Wireless

The FCC kicked off a process that should eventually allow Dish Network to use its satellite spectrum to build a 4G LTE wireless broadband network.

At its March opening meeting, the FCC voted unanimously to begin a rulemaking process aimed at letting Dish use spectrum designated for satellite use to provide a land-based wireless broadband service. Draft regulations described the service and technical rules for implementing the flexible use of the spectrum.

Dish had asked the FCC to grant it a waiver so that it could use 40 MHz of spectrum in the 2 GHz band for 4G. But earlier … Read more

Apple fans are supposedly disappointed that Apple didn't change the design of the new iPad. I guess that's why they bought more than 3 million of them the first weekend the device went on sale.

We heard the same complaints when Apple introduced the iPhone 4S. People wanted and expected some kind of cool design change to make the device look unique and different. But instead it looked like the one the company had introduced a year earlier. In this edition of Ask Maggie I try to explain why avid Apple consumers shouldn't expect too many more … Read more

All eyes will be on the Federal Communications Commission in the coming months as it deals with a series of spectrum-related issues that will help determine who is a player in the mobile broadband market and who isn't.

The FCC is under pressure to get as much new spectrum on the market as soon as possible. Wireless operators say they face a crisis if they can't get additional wireless spectrum to fuel the growth of mobile data usage. But as wireless spectrum is increasingly viewed as a limited resource, regulators are faced with politically charged debates surrounding topics associated with spectrum. … Read more

LightSquared says it's not yet giving up its fight to build a nationwide 4G LTE network.

The company, which is backed by Philip Falcone's Harbinger Capital, has invested more than $4 billion into the network, which it hoped would be a wholesale alternative to wireless broadband networks run by AT&T and Verizon wireless. For the past year, the company has been fighting an uphill battle in Washington, D.C., where the GPS industry has rallied political support around its claims that LightSquared's network interferes with its receivers and therefore cannot be built.

So far, the … Read more

Friday is D-day for consumers looking to get their hands on Apple's third generation iPad, and lines are expected to be long because the device is already sold out online.

Doors at Apple stores and most other retailers selling the new iPad open at 8 a.m. local time in nine countries, including the U.S., and two U.S. territories. The first iPad was already sold in Australia at a Telstra store that opened at midnight local time. Other countries getting the new iPad include: Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Germany, Switzerland, France, the U.K., and the U.… Read more

A tiny number of people, who bought the first iPad when it was introduced in 2010 and signed up for unlimited data service with AT&T, have been reaping the benefits of a truly unlimited data plan ever since. But will they get to keep that sweet deal when Apple releases the third generation iPad?

In this edition of Ask Maggie I answer that very question. I also share some good news with an AT&T iPhone subscriber who is worried that once a 4G LTE iPhone is introduced that he might lose his unlimited data plan.

Preserving … Read more

Sprint Nextel is getting into the 4G LTE game by building its own network. But to make its dreams a reality, it needs a scarce resource that every other wireless operator around the world is clamoring to get its hands on: wireless spectrum.

And Sprint has already missed two major opportunities. Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that in the first few months of this year, Sprint's board shot down the company's plan to purchase prepaid provider MetroPCS. The company also botched talks with T-Mobile USA for a network-sharing arrangement. The impetus behind each of these … Read more

Health care can be difficult to access for rural residents in the developing world. San Francisco startup Medic Mobile is working to change that, by providing communications tools to doctors, patients, and community health workers.

SmartPlanet correspondent Sumi Das speaks with Josh Nesbit, the company's CEO, to find out more about how simple text messaging is being used to provide better health care.

This video originally appeared on SmartPlanet with the headline "Doctors use simple texts to deliver better health care in developing world."

More SmartPlanet links

It was former Hewlett-Packard CEO Leo Opotheker in the library with the candlestick who killed off Palm.

In a recent interview with fellow author Rick Mathieson to promote his new book, Beyond the Obvious: Killer Questions That Spark Game-Changing Innovation, former HP Chief Technology Officer Phil McKinney divulged some interesting tidbits about who was responsible for pulling the plug on Palm's WebOS.

He said that it was Leo Apotheker, HP's then CEO, who made the decision to kill Palm's WebOS mobile operating system. HP had only owned the struggling handset maker for about 16 months before it … Read more