AT&T Talks Smack About Verizon's LTE Plans - InformationWeek

On Wednesday, Verizon Wireless announced the 38 markets in which it plans to launch LTE, its 4G network. Verizon's LTE network will get off the ground a full six months ahead of AT&T's, which has targeted a launch by the middle of 2011.

You know what Verizon Wireless isn't doing? Upgrading the speeds of its CDMA EVDO 3G network (according to AT&T). Verizon's CDMA EVDO Rev. A network tops out at 3.1Mbps, and that's where it will stay.

AT&T spokesperson Seth Bloom said in an email to InformationWeek, "Verizon is moving straight to LTE and not increasing their 3G speeds, so their customers will have a jarring drop-off in performance when not in an LTE service area – speed, sure, but also simultaneous voice/data, etc."

AT&T believes that Verizon's approach will lead to customer service problems, and that its own slow-and-steady speed improvement approach is superior.

Bloom continued, "In contrast, because we are building LTE while at the same time continuing to increase 3G speeds, our customers can expect to have a much better experience when they’re not in a 4G area. [This] will be vitally important for the customer experience no matter the carrier."

Verizon Wireless' LTE network will reach download speeds between 5 and 12Mbps, and upload speeds of 2 to 5Mbps. While 12Mbps is surely faster than 3.1Mbps, I think AT&T is overstating the performance issue a bit. Sure, speeds will drop as Verizon customers move between LTE and EVDO, but Verizon's EVDO network is solid as hell, and fast enough for most professionals' business needs when not under LTE coverage.

AT&T also happened to beat Verizon to announcing actual LTE hardware. Where Verizon said hardware announcements are forthcoming, AT&T announced an HSPA+ and LTE-compatible laptop dongle that can access the fast network speeds.

When asked for comment about plans to upgrade its 3G network speeds, Verizon Wireless spokesperson Jeffrey Nelson dropped this knowledge, "We have a proud history of meeting and exceeding market demands on our wireless networks. We build our networks for success right from the start and aren't surprised when we succeed in the marketplace. And we constantly improve them. It's just not enough to address your network problems by promising to do better down the road."

"When choosing a wireless company, people want more than promises. Customers value our long-term track record for leading on network reliability, speed, coverage and capacity. By moving aggressively and becoming the first company on the globe to build a large-scale LTE network, we'll gain first-to-market advantages in the US, with a head-start of at least 18-24 months."

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Vargas Llosa: The Power of the Man Who Didn't Become Peru's President - TIME

Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, winner of the 2010 Nobel prize for literature.

The love-hate relationship between Peruvian President Alan Garcia and Mario Vargas Llosa, the newly minted winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, is definitely in the love column right now. Garcia gushed with joy early today, when news of Vargas Llosa's win began spreading through Peru. "It is a great day for Peru and an enormous act of justice for Mario Vargas Llosa," he said.

But just a month ago, the president probably had different words for Vargas Llosa. The novelist had resigned as head of a special committee to build a Memory Museum that would recall the horrors of the state's 20-year war against two brutal, Marxist insurgencies, the Shining Path and Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA). Vargas Llosa abruptly quit after Garcia's government passed legislation redefining how crimes against humanity would be tried in Peru. The law would have basically closed the books on the most heinous crimes committed by members of the security forces in the 1980s and 1990s. Among those benefiting would have been Garcia and his Vice President Luis Giampietri. Garcia was President in 1986 when he ordered Giampietri, then in charge of naval special operations, to put down a prison riot, resulting in the deaths of more than 300 Shining Path inmates. (In 2000, the Inter-American Court ruled that the prison action by Garcia's government had violated the American Convention on Human Rights.) (See Radhika Jones on Vargas Llosa's Nobel victory.)

