How Google Fiber Could Do Some National Good, Or At Least Scare the Carriers

Nerval’s Lobster writes “Within hours of Google announcing that Austin, Texas would be the next lucky recipient of its Google Fiber initiative, AT&T released a statement indicating that it was willing to build a high-speed broadband network in the city, too. ‘AT&T announced that in conjunction with its previously announced Project VIP expansion of broadband access, it is prepared to build an advanced fiber optic infrastructure in Austin, Texas, capable of delivering speeds up to 1 gigabit per second,’ read the statement. But there’s a not-so-slight catch: AT&T wants whatever conditions Google received from the city of Austin. Google itself has provided precious little guidance about its future plans. ‘We are still in the very early stages of it,’ Google CEO Larry Page told media and analysts during the company’s Jan. 22 earnings call, according to a transcript. ‘Obviously, we are going to a small number of people and so, but we are excited about the possibilities.’ But if Google Fiber keeps expanding, it could compel AT&T and other infrastructure providers to boost their broadband service and offer it on more reasonable terms — nothing like some competition to make things a little better for the collective customer base. In that sense, even if Google Fiber doesn’t expand into a national program (and imagine the costs of that), its existence will still do some larger good.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

via Slashdot http://tech.slashdot.org/story/13/04/10/2130254/how-google-fiber-could-do-some-national-good-or-at-least-scare-the-carriers?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed

Report: Facebook’s Secret Android Project Isn’t a Facebook Phone But a Home Screen Dedicated to Facebook

The WSJ is reporting that Facebook’s upcoming Android event will be a home screen—as in the first screen you see when you flip on your phone—dedicated to Facebook. It will “display content from users’ Facebook accounts on a smartphone’s home screen.” More »

via Gizmodo http://gizmodo.com/5992996/report-facebooks-secret-android-project-isnt-a-facebook-phone-but-a-home-screen-dedicated-to-facebook

Samsung Galaxy S 4 for Verizon swings through the FCC

Samsung Galaxy S 4 for Verizon swings through the FCC

We weren’t kidding about that influx of FCC filings: the Verizon edition of Samsung’s Galaxy S 4, the SCH-i545, has passed through the US regulator’s approval right on cue. The device on display ticks all the checkboxes we’d expect, including LTE on both Verizon’s main 700MHz band and the carrier’s recently acquired AWS frequencies. We also notice HSPA-based 3G, which suggests Big Red’s GS4 won’t be a paperweight when abroad. The filing just leaves AT&T and T-Mobile as the major stragglers in the US; at the current rate, though, they’ll have little trouble getting clearance before they have to fulfill any future orders.

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Source: FCC

via Engadget RSS Feed http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/29/samsung-galaxy-s-4-for-verizon-swings-through-the-fcc/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+weblogsinc%2Fengadget+%28Engadget%29

T-Mobile Debuts New No-Contract Plans

T-Mobile today made available new service plans that can be picked up without a contract. The entry-level plan costs $50 per month and includes unlimited domestic voice, unlimited domestic messaging, and 500MB of data with mobile hotspot included. Those who surpass their 500MB monthly data allotment are not charged overage fees; rather, their data speeds are slowed for the remainder of the billing period. Customers who want or need more data (with mobile hotspot) can purchase more data in 2GB increments. For example, $60 per month includes all the same benefits of the $50 plan, but offers 2GB of data in addition to the original 500MB (4GB costs $70, 6GB costs $80, etc., up to 12GB for $110 per month). Alternately, customers can choose unlimited voice, unlimited messaging, and unlimited data for just $70 per month, but this option only allows for 500MB of mobile hotspot. Family plans (two line or more) are structured in the same way as the single lines. Customers can then choose to pay full price for the handset associated with the plan, or an installment option. For example, adding the Samsung Galaxy S III to any of the plan options mentioned above adds $16 to the monthly cost.

via Phone Scoop – Latest News http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/article.php?a=12126

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