T-Mobile US targets cheaters, CommScope closes on TE, Apple threatens mobile ads
1. T-Mobile US is taking aim at customers that it says cheat the system on LTE data. CEO John Legere said in a blog post that about 3,000 people on T-Mobile US’ unlimited data plans are hacking the system by downloading apps that hide their tether usage, rooting their phones and writing code to mask their activity. By hiding their activity, users can avoid having to pay for the extra data or facing slower speeds. He said they are using their phones as mobile hot spots and using enough data to support a small business – in some cases 2 terabytes per month. Legere said T-Mobile US is starting to contact these individuals to shut down the data usage so they don’t slow down the network for everyone else.
2. CommScope has closed on its $3 billion purchase of TE Connectivity’s wireless business unit. The purchase gives CommScope ownership of TE’s digital distributed antenna system solution, as well as its fiber optic and wireline businesses. The company said the purchase will start contributing to the bottom line right away. This is the latest in a series of acquisitions in the wireless infrastructure space.
3. Apple could be threatening the $70 billion a year that online marketers get from mobile ads. The company’s upcoming iOS 9 includes an ad blocker, according to The Wall Street Journal. One of the companies that would be hurt the most, of course, is advertising giant Google, which already has to deal with ad blockers on its YouTube video service.
4. Google’s new Wi-Fi router OnHub goes on sale today. For $200, home users get Wi-Fi speeds of up to 1,900 megabits per second, and Google is trying to make those speeds available all over the home by placing antennas around the entire circumference of its router. OnHub is designed to be as unobtrusive as possible so users will keep it off the floor.
5. Remember the hackers who took control of a Jeep Cherokee on the road? They’ve been hired by Uber to help that company research self-driving cars. The Jeep hack was controlled in that the driver knew it was coming and the hackers stopped when he asked them to. Jeep ended up recalling more than a million vehicles, and the hackers ended up working with Uber’s chief security officer.
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