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The FCC is mad at Verizon for treating spectrum like baseball cards
Operators need to buy spectrum, usually from governments, in order to build their networks. How do governments price spectrum? They have an auction, so the guy who is willing to pay the most money is also going to get the most spectrum. Verizon won an auction back in 2008 for some of that invisible gold, but instead of using it to build their network, they decided to just hold onto it so that no other company could use it to compete against them. Now Verizon wants to sell the spectrum … Read more
Stefan Constantinescu
Apple offers $16M, Proview wants $400M for iPad trademark
We all knew at some point Apple and Proview’s squabbles over who owned the iPad trademark would come down to a bid. Well, there are reports saying that Apple is offering up $16 million (100 million yuan) for the right to use the iPad name in China. Of course, Proview didn’t agree with that number, instead, the cash deprived Chinese-based company wanted more. A lot more. Try $400 million, this according to sources familiar with the negotiations between Apple and Proview. This large number is believed to cover most of … Read more
Charles West
Verizon’s 700MHZ spectrum — not so valuable
Earlier this week, Verizon had announced that it planned to sell off all of its 700 MHz A and B spectrum licenses to rationalize its spectrum holdings. Of course, this sell hinged on the FCC’s approval of its acquisition of AWS spectrum it had attained from a consortium of cable operators, that includes Comcast and Time Warner Cable. Well, it turns out that 700 MHz frequency band holding the A and B spectrum the company is trying to dangle out isn’t worth much — tricky Verizon. The 700 MHz A … Read more
Charles West
Sprint responds to alleged NY tax fraud accusations
Earlier today we wrote how the state of New York planned to sue Sprint for $300 million over alleged tax fraud. The Attorney General of the empire state accused Sprint of deliberately committing tax fraud by not collecting or paying millions of dollars in taxes for its service in the state. Well, The Now Network wasted no time in responding to NY’s attorney general, the company issued this statement: “This complaint is without merit and Sprint categorically denies the complaint’s allegations. We have collected and paid over to New York every penny … Read more
Charles West
FCC to fine T-Mobile $819K over HAC mobile phones
T-Mobile is in some hot water with the United States government, as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today proposed that T-Mobile USA forfeit the amount of $819,000. This fine is due to the company “willfully and repeatedly” failing to comply with rules mandating each carrier offer a certain number of hearing-aid compatible handsets. Apparently, T-Mobile violated the rules during 2009 and 2010 as they were probably warned by the FCC for their lack of HAC phones. The government enforces laws on compatibility requirements to wireless providers to make them offer … Read more
Charles West
Apple and RIM hit with touchscreen patent infringement suit
Mobile technology is evolving in such a rapid pace, but with constant innovation comes patent trolling when gestures and functionality is concerned. Well, in the latest litigation suit, a Texas shell company says Apple and others have infringed on technology for basic smartphone gestures like dragging and “double tap.” Yes, you heard correct. The company filed a lawsuit called “Touchscreen Gestures,” which accuses devices such as the iPhone, iPad, and BlackBerry Playbook infringe on its technology. The patents in question are: US Patent 7190356 (“A method of identifying double tap gesture”), … Read more
Charles West
Congress grills iOS developers about their privacy policies
As expected, the United States Congress is taking the iOS application privacy policy situation very seriously. It all started just over a month ago when it was discovered that social sharing application Path was storing some aspects of a user’s address book without their permission. While Path only uses this information to help users of the service connect with their friends who also use the service, the fact that this information was taken without permission set off a firestorm of negative sentiment for Path. Also back in February, Congress started … Read more
Anthony Domanico
Comcast, Verizon want to take on Google and Apple
Remember when Verizon tried to buy unused spectrum from Comcast last year? The proposed deal triggered suspicion from regulators because of the fear of customers getting fleeced by two big companies working together. Well, today both utility giants are testifying before a Senate subcommittee, to hopefully persuade the government otherwise. David Cohen, Comcast’s executive vice president made a feeble attempt at an argument: If you let us little guys work together, he says, we can take on the really big guys: “By enhancing the Cable Companies’ and Verizon Wireless’s own … Read more
Charles West
T-Mobile asks the FCC to make 4G LTE on the 700 MHz band interoperable between carriers
AT&T has a 4G LTE network that uses the 700 MHz band. Verizon has a 4G LTE network that uses the 700 MHz band. Why is it then that AT&T’s 4G LTE subscribers can’t roam on Verizon’s 4G LTE network and vice versa? It’s technically possible, but the way the FCC sees it they want to make sure that AT&T’s network doesn’t interfere with Verizon’s network. That’s bullshit to put it bluntly, and T-Mobile agrees. They wrote a five page letter to the FCC [PDF document] that can best be … Read more
Stefan Constantinescu
Congress wants Apple to explain its mobile privacy policies
Congress had already poked Apple about its mobile app privacy policy following the Path debacle but the company’s response apparently wasn’t good enough, as the government is demanding that Apple answer a few more questions. To catch you up to speed, when it was found out that the Path app uploaded your contacts to its servers, there was a mini furor over app privacy. Path wasn’t the only one to do this but it took the majority of the heat. Congress decided to enter the fray and sent a letter … Read more
Marin Perez
Canadian 700 MHz spectrum auction to happen in early 2013, foreign companies invited to join
Canadians have mobile networks that are 4G LTE enabled, but said networks are using AWS spectrum, meaning spectrum in the 1700 MHz and 2100 MHz bands. There’s nothing wrong with AWS spectrum, but there’s something special about spectrum in the sub 1 GHz range. It penetrates walls easier, so you get better signal coverage inside your home, your office, and at the mall; it also travels farther, so you need less towers to cover a specific geographic area. America knows this, so they had an auction for spectrum in the … Read more