Business - Telecommunications

SINGAPORE (AFP) - Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) said Tuesday its regional mobile user base expanded by more than 56 million users over 12 months to the end of September. Full Story »

Getting into the spirit of the season, Verizon is enlisting the aid of elves, Elvis, and stop-motion puppets in its holiday offensive against AT&T. In a new set of ads (which you can see below), Verizon continues to highlight its superior nationwide 3G coverage as an argument for going with the carrier and its handset lineup, including HTC's Imagio and Droid Eris, instead of Apple's iPhone on AT&T. The new ads are stirring a lot of debate online, and may also be fodder for a rumor that never really goes away. Full Story »

San Francisco - This month's purported "iPhone killer" is the Android-based Motorola Droid, which Verizon began selling in the United States on Nov. 6. Full Story »

At 6:58 A.M. on Friday, I pulled into the parking lot of my local Verizon store. Exactly 30 minutes later, I was back in my car, with a splashy new Motorola Droid in hand. Now, after spending three days with the device, I feel prepared to offer my own take on the latest, and clearly greatest, Android phone. Full Story »

The Droid invasion landed on Friday and so far the iPhone comparisons haven't stopped. Customers showed up for midnight launches to be first to get the new Android 2.0 device, and Verizon stores haven't had any issue burning through their inventory of the new phone. There is at least one other iPhone comparison that bears noticing, though--battery life. Full Story »

The Apple rumor mill claims that work is underway to develop a 'world-mode' iPhone capable of operating on both CDMA and GSM/UMTS networks. World mode. Rumors also persist that Verizon will begin to carry the iPhone in 2010. All of these rumors suggest that the AT&T honeymoon with the iPhone is nearing an end. Full Story »

This week on the PC World Podcast, Hassle-Free PC blogger Rick Broida joins PC World editors Robert Strohmeyer, Tim Moynihan, and Mark Sullivan for a half-hour discussion of the week's biggest tech stories. Full Story »

U.S. Verizon stores opened their doors at 7 a.m. Friday for the launch of Motorola's Droid handset, which many observers see as a credible threat to the Apple iPhone. Full Story »

So, you've got your spiffy new Motorola Droid phone from Verizon. Now what? Full Story »

Motorola's Droid smartphones may have been dropping out of the sky like meteors in Verizon Wireless commercials, but they weren't selling with as much force on the first day of launch. Full Story »

Two U.S. lawmakers have proposed legislation that would allow money from a huge fund that subsidizes telephone and mobile service to parts of the U.S. to also go for broadband deployment. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers said on Friday they introduced a measure aimed at overhauling an annual fund intended to ensure nationwide telephone service in high-cost, rural areas by including money for high-speed Internet use. Full Story »

SAN FRANCISCO - EBay Inc. has settled a legal skirmish with the founders of Skype that threatened to complicate eBay's plans to sell most of the Internet phone service to a group of investors for $2 billion. Full Story »

With the launch of its new Droid smartphone at Verizon Wireless stores Friday, Motorola finally appears poised to recover from a three-year slide during which its mobile handset shipments fell from 22.5 percent to a 5.4 percent share of the global market, according to iSuppli. Verizon is looking for Droid to help overcome the advantages that AT&T has long enjoyed from its exclusive iPhone deal with Apple. Full Story »

The Droid hits the streets today. After all of the hype around Verizon's marketing efforts, and generally favorable reviews of the Motorola Droid, users that rush out to get the new device may be in for a shock. The Droid does tethering (or at least it will very soon), but the cost will surprise people. Full Story »

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Intel , the world's largest chip maker, is planning to participate in bids invited by Indian state-owned telecom equipment maker ITI Ltd to set up joint ventures, the Business Standard reported on Friday. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Thursday said it was mulling whether changes are needed to regulations governing access to telephone lines largely controlled by telecom giants. Full Story »

Laptop-toting road warriors who don't want to commit to a long-term mobile broadband data plan might be interested in a new offering from Verizon Wireless. On Thursday, the wireless carrier rolled out three new mobile data plans as part of the company's prepaid portfolio. Full Story »