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Archos A100S tablet hits the FCC, does the opposite of a full reveal
It looks like the folks at Archos are keeping our friends at the FCC busy this summer. Following in the footsteps of the mysterious A70S2 tablet and the coy A80S, the A100S internet tablet is now making its way through the regulatory gatekeeper. Like its predecessors, this filing hasn't given us much to go on; it comes with the typical confidentiality requests, which means we won't get any of the juicy bits until the FCC lifts the curtain on October 15th. Until then, we'll keep our Ice Cream Sandwich dreams afloat. If FCC test reports are your thing, feel free to hop on over to the source link below.
Samsung i927 clears the FCC hurdle, AT&T-bound at last?
Yeah, the Samsung i927 definitely exists -- and the FCC's flaunting the docs to prove it. That doesn't mean we're allowed to know all its deep, dark secrets yet; sadly, the Galaxy S II-esque device doesn't bare it all for us to see. Granted, we've already seen pics of the QWERTY landscape slider, and it seems like that it'll make its way onto AT&T's smartphone lineup, so we already know more about the device than most FCC filings could ever reveal. But is it the mystical Samsung Attain we've postulated about for months? It utilizes the usual 850 / 1900 bands for WCDMA and HSPA (though it leaves no mention of any global frequencies that may lie in the phone), and the dimensions show a striking resemblance to those on the unlocked GSII -- it's roughly one mm off in both directions -- so we can't let go of the possibility yet. Whatever it is, this thing can't come soon enough.
FCC measures US wireline advertised broadband speeds, fiber dominates cable and DSL
Ever wonder if the speeds your ISP advertises are actually what you're getting while reloading Engadget all day? The FCC did, and decided to team up with 13 major broadband providers in the US to test how they performed from February to June of this year. Notably, during peak hours the average continuous download speeds of fiber connections were 14 percent faster than advertised, while cable and DSL were slower than claimed by 8 and 18 percent, respectively. Upload speeds also varied, with DSL again dipping the lowest at 95-percent of what's advertised -- might be time to ask your phone-based ISP for a partial refund, no? In addition to sustained speeds, the FCC analyzed consumer connections' latency and the effect of ISP speed boost tech on activities like VoIP, gaming, and video streaming. In concluding its research, the Commission noted that it should be easy to get tools in users' hands for keeping better tabs on ISP-provided services, without needing to contact customer frustrations relations. The study is chock full of even more graphs and stats, which you'll find by hitting that source link below. Now, if only we could get those speeds on par with our friends across the Atlantic.
Pleo bares it all for FCC approval
Poor Pleo. Everyone fell in love with the little green dino at first sight, but no one actually bought the thing. Undaunted, the adorable fleshy robot made a triumphant return at this year's CES as Pleo RB (that's "Reborn"), with the help of adopted manufacturer Innvo Labs. The newly invigorated 'bot brings voice recognition, more sensors, and RFID-based command learning technology to the table. With all its new gear in place, Pleo was poked, prodded, and peeled by the FCC, revealing, among other things, that new RFID reader in its chin. The results are gruesome and not recommended for faint of heart robot dinosaur lovers. You've been warned. %Gallery-123937%
FCC opens floor for public comment on AT&T / T-Mobile deal
Since the world's engineers haven't yet come up with a way to read minds over the internet (or at all, last we checked), we're not sure what you think about the proposed marriage of T-Mobile to AT&T. We're pretty sure you do have an opinion of some sort, though, and if you want it to be heard, now's the opportunity to let the Federal Communications Commission read your thoughtful, reasoned take on how a GSM monopoly in the United States might or might not work. (Speak now or forever hold your peace, in other words.) To comment, simply visit the source links below, where the FCC has some handy forms -- one for short comments, one for long comments (where you have to attach a PDF document) and one with the magic number of the related proceeding, which is 11-65. Let 'em know just how you'll be impacted if the deal goes through, for better or for worse. [Thanks, Jeff]
HP webOS keyboard passes FCC smell test, won't zap you to death with radiation
We already got some hands-on time with HP's sleek webOS keyboard, and now it's the FCC's turn. The skinny peripheral -- that's Bluetooth Keyboard KT-1087 to you -- popped up on the Federal Communications Commission's site, stripped naked for the government filing enthusiasts of the world to collectively ogle. That hopefully means the rest of us will see the wireless add-on for sale in the near future, AA batteries not included -- it would sure go nicely with that HP TouchPad you've been eyeing. Those who get a perverse thrill watching unreleased products sprawled out, alien autopsy-style are encouraged to check out the gallery below.
