| by Andrew Roach on May 22, 2013
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There has been greater competition for frequency licenses in the last year or so as providers look to try and stake their claim on the wireless market.
However, wireless network manufacturer Redline Communications has revealed that it’s now possible for radios to switch between a variety of different frequencies thanks to a change in the components inside the device.
The Toronto based company has deigned it Ultra Wireless Transport (UWT) system to operate between 100MHz and 6GHz making it suitable for use on almost any platform or network.
There has been a battle between providers to secure licenses to operate on certain frequencies and provide broadband and wireless services to their competitors. [click to continue…]
| by Istvan Fekete on May 22, 2013
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BlackBerry is aiming high by launching a new smartphone featuring the adored physical keyboard. The handset is expected to be a budget version of the BlackBerry 10, with a single goal: to regain global market share. The strategy is to gain traction in emerging markets, and Blackberry Q5 could be the right solution.
The low-cost smartphone will be available in Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, in July. It is an essential move because the Q5 represents BlackBerry’s attempt to cater to emerging economies where they have a stronghold relative to the developed world, where rivals have swallowed its market share.
Its pricing is as yet unknown, but BlackBerry will certainly make sure it won’t price itself out of the market. However, it has to evaluate how the Q5 will play out in regions dominated by Google’s Android and cheap China offerings.
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| by Matt Klassen on May 22, 2013
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The increasing public clamour around mobile privacy, particularly as it relates to the information accessed, stored, and shared by mobile applications, has finally reached the ears of those in Washington, as last week Rep. Hank Johnson, D-GA, introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that demands application developers gain explicit consent from users before collecting their information. This bill would further require developers to provide secure storage of that information and inform users how long the data would be stored.
Now granted this isn’t the first response we’ve seen on the issue of mobile privacy from Washington, as earlier this year the Federal Trade Commission released its own report on the issue of mobile privacy, offering several recommendations for a framework designed around bolstering user control over personal data, but this latest bill at least shows the issue is finally being taken seriously.
With supporters in both parties one might think this much needed mobile privacy bill would have a relatively quick trip through the bureaucratic process, but it looks like timing, not content, will likely see it languish instead, as other more important divisive issues will likely dominate the political scene for months, if not years, to come, leaving mobile privacy simmering on the backburner.
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| by Andrew Roach on May 21, 2013
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2013 has not been an easy year for the Big Three wireless providers who have found themselves in the courts over several different matters throughout the year.
The latest problem has seen Bell lose a lawsuit against a customer in the Northwest Territories over a dispute surrounding a 911 service in the region.
In the court, the judge found that the customers didn’t actually receive the service which they paid for from the provider who plans to challenge the ruling.
Bell hasn’t had much luck in the courts in recent months having had their proposed takeover of Astral being delayed and forced into a haring following complaints from their competitors. [click to continue…]
| by Matt Klassen on May 21, 2013
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As web giants continue to circle fast-growing start-ups like sharks circling a school of fish, Yahoo has decided to get in on the action, confirming that it agreed to pay $1.1 billion for micro-blogging site Tumblr, along with a “promise not to screw it up.” As part of that promise, under the terms of the deal Yahoo will let Tumblr continue to operate as a separate entity, allowing it to retain “the same Tumblr irreverence, wit, and commitment to empower creators.”
While the deal shows that Yahoo still has some staying power in a rapidly changing technology market, with enough cash to throw at one of the many fast-growing start-ups who have the rapt attention of millions of users (particularly among the youth demographics), I have to wonder what Yahoo hopes to get out of the deal, given that Tumblr generates very little revenue despite its throngs of followers, and that Yahoo’s promise not to screw things up seems to preclude any introduction of advertising revenues.
Simply put, its easy to see how Google makes money off of its ever-growing cadre of products and services, all of them geared towards getting eyeballs on advertising, but its unclear to me exactly what Yahoo hopes to gain from spending over a billion dollars on Tumblr, as silly promises and financial realities offer little hope for the future.
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| by Istvan Fekete on May 21, 2013
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Telus broke the news last week when it announced that it will acquire Mobilicity for $380 million, creating a precedent in the Canadian wireless market. This move, however, appears to be perfectly legal, despite at first glance being in conflict with Ottawa’s own rules.
For this reason, other wireless startups such as Wind Mobile have raised their voice and asked the government to make it clear whether it is going to uphold its own rules on the sale of Mobilicity.
Speaking with Ottawa Citizen Anthony Lacavera, the CEO of Wind Mobile said incumbents such as Rogers, Bell and Telus shouldn’t be allowed to use loopholes or make creative deals to get around the rules.
“The government can say either you can do deals like that or you can’t,” Lacavera said in an interview. “Rules are always open to some interpretation. So at a minimum, the government needs to be clear and decisive and fast with what they say.”
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There has been greater competition for frequency licenses in the last year or so as providers look to try and stake their claim on the wireless market. 
