Verizon

Which is more addictive: Blackberry or iPhone?

As I was obsessively checking my Blackberry at OSBC I realized that my usage is no longer about anything but the data. That is, I have no interest in the user experience or how I get from piece of information to another. I only care about the constant flow of information.

Counter that with my experience with the iPhone and an informal poll I did in which iPhone users said that they feel like they are participating with the device, not just consuming it like the Blackberry.

Leaving the form factor aside (I for one, like the BB keyboard) and … Read more

Verizon Wireless adds friend-finding service

Friend-finding cell phone service Loopt is now available on some Verizon Wireless phones.

Loopt is a service that uses GPS (Global Positioning System) chips in phones to pinpoint a subscriber's location; then users can broadcast that location information to friends or family, who can track them on a tiny map. Subscribers can sign up for alerts to find out when other Loopt friends are near. They're also able to tag photos and send them to friends with location information attached.

The company has been offering the service on some Sprint and Boost Mobile phones for more than a … Read more

Verizon to the FCC: Make cable play nice

Verizon Communications is asking the Federal Communications Commission to force cable operators to streamline their process for allowing people to switch video providers.

In its petition with the FCC filed on Wednesday, Verizon said that cable operators require customers to contact them directly when they want to cancel service, which often leads to more work for the new video provider and confusion for the consumer.

By contrast, the phone companies have been required to have procedures in place that enable a new provider to submit a voice disconnection order on behalf of the consumer.

"This significantly complicates the process … Read more

AT&T & NTT join trans-Pacific undersea cable consortium

The largest phone company in the U.S. AT&T and Japan's NTT said Tuesday that they joined an international consortium to build a new undersea network underneath the Pacific Ocean.

As more businesses expand internationally, phone companies such as AT&T are trying to diversify their networks to keep up with growing demand. AT&T said it was joining the effort to build the new Trans-Pacific Express network to help stabilize the Internet and its voice services.

AT&T and NTT are the latest members of a consortium formed 15 months ago by Verizon … Read more

Fios envy in the Big Apple

For some lucky New Yorkers living in two of Manhattan's largest mega-apartment complexes, Fios super high-speed Internet access is here. As for the rest of us living in New York City, we'll have to suck it up and deal with sub-10-megabit-per-second speeds.

Verizon said Monday it has struck a deal with Tishman Speyer Properties to deploy the Fios fiber-to-the-home service to Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, the two biggest apartment complexes in Manhattan with 110 buildings and more than 11,000 apartments covering 18 city blocks along the East River of Manhattan.

But for most of the … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 686: Muselix of podcasts

Veronica's back, and we do spend quite a bit of time talking about DRM, patent law, the 700 MHz wireless spectrum auction winners and other tech topics. However we finished on something of a low note regarding fiber. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 686

Verizon wins ‘open access’ licenses in FCC auction http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9899829-7.html

Dish Network to offer mobile TV service? http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/ 419-dish-network-to-offer-mobile-tv-service/

BitTorrent to Comcast: Let’s be friends http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9899677-7.html

PC game developer has radical message: Ignore the pirates http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/ 20080320-pc-game-developer-has-radical-message-ignore-the-pirates.html … Read more

I wonder. What would Eric Schmidt say, post-Android?

What a magnificent bluff! After hearing about the outcome of the FCC's wireless spectrum auction (click for PDF), I have to marvel at the poker face Eric Schmidt assumed throughout the course of the last several months.

Since Eric the Silent rarely talks about what really goes on inside the inner sanctum, I've saved you the trouble of the guesswork and conducted my own imaginary Q&A:

Q: Thanks for taking the time, Eric. Did you ever seriously think about building your own wireless network in case Google actually won part of the spectrum auction? Imaginary Schmidt: … Read more

Just how open will Verizon's network be?

Verizon made a big splash in 2007 by talking up its plans to open its network to third-party developers. "Any application, any device" was the mantra.

Several months later, however, more questions than answers remain as to just how open Verizon plans to be, and what it's going to charge for the privilege of openness, as BusinessWeek has highlighted.

Among the biggest concerns: Verizon did not divulge any details of the pricing plans customers would be offered to use such devices. Nor did it publish any specifications to help software developers create applications for the network. In fact, the company distributed materials to attendees online, stressing that the company "will not approve, test, or service third-party applications that customers load onto their Open Development Devices."… Read more

Verizon Wireless opens its network

NEW YORK--Verizon Wireless unveiled specifications for its new open wireless program Wednesday as part of a strategy that could change the future of the wireless market. But the road ahead will likely be a long and slow one.

Traditionally, cell phone operators have tightly controlled the entire cell phone experience--from the network to the handsets to the applications running on those devices. But now Verizon, and others like AT&T, are looking for ways to open up their networks.

Verizon first announced plans for an open development network in November with the hope that it would make it easier … Read more