Close encounters between Australians and the fourth generation of smartphones can officially commence today down under, as HTC’s Velocity lands in the hands of those who pre-ordered, while anyone with the need to feel 4G’s raw speed can undoubtedly visit one of Telstra’s flagship T-Life stores for a rush of digital adrenaline.

A US think tank has published research claiming that the transition to '4G' (ie LTE) technologies will spur significant new job creation and growth that could help the American economy restore gains in incomes and business investment.

For years cellular mobile and WiMAX network operators along with their network and device suppliers have been touting their wireless broadband offerings as 4G, but the International Telecommunication Union has only just finalised the 4G standards.

WiMAX network operator vividwireless has responded to increasing competition from mobile network operators' broadband data services by cutting prices for its access devices and offering customers credit when they sign up and cutting prices for its wireless broadband devices.

Availability of the iPad 2 is widening with the market-leading tablet making its debut at Optus.

After being one of the first telcos in the world to roll out an LTE network at 1800MHz, Telstra is now seeing the Global Mobile Suppliers Association championing the cause.

Shareholders of Australian communications equipment maker NetComm (ASX: NTC) have approved a change of name to NetComm Wireless to reflect the company's shift of focus away from fixed line and consumer communications technology to wireless equipment for telcos and the machine-to-machine market.

The ACMA is planning to use a combinatorial clock auction for the sale of 700MHz digital dividend spectrum and the 2.5GHz spectrum presently used for TV outside broadcast relays: both expected to be highly sought after to meet burgeoning demand for mobile broadband capacity.

NBN Co has mounted a spirited defence against claims from two internationally recognised telecommunications market experts that the forced shutdown of existing HFC broadband services from Telstra and Optus and restrictions against offering wireless broadband in competition with the NBN amounts to anti-competitive  behaviour.

Researchers at Rice University in the US have developed technology that they say could double the capacity of today's cellular networks, without the need for more spectrum or more base stations.