The Federal Communications Commission is asking major broadband carriers to explain their policies on exempting some content from data caps. The commission is looking at the thorny issue of whether such policies violate net neutrality rules. The letters have gone to Comcast, AT&T and T-Mobile, which all offer Internet plans (cable for Comcast, mobile for […]
A wireless connection using an LED bulb has been tested in an Estonian office. The technology achieved a 1Gbps transfer, though the theoretical maximum is 224Gbps. The basic principle of “Li-Fi” is the same as Wi-Fi, just using wavelengths of visible light rather than radio waves. Instead of using a router, it involves varying the […]
T-Mobile says its customers will be able to stream video without it counting towards data caps. But the move has some catches and has raised some questions about net neutrality. Under the plan, known as Binge On, data from 24 apps will not count towards the data cap for anyone currently on a 3GB a […]
If you’ve heard that French researchers have successfully hacked Siri and Google now, don’t worry too much. “Success” is most certainly a relative term. While the researchers at government IT security agency ANSSI have demonstrated their ‘hack’ it’s barely more than a proof of concept. In this case the concept is that electromagnetic waves and […]
Google has unveiled a new system for making web pages load quicker on mobile devices. It seems to be an attempt to prevent people using dedicated apps instead, particularly for news sources. Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) is a set of open source code that’s a variant on HTML and uses existing technologies. It’s partly designed […]
Facebook is working with a satellite operator to expand Internet access in sub-Saharan Africa. They will use the entire broadband capability on a satellite scheduled to launch before the end of the year. The AMOS-6 satellite (pictured) has two sets of bands. One, covering frequencies known as Ku-bands, will cover Europe and the Middle East. […]
Samsung has launched a new form of mobile memory which means we could soon see smartphones boasting 6GB of RAM. It appears to be a side bonus of the company working with other devices in mind. Specifically Samsung is mass-producing a 12-gigabit low power, double data rate 4 DRAM in a 20-nanometer format. That’s a […]
Nevada likes eggplant. Oklahoma’s into ghosts. And Vermont is all about the poop. That’s the somewhat unscientific conclusions of SwiftKey, which decided to publicise its app by looking at the pattern of emoji use among its customers in different states. Contrary to some reports, the map above is not a depiction of the most popular […]
Apple has finally brought in the “obvious” solution to the problem of phones latching on to Wi-Fi even when the connection sucks. The latest beta of iOS 9 includes a feature called Wi-Fi Assist. It’s designed to deal with the way iPhones currently default to connecting to a Wi-Fi network (and stick with that connection) […]
A new technology standard could make it easier for wireless devices to sync with one another, even if neither has an Internet connection. The standard comes from the Wi-Fi Alliance, the international organization that test wireless equipment not just for radio and data interoperability but also security. The group already has a standard called Wi-Fi […]