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<title>Haaze.com / donovansld / All</title>
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<pubDate>Thu, 07 Apr 2011 07:10:41 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[FCC approves controversial data roaming rules]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=fcc-approves-controversial-data-roaming-rules</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=fcc-approves-controversial-data-roaming-rules</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 07 Apr 2011 07:10:41 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>donovansld</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=fcc-approves-controversial-data-roaming-rules</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules today at its monthly public meeting that will require wireless service providers, such as AT&amp;T and Verizon Wireless, to negotiate wireless data roaming deals with competitors.As expected, the FCC voted along party lines, with the three Democrats including Chairman Julius Genachowski voting in favor of the measure. Meanwhile, Republicans Robert McDowell and Meredith Atwell-Baker voted against the new rules, stating they don't believe the FCC has the authority or a reason to adopt such rules. The new rules will require wireless operators that own their infrastructure and spectrum to &quot;offer data roaming arrangements to other such providers on commercially reasonable terms and conditions, subject to certain limitations.&quot; The FCC said that the new rules are designed to allow consumers to access mobile data services anywhere they are. The idea is that consumers will still be able to get coverage even when they travel outside their carrier's territory by using another wireless operator's network. The FCC said this will help promote competition. To resolve any data roaming disputes, parties may file a petition to the FCC. Disputes will be resolved on a case-by-case basis taking into consideration the unique facts and circumstances in each instance, the FCC said. Commission staff may require both parties to provide their best and final offers.Genachowski said that rules adopted in 2007 mandating voice roaming have been very successful and laid the framework for adopting similar rules for mobile data services. He said the key benefit of the rules is that it will &quot;spur investment.&quot;&quot;Roaming obligations have helped fuel competition, investment and consumer choice in America's wireless marketplace since the first cellular voice service in 1981,&quot; Genachowski said in a statement. &quot;Today, we take a vital step to update this framework for the 21st century, as Americans increasingly use their mobile devices for data as well as voice.&quot;Commissioner Michael Copps, who voted in favor of the new rules, said that he is &quot;pleased that data roaming's time has arrived.&quot; He said that the rules advance &quot;two key goals of his and the commission's in protecting wireless consumers and promoting competition.&quot;Related links&amp;149' FCC to vote on mandatory wireless-data roaming&amp;149' AT&amp;T to acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 billion&amp;149' FAQ: What is Brand X really aboutThe Republican commissioners agreed that data roaming among wireless operators is a good thing for the industry, but they disagreed that the FCC needs rules that will force wireless operators to negotiate with competitors and offer &quot;reasonable rates.&quot;McDowell said that the commission does not have the authority to adopt such rules, since he believes the rules would impose Title II &quot;common carrier&quot; regulation onto a service that the FCC has specifically deemed in the past to not be considered something regulated under Title II.&quot;I also agree with my colleagues that many benefits flow from the widespread availability of data roaming,&quot; he said. &quot;Nonetheless, the commission simply does not have the legal authority to adopt the regulatory regime mandated by this order.&quot;Baker also said she feels the FCC is overstepping its authority. But she added that she feels the regulation is unnecessary. AT&amp;T and Verizon Wireless, the two largest wireless operators in the U.S., already offer data roaming agreements. Instead, she wondered if roaming agreements that have not been made between carriers had more to do with terms and commercial rates rather than an unwillingness on the part of bigger wireless operators to not allow access to their networks.&quot;Overall, our record shows that there are not generalized or categorical refusals to deal by wireless providers,&quot; she said. &quot;Instead, there is a fundamental inability to agree on financial terms and conditions, primarily rates. This is a compelling difference to me. It raises not only the issue of whether the commission is best equipped to determine a &quot;commercially reasonable&quot; market rate., but also is an area that Congress has specifically told the commission to avoid.