January 2014

Wireless carriers have expanded their 4G networks into new spectrum and implemented new technologies that squeeze more capacity, speed and range out of their existing towers.

While it might be easy to view LTE as simply a status marker -- either you’ve got it or you don’t -- the reality is that no two LTE networks are the same. Verizon is now able to stack tens of millions more LTE devices onto its networks without overloading them. And for the speed-obsessed out there, Verizon’s network has become the one to latch onto. Early tests clocked downlink connections of 80 Mbps, though the network is sure to slow down as it fills up with subscribers. T-Mobile has been boasting a lot about its 4G networks of late, and in truth it has a lot to brag about. The country’s smallest national carrier went from zero to nationwide LTE in just eight months, and in November it doubled the capacity of its network in at least 40 major cities. To be honest, AT&T’s days of making big 4G headlines are probably over. Ma Bell had a big run over the summer after several independent studies all crowned AT&T the 4G speed king, but since then it’s been forced to back down from those claims. AT&T simply lacks the big hunks of contiguous airwaves necessary to deploy the 40MHz behemoths that Verizon and T-Mobile are building. But that doesn’t mean AT&T lacks resources. It has spectrum in bands all over the map, and it’s using every megahertz it can.

At Clemson University, aspiring teachers are working together to develop and review digital lessons. They're learning how to use social media to find classroom resources. And they're being encouraged to partner on projects that emphasize technology with students from other majors.

Those strategies reflect a shift underway at some teacher colleges that are working to revamp their programs to improve the technology literacy of future educators -- and address what many see as a major shortcoming in the profession. Technology is swiftly assuming a dominant role in classrooms, and in students' lives. Many observers have raised doubts about whether schools of education are providing future teachers with the skills they need to address blended learning, and whether they're using digital tools to improve instruction. Faculty members at Clemson's school of education and at a number of other higher education institutions are determined to address the issue head-on. Officials at the South Carolina university have taken numerous steps to raise future teachers' tech-proficiency, including increasing course requirements and setting up forums for future educators to share ideas about how to craft lessons using technology tools. A number of policymakers, including President Barack Obama, have shown an interest in improving teachers' preparation to use technology in the classroom. As part of his ConnectEd initiative to overhaul the federal E-rate program and improve schools' technology access, President Obama has called for the US Department of Education to help teachers become more adept at using classroom technology.

[Commentary] Could Motorola -- and Chicago -- end up better off with Google’s sale of the handset maker to Lenovo?

“Lenovo is not anywhere near as sexy as Google is. It's a blow to Chicago's connectivity back to Silicon Valley," said Michael Marasco, director of the Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Northwestern University. "But Lenovo has a history of thinking long term, and it's a global leader." And through the deal, he notes, Chicago's tech community achieves greater "connectivity into Asia, which is a bigger market.” The bigger issue for the city and the tech community is saving the phone maker, a herculean challenge that eluded three Motorola leaders and Google, regarded as one of the smartest companies in technology. “It's a better deal for Motorola,” said Neil Mawston, an analyst at Strategy Analytics. “Instead of a software maker controlling a hardware maker, it's a hardware maker controlling them. Lenovo has a successful track record of growing IBM's PC business globally.” After the acquisition, Lenovo will be No. 3, with 6 percent of the smartphone market, which accounts for most of the cellphone industry's profit, according to Strategy Analytics. Samsung is No. 1 with 32 percent of shipments, followed by Apple, with 15 percent. Lenovo, best known as one of the world's top sellers of PCs, already is in the phone business. But while it's one of the top phone makers in China, the world's biggest market, Lenovo has no presence in the US, the world's most lucrative market.

[Commentary] Is Edward Snowden a whistleblower or a traitor? There is a vast cultural divide between Silicon Valley and Washington on this issue, and the reasons reveal much about the broader debates about what to do in the wake of the leaks.

As a member of President Obama’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies, I spoke with numerous people in the intelligence community. Not one said that Snowden was a whistleblower. The level of anger was palpable. Intelligence officers see Snowden as a serial destroyer of classified secrets. He plotted for months to violate the law on a massive scale. He has tipped off foreign adversaries about numerous programs that will require countless hours of work to revise; many will not regain their previous effectiveness. Even though Snowden rejected all the existing options for a whistleblower -- including congressional committees or avenues within the National Security Agency (NSA) -- the view from Silicon Valley and privacy groups is much different. Last fall, I asked the leader of a Silicon Valley company about the whistleblower-vs.-traitor debate. He said that more than 90 percent of his employees would call Snowden a whistleblower.

Fundamentally, the traitor-or-whistleblower debate comes down to different views of what values should be paramount in governing the Internet we all use. The Internet is where surveillance happens to keep our nation safe. It is also where we engage in e-commerce and express ourselves in infinite ways. The goal is to create one communications structure that safeguards diverse, important values.

[Peter Swire is a professor of law and ethics at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Scheller College of Business. He was a member of President Obama’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies]