Companies that offer satellite-based services including mobile data, mobile TV, disaster relief and remote medical services will soon be able to do so across the whole of Europe, after the European Commission announced it was harmonizing radio spectrum throughout the continent for this purpose. … more

Wireless Internet access is about to move out of coffee shops and airport lounges and into airplanes.

After years of talking about what customers wanted and waiting for new technology, Delta Air Lines said it will begin offering broadband Internet service on domestic flights as early as October. Delta is trying to outmaneuver rival JetBlue, known for outfitting planes with satellite TV, and American Airlines, which is planning to launch Internet service later this year. Other airlines, including Continental, Southwest and Virgin America, are planning tests or have them underway. … more

Telecom, whose share prices is bobbing around near a 15-year low, said today it plans to spend $130 million on new internet Protocol (IP) network. … more

European Union telecoms ministers meet in Brussels today to discuss a package of reforms and report back on progress towards the Commission’s information society strategy. … more

As home networking becomes more complex, telecom and cable providers could take a page from Best Buy’s team of trained technicians, Geek Squad

Anyone who has taken a do-it-yourself approach to home networking gets exactly why we need Best Buy’s Geek Squad. As digital media technology finds more locations within the home, and becomes increasingly complex, there’s a growing need for technical experts to help make it all work together. Today’s homes have begun to resemble small businesses, with multiple networked computers and increasingly networked devices like printers and entertainment systems. It’s no surprise that Geek Squad, which pioneered the business of dispatching a national network of trained technicians, has built a highly visible service brand that positions Best Buy for the future. … more

Ofcom is to deregulate wholesale broadband access across much of the UK in a move it claims, reflects its success in promoting competition between suppliers. … more

The former monopoly was struggling until Verwaayen came to the group’s rescue

Seven years ago the idea that anyone, let alone its competitors, would ever have anything positive to say about BT or its senior management was unthinkable. … more

Canadian regulator wants evidence that networks are congested in squabble over practice of slowing some Internet traffic

Federal regulators have ordered Bell Canada to provide tangible evidence that its broadband networks are congested to justify the company’s Internet “traffic-shaping” policies. … more

Capital expenditure by mobile operators on 4G base station gateways and fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) carrier equipment will approach $850m in 2013, experts predict. … more

Surfing the Web on a personal computer will become old-fashioned in less than ten years when the majority of Internet users are expected to access the Net through their mobile handsets, Geraldine Wilson, vice president of Yahoo! Europe Connected Life, told EurActiv in an interview. … more