December 2011

Verizon Wireless is keeping its foot firmly planted on the pedal when it comes to 4G LTE. Verizon has an aggressive slate of 4G products in the works for next year--including the vast majority of its smartphones.

The carrier also plans to make more 4G devices affordable, further driving adoption. That'll be key to Verizon's effort to further extend its edge over the competition. The carrier was largely racing against itself when it came to 4G LTE this year, but 2012 will be different as rivals work quickly to roll out their own next-generation networks. Verizon, for its part, isn't so concerned. Verizon still holds an intimidating lead over its competition when it comes to 4G LTE deployment. The carrier told CNET that as of December 15, the 4G LTE network would cover 200 million people, surpassing its previous target of 185 million. It will also have reached 190 markets, with Youngstown, Ohio, being the latest addition.

Much of the iPad’s use in medical settings so far has been in the form of pilots and trials, but it’s getting ready to take off in a much bigger way.

The Veteran’s Administration in the U.S. is looking at rolling out as many as 100,000 tablets across 152 hospitals, says Wired, based on the success of the 1,500 trial iPads it currently has in use. Over 80 percent of U.S. hospitals have similar trials in place, according to recent comments made by Apple CEO Tim Cook, which means that many more could soon take the plunge, resulting in a huge uptick of orders from medical organizations for the generally consumer-oriented device. iPads can help on both sides of the stethoscope. For patients, they can act as a source of entertainment, providing a way for those who are bed-bound to escape their situation and just browse the web, play games or watch a movie privately and in comfort. Doctors can use them to consult more easily while out of office, and they increase the likelihood of uptake for EMR programs, since they make such records convenient and accessible, instead of a chore tied to a stationary desktop.

Verizon has become the first company certified to offer high-level online identity protection for federal personnel and visitors to dot-gov websites.

With agencies under budgetary pressure to move services online and data breaches spiking, ID providers are vying to offer departments, as well as businesses, easy, affordable means of ensuring people are who they say they are online. Verizon officials said the win opens the door for potential contracts with the Internal Revenue Service and other agencies that require a high level of ID trustworthiness for transactions, such as filing taxes directly through IRS.gov. Until now, companies, including Google and Equifax, met the federal government's criteria for offering websites only the lowest of four "levels of assurance" -- Level 1, which simply confirms a username and password. Level 3 assurance, which Verizon now carries, requires checking a second piece of identifying data, such as a smart card containing personal information and biometric fingerprints.

This chaotic and raucous primary season is demonstrating that Roger Ailes will put the interests of his network ahead of all else.

If 2010 was the year that Fox fueled the tea party — culminating in record ratings and the Republican sweep of the House midterms — 2012 is shaping up to be the year that Ailes decided Fox will benefit if the political world recognizes that his network is willing to make GOP candidates sweat in front of their base. Like any good candidate, the network plans to tack toward the center for the general election. It's a complex game Ailes is playing. Conversations with Fox sources and media executives suggest a new strategy: Fox is trying to credibly capture the center without alienating its loyal core of rabid viewers. To this end, the network is flexing its news-gathering muscles in high-profile ways that will capture media attention.

Why bother? Partly as a preemptive measure against CNN.