Business - Telecommunications

HELSINKI (AFP) - Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said on Thursday the government could increase its ownership of telecom operators to secure the operation of IT infrastructure in the event of a crisis. Full Story »

NEW YORK - What would the holidays be without bickering between siblings? AT&T and Verizon are swamping TV with ads attacking facets of each other's wireless networks. While the ads stick fairly close to the truth, there's a lot they don't say. Full Story »

STRASBOURG, France - The European Parliament has endorsed new telecom rules that would give phone and Internet users more rights and allow them to appeal to national courts if they are cut off for illegal file-sharing. Full Story »

At the request of Verizon Wireless, the advertising arm of the Better Business Bureau has recommended that Sprint stop advertising itself as "America's most dependable 3G network," but Sprint says it will appeal the decision. Full Story »

After two years of often bitter debate, the European Parliament approved a raft of new telecom laws Tuesday. Full Story »

U.S. telecom firms have hit a ceiling as most Americans have a cell phone and Internet access. These firms can only dream of untapped potential in China, the world's largest mobile market. Full Story »

Verizon has challenged Sprint's marketing claim that its "America's most dependable 3G network." The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus has asked Sprint to drop the slogan in response to the Verizon complaint, expanding the ongoing marketing battle between the leading mobile service providers. Full Story »

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Phone company Windstream Corp. announced Tuesday it would buy Iowa Telecommunications Services Inc. for $1.1 billion in cash and stock, and pick up a quarter-million subscribers in Iowa and Minnesota. Full Story »

NEW YORK - A national advertising watchdog is asking Sprint Nextel Corp. to drop its ads calling itself "America's most dependable 3G network." Full Story »

STRASBOURG (AFP) - The European parliament approved Tuesday a major overhaul of EU telecoms law aimed at boosting the rights of European mobile phone and Internet users and protection against access restrictions. Full Story »

Taiwanese 3G mobile operator Vibo Telecom launched a trial TD-SCDMA network on Tuesday, an event timed to coincide with a Chinese official's visit to Taiwan to discuss how Taiwan and China can work more closely on developing technology standards. Full Story »

Apple's jumping into the battle that sees Verizon Wireless and AT&T flaming each other in advertisements, but unlike AT&T's recent effort to defend itself, Apple's new pair of iPhone ads are actually good. Full Story »

On the heels of a judge's decision to allow Verizon to continue running commercials that attack AT&T's 3G network, Apple has a new an iPhone ad campaign that defends AT&T's capabilities. Full Story »

In a battle between AT&T and Verizon Wireless that never seems to end, AT&T's partner Apple now appears to be getting into the mix with two retaliatory iPhone TV ad that air Monday night. The ads comes hot on the heels of AT&T's TV ad campaign that aimed to "set the record straight" around Verizon's "there's a map for that" campaign. Full Story »

Is an iPhone an acceptable device for business users? Verizon Wireless and AT&T have been involved in a public multimillion-dollar spat over the question with dueling television advertising campaigns -- and a lawsuit to boot. Now Apple is stepping into the fray with its own ads. Full Story »

Verizon Wireless said Monday that it will begin shipping Samsung's Omnia II smartphone on Dec. 2. The new handset features Samsung's TouchWiz 2.0 user interface, which provides users with the ability to customize and personalize their devices in a number of different ways. Full Story »

A month ago, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission began a proceeding to create formal net neutrality rules for broadband providers, and the proposals have generated serious debate in the telecom community. Full Story »

NEW DELHI (AFP) - British mobile phone giant Vodafone Group Plc has sought an extra two months to reply to a two-billion-dollar Indian tax claim over its purchase of India's third-largest mobile operator. Full Story »