GSM & 3G: All

Attention has been focused on the higher speeds that will be offered by next generation LTE (Long-Term Evolution) mobile networks, but improved latency will be equally important to users, according to Nokia Siemens.

Twenty-four mobile network operators have formed the Wholesale Applications Community to avoid fragmenting the apps market and to give developers one point of entry to all the members, the GSM Association announced on Monday.

While LTE modems delivering mobile broadband services already appearing on the market, LTE phones are still some way off -- not least because manufacturers and operators have yet to agree how calls will be placed and voice traffic carried over LTE's all-IP networks. One of the solutions to that problem got a boost Monday, though, with more operators and vendors lending it their support.

An abundance of products based on Google's Android OS as well as modems for the next-generation mobile network technology LTE (Long-Term Evolution) will greet visitors at Mobile World Congress, which starts on Monday in Barcelona.

Apple's pricing for the iPad is "ridiculous," a hardware expert said Wednesday, as he argued that the $130 price difference for models with 3G means buyers of those tablets subsidize the lowest-priced $499 model.

Victoria’s troubled bushfire alert system will be put to the test today as the state braces for [[artnid:275889|catastrophic fire conditions]] and soaring 40 degree temperatures.

Ericsson has demonstrated one part of the technology that will make speeds of up to 42 Mbps (bits per second) possible in 3G networks. However, a lot of work remains before services can be launched.

Mobile operator TeliaSonera has launched the world's first commercial LTE (Long-Term Evolution) networks, in the central parts of Stockholm and Oslo, it said on Monday. The service will become available on Tuesday, and cost 599 Swedish kronor (US$84) per month, but until July 1 users will pay 4 Swedish kronor, according to Erik Hallberg, head of Mobility Services at TeliaSonera.

Backers of two competing specifications for delivering voice over LTE mobile data networks have heralded demonstrations in the past two days, while mobile giant Ericsson apparently dropped its support for one of the systems.

Wireless broadband provider Clearwire had about 173,000 WiMax subscribers at the end of September and should be able to offer service to 120 million potential subscribers in the U.S. by the end of next year, the company said Tuesday.