http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (AP) -- The Obama administration is calling on federal regulators to make more radio spectrum available for wireless Internet services to compete with broadband plans provided by the major phone and cable companies. http://phys.org/news181842678.html Technology Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:10:03 EST news181842678 US telecom giant AT&T has asked US regulatory authorities to waive a requirement that it and other carriers maintain costly landline networks. http://phys.org/news181461484.html Technology Thu, 31 Dec 2009 05:59:12 EST news181461484 Driven by fast-growing use of smart phones and Internet videos, wireless communication among Americans is expanding so rapidly that a tsunami of megabytes could soon threaten to overwhelm the bandwidth available. http://phys.org/news180711540.html Technology Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:00:04 EST news180711540 (AP) -- A Maine legislator wants to make the state the first to require cell phones to carry warnings that they can cause brain cancer, although there is no consensus among scientists that they do and industry leaders dispute the claim. http://phys.org/news180616832.html Technology Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:21:11 EST news180616832 (AP) -- Verizon Wireless says it started charging customers more to break service contracts for smart phones because those devices cost much more. http://phys.org/news180378413.html Technology Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:30:01 EST news180378413 (AP) -- Expanding the fund that subsidizes telephone service for poor and rural communities and finding more spectrum for wireless broadband services will be key pieces of a federal plan to bring high-speed Internet connections to all Americans. http://phys.org/news180204712.html Technology Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:52:34 EST news180204712 (AP) -- Federal regulators are seeking to close a loophole that allows cable TV operators to withhold sporting events and other popular programming that they own from rival providers such as satellite TV. http://phys.org/news180110779.html Technology Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:47:06 EST news180110779 (AP) -- Federal regulators receive tens of thousands of customer complaints about wireless services every year, but don't do enough to follow up or to protect consumers who have problems with their mobile carriers, government auditors have found. http://phys.org/news179676493.html Technology Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:09:05 EST news179676493 (AP) -- The Federal Communications Commission on Friday asked Verizon Wireless why it recently doubled the fees it charges customers when they break their contracts on "smart" phones. http://phys.org/news179171423.html Technology Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:30:01 EST news179171423 (AP) -- Ralph Roberts knew he was onto something big when people ran after his cable TV trucks in Tupelo, Miss., asking for a visit to their homes. http://phys.org/news177615078.html Technology Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:50:03 EST news177615078 (AP) -- Google Inc. says its free messaging and calling service, Google Voice, blocks calls to fewer than 100 phone numbers likely to be adult chat lines and free conference call services. http://phys.org/news175976483.html Technology Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:22:02 EST news175976483 (AP) -- Google Inc. wants to answer your mobile phone calls when you can't or just don't want to talk. http://phys.org/news175841549.html Technology Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:53:09 EST news175841549 The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the U.S. voted last week to start a process to formulate rules that could force Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to uphold six principles that would preserve net neutrality, or what the FCC terms "open Internet". http://phys.org/news175767162.html Technology Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:20:01 EST news175767162 (AP) -- Federal regulators took an important step Thursday toward prohibiting broadband providers from favoring or discriminating against certain kinds of Internet traffic. http://phys.org/news175433274.html Technology Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:28:35 EST news175433274 For the first time in the U.S., unused TV broadcast channels freed up by the transition to digital TV are being used to wirelessly deliver high-speed Internet connectivity to business, education and community users. These unused frequencies are commonly referred to as TV white spaces. http://phys.org/news175370351.html Technology Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:10:01 EST news175370351 It's not often that phone sex lines and Benedictine nuns enter into debates on telecommunications industry regulation, but AT&T Inc. and Google Inc. are making it happen. http://phys.org/news175270986.html Technology Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:40:01 EST news175270986 Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Google, Twitter and other leading Web and technology companies expressed support Monday for Federal Communications Commission (FCC) efforts to ensure an open Internet. http://phys.org/news175190583.html Technology Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:40:04 EST news175190583 (AP) -- With Democrats in charge in Washington, supporters of so-called "net neutrality" rules seem poised to finally push through requirements that high-speed Internet providers give equal treatment to all data flowing over their networks. http://phys.org/news175091679.html Technology Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:35:20 EST news175091679 You would think it was crazy if your cell phone could call only people with phones on the same network. But we put up with that absurd situation when it comes to instant messaging -- and have for years. Worse, there's little sign of change anytime soon. http://phys.org/news174805224.html Technology Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:10:01 EST news174805224 The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has given the green light for a trans-Pacific fiber-optic cable funded by an international consortium that includes Google. The new cable, expected to be carrying data traffic by early next year, links the U.S. West Coast and Asia to meet the demand for more bandwidth to handle explosive global Internet communications. http://phys.org/news174286477.html Technology Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:00:01 EST news174286477 An international trade group representing wireless device makers has announced it was backing a drive to standardize audio and USB plugs for laptops and other mobile gadgets. http://phys.org/news174198828.html Electronics Thu, 08 Oct 2009 07:10:01 EST news174198828 (AP) -- The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission warned Wednesday of "a looming spectrum crisis" if the government fails to find ways to come up with more bandwidth for mobile devices. http://phys.org/news174154100.html Technology Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:20:44 EST news174154100 (AP) -- Republican opposition is mounting as federal regulators prepare to vote this month on so-called "network neutrality" rules, which would prohibit broadband providers from favoring or discriminating against certain types of Internet traffic flowing over their lines. http://phys.org/news173974939.html Technology Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:50:02 EST news173974939 (AP) -- The nation needs to give the same urgency to making sure all Americans have broadband access as the Eisenhower administration did in building an interstate highway system a half-century ago, a report released Friday concluded. http://phys.org/news173681639.html Technology Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:00:01 EST news173681639 (AP) -- Listeners of Sirius XM Radio Inc. are getting $2 fees added to their monthly satellite radio bills, in what's effectively a price increase for consumers. http://phys.org/news173552515.html Technology Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:40:03 EST news173552515 (PhysOrg.com) -- Last week, the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Julius Genachowski, broke with precedent by proposing federal rules that enforce Net neutrality -- the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) shouldn't play favorites with the traffic traveling over their networks. http://phys.org/news173341042.html Technology Mon, 28 Sep 2009 07:30:02 EST news173341042 A study commissioned by Microsoft Corp. estimates that the unlicensed "white spaces" spectrum coveted by the software giant and other technology companies could be worth more than $100 billion over the next 15 years. http://phys.org/news173121660.html Technology Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:10:02 EST news173121660 (PhysOrg.com) -- In the old days, when a new wireless technology came along, it got its own swath of the electromagnetic spectrum: AM radio uses 535 to 1,605 kilohertz, so television got chunks between 54 and 806 megahertz. But the airwaves are getting so crowded that that approach won't work anymore. MIT researchers in the lab of Dina Katabi, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science, are teaching wireless technologies how to share what spectrum is left. http://phys.org/news172851871.html Technology Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:25:04 EST news172851871 (AP) -- Wireless carriers shouldn't be allowed to block certain types of Internet traffic flowing over their networks, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission chairman said Monday in a speech that got a cool response from the industry. http://phys.org/news172562761.html Technology Sun, 20 Sep 2009 13:21:12 EST news172562761 (AP) -- Think the digital TV transition is over? Not quite. Many viewers have found that they can't pick up certain stations after the switch, even with the right TVs or converter boxes. The stations are still trying to figure out ways to help them tune in. http://phys.org/news172505457.html Technology Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:11:38 EST news172505457