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About three months ago my cell phone carrier (Tracfone) started sending me emails warning me that my 3G cell phone would soon stop working. Being the suspicious type, I thought this was probably just a gimmick to make me buy a new phone. Well, today I tried to use my cell phone and got a “service is no longer available” message.

While the world is looking forward to the future of 5G – as soon as we can figure out how to implement it without screwing up our entire air travel infrastructure – the demise of 3G is quietly wreaking havoc with some automakers, according to a new report from CNBC. “Millions of car owners” are affected by 3G dropping off the map, the report notes. Many vehicles use 3G networks for updates and remote communication, including models manufactured by Tesla, Audi, Honda and Nissan. The affectionately titled “network sunset” of 3G renders some features on these models, and many other...

The wireless networks that underpin an assortment of devices, including life-alert alarms, older cellphones and tablets, are about to shut down, an action that consumer advocates say will leave some of society's most vulnerable people without critical communications tools.

If your mobile phone is more than a few years old, you may need to upgrade your device before your mobile provider shuts down its 3G network, to avoid losing service. For more information on your mobile providers’ plans for 3G retirement and how you can prepare, contact your provider directly.What is happening? Mobile carriers are shutting down their 3G networks, which rely on older technology, to make room for more advanced network services, including 5G. As a result, many older cell phones will be unable to make or receive calls and texts, including calls to 911, or use data...

Kraft Heinz says it is cutting about 2,500 jobs as part of its plan to slash costs after the food companies combined. Spokesman Michael Mullen says affected workers are in the U.S. and Canada and were to be notified in person. About 700 of the cuts were coming in Northfield, Illinois, where Kraft had been headquartered. The company would not specify where other cuts were taking place but said that all the jobs were salaried. It said none of the job cuts involved factory workers. The Kraft Heinz Co. said it had a total of around 46,600 employees before the...

Speaking to CNBC in May on the subject of tax inversion deals, Warren Buffett said, “it does get a little annoying when we see other people paying far lower tax rates while engaging in the same sorts of businesses that we engage in.” Now Buffett appears to have decided to get in on the game: The Oracle of Omaha is extending financing to Burger King for its planned takeover of Canadian coffee-and-donuts chain Tim Hortons , the Wall Street Journal reported Monday evening, citing sources familiar with the deal. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway will provide roughly 25% of the financing, the...

Some Burger King customers are finding it hard to swallow that the home of the Whopper could move to Canada. Investors seemed to welcome the announcement by Burger King late Sunday that it was in talks to buy Canadian coffee-and-doughnut chain Tim Hortons and create the world’s third-largest fast-food restaurant company. The news pushed shares of both companies up more than 20 percent. But customers were already voicing their discontent with the 60-year-old hamburger chain because of its plans to relocate its corporate headquarters from Miami to Canada in a deal that could lower its taxes. …

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is urging consumers to boycott Burger King over reports that the fast food chain is eyeing a tax-cutting move to Canada. Brown, an outspoken corporate critic, said people hankering for a burger should head to Wendy’s or White Castle, two Ohio-based chains that aren’t looking to shrink their tax bill via a so-called “corporate inversion.” “Burger King’s decision to abandon the United States means consumers should turn to Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers or White Castle sliders,” he said in a statement. “Burger King has always said ‘Have it Your Way’; well my way is to support...

Comrades, there are wreckers in our midst. The industrialist reactionaries at Burger King have declared their intention to abandon the struggle and join the ranks of the enemy in rightist Canada. That’s right. The traitorous corporation Burger King plans to take advantage of the fact that America’s English-speaking neighbor to the north maintains the second-lowest corporate tax rate of any G-7 nation. How dare they? “The iconic American fast-food brand is in talks to buy coffee-and-donuts chain Tim Hortons and move its headquarters to Canada,” Forbes reported. If concluded, this deal would create the world’s third-largest restaurant company and allow...

Stardate 20021005.2128 (On Screen): As I think many of my readers know, I used to work for Qualcomm designing cell phones. Qualcomm is the company which invented CDMA, and made it practical, and made it into a market success, and it now dominates the American market, where Verizon and Sprint both use it. There are two other nationwide cellular systems: AT&T currently uses IS-136 TDMA, which is obsolete and has no upgrade path. Cingular uses GSM, a more sophisticated form of TDMA from Europe. And right now I'm basking in the evil glow of a major case of schadenfreude. The...

