Gizmag: Telecommunications

Facebook makes long-awaited IPO filing

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:41:35 -0600

Facebook has filed an S-1 document with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission announcing its intention to sell shares to the public. The eagerly anticipated move by the world’s dominant social networking site sees Facebook’s books open to potential investors – and the just plain curious - for the first time. Although the IPO will mean the internet giant will answer to shareholders and a board, the stock structure will see Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg controlling 57 percent of voting shares. .. Continue Reading Facebook makes long-awaited IPO filing

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: Facebook, Social Networking

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Web goes dark in SOPA protest

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:40:43 -0600

A number of high profile websites are going dark today to protest the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). The bills are designed to protect intellectual property holders by toughening measures against copyright infringers. Opponents say that aspects of the bill pose grave threats to free speech and internet entrepreneurship, with some high profile webmasters claiming that the bill, if passed, would threaten the very existence of their sites despite not hosting copyright-infringing material directly. Wikipedia, Reddit and Boing Boing are among the sites effectively shutting down today... Continue Reading Web goes dark in SOPA protest

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: Copyright, Internet, Law

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China's Beidou satellite navigation system begins operations

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 23:21:06 -0600

China’s independent Beidou satellite navigation system has been operating since 2000. Consisting of just three satellites (and one backup), that first generation system offered only limited coverage to customers in China and neighboring regions. Now, to end any reliance on the US-maintained Global Positioning System (GPS), the second generation of the Beidou system has begun operations. The system currently consists of 10 satellites and covers the Asia–Pacific region, with the number of satellites gradually increasing to a total of 35 that will cover the entire globe by 2020... Continue Reading China's Beidou satellite navigation system begins operations

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: China, GPS, Positioning, Satellite Navigation

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Researchers claim new data transfer rate world record

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:47:31 -0600

An international team is claiming a data transfer record that puts any home broadband connection to shame. At last month’s SuperComputing 2011 (SC11) conference in Seattle, researchers reached transfer rates of 98 gigabits per second (Gbps) between the University of Victoria Computing Centre located in Victoria, British Columbia, and the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. Coupled with a simultaneous data rate of 88 Gbps in the opposite direction the team reached a two-way data rate of 186 Gbps to break their own previous peak-rate record of 119 Gbps set in 2009. .. Continue Reading Researchers claim new data transfer rate world record

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: Caltech, Communications, Data Transfer, Fiber Optic, World's Fastest

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Should iMessage be making telcos nervous?

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 03:03:20 -0500

With around two trillion text messages sent in America alone every year, SMS text messaging is the most widely used data application in the world and the number two use of mobile phones - the first being to check the time. It's also a cash cow for telecommunications companies with the average charge worldwide of around US$0.10 per message for data that essentially costs the telco nothing to transmit because it is sent on the control channel - a small part of radio bandwidth that is used to send information between the tower and phone about call setups. Apple's iOS 5 update - if you can get it installed - sees the addition of a new iMessage app that could have telcos nervous as it allows text messages to be sent for next to nothing... Continue Reading Should iMessage be making telcos nervous?

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: Apple, iOS 5, Telecommunications

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ISPs exaggerate the cost of data

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:37:08 -0500

A recent study shows that ISPs – which long maintained that data was their biggest expense – are grossly overcharging for data. The price increases to our mobile or land-based internet appear to be based on greed, not need. .. Continue Reading ISPs exaggerate the cost of data

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: 4G, Broadband, Data Transfer, Internet, Mobile, Smartphone

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Australia's first LTE mobile broadband network launched

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 01:10:29 -0500

Australians are getting their first taste of LTE (long-term evolution) mobile network speed. Telecommunications provider Telstra launched its USB 4G mobile broadband modem today with the promise of coverage in capital city CBDs and 30 regional and metropolitan centers with download speeds ranging from 2Mbps to 40Mbps and upload speeds of 1Mbps to 10Mbps. .. Continue Reading Australia's first LTE mobile broadband network launched

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: 4G, Australia, LTE, Telstra

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NASA to demonstrate laser beam communications system

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 02:27:13 -0500

Since the dawn of the space age, NASA has been relying on radio communications technology to send and receive data to and from spacecraft. Although it has developed higher data-rate radio frequency systems, data-compression, and other techniques to boost the amount of data that its current RF systems can handle, they can't keep pace with the projected data needs of advanced instruments and further human exploration. To break this bottleneck, NASA is turning to optical communications technology that would use lasers to increase data rates over existing systems by anywhere from 10 to 100 times... Continue Reading NASA to demonstrate laser beam communications system

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: Communications, Laser, NASA, Space, Telecommunications

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Full-duplex technology could double wireless capacity with no new towers

