As Facebook prepares for its $5 billion initial public offering here in the U.S., European representatives are meeting with student activists from Austria regarding complaints the group has filed over how the company handles private information. On Monday, Richard Allan, Facebook’s European director of policy and a former member of Parliament in Britain, and another …

Verizon customers may have more 4G LTE Google Android smartphones to choose from than subscribers on any other U.S. carrier, but when it comes to a Microsoft Windows Phone devices, forget it. The pickings for Windows Phone smartphones are pretty slim when it comes to Verizon Wireless and even No. 3 carrier Sprint Nextel. So what are interested consumers to …

Facebook may dominate the social media landscape today with 845 million users, but experts say that instead of consolidating around the market leader, the social media landscape is fragmenting, leaving big opportunities for startups, especially those targeting mobile users. This could be good news for entrepreneurs and investors who might be green with envy over Facebook’s projected $5 billion gain …

For the social networking giant Facebook, mobile phones represent both an opportunity and significant risk to the company’s business. Over the past year, Facebook executives have noted the growing importance of mobile for the company’s growth. About a year ago, the company launched an initiative to get its mobile app on all mobile devices, including smartphones, feature phones, and even …

The Federal Communications Commission voted Tuesday to bring its subsidy programs for low income families into the 21st century by offering funds for basic broadband service for financially disadvantaged Americans. In its January open meeting Tuesday, the FCC adopted an order that will eliminate the FCC’s Link Up program, which offers a one-time $30 credit for the installation of landlines …

What could be worse than a surprise overage fee? For some people it’s having their wireless carrier put the brakes on their data service. In this edition of Ask Maggie, one reader wants to know whether it’s worth keeping his AT&T unlimited data plan after AT&T has warned him that his service will be slowed down because he’s in the …

AT&T announced today a rejiggering of its management team, in what looks like a move to better align executives to AT&T’s various business units. The company created a new position for John Stankey, who had previously been president and CEO of AT&T Business Solutions. Now Stankey will be group president and chief strategy officer in charge of developing AT&T’s road …

Sprint Nextel said it will give LightSquared an additional six weeks to get approval to build its nationwide 4G LTE wireless network from the Federal Communications Commission or it will terminate its agreement with the company, according to Dow Jones Newswires. A Sprint spokesman told Dow Jones that the company had given LightSquared until mid-March to resolve concerns that its …

AT&T appears to be laying groundwork for a potential deal with Dish Network to get its hands on the satellite provider’s newly acquired wireless spectrum. CNET/Marguerite Reardon Last week, AT&T flexed some muscle with the federal government in an attempt to make Dish’s wireless spectrum–which it acquired last year for $2.8 billion via deals with two failed wireless companies, DBSD …

Verizon Wireless may soon introduce a new service plan that allows families to share data among multiple subscribers across a single account, according to a post on Engadget. The gadget blog said today that it has received employee training material from a source that indicates there is a new version of the data plan that will soon be introduced. In …