Roy Mark

After months of threats, the United States filed a complaint May 28 with the World Trade Organization to force the European Union to stop taxing certain electronic products that the United States claims are exempt from the tariffs. Japan also filed a similar complaint against the EU. According to U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, the […]

It’s always interesting to see what lawsuits and proposed legislation can do in nudging the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) into action. The latest example is FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s idea for yet another spectrum auction. This one would have an interesting twist: the winning bidder would be required to offer free broadband service to 50 […]

The Department of Justice said May 27 it has reached a settlement in its long-running legal dispute with the National Association of Realtors. Under the terms of the settlement, the Realtors will enact a new policy that guarantees Internet-based brokerage companies will not be treated differently than traditional brokers. Under the new policy, Realtor-affiliated brokers […]

Qualcomm is the latest investor in ip.access, a British company that develops femtocell and picocell technology. With its unspecified investment, Qualcomm joins Cisco, Intel, Motorola and others as backers of the company. Femtocells allow consumers to boost their existing broadband service to provide both higher quality and higher performance wireless voice and real-time data services […]

No matter who wins the presidency this fall, telecoms like AT&T and Verizon should expect no White House immunity for the warrantless wiretapping of Americans’ phone calls and e-mail. President Bush, by contrast, has promised to veto any legislation that does not give amnesty for the telcos’ cooperation in the administration’s domestic spying program. While […]

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia signed a three-year deal with France Telecom’s Orange May 22 to push digital entertainment services in Europe. Under the agreement, Orange will add 10 new Nokia handsets to the Orange line of phones and the two companies plan to offer customers a mix of Nokia and Orange content. As part […]

WASHINGTON–It’s almost as if Larry Page had an enemies list entered into the BlackBerry he frequently checked during his May 22 We Love Google session with the New America Foundation. Bad guys: Microsoft and the National Association of Broadcasters. Good guys: Google, of course. The billionaire Google co-founder was making his first Washington appearance to […]

WASHINGTON-Google co-founder Larry Page marched into the political arena May 22 and urged lawmakers and the Federal Communications Commission to approve the unlicensed use of spectrum between broadcast channels. This unused spectrum, known as white spaces, is provided to broadcasters to create interference buffer zones. Google, Microsoft and other tech companies want the spectrum to […]

With all the congressional hand-wringing over the tech industry’s dealings in China, perhaps it’s time lawmakers actually did something about it other than point the finger at Cisco Systems, Yahoo and Google. At least, that’s how Ed Black at the Computer & Communications Industry Association sees it. “As things stand now, it almost appears as […]

The Rural Cellular Association wants the Federal Communications Commission to ban exclusive deals between telecommunications carriers and handset makers. The small carriers claim the exclusivity deals are monopolistic and anti-competitive. The so-called Big 5 carriers-AT&T, Verizon, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile and Alltel Wireless-frequently cut deals with handset manufacturers to gain control over the features, content and […]

AT&T plans to complete its third-generation mobile broadband network by the end of 2008, adding six markets to finish the national footprint of High-Speed Uplink Packet Access technology. When completed, the network will be available in 350 U.S. markets. According to a May 21 announcement by AT&T, the six markets include San Jose, Calif.; San […]

Now comes Cisco Systems with the latest episode of the tech industry’s waffling over its dealings with the Chinese government. Cisco Senior Vice President Mark Chandler told Congress May 20 that his company “has not and does not design products to accommodate political censorship.” Unless, of course, you count supplying the Chinese government with networking […]