itu

Buzz Out Loud 1345: The right to be forgotten (podcast)

The EU is standing up for your right to be lonely and off the grid. And we're glad they are. Plus, Google lays down the smack on Facebook--no importing without reciprocity, suckaz! And in other tech beefs, Consumer Reports goes after Gamespot's claims that the Kinect can't see darker-skinned players. Plus, apple pie sparks an Internet war. --Molly

4G: What's in a name?

CHICAGO - Two of the most popular next generation wireless technologies are close to getting their official 4G moniker from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The ITU, which is an agency within the United Nations, is the International standards body that officially designates wireless technologies as 1G, 2G, 3G and now 4G. This week at a meeting in China the group took a step closer to making the technologies LTE or Long Term Evolution and WiMax official 4G standards.

Specifically, the ITU voted that LTE-Advanced technology, meets the criteria it uses to classify the technology as 4G. The ITU also … Read more

U.N. exec: Cyberwar could be 'worse than tsunami'

International cyberwar would be "worse than a tsunami" and should be averted by a global cybersecurity peace treaty, according to the head of the International Telecommunication Union.

Hamadoun Touré, who has been secretary-general of the U.N. agency since 1999 and is up for re-election in a few weeks' time, has targeted cybersecurity issues in his electoral pledges. Speaking at a London roundtable on Thursday, he said he had proposed such a treaty this year, but it had met "a lot of resistance" from industrialized nations.

"My dream, I said in Davos this year, … Read more

Mobile, broadband prices dropping worldwide

Prices may be falling for mobile and broadband access across the globe, but if you want fast Internet access, it still pays to be rich.

The costs for information and communication technology are continuing to drop, says a report released Tuesday by the United Nations agency known as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). However, broadband Internet access is still pricey and out of reach to many poor countries.

Prices on broadband services fell on average around 42 percent across 161 countries last year, according to the ITU report summary (PDF). The report ranked countries on the use and cost of … Read more