Roy Mark

Once technology rivals, WiMax and 3G are now on the same wireless road after the International Telecommunications Union on Oct. 19 agreed to include WiMax-derived technology in the IMT-2000 set of standards. The decision puts WiMax on equal footing with 3G as a radio interface. IMT-2000 is a global standard set by the ITU that […]

Three U.S. senators with an eye on the White House said this week that they oppose granting immunity to telecom carriers that allegedly participated in the Bush administrations domestic spying program of telephone wiretapping and e-mail surveillance. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said Oct. 18 he would block the Senates FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) reform […]

A coalition of Internet and media giants have agreed on a set of guidelines they claim will promote online user generated content, while protecting the copyrights of commercial content providers. The guidelines stress a heavy reliance on content identification technology to block the use of unauthorized videos and other material. While the coalition includes such […]

Six states and the District of Columbia are seeking an additional a five-year extension of the 2002 landmark antitrust settlement against Microsoft because they say Microsoft continues to defy the agreement. Most of the settlement terms are due to expire at the end of November. Potential competitive platform threats to Microsofts dominance in the PC […]

Google employees are in the tank for Barack Obama. So is Bill Gates. But the Microsoft rank and file prefer Hillary Clinton. Cisco CEO John Chambers backs John McCain, although his employees are supporting Clinton. In an eWEEK analysis of individual political contributors at the nations largest technology and telecom firms, tech workers are overwhelmingly […]

WASHINGTON-Lawmakers split sharply upon party lines Oct. 17 in their approach to improving U.S. wireless communications. The new majority of Democrats called for a host of regulations on wireless carriers while Republicans held steadfast to the concept of a light government touch. Democrats at the Senate Commerce Committee hearing on consumer wireless issues praised the […]

U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos, D-Calif., said on Oct. 16 Yahoo misled his panel at a 2006 hearing about the companys role in providing the Chinese government with information that sent journalist Shi Tao to jail for a decade. Lantos has scheduled a Nov. 6 hearing about the matter and has asked […]

The House of Representatives approved a new four-year ban on state or local taxation of Internet, Oct. 16, over the objections of both Republicans and Democrats seeking a permanent ban. The current three-year ban on access taxes expires on Nov. 1. The legislation also extends the grandfather clause in the original 1998 legislation that allows […]

Verizon—without a warrant or subpoena—turned over customer records of telephone calls and Internet activities to federal officials more than 700 times since 2005, according to the nations second largest telecom carrier. In an Oct. 12 letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Verizon officials said they acted under the emergency provisions of FISA (the […]

Nortel Networks will pay a $35 million civil fine Oct. 15 to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that the Canadian network gear maker engaged in accounting fraud from 2000-2003 to close gaps between its true performance, its internal targets and Wall Street expectations. Nortel also consented to injunctions against it from violations of certain […]

Claiming a major competitive advantage over rival chip makers, Broadcom said Oct. 15 it has developed a low-power, single-chip processor that integrates all major features of 3G technology. The BCM21551—code-named Zeus—combines a high-speed third-generation baseband, a multiband radio frequency transceiver, Bluetooth, and an FM radio receiver and transmitter. The device also features advanced multimedia processing, […]

Under legislation approved by a House panel, VOIP providers would have direct access to the nations E911 system in order to comply with Federal Communications Commission rules mandating Internet telephone companies provide customers with emergency calling services. Currently, E911 calls from VOIP (voice over IP) customers are routed to third parties, such as telephone companies […]