Roy Mark

Americans continue to cut the wires to their landline phone service, according to a new survey by J.D. Power and Associates. The marketing information services firm says in its 2008 U.S. Wireless Contract Regional Customer Satisfaction Index that more than one-fourth of wireless phone customers have snipped their traditional landline connection and rely exclusively on […]

WASHINGTON-Most American computer users are aware of the dangers of cruising the Internet with the security windows down and they are taking precautions, or at least think they are. The numbers, though, say otherwise. For instance, according to a study released Oct. 2, more than 80 percent of American computer users polled claimed to have […]

The renewal of the lapsed research and development tax credit now finds its fate tied to the U.S. Senate Wall Street bailout bill currently scheduled for a vote after the market closes on Oct. 1. Senate and House negotiators hope the addition of a two-year renewal of the R&D tax credit and other business tax […]

Democrats finally got a plank of their “innovation agenda” through Congress and Sept. 30 sent the Broadband Data Improvement Act (S. 1492) to the White House for President Bush’s signature. The bill requires the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) to revise its method for counting U.S. broadband subscribers as a first step in determining who has […]

Nokia said Sept. 29 it was dropping further development plans for its enterprise e-mail platform to focus on collaborations between Nokia’s smartphones and enterprise platforms from providers including Cisco, Microsoft and IBM. Nokia also announced it is in the advanced stages of discussions for the potential sale of its security appliances business to a financial […]

The telecommunications sector was not spared in the Sept. 29 market meltdown, raising questions about what a prolonged economic slump would do to the nation’s broadband rollout. With billions already borrowed to bring high-speed lines to consumers and billions more still needed to expand wireless broadband plans, would a deep credit crunch dent those ambitions? […]

Dan Frommer at Silicon Alley Insider is less impressed with the debut of Sprint’s Xohm network in Baltimore Sept. 29 than he is concerned about how Sprint will manage its new WiMax network. In fact, he fears Sprint is heading down the same road that got Comcast in such hot water: throttling network traffic. Frommer […]

Both the U.S. House and Senate have approved a two-year renewal of the expired R&D tax credit that the IT industry holds dear, but differences still remain before the bill can be sent to the White House for President Bush’s approval. Following a 93-2 vote by the Senate Sept. 24 to renew the tax credit […]

These are not the best of times for Ralph Nader, the perennial and current Independent Party candidate for the presidency. Most newspapers and broadcast outlets have simply refused to cover his campaign. The thinking is that Nader has no influence and certainly has no chance to win. That prompted Nader to ask, If that’s the […]

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin may have tipped his hand earlier this week on white spaces: “I do think we need to try to more efficiently use the broadcast spectrum and we need to do so trying to find a way to utilize those white spaces for other kinds of commercial services.” That, in […]

The summer of NebuAd ended Sept. 25 with the nation’s largest broadband providers scrambling to tell Congress there is no need for new laws to protect user privacy. Instead, they insisted to lawmakers, industry guidelines calling for opt-in regimes were the answer to intrusive behavioral advertising. Verizon, AT&T and Time Warner also said they do […]

With national elections looming and a likely change of leadership at the Federal Communications Commission, perhaps Chairman Kevin Martin is worried about his legacy when it comes to an interoperable network for first responders. You may have noticed — seven years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks — we don’t have one. Martin thought he […]