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10
March 2009 |
AT&T will spend more than $11 billion to expand and improve its 3G wireless and wireline broadband networks in 2009.
The centerpiece of the company's investment will be the continued expansion of its GSM-based 3G network, which AT&T plans to expand to 20 new markets in 2009 while adding more than 2,100 cell sites across the United States. The company says that it plans on "nearly doubling" its total 3G network capacity by using additional spectrum on the 850MHz band. AT&T will also work to increase its 3... |
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10
March 2009 |
Saudi Telecom Company (STC) has slashed Internet tariffs by 70 percent in an effort to attract and enroll more Internet users as its DSL subscribers in the Kingdom. This announcement was made by Saud Bin Majed Al-Daweesh, STC president, at "Afaq DSL One Million Promotion" organized at the Four Seasons Hotel to mark one million subscriptions to the service.
An STC customer, Rashid Al-Khabiry, suffering from renal failure was the winner of SR1 million in the lucky draw. The draw, in which 10 DSL customers ... |
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2
March 2009 |
A long running court case is to proceed after solicitors filed a case with the UK's High Court against T-Mobile which could potentially cost the network operator £625 million (US$895 million). The lawsuit is being filed by now-bankrupt SIM care reseller, VIP Communications.
The firm operated so called GSM Gateways which route calls from desk-phones to mobile calls via an array of SIM cards in a server. As calls to mobiles are cheaper from another mobile than from a landline, the benefit to the user is lo... |
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2
March 2009 |
British surfers can look forward to turbo-charged broadband in the future, with experts predicting that almost all households will enjoy 32Mbps services within ten years.
Analyst firm Point Topic forecasts that over 90 per cent of UK homes could have broadband access in 10 years time, almost all with speeds of over 32Mbit/sec.
"But to achieve this there's got to be some focused and vigorous action by both government and industry," cautioned Tim Johnson, chief analyst at Point Topic.
"There needs to... |
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27
Feb 2009 |
Softbank Mobile, the iPhone carrier in Japan, plans to introduce a new program Friday that will give some iPhones away for free with a new two-year contract.
The 8GB iPhone will be free to new subscribers who sign up for a plan starting on Friday, likely to disappoint those who paid the equivalent of $235 (22,782 yen) in the recent past, according to CrunchGear. Softbank is also reducing the price of the 16GB version from $350 to $118 as part of the new "iPhone for everybody Campaign."
Softbank also c... |
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27
Feb 2009 |
Canada's telecoms regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is in the midst of a network neutrality proceeding, and the responses that rolled in this week were vociferous. Several ISPs and music groups objected to any such rules, arguing that they might stop ISPs from implementing all sorts of wonderful policies such as P2P upload throttling, website blocking, and graduated response rules.
One of the more interesting responses came from an ISP called Videotron, whi... |
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26
Feb 2009 |
The Government's plan to introduce mandatory internet censorship has effectively been scuttled, following an independent senator's decision to join the Greens and Opposition in blocking any legislation required to get the scheme started.
The Opposition's communications spokesman Nick Minchin has this week obtained independent legal advice saying that if the Government is to pursue a mandatory filtering regime "legislation of some sort will almost certainly be required".
Senator Nick Xenophon previousl... |
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25
Feb 2009 |
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission may fine 600 operators for failing to properly file annual reports proving that they protect customer data.
Telephone companies and VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) providers are required to submit to the FCC annual certifications proving that they have taken reasonable measures to protect against pretexting, or the practice of pretending to be a person or a law enforcement agent in order to obtain telephone records. Operators must also show the FCC that they... |
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24
Feb 2009 |
Vodafone is expected to make job cuts in the UK tomorrow, as part of plans to save £1bn in costs.
The network is expected to make the announcement tomorrow (Tuesday 24 February), although some have alleged a statement could be made as early as today.
The company has 10,000 employees in the UK and 80,000 globally. The extent of the cuts is not known, but unions said job losses could be ‘significant’.
A spokesman for Connect, the union that represents workers in the communications industry, told the ... |
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24
Feb 2009 |
Sprint Nextel, the nation's third-largest wireless carrier, said it lost 1.3 million subscribers in the fourth quarter, but the results were not as bad as some had feared.
During the quarter, the Overland Park, Kan.-based company lost 1.1 million postpaid customers, who pay monthly bills. Including wholesale and prepaid customers, it lost 1.3 million.
Its biggest rival, Verizon Wireless added 1.4 million customers in the quarter, while AT&T, the No. 2 U.S. mobile service, added 2.1 million.
The com... |
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24
Feb 2009 |
Boost Mobile (owned by Sprint) has introduced the Motorola i290 handset, priced at only $49.99 without a contract or credit check. Also available starting today is the new Boost Mobile "Monthly Unlimited" plan offering unlimited anytime nationwide calling, text messaging, wireless Web and walkie-talkie services with a national calling area for only $50 a month.
Featuring a lightweight and thin design with services such as multimedia messaging, GPS and wireless Web, the Motorola i290 is the latest additio... |
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24
Feb 2009 |
Virgin Media has announced plans to upgrade the broadband connections of 2.6 million households on its lowest-speed service to a new minimum offering of 10Mbps.
The upgrade from 2Mbps to 10Mbps, which comes at no extra cost, will let consumers enjoy high-bandwidth services, such as watching BBC's iPlayer while playing games or downloading music at the same time, the company said.
Last year, the company upgraded customers on 4Mbps connections to 10Mbps.
The company also rolled out a 50Mbps service a... |
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23
Feb 2009 |
Despite its plans to reduce its overall 2009 capital expenditures by between 10 percent and 15 percent, AT&T plans to maintain its international investments at the 2008 level of $1 billion, the operator announced today.
For 2009, the carrier is highlighting its continued investments in: subsea networks; its European data centers in the Netherlands and the U.K.; hosted and managed services; and Ethernet services for corporate customers.
In Europe alone AT&T is launching its Ethernet services, includin... |
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23
Feb 2009 |
As an Internet blackout hit blogs across New Zealand today, the government announced that it would postpone the implementation of its hugely controversial "graduated response" law for dealing with (and eventually disconnecting) repeat P2P copyright infringers.
New Zealand's 1984 Copyright Act was last year amended in numerous ways, but the most controversial has certainly been new section 92A. "An Internet service provider must adopt and reasonably implement a policy that provides for termination, in app... |
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23
Feb 2009 |
As high-tech tools expand the ability of intelligence and law enforcement agencies to sweep up and sort vast quantities of communications traffic, European Union officials worry that encrypted Voice over IP technologies like Skype are leaving criminals with a digital hole in the telecom dragnet. In a statement released this weekend, the Italian arm of the European Union's judicial cooperation agency, Eurojust, announced it would lead an international effort to "overcome the technical and judicial obstacles ... |
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