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 04:19:35 -0500

Earlier this year, Stanford University researchers created a full-duplex radio that allowed wireless signals to be sent and received simultaneously, thereby doubling the speed of existing networks. Using the same approach, researchers at Rice University have now developed similar full-duplex technology that would effectively double the throughput on mobile networks without the addition of any extra towers... Continue Reading Full-duplex technology could double wireless capacity with no new towers

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: Radio, Rice University, Wireless

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New system could make censorship of Internet sites virtually impossible

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 21:20:47 -0500

Chinese citizens could once again enjoy LOL Cats on YouTube - as well as content critical of the communist government - if a new system developed by researchers at the University of Michigan (U-M) and the University of Waterloo (UW) in Canada were implemented. The researchers claim the system, called Telex, would thwart Internet censorship and make it virtually impossible for a censoring government to block individual sites by essentially turning the entire web into a proxy server... Continue Reading New system could make censorship of Internet sites virtually impossible

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: Censorship, Internet, Network, University of Michigan

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Manipulating light at will - Duke metamaterials strike again

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 23:51:12 -0500

Duke University is on a roll, showing off yet another potentially game-changing property of the exotic man-made substances known as metamaterials. This time the property could have deep consequences for the transmission of information via light. Maybe the most important potential use of all... Continue Reading Manipulating light at will - Duke metamaterials strike again

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: Duke University, Metamaterials, Optical Computing, Telecommunications

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IEEE 802.22 wireless network standard to offer 62 miles of range

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 10:17:03 -0500

The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) has announced the completion of the IEEE 802.22 wireless network standard, which has been in the works since 2004. Utilizing unused white spaces between channels in the TV frequency spectrum, the 802.22 standard will serve Wireless Regional Area Networks (WRANs), which are meant to bring broadband access to sparsely populated rural areas, as well as to developing countries... Continue Reading IEEE 802.22 wireless network standard to offer 62 miles of range

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: IEEE, Network, Wi-fi

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State of the Internet report - Asia still fastest, new source of attack traffic emerges

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 04:47:33 -0500

Akamai might not be a household name but between 15 to 30 percent of the world’s Web traffic is carried on the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company’s Internet platform at any given time. Using data gathered by software constantly monitoring Internet conditions via the company’s nearly 100,000 servers deployed in 72 countries and spanning most of the networks within the Internet, Akamai creates its quarterly State of the Internet report. The report provides some interesting Internet-related facts and figures, such as regions with the slowest and fastest connection speeds, broadband adoption rates and the origins of attack traffic... Continue Reading State of the Internet report - Asia still fastest, new source of attack traffic emerges

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: Broadband, Internet

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AR system lets engineers show remote technicians what they're talking about

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 19:00:02 -0500

It can be very frustrating trying to fix something, when the person instructing you isn’t there in person, but is instead communicating with you over a phone line – “Whaddaya mean, ‘The silver cap’? Which silver cap?!” This is why engineers sometimes need to be flown in to factories or other places that use complex machines, to make repairs that simply can’t be explained verbally. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics, however, have developed an augmented reality system that lets those engineers provide real-time visual instructions to distant on-site technicians ... and it can be done without internet access... Continue Reading AR system lets engineers show remote technicians what they're talking about

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: Augmented Reality, Barcode, Fraunhofer, Repair

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SleepWell system puts mobile devices to sleep to conserve power while waiting on Wi-Fi

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 02:10:39 -0500

Although the number of Wi-Fi hotspots has increased dramatically in most places over the past few years, the explosion in the number of smartphones and laptops attempting to make use of such connections means that getting decent download speeds is as difficult as it always was. Not only is this frustrating, it can also be a major drain on the batteries of mobile devices. In an effort to address one of these problems, a Duke University graduate student has developed software called SleepWell that allows mobile devices to take a nap to save power while they wait for their turn to download... Continue Reading SleepWell system puts mobile devices to sleep to conserve power while waiting on Wi-Fi

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: Duke University, Wi-fi

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UrtheCast video platform will let users view Earth from space

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 13:16:43 -0500

Canadian-based company UrtheCast has announced a project intended to let a wider audience view the earth from space. A pair of cameras will be installed on the International Space Station, recording videos and imagery of the planet. The project's aim is to create an internet-based video streaming platform, thus allowing for online viewing of the footage being recorded in space. It's "the world's first and only near real time high definition video from space," according to UrtheCast's website. .. Continue Reading UrtheCast video platform will let users view Earth from space

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: International Space Station, Space, Streaming, Video Camera

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Optical amplifier could quadruple the range of fiber optic signals

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:55:14 -0500

As the amount of information being electronically shuttled around the planet continues to grow, so does the need for effective means of relaying it. The use of optical fibers has definitely helped in that regard, although thanks to a recent breakthrough at Sweden’s Chalmers University of Technology, optical fiber signals may soon be able to travel four times farther than they are presently able to. Researchers there have created an optical amplifier, capable of amplifying light while maintaining a relatively noise-free signal... Continue Reading Optical amplifier could quadruple the range of fiber optic signals

