US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PASS WIRELESS REFORM BILL; PUTS 5 YEAR FREEZE ON MOBILE TAXES

The United States House of Representatives approved the Wireless Tax Fairness Act on Tuesday, an initiative that prevents new local and state taxes on wireless bills for the next five years. “We need to encourage the development and adoption of wireless broadband, not tax it out of existence,” Representative Zoe Lofgren said. The average tax rate on goods and services in the United States is 7.4% but consumers with wireless contracts pay an average of 16.4% in taxes and fees, WirelessWeek said. “The exorbitant discriminatory taxes on wireless customers are not only unfair, they are counterintuitive, adding another costly impediment to the success of so many American businesses who are struggling in the midst of a prolonged recession,” Representative Trent Franks argued.

Representative Judy Chu from California was the sole Representative who held out on voting in support of the act. “This will deny states the flexibility to respond to economic downturns during the moratorium and therefore undermine the ability of states to pay for essential services,” Chu said.

“On behalf of the 300 million wireless customers in the U.S., CTIA applauds the Wireless Tax Fairness Act’s lead sponsors, Representatives Lofgren and Franks, who worked tirelessly to get the bill approved in the House,” the CTIA said in a statement. “Today’s vote is a crucial step toward providing wireless subscribers with some much needed relief by putting a five-year freeze on new, discriminatory taxes and fees on their monthly bills. In light of the challenging economy, we hope the U.S. Senate moves swiftly to pass the companion bill.”

STUDY SHOWS ANDROID MORE LIKELY TO DOMINATE MORE STATES THAN iOS AND BLACKBERRY

Jumptap recently released a report that separated the 50 states by mobile operating system. It mapped out which states are prominently iOS users, which use Android the most, and which states use BlackBerry smartphones based on 83 million users on its ad network.

New England and the Midwest represented the largest pockets of iOS users while Texas, California and much of the West were Android users. New York is primarily a BlackBerry state, perhaps due to the number of corporate users in New York City. Alaska was neutral and Hawaii had more iOS users than Android or BlackBerry.

Jumptap collected its data from its mobile advertising network, so the data doesn’t represent sales or market share of course.

FDA LOOKING TO REGULATE MEDICAL APPS

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration may soon approve or reject mobile health applications. The government agency said on Wednesday that it is proposing to oversee the applications in an effort to ensure the apps perform as advertised and aren’t actually hurting users. “There are advantages to using medical apps, but consumers and health care professionals should have a balanced awareness of the benefits and risks,” FDA policy advisor Bakul Patel said. The administration hopes to approve and reject mobile applications that:

• Are used as an accessory to an FDA-regulated medical device. For example, an app could enable a health care professional to view medical images on an iPad and make a diagnosis;
• Transform a mobile platform into a regulated medical device. For example, an app that turns a smartphone into an electrocardiography, or ECG, machine to detect abnormal heart rhythms or determine if a patient is experiencing a heart attack.

“We want to hear from as many consumers, advocacy groups, health care professionals, and software creators and distributors as possible to help us finalize the proposed guidelines,” Patel said. The proposed guidelines will be published on Wednesday.

SPOTIFY FINALLY COMING TO US

The music streaming service that has won over the collective heart of Europe is finally making the puddle jump that we've been waiting for. Spotify just threw up a US landing spot, inviting eager Americans to jump in line for a table at the party. Meanwhile, we just received confirmation on our own end that things are finalizing for testing here in the States, and we'll be sure to report back just as soon as our credentials clear. We should note, however, that there's still no definitive time table to report, but it's fairly obvious that those final record deals are close enough to done to call this thing a victory.

RUMOR: US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO REQUIRE ALL CARS TO HAVE BLACK BOXES

A few years back, the Department of Transportation recommended that auto makers give car owners a heads up when they slip event data recorders -- also known as "black boxes" -- into new models. Now, it looks like the department is considering taking its policy a step (or several) further: a memo reveals that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration plans to propose later this year that all new passenger vehicles have EDRs.

So far, heavy-duty vehicles appear to be excluded, and either way, it's unclear how many years auto makers might have to work black boxes into their future models. Interestingly, when we asked a DoT staffer for clarification, he reminded us that the agency hasn't issued a press release and said he wasn't sure where Wired and other outlets were getting their information. Indeed, the Transportation Department hasn't proposed such a law yet, though it's pretty safe to say it's at least pondering it.

To read the entire 197 page document (page 54 is interesting), click here.

DEFENSE CONTRACTOR LOCKHEED MARTIN INVESTIGATING SECURITY BREACH

Lockheed Martin is one of the US Department of Defense‘s largest contractors, and the biggest provider of technology services to the government overall. Now, word is trickling out from unnamed sources close to the company that Lockheed Martin’s internal technology team is working overtime to combat major network issues that could be related to a security breach.

It’s important to note that the issues haven’t been confirmed as a hack or security issue as of yet, but if the issues do turn out to be security related, it could be a very serious problem for the Pentagon and the US government as a whole. Lockheed Martin is the company behind a number of high-tech, classified government progrmas, like the F-22 Raptor fighter/bomber: the US Air Force’s next generation air superiority fighter. (Lockheed Martin is also the company behind the famous-but-now-decommissioned SR-71 Blackbird spy jet, which once held the record for fastest manned jet aircraft.)

