3g

In 2011, the increasingly mobile and socially networked world of technology became more intertwined than ever with politics and the law. Patent wars shaped competition in tablets and smartphones, hacktivists attacked a widening array of political and corporate targets, repressive regimes unplugged citizens from the Internet, and the U.S. government moved to block the giant merger of AT&T and T-Mobile USA. With the passing of Steve Jobs, the world lost a technology icon who redefined the computer, entertainment and consumer electronics industries. These are the IDG News Service's picks for the top 10 technology stories of the year:

Researchers at Rice Univ. say they've come up with a way to make data on cell-phone nets flow both ways by making each end of a connection deaf to its own 'voice.'

Femtocell sales are exploding as users demand better cell coverage inside buildings; a new one makes supporting several carriers a lot easier.

Verizon got a lot of good press by adding the iPhone to its menu at CES. It gets lots for LTE, too. Can it afford to do both at the same time?

You can buy an iPad, Galaxy Tab, netbook, or e-reader with a built-in 3G connection (you may even get a subsidized price), but opting for a Wi-Fi only model and adding a 3G or 4G MiFi device gives you some serious advantages in both the short term and over the next couple of years.

An ever-growing number of service providers--joined most recently by Walmart and AT&T--now offer a wide array of prepaid or pay-as-you-go cellular service plans.

Despite the fact that I live in a burgeoning metropolis with a clear view of San Francisco, the cell reception at my home is embarrassingly unreliable. For this reason, and this reason only, I'm forced to maintain a landline. This makes me the ideal customer for something like AT&T's MicroCell device, which is currently being tested in the Charlotte, NC area.

AT&T is again upgrading its 3G high-speed packet access (HSPA) network by deploying HSPA 7.2 technology in six U.S. cities this year

Nortel Networks has entered into an agreement with Nokia Siemens Networks to sell its its wireless network infrastructure business assets for US$650 million, it said on Friday.

AT&T says its trial selling netbooks in company stories in a couple of cities has been successful so it will begin selling the small laptops nationwide in a few months.

Wireless access anywhere: That's the promise of 3G broadband data connections. And in most areas, that's what I enjoyed with the T-Mobile WebConnect USB Laptop Stick.

Pervasive wireless is THE FUTURE -- but how are we going to pay for it?