Mobile Internet

Mobile Malware Growing Exponentially, Limited Capability of Current Security Solutions Big Concern

Security analysis suggest troubling and escalating trends in the development of malware that exploits vulnerabilities on mobile devices. "From turning mobile devices into bots, to infiltration of mobile applications, driven by the use of personal devices in the workplace, cybercriminals are taking full advantage of this market," reports M86 Security Labs in its just released Threat Predictions Report. more

Obama Administration Announces $400 Million Advanced Wireless Research Initiative

Obama Administration announced today a $400 million Advanced Wireless Research Initiative led by the National Science Foundation (NSF). more

The Secure 5G and Beyond Act – U.S. Credibility and Legal Requirements at Stake

The Secure 5G and Beyond Act of 2020 has been submitted by the U.S. Congress to the White House for signing into law. It has been sitting there for several days now, but there are obviously more important developments demanding attention than a law compelling the Executive Branch to develop a 5G security strategy within 180 days through public and Federal agency consultations that will be implemented by the NTIA. more

Network Outages Costing Mobile Operators $15B Annually

Sarah Reedy reporting in LightRading: Mobile operators suffer from an average of five network outages or degradations that impact subscribers each year, costing them around $15 billion annually, according to new Heavy Reading research. Put another way, that's about one outage every other month. More than 80 percent of those outages affect just one or a subset of networks or services. more

The Real White Spaces Debate: To Create or Abolish a Market in the Airwaves

I've been following the "white spaces" for as long as it has been happening -- four, maybe five years -- and I must admit that I am surprised by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin's sudden fondness for them. Until the last days of his chairmanship, Martin never cared for this somewhat radical notion: allowing techies and community activists to spew electromagnetic frequencies in zones currently occupied (at least ostensibly) by the broadcasters. more

A Research Finds Banking Apps Leaking Info Through Phones

A recent research seems to indicate that financial industries should increase the security standards they use for their mobile home banking solutions. IOActive Labs recently performed a black box and static analysis of worldwide mobile home banking apps. The research used iPhone/iPad devices to test a total of 40 home banking apps from the top 60 most influential banks in the world. more

The Problem Of 5G Hype

I'm writing this as the 5G hype cycle reaches a new crescendo. What is most striking is how few of those touting 5G (or "private 5G") is how little technical detail there is beyond saying it is the next generation of cellular protocols. Yes, one can look at volumes of specifications with myriad options and flavors but no sense of 5G as such. That alone should make one suspicious - why does one have to eschew wires to get 5G? more

Study Indicates Nearly Half A Million Jobs Created from “App Economy” in US

A new study reveals close to 466,000 jobs have been created in the "App Economy" in United States -- up from zero in 2007. The total number of Apps Economy jobs includes jobs at 'pure' app firms such as Zynga as well as app-related jobs at large companies such as Electronic Arts, Amazon, and AT&T, as well as app 'infrastructure' jobs at core firms such as Google, Apple, and Facebook. In addition, the App Economy total includes employment spillovers to the rest of the economy. more

5G a Fizzle With Consumers

The cellular companies have made an unprecedented push to get customers interested in 5G. Back in November, I recorded a college football game that enabled me to go back and count the twelve 5G commercials during the game. Advertising during sports events is relatively expensive, so these ads were not purchased at bargain-basement prices. The amount of money being spent on advertising 5G must be gigantic. more

Mobile Prices Unlikely to Be Affected by AT&T Decision

Contrary to what some financial analysts would have us believe, it is highly unlikely that the price increases for mobile broadband services which were recently announced by AT&T will be replicated by other mobile operators around the world. The mobile market in the US is one of the least regulated and therefore one the most monopolised markets in the western world. more

Mobile Market Will Also Be Transformed

The success of smart phone, in particular the iPhone, is both a blessing and a curse for the mobile operators. On the one hand it has broken into the monopolistic business models used by most operators and has most certainly loosened part of their stranglehold; on the other, these phones have increased usage on their networks. But these cracks are going to continue and will eventually lead to similar structural changes in the mobile industry to the ones we are currently experiencing in the fixed market. more

The West Is Shooting Itself in Its IT Foot

In our globalized economy, it is vital that we do establish levels of fair trade, and the USA is right in addressing that issue. However, making technology a key element of the trade war will backfire. Let's take (again) the Huawei issue as an example. The company has admitted that the US boycott is hitting them severely with an estimated loss of $30 billion in revenues. One of the other elements of the trade boycott is that Google is no longer allowed to provide... more

US Congress Questions Pokemon Go’s Impact on Data Usage

US House of Representatives’ committee on energy and commerce has sent a letter to John Hanke, CEO of Niantic, Inc. - the maker of the game Pokémon Go under a license from Nintendo - inquiring about the impact of the game on consumers' mobile data usage: more

Terahertz WiFi

While labs across the world are busy figuring out how to implement the 5G standards, there are scientists already working in the higher frequency spectrum looking to achieve even faster speeds. The frequencies that are just now being explored are labeled as the terahertz range and are at 300 GHz and higher spectrum. This spectrum is the upper ranges of radio spectrum and lies just below ultraviolet light. more

In an Eight-Hour Test, Cuba Makes Internet Access Available Nationwide

Cuba's government provided free internet to more than 5 million cellphone users on Tuesday as an eight-hour test prior to launching sales of the service. more