Hacker News with Generative AI: Telecommunications

Verizon tries to get out of merger condition requiring it to unlock phones (arstechnica.com)
Verizon petitioned the Trump administration to let it lock phones to its network for longer periods of time, making it harder for customers to switch to other carriers.

Telecommunications, Law, Consumer Rights, Mobile Phones

38 points by coloneltcb 2 days ago | 7 comments

FCC Asked to Give Spectrum to Allow SpaceX Starlink to Make a Better GPS (nextbigfuture.com)
In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), SpaceX said SpaceX Starlink satellites can be a next-generation Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) solution.

SpaceX, FCC, GPS, Satellite Technology, Telecommunications

9 points by dzhiurgis 3 days ago | 0 comments

Huawei widens lead in global telecom race, Western giants retreat under pressure (digitimes.com)
As global telecom players across Europe, the US, Japan, and South Korea face mass layoffs and resource constraints, market contraction is accelerating. Meanwhile, Huawei is bucking the trend, expanding its R&D headcount and consolidating its lead...

Telecommunications, Huawei, Business, Competition, Technology

5 points by ksec 3 days ago | 0 comments

Spain struck by phone and internet blackout (lbc.co.uk)
All mobile phone networks have gone down across Spain, just four weeks after the country suffered nationwide blackouts.

Spain, Internet Outages, Telecommunications

12 points by firstSpeaker 3 days ago | 0 comments

Remembering the ISP that David Bowie ran for 8 years (hackaday.com)
The seeds of the Internet were first sown in the late 1960s, with computers laced together in continent-spanning networks to aid in national defence. However, it was in the late 1990s that the end-user explosion took place, as everyday people flocked online in droves.

Internet History, David Bowie, Technology, Telecommunications

10 points by ethanpil 4 days ago | 6 comments

FCC approves Verizon's $20B merger after it commits to 'ending' DEI (theverge.com)
Verizon’s $20 billion deal to acquire the fiber internet provider Frontier is officially happening.

Telecommunications, FCC

11 points by bundie 5 days ago | 1 comments

Promise to Kill DEI, and Trump's FCC Will Approve Anything (gizmodo.com)
Any time a major acquisition occurs, it’s standard for regulatory agencies to want to secure some promises before giving it the green light. Verizon’s recently approved purchase of Frontier Communications for $20 billion is no exception, but the concessions that Brendan Carr, Donald Trump’s pick to head the Federal Communications Commission, was able to secure are a little… different. Carr gave the green light to consolidate the industry once Verizon promised it would stop caring about workforce diversity.

Politics, Regulatory Agencies, Media, Telecommunications

8 points by doener 6 days ago | 0 comments

Charter to Buy Cox Communications in Mega Cable Merger (investopedia.com)
Charter Communications (CHTR) has struck a deal to buy privately held rival Cox Communications in a deal that would combine two of the U.S.'s largest cable providers.

Telecommunications, Cable TV, Business

10 points by fabio8085 7 days ago | 0 comments

FCC threatens EchoStar licenses for spectrum that SpaceX wants to use (arstechnica.com)
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr has threatened to revoke EchoStar licenses for radio frequency bands coveted by rival firms including SpaceX, which alleges that EchoStar is underutilizing the spectrum.

SpaceX, Spectrum, Telecommunications, FCC, Regulations

46 points by unsnap_biceps 10 days ago | 4 comments

The FCC Must Reject Efforts to Lock Up Public Airwaves (eff.org)
President Trump’s attack on public broadcasting has attracted plenty of deserved attention, but there’s a far more technical, far more insidious policy change in the offing—one that will take away Americans’ right to unencumbered access to our publicly owned airwaves.

Politics, Public Policy, Telecommunications, Media

11 points by hn_acker 14 days ago | 0 comments

The War on Internet Phone Calls (pessimistsarchive.org)
It used to cost money to call someone, and if that someone was in another country - you would pay a premium: in the mid-90s a prime time call to Paris from New York cost around $113 an hour (in 2025 dollars)

Telecommunications, History, Economics

6 points by hn_acker 18 days ago | 0 comments

TeleMessage suspends services after hackers claim to have stolen files (nbcnews.com)

Cybersecurity, Data Breaches, Hacking, Telecommunications

12 points by ceejayoz 18 days ago | 0 comments

Defense Red Switch Network (wikipedia.org)
The Defense Red Switch Network (DRSN) is a dedicated telephone network which provides global secure communication services for the command and control structure of the United States Armed Forces.

Military, Telecommunications, Security, Networks, Government

8 points by Bluestein 18 days ago | 0 comments

QModem 4.51 Source Code (github.com/AaronFriel)
The source code release of QModem 4.51, an MS-DOS telecommunications program authored by John Friel III (1960–2024). This source snapshot reflects the state of QModem "Test-Drive" edition, version 4.51, as it existed in early 1992. The release is presented in the hope it may prove valuable as a historical artifact, for telecommunications enthusiasts, retrocomputing hobbyists, or anyone interested in the inner workings of a classic DOS comms package.

Software, Retrocomputing, History, Open Source, Telecommunications

214 points by AaronFriel 20 days ago | 75 comments

Taxes and fees not included: T-Mobile's latest price lock is nearly meaningless (arstechnica.com)
T-Mobile is making another long-term price guarantee, but wireless users will rightfully be skeptical since T-Mobile refused to honor a previously offered lifetime price lock and continues to fight a lawsuit filed by customers who were harmed by that broken promise. Moreover, the new plans that come with a price guarantee will have extra fees that can be raised at any time.

