Free Internet service for over 3 million Egyptians shut down
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4b0654ec892d429d94261beae145f68c/free-internet-service-over-3-million-egyptians-shut-down

A program that had been giving free basic Internet services to over three million Egyptians was shut down on Wednesday, social media site Facebook said.

In a statement to The Associated Press, Facebook said it hoped to “resolve this situation soon” so the program, which it had launched with Etisalat Egypt some two months ago, could be restored.

Leveraging Quiet-Wire programmable, integrated EMI filtering, the KSZ8061 10Base-T/100Base-TX Ethernet physical-layer transceiver from Microchip reduces line emissions and enhances receiver immunity in both automotive and industrial applications. The single-chip device handles data communication over low-cost unshielded twisted pair cables and includes an embedded signal-quality indicator for dynamic monitoring of link-error margins.

The KSZ8061MNx has a Media Independent Interface (MII) for direct connection to MII-compliant Ethernet MAC processors and switches, while the KSZ8061RNx features a Reduced Media Independent Interface (RMII) for direct connection to RMII-compliant Ethernet MAC processors and switches.

The KSZ8061 is available now for sampling at $1.16 each in lots of 10,000 units for the industrial grade. Volume production is expected 1Q 2016.

KSZ8061
http://www.microchip.com/wwwproducts/Devices.aspx?product=KSZ8061

[Alexander Graf] gave an absolutely hilarious talk at 32C3 about the security flaws he found in cable modems from two large German ISPs. The vulnerability was very serious, resulting in remote root terminals on essentially any affected cable modem, and the causes were trivial: unencrypted passwords in files that are sent over

While [Alexander] was very careful to point out that he’d disclosed all of these vulnerabilities to the two German cable ISPs that were affected, he notably praised one of them for its speedy response in patching up the holes. As for the other? “They’d better hurry up.” He also mentions that, although he’s not sure, he suspects that similar vulnerabilities are present in other countries. Oh dear.

A very interesting point in the talk is the way that [Alexander] chose to go about informing the cable ISPs. Instead of going to them directly and potentially landing himself in jail, he instead went to the press, and let his contacts at the press talk to the ISPs. This both shielded him from the potential initial heat and puts a bit of additional pressure on the ISPs to fix the vulnerability — when the story hits the front page, they would really like to be ahead of the problem.

Cell coverage can be fickle. You might get great reception at home but spotty coverage at work or at the gym even though other carriers work fine. And even if your carrier has your entire city pretty well covered, all bets are off when you travel. Sure you can roam on other networks, but your carrier will prioritize its own cell towers, even if there are better ones nearby. And those roaming fees can sure add up quick. It would be nice to be able to switch carriers on the fly, picking whichever one happens to have the best service in your exact location at any given time. Today that would mean carrying around multiple SIM cards, each with a different phone number. But in the near future, your phone may be able to switch between carriers without you having to swap out cards or phone numbers—even if you’re in the middle of a call.

Two year contracts are becoming a thing of the past

Today, Google is alone in offering its own cross-carrier wireless service, but it probably won’t be for long.

The magic behind Google-Fi is a new type of SIM card created by a German company called G&D, or Giesecke & Devrient. SIM (short for “subscriber identification module”) cards are essentially tiny computers that handle the complexities of authenticating your phone whenever you switch between different cell towers. Typically, these have been built to handle authentication on one and only one carrier’s towers, but G&D’s SIM cards allow Google to handle authentication across multiple carriers, including both GSM and CDMA networks. That enables Google’s phones to seek out which ever carrier happens to offer the best signal at any given moment.

This is a complicated process, and the kinks haven’t all been sorted out, which is probably why reviews of Project Fi have been so mixed. Plus, Project Fi is still only available to a small group of people. Google only has two networks on board

5G cellular will spawn fresh design issues around its new air interface, massive antenna arrays and other new features, according to a panel that will address the topic at DesignCon in January.

5G systems will need to support faster switching times and lower latencies given they likely will be required to support:

Data services at 20 Gbits/second peak and 1 Gbit/s average
Latency as low as 1 millisecond
Reception while travelling at up to 500 km/hour
Frequencies between 6 and 100 GHz
Safety-critical applications such as self-driving cars

Work on 5G standards officially started this fall with initial proposals up for review in the spring, final specifications done in 2018 and services switching on as early as 2020.

5G “will demand higher processing power and on-chip and off-chip data transfer rates,”

The 7RA-05U-0141-1 from LCR is a 5 slot, PICMG 3.0 Rev 2 chassis designed ATCA System for commercial, industrial, and prototype use. It has a physical dimension of 19” W x 15.25” D x 8.75” H which is made from Aluminum Frame. The enclosure can be mounted through a 19” rack mount or bench top.

Verizon will give you up to $650 to switch from another carrier
Other carriers have been offering similar deals for months
http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/28/10674048/verizon-will-pay-you-to-switch-networks

New York is finally installing its promised public gigabit Wi-Fi
http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/28/10674634/linknyc-new-york-public-wifi-installation-photos-gigabit

Today, workers began installing the first LinkNYC access points in New York. First announced in November 2014, the hubs are designed as an update to the standard phone booth, using upgraded infrastructure to provide gigabit Wi-Fi access points.

The full network will install more than 7,500 public hubs throughout the city, each replacing a pre-existing phone booth. Once completed, the hubs will also include USB device charging ports, touchscreen web browsing, and two 55-inch advertising displays. The city estimates that ads served by the new hubs will generate more than $500 million in revenue over the next 12 years.

Facebook Confronts The Free Internet Neutrality Dilemma
http://techcrunch.com/2015/12/27/gatekeeper-or-stepping-stone/