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Some of the most important hardware in our mobile data world doesn't sit under cell towers or on the shelves of electronics retailers. It's up in the sky in geosynchronous orbit, keeping precise atomic clock time and beaming latitude, longitude and altitude down to billions of devices, vehicles, cell towers, ATMs and even pets around the globe. read more

We put the question to AT&T: if the early termination fee (ETF) is just about recovering the cost of the cellphone handset subsidy, why doesn't it prorate cleanly? And if the subsidy cost is built into AT&T's monthly wireless plans, surely customers who purchase unsubsidized handsets should pay less for service? read more

According to the terms of a proposed class action settlement, AT&T Mobility will be required to provide the codes to unlock just about any of the phones it has sold during the past decade--except for the Apple iPhone. read more

Cisco announced its first smart grid-specific products, including a router and grid switch, which are based on its traditional networking products but have been built specifically for the utility environment. read more

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has a host of tight deadlines for its myriad health information technology subsidy and IT network development initiatives. Nearly all of them are timed... read more

Facebook's existence is predicated on people wanting to share information about their lives. It should trust that users who want to share everything will and not force the hand of those who don't want to. read more

The dust-up over Facebook's privacy practices is becoming a political headache for the company's former privacy chief in his campaign for California attorney general. read more

House Republicans will unveil today a Web site they will use to solicit policy ideas from the public, the first step in the development of a platform that they will present to voters this fall. read more

Nowadays, you can surf the Web and dash off an e-mail from a speeding train or airborne jet, as wireless service is increasingly available. read more

Google revealed how it splits advertising revenue with search and content publishers, a move made in response to calls from publishers and regulators for greater transparency. read more

Internet companies such as Google and Yahoo could face tougher scrutiny in the UK, after the Office of Fair Trading said that more needed to be done to ensure that targeted advertising on the Internet did not violate consumer rights. read more

The Pentagon may be sharply reducing its combat forces in Iraq, but the military plans to step up efforts to influence media coverage in that country -- as well as here at home. read more

Two stories -- one environmental, one political -- dominated the news agenda last week, accounting for more than one-third of the mainstream media coverage. read more

On May 24, Sen John Rockefeller (D-WV), the Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Rep Henry Waxman (D-CA), the Chairman of the House Commerce Committee, Sen John Kerry (D-MA) -- the Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet -- and Rep Rick Boucher (D-VA) -- the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet -- announced they will start a process to develop proposals to update the Communications Act. As the first step, they will invite stakeholders to participate in a series of bipartisan, issue-focused meetings beginning in June. A list of topics for discussion and details about this process will be forthcoming. read more

Free Press is looking to get out in front of a couple of letters being circulated among Republicans and Democrats taking aim at Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski's plan to classify the transmission portion of broadband as a Title II telecommunications service subject to at least a few of the common carrier regulations applied to such services. read more

Oddly, dozens of Democrats (perhaps 70 again) have signed a letter supporting the talking points and agenda of Glenn Beck and one his major corporate sponsors, AT&T. read more

Thirty-seven Senate Republicans voiced their displeasure Monday with the Federal Communications Commission's plans to reclassify broadband Internet access as a telecom service. read more

If Congress wants to bring parties together and come up with some telecommunications reform proposals that can then be turned into legislation next year some time, then that effort should proceed with all deliberate speed. read more

Ads paid for by Americans for Prosperity claim the government is trying to "take over" the Internet and must be stopped. As with many TV political ads, and this is a political ad, there is a healthy serving of exaggeration and hardly a teaspoon of truth. read more

Consumers Union is calling on House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) to make several major changes to draft privacy legislation released earlier this month. read more