GSM-flavored Xoom passes FCC muster, bound for AT&T?
It appears Motorola is taking a page from the Samsung playbook and making the Xoom carrier-agnostic. Verizon and Sprint are already marching along and, according Wireless Goodness, an AT&T version is about to join the parade. The FCC approved a "hand held device" from Motorola that packs an HSDPA-capable radio on the 850MHz and 1900MHz bands, which just so happen to be the very same frequencies used by AT&T. A screen shot snapped by Wireless Goodness refers to the product as a "wireless tablet with embedded WLAN," though that description is conspicuously absent from the documents now. The filing also makes mention of MOTOTalk, two-way radio functionality, a feature missing from other Xoom versions that seems like a perfect fit for the rumored rugged tablet the company is working on. Looks like that little bundle of "4G" tablet joy teased during CES is finally on its way.
FCC mandates data roaming after 3-2 vote, AT&T and Verizon aren't too happy about it
Good news for small cellular carriers, and bad news for big ones today -- the Federal Communications Commission has decided to mandate data roaming by a 3-2 vote. Simply put, major carriers like AT&T and Verizon will be required to let you check your email and perform VoIP calls over their federally-licensed airwaves even if you're actually paying a regional carrier for your cellular coverage instead -- just as they've been required to do for voice and messaging since 2007. As you can imagine, Big Red and Ma Bell aren't exactly jumping for joy at the news, with both threatening to slow expansion into niche markets if they'll be forced to share their infrastructure. The victorious members of the FCC claim that this doesn't constitute common carriage because the big boys still get to negotiate "commercially reasonable" rates. Considering that two dissenting commissioners say that it is, indeed, common carriage, though, and thus beyond the powers granted to the FCC, we imagine we haven't heard the last of this debate. What happened to simply "incenting" the carriers to come to an agreement? Find statements from most every concerned party at the links below.
Ubisoft's Battle Tag lands at the FCC, we're already out of breath
Remember when we just about passed out from exhaustion following a rather short demo of Ubisoft's nouveau laser tag setup? Well, judging from its appearance over at the FCC, it looks like the RFID-packing Battle Tag is ready to play. Unlike some of our more fruitful dives into the commission's archives, this one doesn't uncover a whole lot about the product that we didn't already know. Internal photos show an RFID reader, used to communicate with ammo packs for reloading, and a thorough examination of the game's user manual revealed the accompanying software is compatible with Windows only. So, no, we won't be exposing any big secrets here, but for laser tag aficionados, whoever they may be, today is a good day. A Battle Tag setup for two is now available via Ubisoft for $130.
Senator asks DOJ and FCC to do their jobs, provide friction for AT&T / T-Mobile tie-up
There's always one. Back in the winter of 2009, Senator Kerry made public his request for Fox and Time Warner to keep the Bowl Games online, and one Chuck Schumer took to writing an open letter to Steve Jobs regarding the iPhone reception woes that eventually led to a dedicated press event (mostly) disputing the matter. Now, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar is urging the FCC and DOJ to "take a close look at the proposed AT&T and T-Mobile merger," noting that the outcome would undoubtedly have a huge impact on consumer choice, price and service in the wireless industry. Of course, it's not like these two wouldn't be doing just that in the coming months, but it's good to see a fire starting early in Congress to make sure due diligence is done. Having a carrier that provides service to 42 percent of all US wireless subscribers has the potential to seriously shift the economics of things, and potentially more interesting are the implications of a rejection. In fact, many are suggesting that AT&T will likely have to sell off major assets and promise expansion to rural / poor areas in order to gain approval, which ties in nicely to Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead's own comments regarding concessions. We're also hearing that regulators could take as long as 18 months to fully investigate, and you can bet we'll be following the play-by-play as it all unfolds.
