Net neutrality or net futility?

Despite all the hooha about ‘net neutrality’ rules launched by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) just before Christmas, the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday not only voted against them but also brought into question the FCC’s ability to regulate how...

Another telco takeover, sign of things to come?

And so it begins, the forecast rationalization of the mobile industry. Maybe not as grand as the T-Mobile/AT&T proposed merger, the takeover of fixed-mobile operator in the Philippines, Digitel, by The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), is a sign...

Cybercriminals and linden laundering

Pssst, wanna buy some Lindens? How about some virtual gold? Hundi and Hawala have great conversion rates just now, don’t miss out! Welcome to the exciting new world of virtual money laundering. In case you are not aware, Linden dollars and virtual gold are types of...

Nokia vs Apple – Round 1 to Apple

You will no doubt recall that soon after it was apparent to Nokia that Apple’s wildly successful iPhone was going to impact its potential earnings it instigated legal proceedings against Apple for infringing no less than ten Nokia patents on mobile phone technology....

RIM avoids SIM in battle for control

In April 2009, RIM’s fledgling BlackBerry App World virtual storefront offered PayPal as its sole billing mechanism. RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis said back then, to the great relief of telcos, that it was working to introduce carrier billing options sometime in the...

Simple cell service saves lives

No-one has escaped the traumatic images of the earthquake and tsunami destruction in Japan, the latest in a string of natural disasters to hit the Asia Pacific region in recent months. Thousands have been killed and injured so far, but the loss of life has likely been...

It's official – women talk more than men

Did you know that Tuesday, March 8, was International Women’s Day? No, neither did I. Now, before you start applying those old chauvinist labels, I have no idea when International Men’s Day is, either. However, this monumental day was not missed by an enterprising...