telecommunication - News, Features, and Slideshows

Features

• Could Facebook be your next phone company?

  <em>This vendor-written tech primer has been edited by Network World to eliminate product promotion, but readers should note it will likely favor the submitter's approach.</em>

• After Wheeler unveils proposal, what's next for net neutrality?

  A flurry of activity will follow the plan from U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler to reclassify broadband as a regulated public utility as the foundation for new net neutrality rules.

• It's a bird, it's a plane, it's the rebirth of satellite Internet

  <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/19/google-spacex-internet-plans/?ncid=rss_truncated">SpaceX</a>, Facebook, <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/article/2871304/security0/virgin-galactic-wants-to-launch-2-400-comm-satellites-to-offer-ubiquitous-broadband.html">Virgin Galactic</a> and Google have all announced major initiatives that would help connect the world -- especially developing nations -- to the Internet. But the next thing in worldwide connectivity isn't going to be in underground cables, so much as it will be over your head. It starts with satellites, but it gets a lot weirder. 

• Who wins the net neutrality debate? Google, of course

  In the debate over net neutrality, AT&T and Cisco are warning that fiber optic cable rollouts could be delayed -- and revenues lost -- if President Obama's recently proposed rules move ahead.

• As AT&T and Google push broadband adoption, the feds are non-players

  AT&T and Google have talked up plans to extend supercharged broadband speeds to several U.S. cities and offer lesser service for free to underserved areas. But whether they, and other providers, can bridge the nation's digital divide without federal help remains to be seen.

• Broadband faces a fork in the road

  As Google and AT&T race to provide super-fast 1 gigabit fiber networks to power users, more than a quarter of U.S. homes still have no broadband service at all.

• How to Prepare Your Business (And Your Employees) to Work Remotely

  Hurricanes, blizzards, floods, earthquakes, even mundane events like employees' car troubles or family obligations can disrupt your business and put a damper on productivity. Here's how to prepare your business and your personnel for working remotely.

• US court strikes down net neutrality: What's next?

  The U.S. Federal Communications Commission and its allies have several options, with most of them difficult, after a U.S. appeals court struck down most of the agency's 2010 net neutrality rules.

• Debate over NSA surveillance shifts with judge's ruling, task force report

  After six months of contentious debate over U.S. National Security Agency surveillance programs, prompted by leaks from former government contractor Edward Snowden, the third week in December may have marked a major turning point.

• Mindspeed acquisition fuels Intel's hopes for bigger network role

  Intel's acquisition of mobile network assets from silicon vendor Mindspeed Technologies will give the chip giant what it needs to extend the Intel architecture throughout mobile operator networks, helping the carriers upgrade hardware and roll out new services more quickly, according to Intel.

• Cell phones on planes may be heading for the US, but will anyone use them?

  In-flight cellular in the U.S. may be closer to reality than some consumers realize, with foreign airlines poised to extend services they already offer elsewhere. But evidence from overseas suggests the odds of being trapped next to a chronic caller are slim.

• FCC's in-flight cellphone plan carries a lot of baggage

  Anyone who dreads hearing one end of a loud phone call all the way from Anchorage to Miami, take heart: The plan to allow cellphones on planes could fail in more ways than an overbooked flight at a snowbound airport on Christmas Eve.

• Net neutrality faces uncertain court ruling in US

  It's difficult to predict how an appeals court will rule after it hears arguments Monday in Verizon Communication's challenge of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules.

• Gimme shelter: Wall Street braces for next superstorm

  Heading into the heart of hurricane season 10 months after Sandy slammed the New York metropolitan area, Wall Street has had time to reassess and revamp backup plans.

• LTE makes headway on global roaming, speed and voice

  LTE is simultaneously being pushed forward on several fronts, and the result for users will be faster networks, better coverage and the ability to access networks while travelling abroad.