Twenty pilot programs to bring off-campus broadband to low-income school districts
The FCC announced on Wednesday the approval of a plan that will ramp up twenty pilot programs in fourteen states. The program -- called Learning On-the-Go -- will bring wireless broadband connections to students off campus. The devices will include mobile phones and laptops, enabling students to have internet connections when they're not at school. Starting in the 2011-2012 school year, 35,000 elementary and secondary school students will be impacted in Colorado, Pennsylvania, New York, Florida, Ohio, Georgia, Texas, Michigan, North Carolina, Louisiana, Alabama, California, New Mexico and Iowa. The total cost of the program is estimated to be $9 million, but it'll certainly be paid back in all those Facebook visits during off-school hours, right? Hit up the source link for the full document (warning: it's a PDF).
FCC going after cellphone jammers, could land users in the slammer
The FCC has put a bounty on the heads of all the cellphone-hating vigilantes out there. These GPS and signal jammers are particularly popular amongst theaters, quiet restaurants and in many school systems fighting the good fight against sexting during class. The FCC is calling on folks to stop and to report their neighbors for using these devices -- reason being that they pose serious health and safety risks by interfering with 911 calls and other emergencies in the vicinity. So if you know a so-called 'jammer,' don't hesitate to file a complaint about them to the FCC -- the info can be found at the source link below.
FCC unanimously approves LTE standard for nationwide public safety network
The FCC's been looking to establish a nationwide public safety network since the early days of the infamous 700MHz spectrum auction, and while it never quite accomplished that task, the commission has made a small but important step -- it's unanimously decided that Long Term Evolution (LTE) will be the one ring that binds all future chunks of public safety radio band. Of course, this wasn't a terribly hard decision for the FCC to make, as major commercial cellular carriers and a number of regional public safety agencies have already invested in LTE equipment for the 700MHz band... and the decision doesn't yet specify a voice standard. All that's been decided upon is how those countless packets of data will float over the air. How will disparate groups of first responders communicate with one another in the event of a national emergency? That's what the organization is asking you right now -- feel free to contact the FCC anytime within the next 45 days with your proposal.
T-Mobile FCC memo cites Android app that caused network chaos
Remember, back in 2007 -- you know, Year One BTAS (Before The App Store) -- when Steve Jobs gave Apple's rationale for keeping the iPhone a closed platform versus allowing native app development? "Cingular doesn't want to see their West Coast network go down because some application messed up," he famously said, and was mocked by us and others for his seeming excess of caution. Now it seems the rogue app is on the other foot -- or, more to the point, on the other OS and carrier. Mike Dano at FierceWireless takes note of a January FCC filing (PDF) from T-Mobile planning & performance engineering director Grant Castle, where Castle makes part of T-Mobile's case on net neutrality rules and the need for traffic shaping and optimization for wireless data. The entire memo is a good read -- surprising enough, considering the audience and topic -- but the real zinger is the revelation about an unnamed instant messaging application that rolled out onto T-Mobile's Android handset base. This mystery app apparently worked fine and dandy when tested on WiFi by the developer, but once in the wild it began to cause network issues; signaling demand went up, particularly on already-busy nodes in urban settings, and in one test the app was shown to increase device network utilization by 12x. The problems were exacerbated as the app grew in popularity, and eventually the traffic issues began to degrade service overall. In this case, T-Mobile was able to reach out to the developer and request fixes to the app to resolve the network pain and suffering (which must have been a fascinating phone call). Still, this example of one poorly-adjusted application having widespread impact on a carrier network does indeed validate the original precautions in place for the web-apps-only iOS 1.x world, and today's gated garden/kill switch environment for iOS apps in the wild. Interestingly, even though T-Mobile's support for unlocked iPhones in the US is officially unofficial, it's not entirely without challenges. FW also pointed out that back in April the carrier reported to the FCC that jailbroken phones on the T-Mobile network caused signaling issues akin to a DDOS attack. One could easily imagine a popular jailbreak application going off the network rails, with no way to restrain or recall it -- depending on the percentage of JB phones in the wild, it could get hectic. [via Engadget]
FCC set to approve rules compelling carriers to alert you when you're about to go over your limit
Politicians do love themselves a sharp and emotive turn of phrase, of which few are as good as "bill shock." That's the term the FCC has used to sum up all those instances when you've had unexpected surcharges on your monthly wireless bill, caused by unknowingly going outside the bounds of your geographical coverage or monthly allowance. Seeing this issue as something it could help alleviate, the Commission set up a Consumer Task Force back in May in an effort to seek out solutions, and now it has returned with perhaps the most obvious one: getting your network operator to shoot out a voice or text message warning you when you're about to incur costs outside of your normal plan. That's basically what AT&T already does with iPad owners approaching their monthly data limits, which the federales see as a good practice that should be extended across all carriers. We can see no good reason why it shouldn't.
