NASA and Nokia are putting a 4G network on the moon

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By David Goldman, CNN Business | Mon October 19, 2020 |

New York (CNN Business) – If you’re unable to get a cell phone signal when you walk your dog around the block, this will really make your blood boil: NASA is putting a 4G network on the moon.

To reach its 2028 goal to build a lunar base and eventually sustain a human presence on the moon, NASA awarded $370 million to over a dozen companies to deploy technology on the lunar surface. Those innovations include remote power generation, cryogenic freezing, robotics, safer landing … and 4G. Because how else will astronauts tweet their moon golf shots and lunar rover selfies?

NASA says 4G could provide more reliable, longer-distance communication than the current radio standards in place on the moon. Like on Earth, the 4G network will eventually be upgraded to 5G.

Nokia’s (NOK) Bell Labs was granted $14.1 million for the project. Bell Labs, formerly operated by AT&T, will partner with spaceflight engineering company Intuitive Machines to build out the 4G-LTE network.

John Oliver jokes about CNN parent company AT&T (T) aside, 4G will probably work better on the moon than it does here — it won’t have any trees, buildings or TV signals to interfere with the 4G signal. The moon’s cellular network will also be specially designed to withstand the particularities of the lunar surface: extreme temperature, radiation and space’s vacuum. It will also stay functional during lunar landings and launches, even though rockets significantly vibrate the moon’s surface.

Bell Labs said astronauts will use its wireless network for data transmission, controlling of lunar rovers, real-time navigation over lunar geography (think Google Maps for the moon), and streaming of high-definition video. That could give us stuck on Earth a much better shot of astronauts bouncing around on the lunar surface: Buzz Aldrin was a great cameraman, but he didn’t have an iPhone.

The 4G network on Earth is supported by giant cell towers with enormous power generators and radios. But Bell Labs helped create small cell technology that’s more limited in range but uses far less power than traditional cell towers and is significantly easier to pack into a rocket ship. That small cell tech is currently being deployed for 5G networks across the world.

Read the original article at CNN.com HERE.

Senators Push for Investigation into CBP Use of Phone Location Data

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By Engadget | Oct. 23, 2020

A group of Democratic lawmakers led by Senators Ron Wyden, Elizabeth Warren and Brian Schatz has called for an inspector general investigation into US Customs and Border Protection’s use of commercially-available location data to track American citizens without a warrant. In a letter shared by the office of Senator Wyden, the group says CBP recently acknowledged it has spent approximately $500,000 on subscriptions to a commercial database [Venntel] of location data and used that information to track and identify individuals, but the agency would not disclose why it believes it can use that data without a warrant. Normally, the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees CBP, publishes a Privacy Impact Assessment when it considers implementing new surveillance technologies. Those reports detail the privacy risks associated with those new technologies. That’s not something the department did in this case.

Read more about this article by clicking HERE.

U.S. DOJ Hits Google With Antitrust Lawsuit

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By Brent Kendall and Rob Copeland | Updated Oct. 20, 2020 8:08 pm ET

Suit follows lengthy investigation into company’s dominance of search traffic and effect on competition.

The Justice Department filed a long-expected antitrust lawsuit alleging that Google uses anticompetitive tactics to preserve a monopoly for its flagship search engine and related advertising business, the most aggressive U.S. legal challenge to a company’s dominance in the tech sector in more than two decades.

The case, filed Tuesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., alleged that the Alphabet Inc. unit maintains its status as gatekeeper to the internet through an unlawful web of exclusionary and interlocking business agreements that shut out competitors.

Read more or listen to the article by clicking HERE.

Verizon acquires Tracfone in a deal worth more than $6 billion

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By Kim Lyons | Sep 14, 2020 9:33am EDT

The largest wireless network in the US acquires the largest mobile virtual network operator

Verizon is buying Tracfone in a deal worth more than $6 billion, the company announced Sept. 14, 2020. The deal means the largest mobile network virtual operator (MNVO) in the US will become part of the largest wireless provider in the country.

Tracfone is the largest reseller of wireless services in the US, with 21 million subscribers, around 850 employees, and a network of more than 90,000 retail locations. It’s owned by Mexico-based América Móvil, and along with the Tracfone brand, operates the Net10 and Straight Talk brands in the US. More than 13 million Tracfone customers already rely on Verizon’s wireless network; Tracfone doesn’t run its own physical network in the US and instead rides on other cellphone carriers’ systems for a fee.

The acquisition gives Verizon a bigger foothold in the value and low-income wireless segments. Verizon says it will continue to offer Tracfone’s Lifeline service, which allows qualifying customers to receive free phones and free monthly minutes, and StraightTalk, which offers prepaid, no-contract service phone plans.

Read the original article at The Verge.com HERE.

Verizon to buy Bluegrass Cellular in continued push into rural service areas

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By Rae Hodge | Oct. 19, 2020, 1:06pm PDT

Verizon Communications, the largest wireless carrier in the US, said Monday that it’s buying Kentucky rural wireless operator Bluegrass Cellular. The move is the latest in Verizon’s strategy to expand its rural coverage areas. The deal comes just a month after Verizon announced plans to buy mobile carrier Tracfone in a deal worth up to nearly $7 billion in cash and stock, and less than a week after Verizon launched its nationwide low-band 5G network alongside the unveiling of the iPhone 12.

Bluegrass Cellular provides wireless service to about 210,000 customers in 34 counties in three rural service areas.

Read the original article at CNET HERE.