Telecom

New Yorkers needing affordable internet will have to wait

Internet access is, according to New York’s Eastern District Judge Dennis R. Hurley, a “modern necessity.” Unfortunately, Judge Hurley wrote those words in an injunction, filed today, to stall a piece of progressive legislation which would have mandated affordable internet availability to all living in New York State — and which would have come into… Read more

SpaceX’s Starlink is in talks with ‘several’ airlines for in-flight Wi-Fi

The team behind SpaceX’s growing satellite internet network Starlink is in talks with “several” airlines to beam internet to their airplanes, the project’s vice president said during a conference panel on Wednesday. Expanding Starlink from rural homes and onto airlines is an expected move for Elon Musk’s space company as it races to open the… Read more

Microsoft says Bing’s ‘Tank Man’ censorship was a human error

On Microsoft’s search engine Bing, searching for “Tank Man,” the iconic figure from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in China, turned up no image results in the United States for part of Friday. Vice was able to produce the same results in the US, and heard from multiple users from other countries who ran into… Read more

The government’s been worried about DJI drones — the Pentagon now says they’re safe

After months of government bans on DJI drones, with lawmakers questioning whether the company was sending information to the Chinese government, the Pentagon has now admitted that the drones being used might actually be safe (via The Hill), releasing a report saying that two “Government Edition” DJI drones are “recommended for use by government entities.”… Read more

Intel Remains World’s Largest Chipmaker as AMD Enters Top 15

Home News (Image credit: Intel) While Intel’s revenue dropped in the first quarter, it is still the world’s largest supplier of chips by revenue, ahead of Samsung and TSMC, according to IC Insights. Intel’s arch-rival AMD significantly increased its sales in Q1 2021 and is now one of the world’s Top 15 semiconductor companies. Demand for… Read more

FCC reduces out-of-state prison phone rates

The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously Thursday to lower some of the rates incarcerated people and their families pay to speak over the phone. For jurisdictional reasons, the measure only applies to interstate or international calls. The Commission approved a measure that prohibits companies like Global Tel Link and Pay Tel Communications from charging families… Read more

FCC’s net neutrality rollback overwhelmed by bogus industry comments, investigation finds

The New York attorney general’s office issued a report Thursday confirming that some of the US’s largest broadband providers engaged in a massive campaign to flood the Federal Communications Commission with fake comments in the run-up to the commission’s 2017 order to roll back net neutrality. The attorney general’s multi-year investigation found that fake comments… Read more

Intel Seeks $9.7 Billion Subsidies for European Fab

Home News (Image credit: Intel) Intel is committed to building a leading-edge fab in Europe, but to do so the company will need almost $10 billion in subsidies, CEO Pat Gelsinger said in an interview with Politico Europe, as confirmed by Reuters. The exec pointed to the need for $9.7 billion in subsidies during a… Read more

Telecom groups sue New York over low-income broadband law

Trade groups representing some of the largest telecom companies, including AT&T and Verizon, are suing New York over a new state law forcing them to provide cheaper broadband plans for low-income families in the state, as first reported by Axios. Earlier this month, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill that would require internet… Read more

Oppo A95 5G is official with 6.43″AMOLED display, Dimensity 800U

Oppo A95 5G popped up on China Telecom’s website earlier this month and today, the phone maker made the device official. The Oppo A95 5G has the same chipset and screen as the Oppo Reno 5Z, but one fewer cameras on the back. Oppo A95 5G The panel on the front is a 6.43” AMOLED… Read more

Samsung’s Galaxy Quantum 2 has quantum cryptography built in

Samsung and South Korean carrier SK Telecom have announced the Galaxy Quantum 2, Samsung’s second phone that features built-in quantum cryptography technology for increased security. It’s the follow-up to last year’s Galaxy A Quantum. The Quantum 2 includes a chip developed by a company called ID Quantique, which says it’s the world’s smallest quantum random… Read more

Yahoo Answers will be shut down forever on May 4th

Yahoo Answers, one of the longest-running and most storied web Q&A platforms in the history of the internet, is shutting down on May 4th. That’s the day the Yahoo Answers website will start redirecting to the Yahoo homepage, and all of the platform’s archives will apparently cease to exist. The platform has been operating since… Read more

Google ditches Mobile World Congress 2021, the world’s biggest phone show

Last year, the world’s largest phone show, Mobile World Congress, hung on to the idea of hosting an in-person event during the COVID-19 pandemic as long as it could, even as major exhibitors kept pulling out — and the dominoes may be falling on this year’s show as well. Google just announced that it will… Read more

Codename: Urban Legends is a taste of what Niantic thinks 5G could do for AR gaming

Pokémon Go developer Niantic has unveiled Codename: Urban Legends, which it describes as “a multiplayer demo experience that offers a glimpse into the future of AR and 5G networks.” The game revolves around casting magic spells to kill monsters and rescue allies. It’s similar to Niantic’s previously released games, but the trailer includes a unique… Read more

TrendForce Estimates NAND Flash Prices Rising up to 8 Percent Next Quarter

The winter storm that savaged Texas in February might affect the tech industry for months to come. TrendForce said today it expects the shutdown of Samsung’s fab in Austin to contribute to a quarter-over-quarter increase in NAND flash pricing. The research firm said that NAND flash pricing could rise 3-8% in the second quarter as… Read more