Telecom

Credit: N. Hanacek/NIST Engineers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have built a low-cost computer system that connects older public safety radios with the latest wireless communications networks, showing how first responders might easily take advantage of broadband technology offering voice, text, instant messages, video and data...

One of Tesla’s towers, photographed in 1904. Credit: Wikimedia At the height of his career, the pioneering electrical engineer Nikola Tesla became obsessed with an idea. He theorized that electricity could be transmitted wirelessly through the air at long distances—either via a series of strategically positioned towers, or hopping across...

Verizon is recalling 2.5 million mobile hotspots after some reports of overheating and two reports of minor burns. The 4G hotspots were used by schools and sold by stores. They are called Ellipsis Jetpack mobile hotspots and were imported by Franklin Wireless in San Diego.The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission...

Credit: European Space Agency A laser communications terminal prototype to demonstrate this vision is currently being developed by satellite manufacturer Airbus, working in partnership with the Netherlands organization for applied scientific research (TNO). The project is co-financed by Airbus, TNO and the Netherlands Space Office. The work forms part of...

Credit: NYU Wireless https://wireless.engineering.nyu.edu/nyusim/ Driven by ubiquitous usage of mobile devices and the explosive growth and diversification of the Internet of Things (IoT), sixth-generation (6G) wireless systems will need to offer unprecedented high data rate and system throughput, which can be achieved in part by deploying systems transmitting and receiving...

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain New research reveals while mainstream media remains the main go-to news source for Gen Z and Millennials, young people worldwide are relying on multiple platforms, such as social media, for information on the coronavirus (COVD-19) pandemic. The global survey, conducted in collaboration by the University of...

The ESAIL microsatellite for making the seas safer has picked up more than two million messages from 70 000 ships in a single day. The reliable high-performance satellite was developed as an ESA Partnership Project to help European and Canadian space companies succeed in the competitive global telecommunications market. It...

(A) Differences in connection, (B) communication and (C) reconfiguration patterns between a generic mesh protocol (red) and SOS (blue). (D)–(G) Results of simulations with 500 phones, sending and receiving 1 message per phone every 15 min for the generic mesh and SOS protocols. (D) Formation and evolution of the mesh...

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Comcast Corp. plans to spend $1 billion over the next decade to help low-income Americans connect to the internet, company officials said Wednesday. The Philadelphia cable giant said the money would go toward wiring community centers with WiFi, donating laptops and computers, awarding grants to nonprofits...

Google says it will participate in the Echo undersea data cable linking North America and the Asia-Pacific, announced by Facebook Google and Facebook have unveiled plans for two new undersea data cables linking North America and the Asia-Pacific region, weeks after halting one destined for Hong Kong. Facebook said on...

Wireless connectivity in temporary high-usage hotspots, such as where large crowds gather, could be enhanced using tethered drones connected to a ground station. Credit: KAUST; Xavier Pita Keeping up with wireless demand is a never-ending endeavor for data providers, who often contend with temporary high-usage hotspots that might be underserviced...

A Georgia Tech ATHENA group member holds an inkjet-printed prototype of a mm-wave harvester. The researchers envision a future where IoT devices will be powered wirelessly over 5G networks. Credit: Christopher Moore, Georgia Tech Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have uncovered an innovative way to tap into the...

In this Aug. 31, 2018, file photo, Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, left, D-Los Angeles, left, and Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, smile after their net neutrality bill was approved by the Senate, Friday, Aug. 31, 2018, in Sacramento, Calif. The Trump administration sued to block California's 2018 law, preventing it from...

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain A plume of smoke hung over the Houston area for days in March 2019 after storage tanks containing hazardous chemicals ignited at a Deer Park facility. About a quarter of Deer Park residents living near the Intercontinental Terminal Company petrochemical facility who were surveyed by Texas...

Wi-Fi Aware activation. Credit: Google Developers Google's new Wi-Fi Aware functionality, also known as Neighbor Awareness Networking (NAN), allows devices running on Android 8.0 (API level 26) and higher to detect and directly connect to each other without any secondary connectivity, such as Bluetooth. Wi-Fi Aware connects devices by grouping...

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Having survived an initial court challenge, California's net neutrality law is having its first tangible effects on consumers and their internet service providers. But those consumers may not be so pleased with the results. AT&T informed its nationwide cellphone customers on Wednesday that it was ending...

Credit: European Space Agency Flight passengers will soon be able to connect to their families and colleagues on Earth via low-orbit telecommunications satellites. Speeds will be comparable to those at home, substantially boosting the service currently provided by geostationary satellites.On 19 March, communications company OneWeb signed an agreement to deliver...

China Unicom—one of the world's largest carriers—insisted that it has never acted illegally and expected a "thorough, fair and fact-based review of the company's conduct by the FCC" Regulators have begun legal proceedings that could strip three Chinese state-owned telecommunications companies of their right to operate in the United States,...

Credit: CC0 Public Domain Regulators decided the next U.S. 5G airwaves auction will offer frequencies in portions covering millions of people, a plan backed by wireless giants thirsty for spectrum and opposed by cable providers leery of expensive bidding. The Federal Communications Commission with a 4-0 vote set rules for...

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Some in Congress want to do more to narrow the digital divide. A new bill, The Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act, set to be introduced Thursday in the U.S. House and Senate, devotes more than $94 billion to connect currently unserved and underserved communities with...