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Carriers keeping hands on the reins

Over the last few months, mobile operators have been falling over each other to profess their networks as "open," but a closer look at what they're really doing suggests they have a long way to go.

Traditionally, mobile phone operators have kept a tight grip on their networks. They have determined which phones could be used, what applications could be accessed, which features were enabled, and where subscribers could go on the Internet. But over the past year, Internet companies like Google and Skype have joined with consumer groups to lobby lawmakers and the Federal Communications Commission … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 696: So Say We All

Happy frakkin' Friday! BSG is back, we're recording in a studio other than our own, and Madonna sleeps with her BlackBerry. Ew. Also today, Craig cracks down on a Craigslist blog and a U.K. Internet service provider fights back against the filtering machine. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 696

Craigslist to fan blog: We want your domain, please http://www.news.com/8301-13577_3-9911446-36.html

Finally: Craigslist launches a blog of their own http://www.craigslistblog.org/2008/04/03/ finally-craigslist-launches-a-blog-of-their-own/

Study: More couch potatoes parked in front of PC to watch TV http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/ 20080404-study-more-couch-potatoes-parked-in-front-of-pc-to-watch-tv.html… Read more

Verizon's spectrum plans: Speedier wireless broadband

Verizon executives on Friday said that a valuable chunk of newly purchased analog TV spectrum is a "transformative opportunity" that will let the company offer vastly faster wireless broadband service within the next three years.

In a conference call with investors on Friday morning, Verizon Communications CEO Ivan Seidenberg and Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam opened up about their plans for 700Mhz spectrum obtained through a recently concluded Federal Communications Commission auction. Early word of the plans began trickling out Thursday night after a gag rule of sorts lifted.

"With the 700MHz C block, we're in … Read more

Bidders in latest FCC auction start talking

Companies bidding in the Federal Communications Commission's 700MHz spectrum auction are starting to talk.

The gag order that silenced those participating in the FCC's auction that ended last month was lifted late Thursday. Now companies are free to discuss their plans and strategies for bidding in the auction.

Verizon Wireless plans to use its newly won wireless spectrum licenses in the 700MHz auction to deliver 4G services, CTO Tony Melone told the wireless news site Unstrung.

Verizon Wireless paid nearly $10 billion for licenses in the C block, which are subject to a special FCC rule that requires … Read more

Casio G'zOne Type-S now sports push-to-talk

Casio showed off its new G'zOne Type-S for Verizon Wireless in black and silver at the UTStarcom booth here at CTIA. It's almost exactly the same as the original rugged clamshell, but it now supports push-to-talk capabilities. The rest of the Type-S Casios will have this feature as well, it's just that the black and silver version is the first out the gate with it. It's saddled with only a VGA camera, but a rugged phone like this doesn't need a lot of bells and whistles. Verizon is offering it now for $99.99 after … Read more

Comcast criticized for HDTV quality

There's a good piece by Saul Hansell over on The New York Times' "Bits" blog.

Hansell describes how Comcast is being criticized for low picture quality on certain broadcasts. That's interesting, especially in light of the contention between Comcast and DirecTV on this very issue, but it isn't the most important point in Hansell's post.

Hansell goes on to give a reasonable explanation of the basic issues involved, and mentions the likely future of cable TV: digital video distributed over Internet-like network switches. Instead of always sending every TV channel to every house, a … Read more

Samsung's SCH-U740 has an Alias

Samsung used CTIA to officially introduce the Samsung Alias, the upgrade to Verizon's Samsung SCH-U740. Though we're known about the phone since the beginning of this month, this is the first chance to see how it compares with its predecessor. From what we learned, the differences are minor. The Alias just has a silver color scheme and a few of the alphabetic keys on the full keyboard now are black and white to make them more identifiable as dialing buttons. So really, that's about it. You can get the Alias with Verizon Wireless for $49 with service. … Read more

A hands-on look at the LG enV(2)

After we were done giving the LG Vu the once-over, we shifted our attention to the LG enV(2) to see how different it really is from the the original enV. The answer: a lot. Measuring 4.0 inches by 2.13 inches by 0.65 inch, it's smaller, slimmer, and just overall better looking than the first enV, especially its front face. Yeah, we're not too thrilled with the tiny front display, but it provides a lot more room for the keypad, which is surprisingly roomy. The internal screen gets a sizable bump to 2.4-inch over … Read more

Mobile operators avoid potential regulation

Updated 12:30 p.m. PDT with comment from the Open Internet Coalition.

LAS VEGAS--It seems mobile operators have dodged a regulatory bullet by promising to open up their networks on their own.

On Tuesday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said he was rewarding U.S. wireless operators for their efforts to open up their networks by not pushing for more regulation.

During a keynote address here at the CTIA tradeshow, Martin said he is going to circulate an order among the FCC commissioners to dismiss Skype's petition to apply Carterfone rules to the wireless industry. The Carterfone … Read more