Telecommunications, Consumer Protection, Lawsuits, Pricing

43 points by hn_acker 21 days ago | 60 comments

FCC Proposes Closing the Non-IP Network Robocall Loophole (docs.fcc.gov)

Telecommunications, Regulation, Consumer Protection, Technology

6 points by impish9208 25 days ago | 1 comments

FBI offers $10M for information about Salt Typhoon members (arstechnica.com)
The FBI is offering $10 million for information about the China-state hacking group tracked as Salt Typhoon and its intrusion last year into sensitive networks belonging to multiple US telecommunications companies.

Cybersecurity, Hacking, China, US Government, Telecommunications

9 points by Bender 28 days ago | 0 comments

5th Circuit Lets AT&T Off the Hook for Major Location Data Privacy Violations (techdirt.com)
For decades, major wireless carriers AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile collected vast troves of sensitive user location and movement data, then sold access to any random nitwit with two nickels to rub together.

Privacy, Telecommunications, Lawsuits, Data Security, Location Tracking

13 points by hn_acker 30 days ago | 1 comments

UN says scam call centers are epidemic and expanding globally (theregister.com)
Scam call centers are metastasizing worldwide "like a cancer," according to the United Nations, which warns the epidemic has reached a global inflection point as syndicates scale up and spread out.

Scams, Telecommunications, Crime, International Relations, Technology

51 points by jnord 30 days ago | 34 comments

ISPs and robocallers love the FCC plan to "delete" as many rules as possible (arstechnica.com)
Industry groups have submitted deregulatory wishlists for the Federal Communications Commission's "Delete, Delete, Delete" initiative that aims to eliminate as many regulations as possible.

Telecommunications, Regulation, FCC, Politics, Industry

28 points by rntn 38 days ago | 0 comments

Getting a Signal on the Moon: 4G network for lunar missions (ieee.org)
Nokia’s 4G cellular network will be a game-changer for lunar missions

Space Exploration, Telecommunications, Technology, 4G, Moon

15 points by sundarurfriend 41 days ago | 4 comments

AT&T step-by-step switch (youtube.com)

AT&T, Telecommunications, Video Tutorials

7 points by mbostleman 42 days ago | 0 comments

Hacking the call records of millions of Americans (evanconnelly.github.io)
Imagine if anyone could punch in a phone number from the largest U.S. cell carrier and instantly retrieve a list of its recent incoming calls—complete with timestamps—without compromising the device, guessing a password, or alerting the user.

Privacy, Cybersecurity, Data Breaches, Telecommunications

156 points by voxadam 51 days ago | 33 comments

Why 5G Is an Expensive Flop (bloomberg.com)
Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent upgrading the world’s wireless networks to fifth-generation technologies. 5G’s early advocates said it would “change the way we live, work and play forever.” Have you noticed?

5G, Technology, Telecommunications, Business, Economics

7 points by helsinkiandrew 54 days ago | 1 comments

Revolving Door: Ex FCC Boss Ajit Pai Promoted to Top Wireless Industry Lobbyist (techdirt.com)
You probably recall Ajit Pai, Trump’s first FCC boss. Pai took a mindless hatchet to broadband consumer protection and media consolidation limits with no shortage of scandal. Like that time he turned a blind eye as the telecom industry used dead and fake people to generate fake support for shitty policies (like killing net neutrality). Or that time he made up a DDOS attack on the FCC to downplay massive public backlash to those same, unpopular policies.

Telecommunications, Politics, Media, Regulation, Net Neutrality

65 points by WarOnPrivacy 56 days ago | 8 comments

FCC chairman Brendan Carr starts granting telecom lobby's wish list (arstechnica.com)
The Federal Communications Commission is making it easier for telcos to turn off old copper phone and DSL networks with four changes that relax requirements related to copper shutoffs.

Telecommunications, FCC, Regulation, Technology, Politics

11 points by PaulHoule 57 days ago | 0 comments

Supreme Court takes up $8B phone and internet subsidy for rural areas (apnews.com)
The Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday in a major legal fight over the $8 billion a year the federal government spends to subsidize phone and internet services in schools, libraries and rural areas, in a new test of federal regulatory power.

Law, Telecommunications, Government, Rural Development

36 points by voxadam 58 days ago | 69 comments

FCC chairman Brendan Carr starts granting telecom lobby's wish list (arstechnica.com)
The Federal Communications Commission is making it easier for telcos to turn off old copper phone and DSL networks with four changes that relax requirements related to copper shutoffs.

Telecommunications, FCC, Regulation, Technology, Lobbying

11 points by LinuxBender 64 days ago | 0 comments

Trump plan to fund Musk's Starlink over fiber called "betrayal" of rural US (arstechnica.com)
A federal broadband official departed the US government with a warning that a Trump administration plan will strand rural Americans with worse Internet access in order to help Elon Musk secure public money for Starlink.

Politics, Telecommunications, Rural America, Elon Musk, Space Exploration

26 points by throw0101a 67 days ago | 10 comments

FCC stands up Council on National Security to fight China – like CISA used to (theregister.com)
United States Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr has unveiled plans to form a Council on National Security that will combat foreign threats to American tech and telecommunications infrastructure.

National Security, Cybersecurity, Telecommunications, China, United States

5 points by mikece 67 days ago | 0 comments