In his resignation letter, Vargas Llosa called the law a thinly veiled amnesty and said it was unacceptable in a modern democracy. The author's move embarrassed the government, which then asked Congress to repeal the law, which occured on Sept. 14, with only Giampetri voting against the repeal. The defense minister who wrote the law also resigned. It was not the first time Vargas Llosa was put in charge of a politically charged human rights effort. He headed the government commission that investigated in the 1983 murders of eight journalists in Uchuraccay, Ayacucho.

It was also not the first time Vargas Llosa knocked heads with Garcia. In the 1980s (during Garcia's term as head of state from 1985 to 1990), the author took to a break from literature to fight against the President's decision to nationalize the country's banks. After forming a political party, Fredemo, Vargas Llosa was widely expected to win the presidency in 1990. He lost, instead, to an unknown math teacher, Alberto Fujimori, who went on to infamy, first, because of his brutal battle with the Shining Path and, later, as he unsuccessfully fled Peruvian justice and ended in prison. (See the top 10 failed celebrity political campaigns.)

The author went on to become a fierce critic of the Fujimori regime, which ruled Peru for a decade, especially after the govenrment decided in 1992 to shut down Congress. He was a lone voice for years, but his opposition was vindicated when Fujimori's regime collapsed under a massive corruption scandal. Many other illegal activities were also revealed, including the organization of the Grupo Colina, a paramilitary death squad. Fujimori is serving a 25-year prison sentence for being the "intellectual author" of the squad.

Peruvians have long believed that Vargas Llosa was passed over annually by the Nobel committee because of his political views. "Mario would have won years ago if he kept his political opinions quiet. His outspokenness was difficult for some to accept," says Genaro Delgado Parker, a prominent local journalist. (See how Nobel Prize winners spend their prize money.)

In 2006, Vargas Llosa and Garcia publicly reconciled their differences after Garcia returned to the presidency, this time as a free-market, economic liberal. Since the author's resignation, the Peruvian President has downplayed the rift over the museum, saying that he picked Vargas Llosa because of his "universal objectivity." Garcia announced earlier this week that a friend of Vargas Llosa friend, the painter Fernando de Syzlo, would head the Memory Museum. He has asked Vargas Llosa to reconsider his resignation from the committee.

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Pentagon: Elements in Pakistani Intelligence Agency Support Terror - FOXNews

The Pentagon acknowledged Thursday that some parts of Pakistan's intelligence agency are cooperating with terrorist groups as a new report suggests Inter-Service Intelligence agents are working to undermine U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said the Pakistan intelligence service as an organization does not support terrorism, but some elements within the ISI are providing assistance to terrorists. 

U.S. officials have raised concerns about whether some members of the ISI "might be interacting with terrorist organizations in ways that aren't consistent with what the government and military are doing," Lapan said.

Lapan was responding after a report in The Wall Street Journal that suggested the ISI is pushing the Taliban to keep fighting in Afghanistan, undermining efforts by the Pentagon to end the war. 

The Journal quotes an Afghan commander in Kunar province who said the ISI is still urging and paying Taliban to fight NATO soldiers. 

Pakistan's top military leadership is working to correct the problem, Lapan said, but "like any large organization, change is difficult and comes slowly."

"The ISI has done a great deal in fighting terrorism. Some have said they probably have killed more terrorists than any other organization. But we also have some concerns with the strategic focus of the ISI," Lapan said.

Lapan spoke as U.S.-Pakistani relations remain strained over the effort to end the Taliban's use of Pakistan as a safe haven to launch attacks into Afghanistan. 

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday that President Obama has not spoken to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari but a Pakistani delegation is due in Washington later this month as part of a continuing strategic dialogue. 

Other strains have added to the burden on U.S.-Pakistani ties recently. On Wednesday, the U.S. apologized for a Sept. 30 attack that killed two Pakistani border guards. Expressing condolences, the U.S. said the helicopters mistook them for insurgents being pursued across the border from Afghanistan.

On Thursday, Pakistani officials said they are still weighing when to open the Torkham border crossing along Kyber Pass, which was closed as a result of the U.S. attack. Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said authorities were still evaluating the situation and would make a decision "in due course."

