telecom industry news stories on Newser

FCC Launches Internet Speed Test Tool

John Johnson — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 13:44:13 CST

The FCC is about to unveil a 10-year plan to make high-speed Internet a reality in all parts of the US, reports the New York Times . As part of its push, the agency has set up a way for consumers to test the speed of their Internet connection through this...

UK Network: Dropped Calls? Blame iPhone

Matt Cantor — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:40:59 CST

Slammed for poor signal and dropped calls, AT&T has blamed its troubles in part on the iPhone’s heavy data usage—and now UK provider O2 is also pointing a finger at the gadget, PC World reports. O2 users have been plagued by similar problems, and “where we haven’t met our...

Justice Dept. to Launch Antitrust Review of Telecoms

Kevin Spak — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:30:02 CDT

The Obama administration is looking into the country’s top telecom companies, including AT&T and Verizon, to determine whether they’ve abused their market power with anti-competitive actions, sources tell the Wall Street Journal . The Justice Department is concerned that, among other things, the big players are locking out competitors through exclusive...

AT&T Rolls Out $50 Mini-Laptops

Kevin Spak — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:57:50 CDT

AT&T is trying out a program that would make buying a laptop a bit like buying a cellphone. Walk into one of its Atlanta or Philadelphia retail outlets, and you’ll soon be able to nab a “mini-laptop” (or netbook, as the rest of the world calls them) for just $50...

Comcast Web Caps May Signal End of an Era

Caroline Miller — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:33:01 CDT

With Comcast setting a limit on Internet usage beginning next month, the end of the Internet as we know it may be at hand, as ISPs move toward usage-based models like public utilities. Comcast, the second-largest US Internet provider, was careful to say that the bandwidth limit is so high—...

ISPs Should Stay With Flat-Rate Pricing

Harry Kimball — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:05:43 CDT

Cable companies are wooing Wall Street by saying they’ll offset expensive implementation of a new, high-speed software protocol by metering broadband Internet access. Bad move, Om Malik writes on GigaOm. Flat-rate high-speed access has enabled recent revolutionary innovation in the telecom business, which led to almost 70 million broadband subscriptions...

France Telecom Offers $42B for TeliaSonera

Jim O'Neill — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 07:26:16 CDT

France Telecom’s long-anticipated takeover bid of Swedish telco TeliaSonera finally landed today—with a thud. TeliaSonera immediately rejected FT’s $42 billion cash-and-stock offering—worth some $10.33 per share—as too low, reports the New York Times. Investors appeared to disagree, pushing France Telecom stock down 4% in Paris as...

New Vodafone CEO Has Tough Calls Ahead

Jim O'Neill — Wed, 28 May 2008 09:20:47 CDT

A slowing global economy and continued investor unease over Vodafone’s 45% stake in Verizon Wireless will likely provide a turbulent welcome for new CEO Vittorio Colao when he takes the reins of the wireless provider in July, the Wall Street Journal reports. Colao will succeed Arun Sarin, who's set to...

Sprint in Talks to Sell Struggling Nextel Unit

Kevin Spak — Tue, 06 May 2008 08:03:28 CDT

Sprint is considering selling or spinning off its Nextel division, signaling the end of a troubled, disappointing merger, the Wall Street Journal reports. Talks are already under way with Nextel founder Morgan O'Brien, who would integrate the unit into his new wireless public-safety network, and other prospective buyers, including private-equity...