&quot;Vonya B. McCann, senior vice president of government affairs for Sprint Nextel, said that the FCC's vote would spur investment and protect smaller competitors as the wireless market consolidates to fewer competitors. Last month AT&amp;T announced it plans to buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion, a move that will reduce the number of national wireless carriers from four to three. Sprint opposes the merger.&quot;The FCC must be congratulated for taking this action despite the opposition of the two largest U.S. wireless carriers who have lobbied against this pro-consumer, pro-competitive item,&quot; she said in a statement. &quot;With AT&amp;T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile and the corresponding threat it poses to continued wireless competition, it is absolutely critical that the FCC take steps to promote competition and level the playing field.&quot;AT&amp;T and Verizon, which are the only two wireless operators to oppose this measure, each voiced their disappointment with the outcome of the vote.AT&amp;T accused its competitors, who supported the new rules, of looking for the government to step in to set cheaper roaming rates.&quot;Roaming agreements for both voice and data are in place throughout the country, and were reached through normal commercial negotiations, Bob Quinn, AT&amp;T's senior vice president of regulatory affairs, said in a statement. &quot;The evidence presented in this proceeding demonstrated conclusively that proponents of a roaming mandate were seeking government intervention, not to obtain agreements-- which are plentiful--but rather to regulate rates downward. &quot;Verizon's executive vice president of public affairs, Tom Tauke, said in a statement that his company is more than willing to enter into roaming agreements with other wireless carriers. And he pointed to the fact that Verizon now has 40 such relationships in place for data services.&quot;Today's action represents a new level of unwarranted government intervention in the wireless marketplace,&quot; he said in a statement. &quot;By forcing carriers that have invested in wireless infrastructure to make those networks available to competitors that avoid this investment, at a price ultimately determined by the FCC, today's order discourages network investment in less profitable areas.&quot;Tauke also added that he is &quot;concerned that the FCC is taking this action even though it does not have the statutory authority to do so.&quot;Even though AT&amp;T and Verizon Wireless each claim that they are willing to negotiate data roaming agreements with competitors on their own, Genachowski said that the record assembled by the FCC showed that these companies were reluctant to do so.&quot;The record makes clear that some providers have refused to negotiate 3G or 4G data roaming agreements, have created long delays, or have taken other steps to impede competition,&quot; he said. He also said that rural carriers in particular had informed the FCC that their &quot;attempts to enter into data roaming negotiations with nationwide providers are 'many times rejected out of hand.' One company reported that 'even our requests for an assurance to negotiate at some point in the future have been refused.'&quot;Genachowski also argued that the FCC is well within its authority to set these rules. He called the argument that the commission is regulating the wireless data roaming services as common carrier services &quot;flat wrong: the framework we adopt leaves mobile service providers free to negotiate and determine, on an individualized case-by-case basis, the commercially reasonable terms of data roaming agreements. Under the law, this is the very opposite of common carriage.&quot; &quot;Very often when we act here at the commission, someone says we've exceeded our authority,&quot; he continued. &quot;But the truth is that these claims of overreaching are themselves an overreach. During the last four years, the federal courts have issued 16 published merits decisions addressing direct statutory challenges to FCC orders. The FCC prevailed in 15 of the 16 challenges--94 percent of the time. I am confident that the same result will pertain here, if this order is challenged.&quot;The FCC also unanimously adopted new rules that will make it easier for broadband providers to use utility poles and other government rights of way to install infrastructure for broadband service. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[GM and LG Chem pen new agreement with Argonne for next-gen battery technology]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gm-and-lg-chem-pen-new-agreement-with-argonne-for-next-gen-battery-technology</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gm-and-lg-chem-pen-new-agreement-with-argonne-for-next-gen-battery-technology</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 06 Jan 2011 08:10:40 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>donovansld</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gm-and-lg-chem-pen-new-agreement-with-argonne-for-next-gen-battery-technology</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Next-generation battery packs for the future Chevy Volts could have 50 to 100 percent more battery life.