Tag Archives: regulator

Yet another Ofcom report promises UK LTE spectrum sale within five months, rollout in mid-2013

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Another Ofcom report on UK LTE: spectrum sale within five months, rollout in mid2013

The long wait for LTE in the UK has already brought new levels of cynicism to a once earnest and optimistic nation, but now, finally, Ofcom has set itself a deadline for auctioning off the prized 4G spectrum to telecoms companies. In a major report published today, it declared that the sale is "set to get underway by the end of 2012" and will be "80 percent bigger" than the last spectrum-grab of this type -- the £22 billion flogging of 3G back in 2000. Bidding should be completed by early 2013, so long as at least four wholesalers show interest, and then the rollout itself should begin in the middle of that blessed year. The regulator also promised that 4G mobile broadband will reach 98 percent of people in "villages, towns and cities" across the UK. Unless, of course, it gets sued by operators before the process even starts.

Continue reading Yet another Ofcom report promises UK LTE spectrum sale within five months, rollout in mid-2013

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Yet another Ofcom report promises UK LTE spectrum sale within five months, rollout in mid-2013 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jul 2012 02:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EU deepens Microsoft investigation amidst claims Windows RT tablets block rival browser install

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Where there's smoke, there's fire and now that the EU's caught a whiff of alleged misconduct on Microsoft's part, it's dragging Windows 8 under the hot lights. Though MS moved swiftly earlier this week to acknowledge and remedy the technical glitch that prevented users from selecting alternate browsers on early 2011 Win7 machines, it now faces similar claims from third parties regarding its upcoming Win8 tablets. According to Reuters, the European Commission's broadening its investigation to encompass allegations that Redmond is blocking the install of rival browsers on Win RT tablets running ARM chips and withholding access to full APIs. The company's yet to issue a response to this latest bout of legal drama, but when the stakes are this high, you can be sure it won't be before long.

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EU deepens Microsoft investigation amidst claims Windows RT tablets block rival browser install originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 18:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft under investigation for not fulfilling browser choice pledge (update: MS says it’s fixing ‘glitch’)

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Microsoft under investigation for not fulfilling browser choice pledge

You'd be forgiven for thinking this whole browser choice issue was resolved back in 2009, but no. European regulators are back on Redmond's back, following suspicions that the megacorp may not be complying with the deal it struck all that time ago. Specifically, the allegations focus on versions of Windows 7 sold since February 2011 that came preloaded with patches, and which may not have displayed the all-important browser selection screen that offered up IE alternatives like Firefox and Chrome.

The EU's concerns have already been bluntly expressed by Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia, who said that Microsoft "should expect sanctions" if the "infringement is confirmed" by the investigation. Almunia added that this is the first time his commission has been faced with a previous offender potentially failing to meet its antitrust commitments.

Update: Reuters reports that Microsoft has acknowledged a "technical error" that meant it "missed delivering the BCS (browser choice screen) software to PCs that came with the service pack 1 update to Windows 7." The company apologized for the problem and said it has taken "immediate steps" to fix it.

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Microsoft under investigation for not fulfilling browser choice pledge (update: MS says it's fixing 'glitch') originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 07:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple may get the Italian boot, has 30 days to push a 2-year warranty for locals

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Apple may get the Italian boot, has 30 days to push a 2year warranty for locals

Italian regulator AGCM is clearly on a short fuse with Apple. After issuing a €900,000 fine ($1.1 million) to Apple for not properly offering the free 2-year warranty required by national law, the agency is now warning the iPhone maker that it could face a temporary exile -- and we don't mean to Elba. On top of an additional €300,000 ($377,490) potential fine, Apple now faces as much as a 30-day shutdown of all its Italian business for allegedly doing too little to tell customers they don't always need AppleCare for extended coverage. Having lost its appeal on the original fine, Apple's main buffer is a 30-day window to address the complaints before the hammer drops. We have yet to see if Apple will tweak its policies in time, but it's hard to believe the American firm will risk even the momentary closure of an important European wing.

Apple may get the Italian boot, has 30 days to push a 2-year warranty for locals originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 08:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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