Large portions of the western half of the U.S. do not have access to 3G or faster mobile broadband service, according to a new map released by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. The map, released by the FCC Friday, shows large parts of Alaska, Nevada, Idaho, Arizona, Texas and Montana as not having 3G or faster mobile broadband service. The map shows nearly all states have some areas uncovered by 3G service, including parts of New York and Pennsylvania and large parts of West Virginia and Maine. The areas identified in the map will be eligible for service through the...

I'm looking to purchase a Kindle Touch E-Reader from Amazon. The Kindle Touch ($99.00) has Wi-Fi connectivity and the Kindle Touch 3G ($149.00) has Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity. Otherwise, they're pretty much the same as far as screen size, battery life, and other features. I'm not familiar with the advantages/disadvantages of Wi-Fi vs. 3G and am wondering if the 3G model is worth the extra $50.00. Does anyone have any advice re: this matter? Thanks.

AT&T announced today that they are ending their unlimited 3G data phones. As Dan Indiviglio wrote for our site, this is not a bad thing for most smartphone users, who don't chew through anything like the new 2 GB cap on their premium data plan. But it may be a problem for iPad users, several million of whom just bought the things on the assumption that they'd be able to do a whole lot of data-intensive browsing. iPad users don't have contracts; they're allowed to purchase by the month. They're feeling a bit burned, given that the company seems to...

The first smartphone based on Google's Android marries a sophisticated HTC handset with software features that outmaneuver iPhone On October 22, T-Mobile will reap the benefits of its founding membership in the Open Handset Alliance. Through an exclusive partnership with Google and Asian handset manufacturer HTC, the T-Mobile G1 will become the first shipping mobile device based on the Android platform. Google and company have worked hard to make the T-Mobile G1 both affordable and easy to use. And while it's too soon to know how far developers will take the open source Android platform, we now know what to...

The technological and economical development of Scandinavia (including Finland) is today more groundbreking than anywhere else in the world. The investments being made in relation to population size is mind-boggling. Despite a mere population of 25 million inhabitants, the combined GDP of the Scandinavian countries today ridicules that of a Russia often viewed to be a "reborn" super power "on the go" (combined Scandinavian GDP is actually 125% that of of Russia - and the gap is widening!!) But, let's focus on telecommunications here; Five bidders have paid €226 million ($346 million) for fourth generation (4G), super-fast mobile telephony licences,...

Excerpt - A federal agency on Thursday barred the import of new models of cell phones that contain semiconductors made by Qualcomm Inc., because the chips violate a patent held by a rival, Broadcom Corp. The U.S. International Trade Commission's decision represents a compromise between a ban on all phones with Qualcomm chips, as Broadcom requested, and a ban only on the chips themselves, as recommended by an ITC administrative law judge late last year. ~ snip ~

Nokia's days as the world's number one mobile phone vendor could be numbered, according to analysts. A new report from Strategy Analytics found that over the last four quarters, Motorola has averaged growth of around 52 percent, while Nokia has managed just 32 percent.

The term "3G" proclaims the next revolution in wireless technology. It refers to the much-ballyhooed third generation cellular network services, currently available in the United States from Verizon, Sprint and Cingular. But after all the hype, is 3G living up to its broadband promise? Cellular wireless networks were originally created for voice-only communications. As their popularity grew, cellular network providers began to piggyback data on their networks. At first, this was great for simple text messages, but the masses soon clamored for full-blown Internet and e-mail access. Voice communications over cellular wireless networks has remained somewhat constant over the years...

Biodynamic food is grown out of a spiritual understanding of nature A bakery is fighting plans for a phone mast because it claims radio waves will ruin its "cosmic bread". Artisan Bread say emissions from the antenna will disrupt "subtle forces" which help to make the loaves. The bakery plots planetary movements and uses a special calendar to work out the best time to make the bread. But it is claimed the shop in Whitstable, Kent, would lose its special licence because the mast is too close to the premises. Bakery owner Ingrid Greenfield, who supplies exclusive shops including...

3G mobile signals can cause nausea, headaches October 01 2003 at 02:12AM Radio signals for the next generation of mobile phone services can cause headaches and nausea, according to a study conducted by three Dutch ministries. The study, the first of its kind, compared the impact of radiation from base stations used for the current mobile telephone network with that of base stations for new third generation (3G) networks for fast data transfer, which will enable services such as video conferencing on a mobile device. A base station, which usually covers a "cell" area of several square kilometres, transmits signals...