Saudi Telecom Co. wireless customers will have free access to Wikipedia on their mobile devices, without incurring data charges, STC and the Wikimedia Foundation said Sunday (http://bit.ly/V03EEB). STC has 25 million mobile customers, the joint news release said. The foundation said it has made “Arabic language countries a special priority in its strategic planning,” and mobile access to information in general. The release said free access to Wikipedia will be made available in both Arabic and English, and users with slower connections can view a “lightweight, text-only version” at zero.wikipedia.org. STC Vice President-Personal Services Ibrahim Al Omar called the partnership an “additional cornerstone” of his company’s commitment to “social awareness."
Astrium launched two in-orbit validation (IOV) satellites Monday as part of Europe’s Galileo navigation system. They were launched from French Guiana on a Soyuz rocket, Astrium said in a press release (http://xrl.us/bnub7o). The satellites “will soon enter into service alongside IOV satellites 1 and 2” which were launched last year, Astrium said. With the four satellites, the Galileo system “will prove it can deliver ultra precise three-dimensional positioning,” it said.
The transition from TDM-based to IP-based services does not justify deregulation of interconnection arrangements, XO told FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel Wednesday, an ex parte filing said (http://xrl.us/bnub4r). Continued regulation and oversight is “critical to ensure competition and innovation” in the telecom marketplace, XO said. XO also discussed its recent launch of 100 Gbps coast-to-coast broadband service, IP interconnection issues, special access reform, and preservation of copper facilities.
An advanced DSL technology can reinvigorate the copper loops already deployed to most homes, and provide broadband speeds comparable to fiber, Adtran told the FCC Friday (http://xrl.us/bnub2z). By “bonding” multiple copper loops, broadband download speeds of 80 Mbps can be provided on loop lengths up to 2,500 feet using VDSL2 technology, the equipment manufacturer said. Using ADSL2+ technology, a subscriber can get 25 Mbps down on loop lengths up to 10,000 feet, it said. By some estimates, 80-90 percent of new broadband deployment in Europe will be provided using vectored DSL technologies, rather than fiber-to-the-home, the company said. “When deciding what policies to apply to retired copper loops, the Commission must be mindful that copper loops are not an anachronism,” Adtran said.
Intelsat 23 was successfully launched by an International Launch Services Proton vehicle. The satellite was launched Sunday, Intelsat said in a press release (http://xrl.us/bnub5h). It will provide enhanced capacity for enterprise, oil and gas and data networking applications, Intelsat said. Intelsat 23 will deliver C-band services to customers in the Americas, Europe and Africa and Ku-band coverage for Latin America, it said. Intelsat said the satellite has an anticipated service life of more than 18 years.
Foreign trade barriers are affecting the U.S. information and communication technology (ICT) sector, TIA said Monday in comments filed with the U.S. Trade Representative’s office. In its comments on the 2012 National Trade Estimate, TIA said U.S. exports of high-tech goods face obstacles in Argentina, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the European Union and India. Those obstacles include nations’ “protectionist” measures that favor the domestic ICT industry, import license restrictions, as well as complex and discriminatory tax systems, TIA said in a news release (http://xrl.us/bnubtf).
New Yorkers get four times faster mobile Internet service than Londoners, according to a survey from RootMetrics Networks, which calls itself an independent testing firm. From more than 16,700 “on-the-ground” tests conducted in both cities, RootMetrics found “conclusively that on average, download and upload Internet speeds are significantly faster in New York,” the company said. “It’s quite amazing to find a vast disparity in services between the two cities that are rival destinations for business and tourism,” the company said. It gave no reasons for that disparity, and company representatives didn’t immediately comment with an explanation.
Telcos, others, reiterated their opposition to a “further guidance” notice released by the FCC Office of Native Affairs and Policy, which requires that telecom companies engage with tribal governments whose lands they serve. In reply comments on a USTelecom petition for reconsideration, non-tribal entities elaborated on their earlier concerns (CD Sept 28 p6) that the new rules violate the Administrative Procedure Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), and the First Amendment. U.S. Cellular, C Spire Wireless, and Pioneer Cellular argued the further guidance was not accompanied by “any comparative analysis” of the costs and benefits of the requirements, and has “numerous procedural and legal deficiencies” (http://xrl.us/bntu9p). Blooston Rural Carriers disputed comments by Gila River Telecommunications that the rules requiring engagement with tribes do not implicate the PRA (http://xrl.us/bntu99). Tribal entities continued to oppose USTelecom’s petition. Gila River maintained that the further guidance was “not only procedurally and constitutionally proper,” but also offered the opportunity for better coordination and increased deployment of telecom services on tribal lands (http://xrl.us/bntvaf). The National Tribal Telecommunications Association said those who support USTelecom’s petition fail to grasp the concept that tribal governments are “sovereign” on tribal lands, and “serve the role of regulator, legislature, judicial, and other executive branches of non-Tribal state governments. It is difficult to imagine USTelecom members refusing to engage with their state commission or local government in providing current services or in planning future broadband, voice, or other services,” NTTA said (http://xrl.us/bntvaq).
Clear Channel’s proposed $2 billion priority guarantee notes, due 2019, drew a Caa1 rating from Moody’s. Standard & Poor’s gave the notes a CCC+ rating. The proposed transaction would extend the maturity of some Clear Channel debt by up to five years, but at a higher interest rate, Standard & Poor’s said.
A petition by Central Texas Telephone Cooperative for a temporary waiver of USF caps demonstrates the underlying flaws in the rules, and should be granted, NTCA said Thursday (http://xrl.us/bntu46). Central Texas, which has fewer than 1.5 customers per square mile, needs to deploy longer loops to reach individual consumers over the “vast distances” in its territory, NTCA said. The facts in Central Texas’s petition “provide more than good cause” for the grant of a waiver, and the petition “highlights several critical flaws in the current regression model” that necessitate general corrections to the model, NTCA said. The petition “demonstrates the oddity of a model that assumes that providers should realize lower costs in deploying telecommunications plant over greater distances -- the negative coefficient for road miles in the model is intuitively incorrect, highlighting an underlying flaw in the model that should be corrected through more robust and deliberate testing of independent variables,” NTCA said.