Blog | News & Information on Wireless Services & Telecommunications
Posted: 05/10/10 by Mobile Future Team
The Charleston Gazette in West Virginia recently published an op-ed piece by Mobile Future Advisory Board Member Diane Smith. The piece centers on the negative impact net neutrality regulations would have on job creation and emerging opportunities across the wireless industry.
While there is great promise ahead in communications, there may also be a looming threat to future entrepreneurship and new employment opportunities. A recent study by The Brattle Group examining the employment and economic impacts of network neutrality regulation found extensive controls would restrict technology advances, innovation and job growth. And a recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejecting the Commission's claim of authority to enforce existing Internet freedom principles adds even more uncertainty to the broadband ecosystem.
You can read the rest of Diane's op-ed here.
Posted: 02/01/10 by Molly Kocour
Last week, we tweeted about a cellphone battery that would run on soda. While the idea of a soda-fueled cellphone is still highly conceptual, the New York Times highlights another environmentally-friendly method to charge the electronics in your life.
"The technology uses a photosenstive dye to start its energy production, much the way leaves use chlorophyll to begin photosynthesis. The dye-sensitized cells will be used to provide power for devices ranging from e-book readers to cellphones."
The cells are incorporated into panels that are sewn to a variety of accessories including: covers for e-readers, backpacks and sports bags, and will enable consumers to charge their electronics via a USB cord. You can read more of the article here.
Posted: 01/27/10 by Mobile Future Team
The lights have dimmed at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center and for all the hype surrounding the iPad, the far more important issue involves the rapid impact that tablet computing will have across the wireless ecosystem.
If the iPad is a success, watch for hardware and software developers to respond in kind – and fast. Take hardware development: By the fall of 2007, consumers had shown clear interest in mobile phone touch screens. A year later, at least three other companies had unveiled touch screen phones. Since then, even more choices have emerged.
That, in turn, spurred the current surge in mobile apps. If tablet computers become a success, expect to see a huge amount of resources deployed for software development. Earlier this week, The New York Times’ Jenna Wortham once again showed why she has a reputation for being ahead of the curve on tech trends. On Monday, The Times published this article by Wortham on the broader implications of the iPad [Link]:
“Apple’s move to open up the iPhone to outside programmers in 2008 started a software-writing frenzy. [The iPad’s 10-inch screen and other features] could inspire developers to create new twists on apps, like games that two or more people can easily play at once on the same device.”
As with mobile phone apps, the growth of the “tablet app” market will continue to hasten America’s mobile adoption.
For policymakers, the importance of allocating enough wireless spectrum to accommodate consumers’ expected surge in mobile usage becomes even more important. Fortunately, the U.S. House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet recently approved a bill that’s a step in the right direction.
Posted: 01/25/10 by Mobile Future Team
A House Energy and Commerce panel recently approved legislation calling for an inventory of the nation’s airwaves, in an effort to identify how airwaves are being used, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article.
This is an important step toward identifying unused spectrum, which may be freed up or auctioned off to increase wireless spectrum.
"Additional spectrum for wireless services will be needed and will be needed soon," said Rep. Rick Boucher (D., Va.), chairman of the House subcommittee. An inventory of the nation's airwaves would be helpful in "revealing areas where relocations could occur or where spectrum sharing could be feasible," he said.
We are encouraged by these efforts to begin addressing our nation’s looming spectrum crisis and hope that Congress will continue to work quickly in passing this important bi-partisan legislation.
You can read the WSJ article here.
Posted: 01/20/10 by Mobile Future Team
Out of the devastation in Haiti have come extraordinary stories of survival. One amazing first-person account is of Dan Woolley, a Denver-native, who found himself trapped beneath the rubble of his hotel in Port-au-Prince. The tool that saved his life? His iPhone. Through his wireless connection he was able assess his injuries and diagnosis a broken leg.
Woolley used the light from his iPhone to show him his injuries and diagnosed it properly as a broken foot. Then, he used the instructions from the app to treat the excessive bleeding from cuts on his legs and the back of his head.
