Communications News

TORONTO - The Canadian government said Friday that it has approved a request from Egyptian-backed telecom Globalive Wireless Management Corp. to launch its mobile phone service in Canada. Full Story »

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple Inc said on Friday that it filed a countersuit against Nokia, claiming that the Finnish cellphone maker is infringing 13 Apple technology patents. Full Story »

NEW YORK - Apple Inc. on Friday said it is suing cell phone maker Nokia Corp. for patent infringement, a countermove to Nokia's suit against technologies used in Apple's iPhone. Full Story »

HELSINKI (Reuters) - The world's largest mobile phone maker Nokia is preparing to launch a new music-bundled phone, photos from the firm's website showed on Friday. Full Story »

The Russian government is planning to invest in an Indian mobile services joint venture in which Sistema, a Russian company, holds a majority share of 74 percent, according to the company. Full Story »

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was chastised this week in a Government Accounting Office (GAO) report highlighting problems in the wireless industry and criticizing the FCC for failing to provide sufficient oversight. As the net neutrality battle simmers in the background, the GAO report sends mixed signals to the FCC. Full Story »

In this week's special episode of the PC World podcast, Aircell VP Niels Steenstrup joins editors Tim Moynihan and Mark Sullivan to talk about the technology and challenges behind providing in-flight wireless access. Full Story »

In an address at a USB conference in New York Wednesday, AT&T executive Ralph de la Vega told investors that the performance of the wireless provider's 3G network is being strained by the heavy data demands of a relatively small number of smartphone users. Just three percent of all AT&T network users are consuming 40 percent of the carrier's capacity, he said. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - Federal regulators receive tens of thousands of customer complaints about wireless services every year, but don't do enough to follow up or protect consumers who have problems with their mobile carriers, government auditors found. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most customers are generally satisfied with their wireless telephone service, but many are frustrated with fees associated with ending their contract to switch carriers, according to a congressional study released on Thursday. Full Story »

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission needs to improve its oversight of mobile telephone carriers, because the agency has no way to measure the outcomes of the tens of thousands of complaints it receives each year, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report released Thursday. Full Story »

AUSTIN, Texas - Whole Foods Market said Thursday it has launched a mobile Web site designed for people who browse online from their cell phones. Full Story »

Signs and sources say that AT&T is undergoing a massive effort--both behind the scenes and out in front--to improve the performance of its oft-maligned 3G network. Full Story »

The Wireless Gigabit Alliance, or WiGig, has completed a new specification that makes possible high-performance wireless display and audio with rates 10 times faster than current-generation wireless LANs. The new spec works to extend Wi-Fi technology and supports backward capability with existing Wi-Fi devices. WiGig members will have access to the spec to provide faster wireless in new products in the first quarter of 2010. Full Story »

The Federal Communication Commission receives up to 35,000 complaints every year about wireless providers, but the average consumer does not complain to the commission and the FCC doesn't really know what to do with the complaints it does receive, according to a Thursday report from the General Accountability Office (GAO). Full Story »

AT&T, the whiny wireless carrier, is back at it again. Fresh off whining in court about Verizon's map ads, AT&T is now whining to financial analysts about its customers. And it is warning that customers should use less of the company's all-you-can-eat data service, lest it become portion-controlled in the future. Full Story »

AT&T, the whiny wireless carrier, is back at it again. Fresh off whining in court about Verizon's map ads, AT&T is now whining to financial analysts about its customers. And it is warning that customers should use less of the company's all-you-can-eat data service, lest it become portion-controlled in the future. Full Story »

The Wireless Gigabit Alliance has completed its specification for a technology to deliver as much as 7G bps (bits per second) over a very high unlicensed frequency band. Full Story »