Roy Mark

Momentum continues to build in Washington for a congressional investigation into the censorship polices and other anti-free speech actions of telephone and cable companies. In an Oct. 3 letter to the commerce and judiciary committees of the Senate and House of Representatives, the Open Internet Coalition calls for hearings by Congress to consider legislation that […]

WASHINGTON—Gary Forsee, CEO and President of Sprint Nextel, told lawmakers on Oct. 2 that a competitive, high-volume business telecommunications market is unfairly rigged to favor AT&T and Verizon. As a result, Forsee said, the nationwide rollout of broadband is faltering. Wholesale availability—known as special access—to the nations two largest carriers networks is a critical component […]

A group of U.S. House Democrats upped the pressure on Oct. 2 on the nations major telecom carriers to account for their alleged complicity in turning over unauthorized telephone and e-mail records to national intelligence agencies, including the National Security Agency and the FBI. In letters sent to AT&T, BellSouth, Verizon and Qwest, the lawmakers […]

The European Commission is opening a formal antitrust proceeding against Qualcomm, the embattled San Diego-based chip maker. The EU said it is investigating whether Qualcomm abused its dominant position in the market. Qualcomm holds key patent rights in the CDMA and WCDMA standards for mobile telephones that form part of Europes mobile 3G technologies. Ericsson, […]

Disclosures over the weekend that AT&T and Verizon reserve the right to suspend or terminate the service of customers who are critical of their conduct have prompted a call for congressional hearings on the censorship practices of the nations leading carriers. According to AT&Ts and Verizons nearly identical service agreements, the companies can cancel the […]

Nokias $8.1 billion purchase of digital mapmaker Navteq marks a major move by the worlds largest handset maker to establish a new beachhead in location-based services. According to analyst Jack Gold, the acquisition is critical to the long-term growth of the Finnish company. Navteq, of Chicago, Ill., provides map information for automotive navigation systems, mobile […]

Another lone gunman approached another campus full of students on Sept. 26, but this time there was no tragedy similar to the shootings at Virginia Tech University in April that killed 32 people and wounded many more. Just 16 minutes after Omesh Hiraman, 22, walked on to the campus of St. Johns University, in Queens, […]

Verizon Wireless decision to reject text messages from a pro-abortion rights group and its sudden reversal under public pressure is why the country needs a network neutrality law, U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan, said Sept. 27. Verizon Wireless had told NARAL Pro-Choice America that it would not carry text messages from the group, prompting an outcry […]

Verizon Wireless rolled out its broadband on a stick Sept. 27 with the introduction of the USB727 Modem. Developed by Novatel Wireless, of San Diego, Calif., Verizon Wireless claims the device is the worlds smallest EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) modem. The USB modem is designed to work with any computing device equipped with a Type A […]

Google plans to tell a Senate committee Sept. 27 that its proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick will not limit competition in the online advertising market. The deal is currently pending FTC (Federal Trade Commission) antitrust review. The acquisition would combine two of the biggest players in online advertising. Googles text-based AdSense business is based […]

WASHINGTON—Microsoft did its best before Congress to undermine Googles proposed $3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick, telling lawmakers on Sept. 27 that the deal would allow Google to buy a dominate position in the online advertising market and would give a single company control of the worlds largest database of user information. Not so fast, Google […]

Verizon Wireless has quickly changed its mind about blocking text messages from the pro-abortion group NARAL Pro-Choice America. Blaming the decision to block the messages on an “incorrect interpretation” of company policy, the nations second largest wireless carrier said Sept. 27 that the advocacy group was free to use its network. The companys initial decision […]