The CEO of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion is cutting top brass as the troubled company attempts to regain its footing in the competitive smartphone market, according to a report by The Globe and Mail. An unnamed source told the publication that executives at the senior vice president and vice president levels were told before …
Read More »Marguerite Reardon
House Republicans vote to limit FCC authority
Congressional Republicans are taking aim once again at the Federal Communications Commission. Earlier this week, House Republicans approved legislation that would put limits on conditions that the FCC could impose on future mergers and wireless spectrum license transfers. The legislation would also require the FCC to justify the costs and benefits of new rules it imposes as well as imposes …
Read More »Why you can’t sue your wireless carrier in a class action
When AT&T slowed down Matt Spaccarelli’s unlimited data plan on his iPhone, the unemployed truck driver from Simi Valley, Calif. took the country’s largest phone company to court. And as a surprise to all, he won. Declan McCullagh/CNET But Spaccarelli’s victory rings hollow. In fact, the route he was forced to take — suing AT&T by himself as opposed to …
Read More »Feds target 95MHz of wireless spectrum for mobile broadband
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has taken a big step in freeing up more wireless spectrum for wireless broadband service providers. The agency, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, announced on Monday that it has determined that it can repurpose 95MHz of wireless spectrum used by the government for commercial use. Specifics of how and when …
Read More »Did you know Verizon also throttles unlimited data service?
AT&T has taken a lot of heat over the past few months for slowing down service for its heaviest data users on its unlimited plans. But what about Verizon Wireless, which also still offers unlimited data to its older smartphone customers? In this edition of Ask Maggie, I explain how Verizon Wireless implements its network management policy to ensure that …
Read More »AT&T to FCC over T
AT&T is using T-Mobile’s recent layoffs as an excuse to bash the FCC and its rejection of AT&T’s proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA. On Friday AT&T’s head of legislative affairs Jim Cicconi issued a statement offering a big fat “I told you so,” to the FCC. T-Mobile recently announced it was laying off 1,900 workers in seven call …
Read More »RIM to give out BlackBerry 10 prototypes to developers
Research In Motion plans to give software developers prototypes running the new BlackBerry 10 software in early May, according to Bloomberg News. Alec Saunders, RIM’s vice president of developer relations said the company will hand out as many as 2,000 devices using the BlackBerry 10 software at the company’s BlackBerry Jam conference in Orlando, Fla. in early May. Saunders said …
Read More »Nokia to cut 1,000 jobs in Finland
Nokia has struck an agreement with union leaders to cut 1,000 jobs at its oldest cell phone manufacturing plant in Finland, according to news reports. Nokia said that up to 1,000 jobs would be cut from the plant in Salo, Finland. The facility will be converted to handle software customization and the phones will be manufactured in Asia. There are …
Read More »FCC paves the way for a Dish 4G LTE network
The FCC kicked off a process that should eventually allow Dish Network to use its satellite spectrum to build a 4G LTE wireless broadband network. At its March opening meeting, the FCC voted unanimously to begin a rulemaking process aimed at letting Dish use spectrum designated for satellite use to provide a land-based wireless broadband service. Draft regulations described the …
Read More »Has Apple lost its design edge? Not quite
Apple fans are supposedly disappointed that Apple didn’t change the design of the new iPad. I guess that’s why they bought more than 3 million of them the first weekend the device went on sale. We heard the same complaints when Apple introduced the iPhone 4S. People wanted and expected some kind of cool design change to make the device …
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