Monday, 17 April 2017 05:26
FCC chairman plans to scrap allowing passenger mobile calls on planes
Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Ajit Pai says he wants to end an “ill-conceived” plan by the previous administration to lift a ban on passengers making mobile phone calls on planes. Pai said he felt that moving forward with the plan, which was introduced by his predecessor Tom Wheeler, is not in the public’s best interest. “I stand with airline pilots, flight attendants, and America’s flying public against the FCC’s ill conceived 2013 plan to allow people to…
Thursday, 06 April 2017 12:44
Brazilian operator Oi stuck in limbo as government plans to pass intervention decree
Brazilian telecom operator Oi is stuck in limbo waiting for the government to finalize a decree that would allow it to intervene and revive the debt-ridden company because it could impact other sectors beyond domestic phone carriers, according to a Reuters report. The decree is aimed at helping the operator and other broadband service providers, but the legal change could also allow for intervention in other infrastructure sectors such as railways, highways, and energy, said an official who spoke to…
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Sunday, 02 April 2017 12:53
EU nations can soon apply to alter their roaming charges
Member States of the European Union will soon be able to apply to alter their roaming charges, after the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) published guidelines for the retail charging of roaming services in the EU. The new rules will come into effect alongside new roaming legislation on June 15 this year, and telecom operators will be able to apply to their national regulator for special permission to change their charging model or add a small charge…
Sunday, 02 April 2017 10:31
White House moves to repeal broadband privacy rules
US President Donald Trump is moving to repeal broadband privacy rules put in place during the Obama-era, according to reports. Republicans in Congress passed the repeal of the privacy rules on Tuesday, March 28, and didn’t receive any support from the Democrats. The net privacy argument in the US sets the stage for a much larger issue later this year over Republican plans to overturn the net neutrality provisions which were adopted by the former administration of Barack Obama in…
Monday, 27 March 2017 13:36
Court overturns ban on Apple selling iPhone 6 devices in China
US tech giants Apple have seen a ban prohibiting the company from selling its iPhone 6 phones in China overturned following a legal hearing. A Chinese court ruled in its favor in a patent dispute between the Californian based company and a domestic phone-maker. The legal row began in May last year, when a Beijing based patent regulator took the decision to order Apple’s Chinese subsidiary and local retailer Zoom-Flight to immediately stop selling iPhones after Shenzhen Baili Marketing Services…
Sunday, 26 March 2017 06:31
Apple under fire for not paying tax to New Zealand Government
Apple has come under fire for not paying any tax in New Zealand. The Californian company reportedly sold NZ$4.2 billion worth of products in the country, but didn’t pay any tax at all. According to a report by the New Zealand Herald, Apple paid $37 million in income tax based on its New Zealand sales, but that money went to the Australian government, since that’s where Apple’s NZ operation is run from. There has been an arrangement in place since…
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Tuesday, 21 March 2017 05:25
Social networks must comply with EU framework protecting users from fraudsters
The European Commission has reportedly given social networks GooglePlus, Facebook and Twitter a month to figure out how they will comply with an EU regulatory framework designed to protect users from fraud, after the EC received complaints from users who were targeted by fraudsters via the social media sites. “The Commission and the consumer authorities will review the final proposals,” said a statement by the EU. “If they are not satisfactory, consumer authorities could ultimately resort to enforcement action.” The…
Wednesday, 15 March 2017 08:24
US planning to charge four in connection to Yahoo hacks, says report
A recent Bloomberg report suggests that authorities in the United States are planning to issue criminal indictments targeting four individuals connected to the massive hacks against Yahoo users' accounts. Three of the individuals are said to be Russian. The source cited by Bloomberg said one of the suspects is being tracked down in Canada and the others are in Russia. Yahoo's current CEO Marissa Meyer lost out on her annual bonus after an investigation determined that Yahoo had mishandled a…
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Tuesday, 14 March 2017 06:51
Samsung heir Lee Jae-Yong denies corruption charges
Samsung, the world's largest smartphone manufacturer, is embroiled in a corruption scandal which has seen South Korea's President, Park Geun-Hye, impeached. The heir to Samsung, Lee Jae-Yong, has denied all charges made against him involving corruption, bribery, perjury and other offences linked to the former President. Lee's lawyers informed a preliminary hearing on March 9 of his stance on the allegations. Lee, 48, was not present at Seoul Central District for the court hearing. The scandal couldn't come at a…
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Tuesday, 14 March 2017 05:33
African Union launches .africa for the continent
The African Union has launched .africa for the continent 32 years after the world's first domain name was registered. It started off as '.com' and eventually evolved to .something. Africans can now apply to register an .africa website domain name in the coming months, which outgoing AU commission chair Nkosazana Dlmamini-Zuma says would allow Africans to better reach the world. "With .africa, I would say Africa has finally got its digital identity," said Dlamini-Zuma, who is handing over power to…
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Sunday, 12 March 2017 10:49
WikiLeaks drops revelations of an alleged broad CIA hacking arsenal
On March 7 2017, WikiLeaks began its new series of leaks on the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Code-named "Vault 7" by WikiLeaks, it is the largest ever publication of confidential documents on the agency. The first full part of the series, "Year Zero", comprises 8,761 documents and files from an isolated, high-security network situated inside the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence in Langley, Virginia. The technology industry has been scrambling to understand the implications of the alleged CIA hacking arsenal…
Wednesday, 08 March 2017 13:06
ZTE fined $1.2billion by US for violating export sanctions in Iran and North Korea
Chinese telecom giants ZTE have received the largest criminal penalty in US history in relation to an export control case - following its admission that it violated the terms and conditions of US export controls in selling goods to both Iran and North Korea. ZTE pleaded guilty to the charges and the organization will immediately pay $892m - while another $300m in penalties will be suspended for a period of seven years. Some of the charges against ZTE included obstructing…
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