Lockheed Martin is also the parts and technology manufacturer behind a number of other weapons systems already deployed in conflicts around the globe and at sea, and a major technology partner in a number of NASA’s space exploration projects, like the Phoenix Mars Lander and the Mars Global Surveyor. Reuters reports that Lockheed Martin has notified the Pentagon of its network issues, and has already advised Pentagon officials with access to information shared with Lockheed Martin to take steps like changing their passwords. Lockheed Martin employees have already been advised to take the same steps to protect their own security.

US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES VOTES TO BLOCK FCC'S NET NEUTRALITY RULES

It looks like Republicans in the House of Representatives weren't about to let this one slip past a possible government shutdown -- they just passed a measure that seeks to block the FCC's net neutrality rules by a largely party line vote of 240 to 179. That follows a House subcommittee vote last month but, as then, the bill still faces an uphill battle in the Senate and with the President, who's expected to veto any such legislation if it somehow got to his desk. Not surprisingly, the rhetoric from both sides is only increasing following this latest development, with Democrat Rep. Henry Waxman saying the Republican bill would "end the internet as we know it," while Republican Rep. Fred Upton argues that "the internet is not broken and this bill will assure that the FCC does not break it."

VERIZON SETTLES FEDERAL LAWSUIT FOR $93.5 MILLION

On Tuesday, Verizon Communications agreed to pay $93.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department. Verizon was accused of overcharging the U.S. government for both voice and data services. Reuters reports that the the company’s MCI Communications Services unit “invoiced the General Services Administration for various taxes and surcharges in violation of contracts or regulations.” Back in October of 2010, Verizon was ordered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to repay customers more than $52 million for erroneous data charges.

US DEVELOPING 'PANIC BUTTON' SOFTWARE FOR ACTIVISTS

According to a fresh Reuters report, the US State Department is currently developing a software-based "panic button" that would wipe a phone's address book and beam out emergency alerts to fellow protesters if they were apprehended. The goal here is to protect the privacy of those captured while promoting their best interests, and to let others know that trouble is brewing.

HYUNDAI SONATA HYBRID DELAYED INTO 2011 BY VIRTUAL ENGINE SOUND REQUIREMENTS

The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid was ready to roll, in the US, in late 2010. Then the US government enacted a new law requiring all hybrids to have an audible "engine noise" so sight impaired individuals, and distracted folks, will be able to hear the near silent vehicles.

This required Hyundai to redesign the wiring harness, UI software and user manuals to meet the requirments set forth in the new legislation. These tweaks had to be done "amazingly late in the process," according to Hyundai America CEO John Krafcik.

NINTENDO 3DS LAUNCH DATE/PRICE REVEALED

We have been hearing about Nintendo's 3DS system for quite awhile. At yesterday's event, Nintendo revealed the handheld device would become available on March 27th for $249.99 in the US. No word on European launch.

Nintendo is promising "30+" games to be available during the launch window, between the actual launch and E3 in June, though not saying exactly which will be available when the system drops in March. Many games were discussed including Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition, Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3D, Dead or Alive Dimensions, and an obligatory Madden game.

US ARMY WANTS TO EQUIP EVERY SOLDIER WITH iPHONE OR ANDROID SMARTPHONES

According to USA Today the U.S. Army wants to issue every one of its troops an iPhone or Android handset. It gets better as well, because they also want to absorb the cost of the monthly contract. This would be music to most soldier’s ears and for anyone’s ears for that matter, but whilst it sounds farfetched it’s all true.

Lt. Gen. Michael Vane, director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center (ARCIC) commented:

The Army would issue these smartphones just like any other piece of equipment a soldier receives. One of the options potentially is to make it a piece of equipment in a soldier’s clothing bag.

Apparently the Army has already issued smartphones to troops in the schoolhouse and garrison, or on post, in the hands of select students at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo, Fort Lee, Va, and at Fort Sill, Okla, under an Army run program called Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications (CSDA for short). The next step is to get these smartphones into combat and they are looking at ways in which the phones can be digitally put to good use.

One of the plans is to roll out wireless Common Access Card readers for the iPhone in January and for Android devices in April. Soldiers would then be able to secure access to e-mail, contacts and calendars. During battle the smartphones could let soldiers view real-time intelligence and video from the tech in the sky or use it to track friends or enemy placements using a dynamic map. All this will take some planning before the technology can be put into practice.

Vane concluded:

The technology is there, but the challenge will be to work through the policy issues of sharing data and information assurance. Army officials remain concerned of enemy forces hacking into the phones, but don’t want that fear to paralyze the use of these phones.

[Geek]

US TO GET RID OF COLOR CODED ALERT SYSTEM

The US Department of Homeland Security will be getting rid of the confusing color coded system that no one was able to understand. Since 2002, the department has used the 5 color system (blue, green, yellow, orange, red) to alert citizens to potential terrorist and security threats. The problem is no one really understood the color scheme or paid attention to it. Also, since its inception Homeland Security has never lowered it past the yellow (Elevated) level, essentially making the blue and green useless.

No word yet on what the replacement will actually be, but the AP is reporting the new system will be more descriptive. [Gizmodo]