Critics of Verizon Wireless’ proposed acquisition of spectrum from a group of cable companies are launching a new coalition to try to block the deal or at least get the Federal Communications Commission to impose conditions to make it more palatable. … more

China is positioning the home-grown telecoms giant ZTE to take on global market leaders such as Apple, Samsung and Nokia. … more

[news release] From 1 July 2012, the European Union’s mobile roaming regulation will be extended to include price caps for data downloads which will mean significant savings for those using maps, email and social networks when travelling. For a typical businessperson travelling in the EU this will mean savings of over €1000 per year. A family taking an annual holiday in another EU country can expect to save at least €200. (Full details of these data roaming case studies are in Annex II). … more

LTE is an amazing technology — but spreading it across the world and letting smartphone owners use it to their hearts’ content will be a major challenge on both technical and political fronts, a wireless technology researcher said at Interop Las Vegas. … more

A jury on Monday turned in the first big verdict in the high-stakes dispute over intellectual property between Google and Oracle. Unfortunately it didn’t do much to resolve the conflict, failing to rule on a key point that would give either party a clear victory. … more

Soaring demand for mobile phone services could deliver a surprise boost to next year’s federal budget as Labor leaves room to reap more than the official estimate for an auction of wireless spectrum later this year. … more

Telefonica is launching an app that allows smartphone users to make calls and send messages without using up their quota of call minutes or texts. … more

Paying by smartphone is safer than a credit card - that is the message for consumers from the financial services industry now technology to enable payment online and in stores by the phones is about to come into use. … more

The government has earmarked some $4 billion for the sale of 4G licences in digital spectrum auctions likely later this year. … more

The average time spent accessing Facebook via smartphone in the United States was 441 minutes in March, compared with 391 minutes via computer, according to comScore, underscoring the increasingly high-profile role of mobile in social networking. … more