Furthermore, he was able to figure out his location within the building using GPS and find an elevator shaft—which lead him to safety. A true testament of personal ingenuity in the face of catastrophe.
Posted: 01/20/10
The San Francisco Chronicle recently published an op-ed by Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter outlining the rapid growth of wireless and the need for sound public policy so that innovation and investment will continue.
As wireless connectivity takes on an even more central role in our economy and our society, we must acknowledge that we have come so far, so fast primarily because of the decisions of consumers and the vision of innovators, rather than the interventions of government. There is so much potential still to unleash, if we chart a constructive and balanced path forward.
You can read Jonathan’s op-ed here.
Posted: 01/12/10 by Mobile Future Team
America’s love affair with wireless continues. Federal figures released this week show that during the first half of 2009, more than one of every five U.S. homes (22.7%) had no landline and only wireless phone service. This compares with 20.2 percent during the second half of 2008, reports the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Yet the real measure of wireless’ success isn’t measured in households, but in remarkable innovations that are suddenly on the verge of reality thanks to wireless. Last week’s Consumer Electronics Show showcased a number of wireless advances. Coincidentally, Rex Crum has a spot-on article in today’s Wall Street Journal about how wireless advances and new apps may finally mean that consumers will have a user-friendly tablet computer:
“Analysts say that while it is too early to tell how much traction tablets will gain among potential buyers, the state of technology is such that there might finally be the right mix of applications, hardware and mobility available to make tablet PCs more than just a niche device in a market already crowded with gadgets….”
As Crum notes, “The growth of wireless networking and Wi-Fi technology, along with easy access to digital content… are seen as reasons why [computer makers] used CES as a platform for unveiling their latest tablet PC efforts.”
Stay tuned as a company in Cupertino, CA is supposedly announcing its wireless tablet later this month.
Posted: 01/06/10 by Molly Kocour
David Pogue of the New York Times takes a look at the newest entrant in the handset market, the Nexus One.
"It's pretty sweet, it advances the state of the art, and it's a welcome addition to the catalog of great app phones like the iPhone, Palm Pre and Motorola Droid. You'll pay $529 without a two-year contract for service with T-Mobile, or $179 with one."
Posted: 01/05/10
Ever see a pothole or a tree that's fallen in the road and think, "Someone ought to fix that"?
Well, if you're in Washington, DC, you're in luck. All you need to do is snap a photo with your PDA and using the city's DC 311 mobile app, pair it with a GPS location. You then upload it into a local government database. This also works for graffiti, broken parking meters and any other public nuisance.
Other cities from New York to San Francisco have also moved to harness the power of mobile consumers. The practical result, as CNN reports is that:
[T]ech geeks transform banal local government spreadsheets about train schedules, complaint systems, potholes, street lamp repairs and city garbage into useful applications for mobile phones and the Web. The aim is to let citizens report problems to their governments more easily and accurately; and to put public information, which otherwise may be buried in file cabinets and Excel files, at the fingertips of taxpayers.
San Francisco and other cities are trying to develop a national standard for municipal government data. That way, a mobile app that tracks, say, bus service in San Francisco could also be used in any other city. That could enable cities that cannot afford to develop their own mobile apps to benefit.
Posted: 01/04/10 by Mobile Future Team
The Duluth News Tribune in Minnesota recently published an op-ed piece by Mobile Future Advisor Diane Smith. The piece details Diane’s success as an entrepreneur in rural America, and the many ways that technology helps small business and promotes economic opportunity.
The wireless sector employs nearly 2.7 million Americans - from applications developers to retail store workers to network engineers - and contributes $100 billion annually to our nation's economy. In the last year alone, wireless companies have invested more than $20 billion in networks that are expanding opportunities for the next generation of connected businesses.
You can read the rest of Diane’s op-ed here.
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Tags: Economy, Job growth, Wireless Investment, Mobile Broadband, Mobile Future, Mobile Future Board, Diane Smith, National Broadband Plan, Rural access, Investment/Competition