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Mobile Miscellany: week of April 30th, 2012
Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week, we saw the first rollout of Verizon LTE from one of its rural partners, and both the Optimus L7 and Xperia U were spotted for Fido. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of April 30th, 2012.
LightSquared donates phones to North American tribes, keeps the rural connectivity flame a burnin'
It looks like LightSquared's crush on rural America is still ongoing, folks. The firm announced today it'll donate 2,000 satellite phones to the Indian Health Service and other tribal organizations, allowing them to make calls in areas that terrestrial networks don't cover. Sadly, no details on exactly what gear it's deploying, but according to Computerworld the devices are voice-only, meaning IHS employees better get pretty damn crafty if they want to surf Engadget whilst on the job -- can you say dial-up tether? Either way, with connectivity headed to facilities in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Arizona, can the firm's wholesale debut be that far off? We'll have to see, but in the meantime, indulge in the official PR beyond the break.
LightSquared creates rural America initiative, promises to be more help than hindrance
With GPS interference issues now resolved, LightSquared's going back to the farm to reassure rural America it means no harm. The wholesale-only 4G LTE service that already signed up a plethora of partners is turning to Sen. Byron Dorgan and Reps. George Nethercutt and Charlie Stenholm to oversee its newly-created Empower Rural America Initiative. The plan calls for oversight of the service's bucolic deployment, promising its filtering tech will keep GPS-dependent precision agriculture on-point and pesticides away from your country home. Also under the proposed guidelines are plans to assist emergency first responders with network access in the event existing communication systems get knocked out. It's a comforting pat on the rustic back that should shore up "broadband adoption gap" issues currently plaguing underserved areas. But while it may look like the farmer and the technologist can be friends, we have a sneaking suspicion there are more self-serving motivations at play here. Hit the break for LightSquared's pastorally empowering PR.
