Last year, before Google had snuggled up to the FCC and suggested the open-access provisos for the 700MHz auction, Skype petitioned the Commission to apply the so-called Carterfone ruling to the mobile industry.  That ruling, which dates back to 1968, demands that those responsible for wired telecommunications networks allow users to attach any device they so choose to the system, as long ... continued »

Nuance today announced the launch of their Voicemail to Text message transcribing service, which converts audio voicemail messages into SMS or email messages and sent on to the user.  Offered through carriers rather than direct to an end user, the system uses Nuance's Dragon Naturally Speaking voice recognition technology as well as a human transcription backup; it improves upon standard ... continued »

After seeing how much the US government made from the recent 700MHz auction, Canada's government must be rubbing their hands together with glee; their own wireless spectrum auction, for chunks of the 2GHz range, kicks off on May 27th, and Industy Canada, who are managing the process, have just revealed the 27 qualified bidders.  Canadian stalwarts Bell Mobility, Rogers Wireless and TELUS ... continued »

According to Om Malik, AT&T are addressing their overly-heavy VP ranks with some serious offloading, in a response to ongoing concerns about economic performance.  Apparently, VP-level executives are being offered severance packages to encourage them to jump ship from the carrier, with the alternative being that they are demoted to a lower position.  Meanwhile, there's juggling at AT&T's top level ... continued »

As promised, the LiMo Foundation have delivered the Release 1 of the eponymous Linux-based mobile device OS, which they're describing as the world's first globally competitive platform of its kind.  A modular, plug-in and hardware-independent architecture with a core open-source OS, Release 1 is notable for having been distributed already on a number of commercially available handsets from well-known manufacturers ... continued »

As competition for new customers increased, contract lengths and early termination fees (ETF) rose too. AT&T have gone back to the drawing board, no doubt after growing legislative pressure threatened to make a reconsideration mandatory, and rewritten their ETF policy; as of May 25th, the standard $175 ETF will reduce by $5 for every month you're with the carrier, ... continued »

Poring through the latest iPhone 2.0 firmware that Apple has distributed to developers, The Boy Genius spotted that a new YouTube plugin for MobileSafari.app has been added.  At present, video embedded into webpages won't display in the iPhone's browser, and only YouTube content is visible in a separate program.  It's unclear right now whether this new plugin will simply embed ... continued »

Nokia's close scrutiny by the European Commission continues, as the company's pending acquisition of NAVTEQ comes under further review in Phase II of the pre-purchase inquiry.  Nokia is keen to point out that the review process does not necessarily suggest that the Commission will oppose the buy-out, which has otherwise received all other necessary regulatory approvals. continued »

Good news for any tricky to get hold of person living in Cuba: the government there has decided that its present rules that only foreigners or government officials can own a cellphone is a little restrictive, and so in a few days time the wireless world will be thrown open and anybody - as long as they have the hard cash - will ... continued »

Chinese manufacturers often get maligned for "borrowing" technologies and "forgetting" to pay the licencing fees; in an attempt to stay one step ahead in the rush for 3G cellphone connectivity (and take maximum advantage of all those new first-time users in the country) the government there has developed their own 3G standard, TD-SCDMA, and is pushing domestic carriers to adopt it ... continued »