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LightSquared's planned 4G wireless network caused "harmful interference" to the majority of GPS receivers used in recent government testing of the network, according to reports citing a draft version of the test results.

LightSquared plans to offer network services like wholesale Internet access to companies such as Best Buy, but concerns about the network knocking out personal or military GPS devices have been raised by the Defense Department, the Federal Aviation Administration, and GPS companies and users. The LightSquared network uses frequencies that are near to those used by GPS devices.

In response to earlier tests, the … Read more

That "something exciting" T-Mobile and Nokia teased yesterday? It's the Lumia 710.

A Federal Communications Commission manual for the Lumia 710 was found by WPCentral today. It essentially confirms that T-Mobile and Nokia will be introducing the device at an event held in New York next week.

Representatives from both companies weren't immediately available for comment.

The Lumia 710 will be the first Nokia Windows Phone to hit the U.S. The phone, as well as its higher end brother, the Lumia 810, are already available in Europe.

Nokia and T-Mobile have traditionally been strong partners, … Read more

The pay-TV war between Cablevision and Verizon Communications just got a little uglier.

Cablevision came out swinging, filing a lawsuit yesterday in a New York court, alleging that Verizon was using old Federal Communications Commission data to bash its Internet service in its Fios commercials. The two have been tussling fiercely ever since Verizon introduced Fios to the New York area, in a direct assault on Cablevision's market. Despite the newer service, Cablevision has been able to hold its own against the new entrant.

The competition has been brutal. In television, radio, mail, and online spots, Verizon claims that … Read more

The chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission says the agency will review the new rules adopted by the San Francisco subway that allow officials to shut down cell service in the subway stations because of the legal and policy issues it raises.

The Bay Area Rapid Transit District, known as BART, adopted a policy yesterday that bars officials from interrupting cell service in subway stations except in "extraordinary circumstances," such as when there is evidence of imminent unlawful activity that threatens the safety of people, property destruction, or disruption of subway service.

"Today BART took … Read more

A spectrum bill has passed through a subcommittee in the House of Representatives that authorizes FCC incentive auctions and also allocates spectrum to public safety.

On Thursday, the communications and technology subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the Jumpstarting Opportunity with Broadband Spectrum Act (JOBS Act).

The legislation authorizes the Federal Communications Commission to create an auction for selling wireless spectrum voluntarily released by TV broadcasters. And it also includes provisions for allocating spectrum and funding a nationwide public safety mobile broadband network.

Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.), who sponsored the bill, said it would help create 100,… Read more

Carrier IQ's woes continue to multiply.

The Mountain View, Calif., startup now faces four lawsuits over allegations that its cellphone software violates the privacy of mobile users. A congressman has also asked the U.S. Federal Trade Commission today to investigate those charges.

The developments aren't terribly surprising given the media firestorm around Carrier IQ, which programmer Trevor Eckhart alleges records keystrokes from mobile phones and sends all sorts of personal information off the phone. Carrier IQ denies that and says limited data is gathered for diagnostic purposes only. (CNET has a FAQ with more detailed information about … Read more

week in review Controversy over a mobile data-logger flared this week despite confusion over how the software works and what data it transmits. Some security experts said the privacy threat was overblown and it turns out Carrier IQ was falsely accused of "keylogging" in a rush to virtual judgement.

Carrier IQ, a startup that provides tracking tools to carriers and phone vendors, came under fire for allegedly monitoring Android- and iOS-based smartphones. According to Android researcher Trevor Eckhart, an outspoken critic of the company's technology, the company's software running on Android devices can record and relay … Read more

commentary In a surprising and disturbing break with long-standing agency practice, the FCC on Tuesday released a draft report on the proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile prepared by its staff--days after the parties withdrew their application with the agency.

The move could fuel calls for serious reform of the agency's increasingly free-wheeling behavior.

The two companies withdrew their application on Thanksgiving, following word that FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski planned to ask the other commissioners to refer the merger to an administrative judge for a hearing.

That step, agency officials made clear, signaled the chairman's belief … Read more

AT&T didn't hold much back in a withering response to the Federal Communications Commission report that slammed its proposed takeover of T-Mobile USA.

The Dallas telecommunications giant, struggling to save its $39 billion deal, called the FCC report "one-sided" and suggested that the regulators went into the process looking to sink the merger.

"The document is so obviously one-sided that any fair-minded person reading it is left with the clear impression that it is an advocacy piece, and not a considered analysis," Jim Cicconi, head of external and legislative affairs for AT&… Read more