Hasta La Gadget!

The latest thrilling installment in BlackBerry’s Middle East saga has turned out not to be so thrilling after all. Having set an October 11 deadline for RIM to comply with its “telecommunications regulatory framework,” the United Arab Emirates is today reporting that the BlackBerry maker has managed to make the necessary changes with plenty of time to spare. Consequently, there’ll be no state-ordained curtailing of email, web, or BBM services within the UAE, which mirrors similar agreements that BlackBerry has managed to finagle with India and Saudi Arabia. Of course, the grand purpose of the UAE’s ultimatum was for RIM to allow the state access to encrypted messaging communications, and while the current announcement is pointedly missing details on what’s been done to appease the Abu Dhabi decision makers, we can’t imagine them giving up the fight without RIM making some type of concession. And the shady, undisclosed concessions happen to be our least favorite kind.

UAE says BlackBerry is now compliant with regulations, free to rock on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 03:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Phew. For a moment few years there, we thought any device set up to operate on these so-called white spaces — which have been vacated following the analog-to-digital TV transition — would be forced to use spectrum sensing modules in order to ensure that no TV station was operating in areas in which it wanted to. Based on the FCC’s Second Memorandum Opinion and Order, which was just published a few days back, it looks as if forthcoming white space devices will not be required to ping databases in order to make absolutely sure that it won’t interfere with TV stations.

That’s the long and short of it, which is fantastic (if not expected) news for device makers and anyone who despises red tape, but Ars Technica has taken an in-depth look at why the Commission made such a call. Indeed, the FCC’s 2008 Order mandated that white space gadgets check in beforehand in order to “protect TV signals from interference.” Essentially, the call that nixed this addition was the fact that this security ring would inadvertently provide “many wireless microphones systems that go to unlicensed use” — things like wireless systems at churches, football games, concerts, etc. As with anything FCC-related, it’s a long and wordy explanation, but those interested in the finer details are just one click away from the nitty-gritty.

FCC: white space devices won’t require spectrum sensing modules originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Sep 2010 19:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We hold great respect for the Pew Internet and American Life Project, whose statistical practices are transparent, robust and rarely filled with logical holes, but we have to wonder why the organization decided to ask if Americans would support affordable high-speed internet using their tax dollars. 53% of 2,252 telephoned adults said it shouldn’t be a major priority, which is significant, to be sure, but when Pew’s 2009 study showed that most individuals without broadband don’t want it, and their 2008 survey confirmed that 62 percent of dial-up users were still A-OK, we have to imagine researchers might have seen this coming. Those with broadband don’t need it, those without it don’t want it. Never mind about education, health, economic reform — you know, all those other priorities. Nevertheless, these are interesting results, and if you’re a proponent of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan you’d best have a look.

Pew study finds majority of Americans don’t want government to prioritize affordable broadband originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 08:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Back in October of last year, Google and Verizon came together in order to provide an intense amount of corporate support for the FCC’s then-fledgling net neutrality push. Today, said push has turned into quite the monster, with a recent court ruling asserting that the FCC doesn’t actually have the authority to impose net neutrality. Since then, a cadre of telecommunications firms have banded together in one form or another to attempt a compromise (and slyly get what each of them really want), and today the Big G and Big Red have taken the stage together in order to publicize a well-thought out policy proposal for “an open internet.” Both firms seem to agree that web users “should choose what content, applications, or devices they use,” and they both want “enforceable prohibition against discriminatory practices” — and yeah, that definitely includes prioritization and blocking of internet traffic, including paid prioritization. In an odd twist, what seems to be happening here is that both Google and Verizon are actually in favor of more government oversight on the internet, but they want that oversight to be beneficial to consumers. In other words, more regulations from the feds to enforce fewer regulations imposed on you from your ISP. Get all that?

Where things really get interesting is when they touch on the wireless angle; essentially, they’re admitting that the very proposals they are putting forth for wireline shouldn’t apply to wireless just yet (aside from the whole “transparency” thing). It seems that the prevailing logic is that there’s simply not enough spectrum for this idyllic “play fair” scenario to truly work, so fewer restrictions would be necessary for the wireless internet space to blossom as the wireless side already has. Moreover, we get the impression that these guys feel the wireless space as a whole is simply too competitive right now to withstand any red tape.

The proposal also mentions that, if passed into law, the FCC would have the ability to fine “bad actors” (read: misbehaving ISPs) up to $2 million for breaking any of these “open internet” stipulations, and naturally, both outfits are highly in favor of the National Broadband Plan taking hold, moving forward and getting broadband to places that are currently using a strange mixture of used canisters and rope to check their inbox.

Google and Verizon publish joint policy proposal for ‘an open internet’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 13:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Huawei has been kicking for well over two decades, and while a great deal of its business revolves around the enterprise, the company still has a presence in the consumer arena (most recently with its S7 tablet). But for whatever reason, it’s having one bear of a time breaking into the US acquisition game. According to a pair of people sourced by Bloomberg, Huawei wasn’t selected as the winning bidder of two large US assets in recent months despite having offers of “at least $100 million more in each case.” Ouch. As the story goes, the sellers (2Wire and Motorola) “doubted Huawei’s ability to win US government approval,” possibly because of the founder’s prior role as an official of the People Liberation’s Army. It’s also not the first time that Hauwei has been deterred in the US; the outfit dropped a bid in 2008 for 3Com after America began “investigating whether a deal would give China access to anti-hacking technology used by the Defense Department.” ‘Course, given the existing legal trouble between Huawei and Motorola right now, we’re not sure a +$200 million bid would’ve sealed the deal on its recently hawked wireless equipment unit. Hit the source link if you’re down for a serious read. Mystery, drama, deceit — it’s all there.

Huawei bids high, loses hard on two major US assets originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Aug 2010 04:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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