Search Results for: wireless

Google’s CSquared parnters with local firms to enhance Africa’s affordable broadband

Editor

CSquared, a pan-African broadband infrastructure provider owned by Google and other partners, has said that one of its top priorities is ‘fiberizing’ Africa through affordable broadband internet connectivity. “Fiberizing Africa is about creating value by changing the way Africa perceives internet,” said Lanre Kolade, the newly-appointed CEO of CSquared. “The continent should transition from being just consumers of internet and move to the extra mile of generating its own local content.” Started as a project within Google to build and operate open-access broadband infrastructure in Africa and increase access to…

Telstra announces First Global 5G Wi-Fi hotspots

Dianne Jacobs
Safaricom

Telstra has announced switching on the world’s first 5G-enabled Wi-Fi hotspots in the Gold Coast ahead of the Commonwealth Games next month, with visitors to the region able to gain access to the free service. While no smartphones or tablets currently support 5G, Telstra said it is using 5G backhaul and infrastructure in its newly launched 5G Innovation Centre in the Gold Coast to power standard Wi-Fi access points. Telstra Networks MD Mike Wright said in an interview on Tuesday afternoon that there are seven or eight hotspots in the…

New Intel security flaw allows remote access to corporate laptops by hackers

Remember the latest “Spectre” and “Meltdown” vulnerabilities recently found in the micro-chips that are used in almost all computers, tablets and smartphones today? A new security flaw has been found in Intel hardware by Finish company F-Secure. The new vulnerability could enable hackers to access corporate laptops remotely. F-Secure said in a statement that the flaw was an issue within Intel Active Management Technology (AMT), “which is commonly found in most corporate laptops, (and) allows an attacker to take complete control over a user’s device in a matter of seconds,”…

The technology industry needs to think more seriously about device addictions

Dianne Jacobs
Parents

Mobile programmers have the ability to build software that provides deep layers of penetration to the end user through sophisticated targeted notifications. Consumers with their chosen apps, have hundreds of notifications turned on and thus are brought back to their phones at an alarming frequency. A recent study shows that many people consult their phone as much as 150 times a day. Everyone is screaming to the consumer and doing whatever they can to get their attention while not considering the long term ramifications of such excessive stimuli. With the…

New Bluetooth vulnerability can hack a phone in 10 seconds

Dianne Jacobs

More than 5 billion devices are vulnerable to a “highly infectious” malware attack. Go ahead, blame the internet of things. More than 5.3 billion devices with Bluetooth signals are at risk of a malware attack newly identified by an internet of things security company. If you’re not keeping count, that’s most of the estimated 8.2 billion devices that use Bluetooth, which allows for our  gadgets to connect and communicate in wireless. Nearly every connected device out there has Bluetooth capability. Your phones, laptops, speakers, car entertainment systems — the list goes…

HomePod firmware confirms the next iPhone will use infrared face unlock

Dianne Jacobs

Pinning down the precise features of the next iPhone has been difficult of late. A standard “S” model iPhone 7 and 7 Plus that won’t be radically different from last year’s is expected, but we’re also expecting a high-end model. It appears, based on a tweet from developer Steve Troughton-Smith, that at least one of those models will have face unlock. And the high-end model (alternately referred to as the “iPhone Pro,” “iPhone 8,” or even “iPhone X”) will have a bezel-less screen that wraps around the speaker and cameras…

ISPs argue Web history isn’t “sensitive” they should be able to sell it

Internet providers are continuing to argue that they should be free to share and sell users’ web history without permission because it isn’t “sensitive information.” “Web browsing and app usage history are not ‘sensitive information,’” CTIA said in a filing with the Federal Communications Commission yesterday. CTIA is the main lobbyist group representing mobile broadband providers such as AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile USA, and Sprint. The disagreement is around whether internet providers should be treated differently than web companies, like Facebook and Google. Internet providers argue that it’s unfair that the…

Security of IoT Devices to Be Rated for First Time

Dianne Jacobs

IoT standards groups are emerging to address issues of inter operability, communication protocols and security. Consumer Reports will begin considering the cybersecurity and privacy safeguards of products when rating them – a long overdue move perhaps, given Internet of Things device manufacturers have previously been accused of doing the barest minimum to protect consumers. The firm will steadily implement the methodologies across its reviews, starting with test projects evaluating a small number of products. The move follows a surge in cyberattacks which have exploited vulnerabilities in Internet of Things devices such as webcams, routers, digital video…

FCC halts regulations to protect data security

Many people realize Web services like Facebook or Google are monitoring their activities and security is not guaranteed, but companies also collect data in less obvious ways. Large websites and smaller businesses running smartphone apps do everything they can to collect information to tailor advertising or sell it to third parties interested in doing the same. The Federal Communications Commission in the United states FCC has been pushing through rules requiring internet service providers to disclose in plain language how consumer data is collected, how it’s shared with third parties…

Higher 5G Internet Speeds Coming To 11 Cities

5G

5G technology innovation is rapidly evolving. The wireless connectivity within the IoT may be receiving a boost in speed as soon as new efforts launch to implement and leverage 5G connectivity. As the network density is increases to meet the demands of customers, the time is right to deliver the next generation of broadband services with the higher internet speed reports The media post. The New 5G-networks are expected to provide speeds at least 10 times and maybe 100 times faster than today’s 4G networks. Verizon on the other hand…