communications

Google has put the brakes on the use of its prepaid cards for Google Wallet after two hacks were discovered that could steal money from a user's account.

Osama Bedier, vice president for Google Wallet and Payments, wrote in a blog on Saturday that the company is taking this action temporarily until it can make a more long-term correction.

"To address an issue that could have allowed unauthorized use of an existing prepaid card balance if someone recovered a lost phone without a screen lock, tonight we temporarily disabled provisioning of prepaid cards," Bedier explained. "We … Read more

Apple has finally scored a win in its never-ending patent battles with Motorola Mobility.

A German judge today found that the iPhone maker did not infringe on a Motorola patent related to wireless technology, according to Florian Mueller's Foss Patents legal blog.

The patent in question covers 3G/UMTS wireless communications and in tech jargon refers to a "method and system for generating a complex pseudonoise sequence for processing a code division multiple access [CDMA] signal."

Motorola had argued that any use of 3G/UMTS by Apple would violate the patent. But Judge Andreas Voss was unconvinced, … Read more

LightSquared, the hedge fund-backed company planning to build a nationwide wireless broadband network to compete with AT&T and Verizon Wireless, is asking the Federal Communications Commission to set stricter technical rules for GPS devices.

Today, the company, which has invested billions of dollars to build a wireless broadband network that will blanket the U.S., filed a document with the FCC asking the agency to begin a rule-making process that will enforce strict standards on GPS devices, so that these devices will not inadvertently receive signals that are coming from adjacent spectrum bands.

For more than a year, … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission voted Tuesday to bring its subsidy programs for low income families into the 21st century by offering funds for basic broadband service for financially disadvantaged Americans.

In its January open meeting Tuesday, the FCC adopted an order that will eliminate the FCC's Link Up program, which offers a one-time $30 credit for the installation of landlines or activation fee for cell phones. And it announced a new pilot program that will direct universal service funds collected for these subsidy programs to offer subsidies for basic broadband service.

The commission also pledged to root out waste, … Read more

AT&T appears to be laying groundwork for a potential deal with Dish Network to get its hands on the satellite provider's newly acquired wireless spectrum.

Last week, AT&T flexed some muscle with the federal government in an attempt to make Dish's wireless spectrum--which it acquired last year for $2.8 billion via deals with two failed wireless companies, DBSD North America and TerreStar Networks--harder for Dish to use and easier for some other company to acquire.

Specifically, AT&T asked the FCC not to place any "restrictions on the transfer and/… Read more

LightSquared, the company seeking final FCC approval to build a nationwide 4G wireless wholesale network, said that a test showing interference between its service and GPS systems was rigged by manufacturers of GPS receivers and government workers to produce bogus results.

On a conference call Wednesday with reporters, LightSquared executives Jeffrey Carlisle and Geoff Stearn, along with paid consultant Ed Thomas, a former chief engineer at the Federal Communications Commission, said that recent tests conducted by the Air Force Space Command on behalf of the Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Executive Committee (PNT EXCOM) were set up to produce negative … Read more

Verizon Wireless's new $2 "convenience fee" for paying a bill online has outraged consumers, and today the Federal Communications Commissions said it will look into the fee.

"On behalf of American consumers, we're concerned about Verizon's actions and are looking into the matter," the FCC said in its statement.

The FCC isn't providing further information about its investigation. The New York Times was the first to report the FCC's statement.

Verizon confirmed on Thursday that beginning January 15, it will charge customers $2 to pay their bills online using the one-time … Read more

In a move that would have been shocking a decade ago, Microsoft has made it possible for others' instant-messaging software to tap into its Windows Live Messenger.

Instant-messaging networks--the big ones are run by Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL--once were well-defended strongholds, and developers of third-party programs like Trillian had to work hard to reverse-engineer their inner workings. But whatever residual excitement IM possessed has faded as new communication methods such as Facebook and Twitter have seized the spotlight.

I'm inclined to blame the companies involved. Had they banded together on a standard, IM could have become a staple of … Read more

Netflix shares spiked more than 6 percent today on rumors that Verizon Communications is thinking about buying the troubled DVD rental and movie-streaming service.

Verizon has made it clear it wants to get into the streaming business, and according to a report from DealReporter, the troubled Netflix could be just the ticket, especially since its stock has fallen off a cliff in recent months after a series of disastrous moves that have included raising prices and a now-abandoned plan to split its DVD rental and streaming businesses in two.

Still, despite those stumbles, Netflix remains a household name and, as … Read more