Verizon agrees to refund customers $90 million for wrongful data charges
Did you have a Verizon phone sans data plan, but get billed for data anyhow? Verizon Wireless is dropping $90 million to make things right next month. The company will refund 15 million cellular customers who were wrongly charged for internet use, in the form of $2 to $6 credits on their next bill -- unless the fiasco already caused you to leave, in which case you'll get a similar check in the mail. The New York Times reports that the FCC pressured Verizon into this settlement following hundreds of complaints, so it looks like the squeaky wheel may have won this round. If you can call Verizon treating you to the equivalent of a latte a "win," of course. Read Verizon's full statement after the break.
FCC votes unanimously in favor of using whitespace for 'super WiFi'
Just as we suspected earlier this month, the Federal Communications Commission has voted unanimously (that's five yeas and zero nays, if you need a specific tally) in favor of using the unlicensed whitespace airwaves for what it calls a "super WiFi" of sorts. The vote accordingly also mandates a database mapping out TV channels and major wireless mic users (e.g. broadway theaters and sports leagues), with at least two channels set aside for minor users of wireless mics. Google's Public Policy Blog wasted no time in praising the move, and more specifically the apparent rejection of "calls to enact burdensome and unnecessary constraints" that would discourage innovation. The company is accordingly now waiting on Chairman Julius Genachowski and friends to name administrators to the geolocation database and specify rules for its operation -- the last step, it believes, before products can reach consumers. So there you have it, the spare spectrum is all but good to go... ladies and gentleman, please don your thinking caps and get to work pronto.
FCC's Spectrum Task Force makes first snatch-and-grab, kidnaps up to 90MHz from satellite band
Even if you're the Federal Communications Commission, freeing up half a gigahertz of wireless spectrum isn't an easy task, but things become easier when you have top men on the job. The FCC's freshly deputized Spectrum Task Force may have just proven its worth, by shifting up to 90MHz from mobile satellite services to cellular broadband. To placate those who might be opposed to the measure, the FCC says it "remains firmly committed" to rural, emergency and government satellites, plus points out precedents like the SkyTerra LTE deal in March... but interestingly the Task Force neither mentions support for commercial satellite uses, nor which companies stand to gain the freed spectrum this time. Full press release after the break.
FCC will consider 'free or very low cost wireless broadband' service
Did you know there was a Digital Inclusion Summit going on? We already know the FCC isn't best pleased about the fact 93 million Americans are making do without access to home broadband, and this latest event was an opportunity for it to dish some more info on its forthcoming National Broadband Plan. The major obstacles to broadband adoption identified by the FCC were noted as cost, computer illiteracy, and a sheer lack of awareness about the benefits the web offers (outside of cute kitties). The big Plan will be delivered to Congress a week from today, and its suggestions will include the creation of a Digital Literacy Corps, who'll be performing missionary duties among the unenlightened, and the big whopper: a proposal to "consider use of spectrum for a free or very low cost wireless broadband service." Yeah, if you can't jump over the cost hurdle you might as well eviscerate it from existence. Quite naturally, such radical plans have been met with much grumbling opposition, and Business Week reports that it may be years before the full reforms are implemented ... if at all.
FCC keen on commandeering TV spectrum for wireless broadband
We'll come right out and say it, we like Julius Genachowski. Whether you agree with the dude's policies or not, you can't deny he's pursuing them with gusto. Having already noted the insufficient carrying capacity of current mobile broadband airways to deal with incoming 4G connections, the FCC chairman is now reported to be moving ahead with plans to provide greater spectrum allocation for those purposes. Currently in the draft stage, the latest Commission proposals include a plan to reclaim airwaves from digital broadcasters (and pay them appropriately for it), which are to then be sold off to the highest bidder from among the wireless service providers. Executing the most extreme version of this plan could generate around $62 billion in auction revenues, though it would require transitioning digital TV viewers over to cable or subscription services and is therefore unlikely. Jules and his crew are still "looking at everything" and ruling out nothing, but we can probably expect to see a moderate shift of TV spectrum rights over to wireless carriers in the final plans when they're revealed in February. [Via Phone Scoop]
