in Sweden, and Tech In Asia looks at the inspiration for the Google Drive logo.
|
|
LightSquared Buys Time From Inmarsat April 23, 2012 
LightSquared made an outstanding payment to Inmarsat Friday for Phase 1 of its spectrum agreement. It received an additional two years to seek federal approval before it must pay for the second phase of the deal. Previously, Inmarsat had said it wasn't certain it would receive any more payments from LightSquared.
|
Finding Your Way Around a Router April 19, 2012 
Have you ever accessed your home or small office router configuration settings and been bombarded with a mass of incomprehensible, cryptic computer-eze and senseless acronyms and abbreviations? Never fear -- you can quickly come up to speed on the basics. The router is a computer networking device that manages the data. It interprets the packet's address and directs the packet to its destination.
|
|
2 Countries, 2 Companies, 1 Big Headache April 12, 2012 
This one is a little muddy: A judge in Seattle has ruled that Motorola Mobility Holdings can't seek to ban Microsoft's Xbox or Windows products in Germany. BusinessWeek unpacks some of the details: "Motorola Mobility, which owns patents related to industry standards for video compression and WiFi, petitioned a German court to ban Microsoft products that comply with those standards."
|
Why iPhone Users Hate Mobile WiFi Slightly Less Than Android Users Do April 12, 2012 
A cool study caught my attention recently. It says that iPhones have significantly higher rates of WiFi utilization than Android phones in the U.S. and the UK. I immediately found that point weird, because after all, most Android smartphones also come with contracts that require users to pay for a data plan.
|
|
Data-Chugging iPads vs. Stingy Carriers: Something's Gotta Give April 05, 2012 
I have an odd mix of loyalty and mistrust with AT&T and Verizon -- my iPhone uses AT&T and has since I stood in line for the first version in 2007, and my iPad 2 uses Verizon. While I appreciate the incredible, magical ability to make phone calls and communicate from odd corners of the world as I travel, I also feel as if they don't really care much about their customers.
|
Taming That Spaghetti of Wires Taking Over Your Home March 22, 2012 
New home construction and remodeling projects, from a multimedia wiring angle, have the advantage of incorporating cable management at the design stage. That design is structured into the build. Unfortunately, existing homes don't have this luxury -- tearing into walls is disruptive and expensive.
|
|
Plan Afoot to Tame the Wild World of WiFi March 20, 2012
Users of mobile devices on GSM networks may soon be able to roam seamlessly from one WiFi hotspot to another without having to repeatedly log in and authenticate their devices. The GSM Association and the Wireless Broadband Alliance are collaborating to create technical and commercial frameworks for WiFi roaming. The idea is to let mobile devices seamlessly connect to WiFi hotspots using a SIM card.
|
iPhone Gamble May Send Sprint Into Financial Shock March 19, 2012 
Sanford C. Bernstein has downgraded Sprint Nextel to underperform from market perform, citing concerns it won't sell enough iPhones to pay for its "punishing" commitment to Apple. Worse, from Sprint's perspective, is that there's a strong chance Sprint may have to declare bankruptcy at some point, Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett said in a research note.
|
|
Sprint Cuts LightSquared's Rope March 19, 2012
Sprint has canceled the 15-year agreement it inked with LightSquared last July to build out and license a 4G network. LightSquared was to have used this network, together with its own infrastructure, to launch its service. The agreement would have been beneficial to Sprint as well, as it had hoped to use LightSquared's network to relieve its own spectrum shortage.
|
LightSquared Hires Legal Eagle to Pull a Rabbit Out of a Hat March 14, 2012
In a move that could be seen as a last gasp, embattled 4G LTE developer LightSquared announced this week that it had hired lawyer Theodore Olson to launch a legal battle against the FCC.
This follows the Federal Communications Commission pulling the plug on the tentatively approved 4G LTE network that utilized both satellites and cellular towers after testing revealed that the network would interfere with GPS devices.
|
|
What the New iPad Tells Us About the Next iPhone March 09, 2012 
For the most part, new features for Apple's mobile products usually appear in the iPhone before they make it to the iPad, but that's not the case with this latest release of the tablet. Support for LTE mobile phone networks and a new muscular processor, the A5X, are two features found solely in the new iPad, which is why they could be headed for the next iPhone, expected to be released this summer.
|
Smartphones Are Sucking Wireless Networks Dry March 08, 2012 
There are currently two different realities we have to wrestle with if we are a customer of either AT&T or Verizon Wireless. Walk into any of their wireless stores, and they will happily tell you everything the wonderful and futuristic 4G phones can do. They'll sweep you off your feet with excitement, and you'll buy, buy, buy. However, when you get home and take your phone out of the box and turn it on, reality will hit you right between the eyes.
|
|
FCC Considering Whether to Set Rules for Wireless Network Shutdowns March 05, 2012 
The FCC is seeking public comment on the subject of when or if government entities can intentionally jam cellphone signals and Internet service for the sake of public safety. The comments will help inform FCC deliberations regarding what, if any, rules or policy guidance may be appropriate regarding wireless service interruption.
|
AT&T's 'Unlimited' Plans Get a Little More Limited March 02, 2012 
AT&T on Thursday changed the way it handles the cellular data use of its unlimited wireless data users. Customers with unlimited data plans for 3G and non-LTE 4G smartphones will see their wireless speeds slow once they user more than 3GB of data per month. Those using an unlimited plan on a 4G LTE smartphone have a 5GB threshold before they see their speeds slow.
|
|
Bluetooth Is Not Just for Headsets March 01, 2012 
With cable-and-wire spaghetti proliferating in and around our homes and offices, threatening to consume our devices and us in the end, it may be time to take a look at Bluetooth wireless technology. Headsets protruding awkwardly from an ear is the typical Bluetooth image that comes to mind. However, there are other common wire-reducing applications, like file transfer and music distribution.
|
LightSquared Puts Out CEO's Torch February 29, 2012
There has been a shakeup in LightSquared's executive ranks following the Federal Communications Commission's refusal to let the company launch its high-speed wireless network due to potential disruptions to devices that rely on the Global Positioning System. LightSquared's chief executive, Sanjiv Ahuja, has stepped down.
|
|
T-Mobile Leaps to LTE February 24, 2012 
T-Mobile plans to invest $4 billion in improving its wireless network to expand existing coverage and launch 4G LTE service. The "network modernization" strategy will also include improvements to voice and data coverage, an expansion of the company's sales force, retail store remodeling, an aggressive pursuit of business-to-business opportunities, and an increase in advertising spending.
|
Widening Your WiFi Network's Range February 16, 2012
If you've followed the advice in my article, "How to Improve Your Video-Streaming Clarity," and can't use a Cat 5e or greater specification wired-solution for your network, you may be running into straightforward environmental limitations. The microwave just isn't getting from point A to point B and back again.
|
See More Articles in Wireless Networking Section >>