(Credit:GM)General Motors is looking ahead to next-generation battery packs that are lighter and have a longer life.The Detroit automaker and LG Chem, today announced a new licensing agreement to use Argonne National Laboratory's patented composite cathode material for lithium ion battery packs for the Volt.With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, Argonne has developed a suite of lithium ion battery inventions and patents that will reduce price and improve performance for the next-gen battery systems.Cathy Zoi, acting undersecretary of energy and assistant secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, said the DOE has been working with companies like Argonne for the last 11 years to increase the range of electric vehicles.President of GM's Ventures, Jon Lauckner, called the new lithium and nickel-manganese-cobalt cathode combination uses the most advanced cathode material available.&quot;This is cutting-edge technology that is going to improve future electrified vehicles--pure electrics, extended-range electrics and plug-in hybrids,&quot; Lauckner said.The new agreement doesn't cut current Volt battery-maker LG Chem out of the picture. Research Director Mohamed Alamgir, said the South Korean-based company was opening a new battery plant in Holland, Mich. This location will begin production of the new battery packs in 2012 and will employ up to 400 people.&quot;The fact that GM is including Argonne's novel composite cathode material in their commercialization process is a testament to the world-class scientists performing research in this area at Argonne and the long-term vision and commitment by DOE,&quot; said Argonne Director Eric Isaacs.&quot;This is an excellent example of how research investments can lead to new opportunities, new industries, and new jobs as technology developed in the laboratory is transferred to the marketplace,&quot; Isaacs added.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Socialize this: Gamer social network Raptr raises $15M and gets 6M fans]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=socialize-this-gamer-social-network-raptr-raises-15m-and-gets-6m-fans</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=socialize-this-gamer-social-network-raptr-raises-15m-and-gets-6m-fans</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>donovansld</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=socialize-this-gamer-social-network-raptr-raises-15m-and-gets-6m-fans</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Raptr, the gamer social network, just raised $2.50 for every fan that it has. The company announced today that it has built its audience to more than 6 million users and raised $15 million in funding.The numbers show that Raptr has a very good chance at breaking out of Facebook&amp;'s shadow and establishing a niche social network catering just to hardcore gamers. If it can stay the course, the company could become a magnet for marketing games, discovering new titles, and gaining insights into the behavior of gamers, who are a lucrative target for advertisers.The Mountain View, Calif.-based company is headed by Dennis &amp;''Thresh&amp;'' Fong, who became known earlier in his career as one of the best first-person shooter professional game players. Fong&amp;'s visibility is one reason Raptr is also well known in hardcore gamer circles.Raptr said the service is now adding more than 750,000 new users a month. Monthly unique users are at 5.5 million. In June 2010, Raptr had just 1 million monthly active users.DAG Ventures raised the second round of funding. Other investors in the new round include new investor Tenaya Capital and existing investor Accel Partners.Fong said the goal is to turn Raptr into the world&amp;'s preeminent gaming community. The company has also expanded onto mobile devices.To date, Raptr has raised $27 million. Raptr will use the funding to add new features for the community. With Raptr, users can currently share their own achievements with other gamers on the PC, Xbox 360, and the PlayStation 3. They can chat about games, browse the web from within a game, and see what their friends are playing via the phone.Game publishers can use Raptr to target ads and sell games. And Raptr can help game discovery &amp;8212' one of the biggest challenges in a sea of games on the market &amp;8212' by encouraging friends to share their favorite games with each other. Raptr&amp;'s media site partners include GameSpot, GamePro, and 1UP. Those sites can use Raptr&amp;'s anonymized data to showcase what games are hot or not.The company was founded in 2007. It has a number of rivals, but Raptr now has the most funding raised to date.Next Story: Verizon iPhone launch is no AT&amp;038'T iPhone launch Previous Story: On the GreenBeat: MiaSol snared in patent suit, Nissan to show off electric sports carPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: gamer social network, RaptrCompanies: GamePro, GameSpot, RaptrPeople: Dennis Fong          Tags: gamer social network, RaptrCompanies: GamePro, GameSpot, RaptrPeople: Dennis FongDean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat. Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.comVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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