embargo

Huawei linked to plan to sell restricted equipment to Iran

Already considered a potential threat to U.S. national security, Huawei is again finding itself under scrutiny, linked to an offer to sell embargoed computer equipment to Iran.

A major partner of the Chinese telecommunications gear maker offered to provide 1.3 million euros ($1.7 million) of Hewlett-Packard computer equipment to Iran in 2010, according to documents reviewed by Reuters. However, Huawei says neither it nor Hong Kong-based Skycom, its privately owned partner, provided the equipment to Mobile Telecommunication Co of Iran, known as MCI.

The proposal focused on expanding MCI's subscriber billing system and included at least … Read more

Disney delays DVD releases to rentals, Netflix

If you were hoping to catch "Friday Night Lights" star Taylor Kitsch with his shirt off in Walt Disney's "John Carter," you may have to wait a few more days.

Disney has begun delaying select title releases to rental companies and Netflix by 28 days, which means the studio has held back on the June 5 release of Kitsch's "John Carter" to places like Redbox, Blockbuster, and Netflix, according to Home Media Magazine.

Disney is the last of the major studios to begin embargoing its DVD releases, a practice it started with … Read more

How U.S. sanctions hurt Iranian Internet activists

analysis President Bill Clinton's 1997 electronic embargo against Iran, which curbed its citizens' access to U.S.-based software and Web sites, continues to create legal hassles for American Web companies.

In August 1997, Clinton signed an executive order saying U.S. companies and individuals could not provide "goods, technology, or services to Iran" -- a decree that led to unintended consequences such as Utah-based Bluehost giving the boot to Iranian bloggers and opensource software site SourceForge.net denying access to Iranians.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's announcement yesterday, which was designed to complement … Read more

A beginner's guide to telecom jargon, part 4

The mobile world moves at a breakneck pace, and it's difficult to keep up--even without the technical jargon most industry insiders throw around. And they do love to toss those terms about.

This week, I continue with the techno-babble trend with a few more network terms for 4G. (Who doesn't love those?)

So for some light reading, here are a few terms telecom experts throw around with the assumption that everyone understands them.

TD-LTE: Just when you thought there possibly couldn't be anymore 4G terms, Clearwire pops up and decides to switch to a technology that hasn'… Read more