The Latest in IT Security

Some of the biggest cable and technology companies in the US are apparently putting together an unlikely partnership. According to The Wall Street Journal, Google and Microsoft are joining up with Charter, Comcast, and Time Warner Cable to launch a coalition to expand public Wi-Fi access. The makeup of companies rumored to be involved in this coalition is notable — the cable companies, particularly Comcast, have had wireless aspirations in the past, and more Wi-Fi access certainly makes Microsoft and Googles cloud-based software much more useful. Its also worth noting that there arent any wireless carriers like Verizon or ATT involved in WifiForward. ATT in particular had built a network of 32,000 Wi-Fi hotspots to help ease the pressure the iPhone and other smartphones brought to its wireless network, but now that unlimited data is a thing of the past, the carriers have a big incentive to push customers to use (and pay) for as much wireless data as they can.