Roy Mark

The Federal Communications Commission said Sept. 11 that Sprint Nextel has not met its rebanding obligations for moving public safety agencies into the 800MHz band. The FCC established new benchmarks for Sprint with the goal of clearing the spectrum for first responders by June 26, 2008. In a controversial 2004 spectrum swap, the FCC approved […]

The House of Representatives may vote as early as next week on legislation requiring a paper trail for electronic voting machines, according to a spokesman for bill sponsor Rush Holt, D-N.J. If successful in Congress, the bills provisions would take effect in time for the 2008 elections. The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act (H.R. […]

Add AT&T, Verizon and Sprint Nextel to the list of infringement targets of NTP, the Virginia patent-holding firm that forced BlackBerry maker Research in Motion into a $612.2 million settlement in 2006. In a lawsuit filed Sept. 7, NTP claims the nations three largest carriers are violating the closely held companys wireless e-mail patents. NTP […]

WASHINGTON—California and six other states want the federal government to extend the Microsoft antitrust consent decree by another five years. The group plans to formally petition for the extension by October, just a month before most provisions of the decree are due to expire. Stephen Houck, the attorney representing Californias interests in the 2002 landmark […]

As the new Congress reconvened the week of Sept. 3, there was guarded optimism in Washington technology policy shops that the 8-month-old Democratic-led body will continue to champion a pro-tech agenda. For the first time in six years, the tech wish list actually finds itself on offense instead of defense. Fresh from authorizing a 10-year […]

The ink was barely dry on the patent reform bill that was approved by the House of Representatives on Sept. 7 when speculation began over the fate of the legislation in the Senate, where stiff opposition awaits key provisions long sought by the technology sector. As Roger Cochetti, group director of U.S. public policy at […]

Apple sold its one millionth iPhone, the company announced Sept. 10, just 74 days after unveiling the popular product and three weeks ahead of its own projections. The announcement came less than a week after Apple slashed the price of the 8GB by $200, from $599 to $399. Apple also said it was lowering the […]

The Department of Justice gave Congress another reason to avoid a vote on network neutrality. In a Sept. 6 filing with the Federal Communications Commission, the DOJ said lawmakers should not rush into “premature regulation” of the Internet. Proponents of network regulation for the last two years have sought to pass regulations that would keep […]

The technology sector scored a significant legislative victory Friday afternoon as the House of Representatives approved the first significant overhaul of patent law in a half a century. The big win, however, may be short-lived as the legislation moves to the Senate. Approved on a 225-175 vote that crossed party lines, the Patent Reform Act […]

The International Trade Commission voted Sept. 5 to investigate antitrust complaints that Nokia is importing 3G mobile handsets and components into the United States that infringe on patents held by Interdigital Communications. The InterDigital complaint filed with the ITC on Aug. 7 identifies Nokias N75 handset, which operates on 3G WCDMA cellular systems, as “capable” […]

Apple grabbed the lions share of wireless headlines Sept. 5 with a product rollout in San Francisco that included the iPod Touch, which is essentially an iPhone without the phone and the pricey two-year AT&T contract. The new device features a touch screen interface similar to the iPhone and includes 802.11 b/g networking capability for […]

Reversing a lower court ruling, a U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 4 ordered an antitrust case brought by Broadcom against Qualcomm to proceed in a New Jersey district court. The case is one of several tangled legal battles between the rival wireless chip makers. Broadcom originally filed the case in New Jersey on July […]