Motorola’s technologies performed well in FCC “white space” testing, reports E-Week. Google, Microsoft, Motorola and other IT companies hope to exploit the digital television transition by delivering wireless broadband in the empty spectrum between digital television channels.
Motorola said Aug. 7 its geolocation device operated successfully in the Federal Communications Commission’s ongoing white spaces field [...]

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The WiMAX Forum today commended the Department of Telecommunications of India (pdf) for sharing the 2.3 and 2.5 GHz frequency bands for both 3G (cellular) and WiMAX technologies.
The auction will distribute two 20 MHz blocks in both the 2.3 and 2.5 GHz bands. The government also announced that blocks in the 700 MHz and [...]

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A proposed ban on in-flight calling has now passed its first major hurdle in Congress, getting approval from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in a voice vote on Thursday.
The “Halting Airplane Noise to Give Us Peace” (HANG UP) bill would make permanent the current ban on in-flight cellphone use. It would also put [...]

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Got this note yesterday from a Temple University student:

Please help me with my dissertation research!
My research focuses on the role wireless signal sharing, or mesh networking, can play in efforts to shrink the digital divide. I am exploring the issue from the perspectives of multiple stakeholders, including regulatory agencies, telecommunication companies, and community wireless [...]

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Harbinger Capital today offered to front Skyterra $500 million to launch two satellites, says GigaOm’s Stacey Higginbotham. The private equity firm is also planning to push for a deal to acquire Inmarsat, according to Higginbotham. Harbinger already owns 28.8 percent of Inmarsat’s stock.
Harbinger is apparently confident that the FCC will look favorably on [...]

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The International Telecommunication Union has re-ignited the battle between 4G technologies, writes Unstrung, by approving the technical requirements for next-generation mobile broadband technology, IMT-Advanced.
With the general specifications now set for IMT-Advanced -– ITU-speak for 4G -– candidate technologies can be submitted to the ITU starting this October.
The WiMax camp (backed by the IEEE) and the [...]

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“No matter who you are, or where you live, or how much money you make … you will need, and you are entitled to have these tools [broadband Internet] available to you, I think, as a civil right,” said FCC commissioner Michael Copps during a Monday appearance at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
With online video, [...]

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Talks have intensified in recent days between the two satellite radio companies and FCC officials, says Reuters. Democratic FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein told Sirius he would provide a potentially decisive approval vote of their merger with XM if the companies met a stringent set of conditions designed to protect consumers and preserve competition.
As [...]

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There’s a wildfire, Dr. Stone — Andromeda Strain
A remotely piloted aircraft carrying a NASA sensor flew over much of California earlier this week , gathering information that will be used to help fight more than 300 wildfires burning within the state.
NASA’s unmanned Ikhana aircraft, derived from a General Atomics Predator uses a sophisticated Autonomous [...]

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Looking for a smartphone with integrated Wi-Fi, GPS, EV-DO Revision A, and a slim design?
Palm on Monday unveiled the Palm Treo 800w, a Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone (specs), targeted at business users. The Treo 800w may not have fancy webapps but it has a solid reputation for business users.
It uses Sprint’s higher speed EVDO Rev [...]

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