Torkham is a major supply route for NATO trucks shipping supplies to troops in Afghanistan Military officials insist closing the crossing hasn't hampered supply chains, but truck convoys are something of sitting ducks as hundreds of vehicles are backed up at the border. Pakistani militants torched 70 NATO trucks Wednesday in Pakistan -- the sixth set of attacks on NATO convoys in the past week.

The CIA continues to operate its own drone attacks on suspected terrorists, including one believed to have struck Thursday that targeted a vehicle in the North Waziristan tribal region where Taliban militants are based. The strike would be the sixth suspected missile attack this month, following what is believed to be 21 similar attacks in the region in September. 

As the troubled relationship evolves, one senior Pakistani official told The Wall Street Journal that Islamabad is fighting militants, not aiding them.

"Whenever anything goes wrong in Afghanistan, ISI is to be blamed," the official is quoted saying. "Honestly, they see ISI agents behind every bush in Afghanistan."

Lapan said the U.S. continues to communicate with Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the head of the Pakistani Army and former chief of the ISI, and is "comfortable that change will be coming in how the ISI operates."

Speaking after a meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., said that "the ISI's continued involvement with various entities remains an issue of concern between us." 

He added that he is also concerned about Pakistani army attempts to undermine the government, but he doesn't think the army "will move in that type of way." 

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Analyst: Price of Cisco's umi likely limits reach - BusinessWeek

NEW YORK

Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu said Thursday Cisco's new home videoconferencing product is "much better" than free services like Skype with a webcam, but its high price will likely limit widespread adoption.

Cisco Systems Inc. said the product, umi, will cost $599 plus $25 per month. It includes a camera and TV set-top box that are controlled by a remote control.

THE OPINION: "We believe there is a market for premium video conferencing, but it will likely be a high-end niche," Wu wrote in a note to investors.

But with a lower price or the elimination or at least the lowering of the monthly fee, "we see great potential to reach the broader mainstream market," he said, adding that many people would likely consider using this over a voice-only phone call.

THE STOCK: Shares of the San Jose, Calif.-based networking equipment maker climbed 3 cents to $22.33 in midday trading.

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At a Rally, Obama Tries to Fire Up the Democratic Base - New York Times

With less than a month to go before the midterm elections in November, Mr. Obama, facing what most political observers predict will be significant losses of Democratic seats in Congress, was using every weapon in his arsenal to prod the people who helped propel him into the White House two years ago not to cede the partisan battlefield to the Republicans this year.

“Don’t make me look bad now,” Mr. Obama said. “I’m betting on you.”

Thursday’s rally, held at Bowie State University under beautiful clear skies, drew several thousand college students and local residents, many of them African Americas — core components of the Democratic Party base.

“I’m going to need you just as fired up as you were in 2008,” Mr. Obama told them.

When a heckler yelled “You’re a liar!” in response, people nearby spent the next few minutes shouting the heckler down, making it difficult for many in the audience to hear what the president, who was flanked on the dais by Maryland’s top elected Democrats, was saying.

“Two years ago, you defied the conventional wisdom in Washington,” Mr. Obama told the crowd. “I know everybody here remembers the inauguration. I know it was cold, but everybody here was having a good time. Beyoncé was singing.” He said it was imperative to harness that euphoria again.

Governor Martin O’Malley, who is once again battling the man he defeated when the Democrats were riding high in 2006 — former Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. — sounded familiar Democratic themes in introducing Mr. Obama. “They took six years to drive the country into a ditch, and then wonder why this president can’t make it right as rain in 18 months,” Mr. O’Malley said, to cheers.

But then, foreshadowing the tough road ahead for his own party this year, Mr. O’Malley added, perhaps unhelpfully: “They can take back New Jersey, they can take back Virginia, but they can’t take back Maryland!”

After the rally in Bowie, Mr. Obama was headed for Chicago to campaign to keep his old Senate seat in Democratic hands.

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