May 5, 2008

T-Mobile USA launched its first commercial high-speed wireless service in New York City, and plans to expand the service to 20 to 25 other major U.S. markets by the end of the year.

April 23, 2008

The battle over cell phones in schools ended with the state's appeals court voting to uphold a ban on cell phones in public schools in New York city.

April 15, 2008

Cuban government has eased restrictions on buying cellular phones for the first time and also allowed registering those they had held illegally.

April 10, 2008

The FCC has approved a new nationwide alert system that will send text messages to cell phones to alert Americans when an emergency, disaster or attack occurs. The plan itself will deliver three different types of charge-free text alerts to mobile phone users.

April 8, 2008

The European Union has approved in-flight cell phone use for all of its 27 member nations. An on-board base station will relay phone signals to either a satellite or ground towers.

April 2, 2008

AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega said that AT&T was expecting a 3G iPhone within the next few months., when asked about plans to sell a third-generation (3G) iPhone.

Study: Cell Phones Might Interfere With Sleep

According to a report by UPI, a study in Sweden and the United States finds that using a cell phone just before bedtime interferes with sleep patterns.

"The study strongly suggests that mobile phone use is associated with specific changes in the areas of the brain responsible for activating and coordinating the stress system," one researcher said. The research, conducted by Sweden's Karolinska Institute and Wayne State University in Detroit, theorizes that radio-frequency radiation may also disrupt production of melatonin, the hormone that regulates the body's internal rhythms.

The study of 35 men and 36 women between 18 and 45 years old was funded by the Mobile Manufacturers Forum, the trade group for the industry. At this writing, however, its site has not posted a news release or the study results.

But a spokesman for British mobile phone operators called the findings inconclusive, according to Telecoms.com He said on BBC radio this morning that using a phone before or in bed was no worse than having a cup of coffee before turning in. The report also said manufacturers called into question the size of the study sample.

(January 21, 2008)