| News for wireless telecommunications professionals |  |
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- Strange bedfellows: Apple, Google ally on Kodak digital patents
Google and Apple have partnered on a bid of more than $500 million to buy the bankrupt Eastman Kodak's digital patents, a not-uncommon practice among rivals who want to prevent litigation. "They have decided to come together in this process to reduce the cost of purchasing the Kodak patents, while meeting their business needs," said Richard Ehrlickman, president of IP Offerings, a patent brokerage and consulting firm. In other patent news, the U.S. Patent Office has issued a preliminary ruling invalidating all of Apple's 20 claims to a group of multitouch patents. Bloomberg
(12/8), Ars Technica
(12/7)      
| Company News | | |
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- Sprint, DISH said to be in spectrum talks
Sprint Nextel is said to be in talks about forming a partnership with DISH Network that would provide the carrier with access to the satellite provider's untapped mobile spectrum in return for allowing DISH to provide wireless service over Sprint's network, according to a Bloomberg report. In such an arrangement, the companies could share revenues or DISH could be asked to pay to ride over Sprint's facilities. The talks are said to remain in limbo pending a Federal Communications Commission decision on whether DISH can use its 20 MHz of spectrum for terrestrial wireless services. Bloomberg Businessweek
(12/7), TeleGeography Research
(12/10)
- Ending subsidies, T-Mobile could alter industry dynamics
T-Mobile USA's disclosure last week that it will stop the long-standing industry practice of subsidizing cellphone purchases is expected to have a far-reaching effect on the wireless industry, according to this analysis. T-Mobile proposes to charge consumers full price for handsets in return for charging lower monthly fees, generally about $20 month less than the carrier's current prices. GigaOm
(12/7)
| Wireless Inspires | | |
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- AT&T is working on a wireless sensor to help fight asthma
AT&T researchers last week described their plans to produce a wireless asthma sensor designed to alert patients to potentially dangerous volatile organic compounds in the air by warning them via smartphones and other devices. The scientists told the mHealth Summit that they were developing the Asthma Trigger sensor, which would run over AT&T's network, through the carrier's two-year AT&T ForHealth Initiative in a joint venture with a manufacturer. GigaOm
(12/7)
| Technology | | |
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- Toshiba creates low-power MRAM for smartphone use
Aiming to reduce power consumption by mobile processors, Toshiba has crafted a low-power magnetoresistive random-access memory, which can serve as cache memory in smartphones. The company will detail the MRAM technology in a presentation at the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting that begins today in San Francisco. PCAdvisor.co.uk (U.K.)
(12/10)
| Trends & Research | | |
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- Mobile devices at heart of new round of browser wars
Cloud computing has returned the bruising Web browser battles from the 1990s to the forefront with a twist: Companies are now fighting for control of the mobile device market. "Mobile is a whole new level of reinvention, so it feels like we're in the most fertile time of invention since the early '90s," said Marc Andreessen, the co-founder of the Netscape Navigator browser and a backer of browser startup Rockmelt. The New York Times (tiered subscription model)
(12/9)
| Public Policy | | |
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- EU may probe Huawei, ZTE over network gear pricing
China's Huawei Technologies and ZTE have been harming European wireless network equipment makers by pricing products substantially below fair market value, according to an analysis prepared by the European Commission. Officials, however, have not determined whether to risk starting a trade war with China by pursuing a full-blown inquiry, according to a published report that alleges the government has financed the gear makers' ability to sell products by at least 35% below the going rate. The Wall Street Journal
(12/7)
| CTIA News | | |
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- More spectrum for wireless means significant U.S. economic boost
At the Federal Communications Commission's September meeting, the commission will start the NPRM proceeding on incentive auctions. The economic impact of bringing additional spectrum to market is tremendous. The economic impact of bringing 500 MHz of spectrum (per the FCC's National Broadband Plan) to market by 2020 is a $166 billion increase in U.S. GDP; at least 350,000 new U.S. jobs; an additional $23.4 billion in government revenues; and a $13.1 billion increase in wireless applications and content sales. Regardless of your political affiliation, bringing spectrum to market for the wireless industry means a great impact on the U.S. economy and is something that everyone should support. Find out more.
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