George Ou
Latest from George Ou
FCC and AT&T Rural LTE Kerfuffle
A lot of ink has been spilled in the past week since AT&T withdrew its FCC application for a merger with T-Mobile and the FCC released a staff analysis report. AT&T’s Jim Cicconi took exception to FCC report’s assertion that AT&T would invest in rural LTE, and that Deutsche Telekom (parent company of T-Mobile) would invest ...
The Shift to Smartphones in the Developed World
It’s a clear indication of mainstream smartphone adoption when even my mother is interested in getting a smartphone. She has always been content with a basic phone – not even a feature phone – but is now interested in getting a smartphone with mobile Internet connectivity. Just a year ago that she finally ditched the 768 ...
How Technology and Markets Made Net Neutrality Moot
Before the courts have even ruled on Verizon’s lawsuit against the FCC‘s proposed Net Neutrality regulations, it appears that technological progress will make the wireless device neutrality portion of the FCC rules moot. One of the key aspects of Net Neutrality was the effort to curb the proliferation of “walled garden” wireless carrier networks. Internet ...
“Unlimited” Now Equals 300 Megabytes
A small wireless company called Republic Wireless has started a new “unlimited” wireless voice/text/data service for $19 per month. It was bad enough when companies were calling 5 gigabytes unlimited, but Republic Wireless has stretched the meaning to a whole new level. ”Unlimited” for Republic Wireless means 550 minutes of voice, 150 texts, and 300 megabytes ...
Spectrum Deficit Disorder
The discussion about the wireless spectrum crunch can be hard for the average citizen to follow. While it’s easy to understand the straightforward fact that every network has a capacity limit, it’s not so easy to understand how trends in wireless device utilization stress network capacity, let alone how the limits of wireless networks compare ...
$4.5 Billion Annual Subsidies for Broadband Approved
The FCC has unanimously approved the conversion of the $4.5 billion Universal Service Fund (USF) High Cost fund into the Connect America Fund (CAF) for bringing broadband to rural america. Even compared to the onetime $7.2 billion 2008 broadband stimulus bill, this $4+ billion dollar subsidy represents a significant allocation of funds to broadband connectivity in ...
Smartphones & Tablets and the Spectrum Crunch
The FCC has posted a beautiful new “infographic,” shown below, about the continuing spectrum crunch. The FCC has been warning for some time about the looming spectrum crunch caused by the rapid adoption of smartphones. Some have argued that data demand will level off as smartphone adoption becomes saturated, but this view is grossly over-simplistic. ...
Apple Already Wrote off T-Mobile, When Will the Government?
Everyone got an invite to dance with one of the prettiest girls in school except for poor old T-Mobile. Apple seems to believe T-Mobile is destined to collapse as an independent company so they’ve decided to give every physical wireless carrier in the United States an iPhone 4S except for T-Mobile. Given that T-Mobile is ...
Smaller Display and no LTE May Hamper iPhone 4s
It has been a historic week with the passing of Apple CEO Steve Jobs who was an unrivaled genius of our time. Mr. Jobs and his team of engineers, designers, and company radically transformed the manner in which information is accessed by the human race. The iPhone revolutionized the computing and wireless communications industry and launched ...
New Airline Navigation System Easy Target for Terrorists
When it comes to cyber-security, the most common cause of failure is “security as an afterthought.” When the security failure affects personal computers and corporate networks, the cost ranges from minor annoyance to major financial disaster. When the failure affects critical infrastructure such as power grids or air travel, the costs can involve human lives. Unfortunately, the new aircraft surveillance ...