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: Chalmers University, Fiber Optic, Light, Telecommunications

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Improved tracking system being developed for firefighters

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 17:08:16 -0500

Even though firefighting is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, firefighters still communicate using analog radio signals, that can be blocked by concrete walls. This means that, upon venturing into a burning building, a firefighter might have no way of letting their commander know their present location – a situation that could prove deadly, if they ended up trapped or injured. In order to address the situation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate has created a new three-part system that lets fire crews keep track of the location and well-being of every member of their team, all the time... Continue Reading Improved tracking system being developed for firefighters

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: Communications, Emergencies, Firefighting, Radio, Tracking

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New KA-SAT broadband satellite goes live over Europe

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 20:16:47 -0500

Happily, the days of painfully slow dial-up internet speeds are now but a distant memory to many city and town dwelling broadband users throughout Europe. But for the estimated 13 million households living beyond the reach of ADSL or the even greater number who suffer from slow broadband connection speeds, waiting a good while for web pages and media to load into a browser is still the source of daily angst. One solution for surfers eager to grab more bandwidth is to install a satellite service and Eutelsat has just announced that its new KA-SAT high throughput broadband satellite launched in December of last year has just gone into service... Continue Reading New KA-SAT broadband satellite goes live over Europe

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: Broadband, Internet, Satellite

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Google developer preview of WebRTC: making real-time communication free to implement

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 03:26:23 -0500

Less than a month after Microsoft bought Skype for US$8.5 billion, Google has released a developer preview of WebRTC - an open framework enabling implementation of voice and video Real Time Communications in the browser with the use of HTML 5 and JavaScript APIs. .. Continue Reading Google developer preview of WebRTC: making real-time communication free to implement

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: Chrome, Google, Open Source, VOIP, WebRTC

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MP3-like approach to improve sound quality of telephones and video conferencing

Mon, 30 May 2011 02:17:22 -0500

Engineers from one of the main players responsible for the development of the MP3 codec, the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, have taken a similar approach in an effort to provide telephone calls and video conferences with sound quality approaching that of direct communication, while at the same time cutting delay times that often sees both speakers talking over each other. Their solution is a new audio coding technology called Enhanced Low Delay Advanced Audio Coding – or AAC-ELD – that they claim results in long-distance communications that appear almost as if the participants are sitting across from each other... Continue Reading MP3-like approach to improve sound quality of telephones and video conferencing

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: Audio, Communications, Compression, Fraunhofer, MP3

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World record 26 terabits per second data transmission achieved

Tue, 24 May 2011 00:48:36 -0500

With video content consuming ever more bandwidth, the need for faster data transmission rates has never been greater. Now a team of scientists at Germany's Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) are claiming a world record in data transmission with the successful encoding of data at a rate of 26 terabits per second on a single laser beam and transmitting it over a distance of 50 km (31 miles). The scientists claim this is the largest data volume ever transported on a laser beam and enables the transmission of 700 DVD's worth of content in just one second... Continue Reading World record 26 terabits per second data transmission achieved

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: Communications, Data Transfer, Laser, World's First

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New ATM with integrated video conferencing lets customers talk live with a remote teller

Wed, 18 May 2011 00:31:52 -0500

Since their introduction in the 1960's, automated teller machines (ATMs) have provided bank customers with a convenient way to access their cash 24 hours a day seven days a week without having to wait until banking hours and queue to see a teller. Now the world's biggest ATM provider is putting the "teller" back in the automated teller machine with the unveiling of an ATM with integrated two-way video conferencing that lets users talk live with a remote teller... Continue Reading New ATM with integrated video conferencing lets customers talk live with a remote teller

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: ATM, Banking, Video Conferencing

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Retro telephone gets 21st century update

Mon, 02 May 2011 22:32:56 -0500

While most phones are getting smaller and being crammed with non-phone functionality, the "Sixty" cordless phone from French company Sagemcom harks back to an earlier age of domestic communications ... with an injection of 21st Century design and technology... Continue Reading Retro telephone gets 21st century update

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: Phone, Retro

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Fujitsu plans 1Gbps fiber optic network for rural Britain

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 22:12:28 -0500

Economies of scale mean that densely populated cities have generally been the ones to benefit from the roll out of superfast broadband networks, while those in rural areas have missed out. Following Google's recent announcement that it will build and test 1Gbps fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) networks in selected cities with between 50,000 to 500,000 residents in the U.S. starting with Kansas City, Kansas, Fujitsu has unveiled plans to create a similar superfast FTTH broadband network for five million homes and businesses in rural Britain to bridge the digital divide between city and country. .. Continue Reading Fujitsu plans 1Gbps fiber optic network for rural Britain

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: Broadband, Fiber Optic, Fiber-to-the-home, Fujitsu, Internet

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