Roy Mark

Sprint/Clearwire Slapped with WiMax Patent Challenge

Adaptix, a developer of converged wireless service platforms, is suing Sprint and Clearwire for allegedly infringing Adaptix’s WiMax-related patents. Adaptix is seeking unspecified damages, payment of legal fees and a permanent injunction blocking Sprint and Clearwire from further infringing on its patents, according to the Dec. 1 lawsuit. The infringement lawsuit was filed on the […]

Lawmakers Continue Push for Free Broadband Plan

Despite Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin’s decision to cancel a scheduled Dec. 18 agency vote on a controversial proposal to impose a free wireless broadband mandate on the FCC’s next spectrum auction, Congressmen Bobby Rush, D-Ill., and Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., are still pushing for the proposal. Martin’s decision to cancel the vote came after […]

Obama Names Science Team

President-elect Barack Obama selected Dr. John Holdren Dec. 20 to serve as director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Holdren will also serve as assistant to the president for science and technology and co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. With a broad mandate to advise the […]

Feds Hit Tech Merger with Antitrust Lawsuit

Microsemi Corp. said Dec. 19 it would vigorously defend itself against an antitrust lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice claiming Microsemi’s $25 million cash acquisition of Semicoa eliminated or reduced competition in the development, manufacture and sale of semiconductor devices used in military and space programs. Microsemi, of Irvine, Calif., makes high performance analog […]

Sprint Opens Platform for Location-Based Service Developers

Sprint said Dec. 17 it is expanding its open network approach by partnering with location aggregators WaveMarket and uLocate Communications to aid third-party developers interested in location-based services. The effort, Sprint said, would reduce developers’ difficulties in certifying applications that use GPS, triangulation and other location services. Veriplace, WaveMarket’s location aggregation platform, was built using […]

Plan Calls for $44B in Broadband Spending

President-elect Barack Obama should spend $44 billion in broadband stimulus funds over the next three years as part of his immediate economic program, according to a new study from the media reform group Free Press. The proposed tax incentives and grant programs would not include projects previously planned by telecommunications companies. Instead, according to “Down […]

Wall Street Bailout Spawns Subsidy Database

When Congress approved the $700 billion Emergency Economic Stabilization Act on October to bail out Wall Street, it marked a major expansion of the government’s role in the markets. Unfortunately, as taxpayers have already discovered, just who got what out of the bailout is still unknown, even to members of Congress. The Pew Charitable Trusts […]

Sprint Unveils 3G/4G Dual-Mode Modem Device

Sprint Nextel said Dec. 17 it is introducing a laptop modem that will operate on both Sprint’s 4G WiMax service and the company’s 3G cellular network. The country’s first 3G/4G dual mode device will allow customers to use the increased speeds of WiMax while in WiMax coverage and to switch to the company’s 3G network […]

Portland Slated as Second WiMax City

With one WiMax outpost established in Baltimore, the newly combined Clearwire and Sprint Nextel Xohm WiMax division have put a west coast footprint in Portland, Ore., as the next step in their plans to build a nationwide 4G wireless network. The Jan. 6 debut will be first citywide effort marketed under the merger’s new Clear […]

Obama Scores 100% on High Tech Test

President-elect Barack Obama hit 100 percent on the Information Technology Industry Council’s Congressional Vote Scorecard for the 2007-2008 U.S. House and Senate session released Dec. 15. In all, 53 senators scored 100 percent on ITI’s scorecard. ITI based its rankings on five key Senate tech votes considered “critical” by the Washington trade group that counts […]