AllThingsD » wireless networks

U.K.: Google Breached Laws

Paul Sonne — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 15:53:21 +0000

U.K. officials ruled Wednesday that Google Inc. broke the law by collecting data from wireless networks for its Street View mapping service, reflecting growing scrutiny in Europe of the U.S. Internet company’s privacy practices.

Google earlier this year said that the camera-equipped cars it uses to mark the location of wireless networks and take pictures for its Street View service had for years inadvertently collected data from publicly accessible wireless networks. Google initially said that no significant personal data was collected, but last month admitted that emails and passwords had also been copied.

On Wednesday, U.K. Information Commissioner Christopher Graham, the regulator in charge of data protection, issued a statement saying that, as a result of the “significant breach” of law, his office would audit Google’s data-protection practices in the U.K. and ask the Mountain View, Calif., company to sign an official commitment affirming that such breaches wouldn’t occur again. The U.K. regulator had earlier found that Google didn’t collect meaningful personal details.

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Moto: Morgan Keegan Sees Upside Post Phone Spinoff

Alexander Eule — Wed, 19 May 2010 21:15:26 +0000

Shares of Motorola (MOT) are up eight cents, or 1.2 percent, at $6.86, after Morgan Keegan analyst Tavis McCourt this morning writes to clients that he’s taken a “deep dive” into Moto, after spending six hours with company management yesterday, reiterating an “Outperform” rating on the stock and a range of valuations from $7 to $12 depending on the progress of the mobile devices unit, which Moto is planning to spin off.

So-called Enterprise Mobility, which comprises sales of voice and data networking equipment, wireless networks and industrial-strength radio systems, will comprise about 70 percent of sales and 80 percent of cash flow once the company spins out handsets, which is expected to take place early next year.

The unit could have sales growth of five to eight percent, or better than that if Congress funds a proposed nationwide wireless network for emergency medical services and other “first responders.”

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Ericsson: Thanks a Lot, Sony

John Paczkowski — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 12:08:53 +0000

Telecom equipment maker Ericsson reported earnings this morning, and while the Swedish company is obviously doing better than some of its rivals, it’s not doing all that much better. This morning the company posted a 35 percent drop in first-quarter profit, its financials undermined by its Sony Ericsson joint venture (which reported a loss of 293 million euros) and by customers postponing purchases because their local currency has collapsed. Net profit in the quarter was 1.7 billion kronor ($210 million) compared with 2.6 billion kronor in the same period a year ago.

Now we know why Ericsson declined to offer a specific business outlook for 2009 when it last reported earnings. That said, the company seems to believe that the effects of global recession on its business are limited so far. Investments in wireless networks apparently continue apace, econalypse be damned.

“I think we have had a decent start of the year,” CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg said during a conference call with analysts. “We continue to gain market share. We had several strategic wins, we’re doing good in managed–both networks and managed services. There are some but still limited effects from the economic recession and still I think this is not the time to be too precise and predicting but realize that this is a very unusual time.”

Best Buy: Now Everyone Wants an Army Of Geeks

Eric Savitz — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:17:34 +0000

Best Buy (BBY) has a nice niche with its Geek Squad, providing tech-savvy service people to help customers set up large-screen televisions, home theater systems, wireless networks and other high-end consumer electronics goods. It’s such a nice niche, in fact, that now everyone wants to do it.

Citigroup analyst Kate McShane raised the issue this morning in launching coverage of the electronics retailing giant. She rates Best Buy a “Hold,” and specifically focuses on the the rise of Geek Squad clones. That would be good news for geeks, not so good for Best Buy.

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