Verizon Wireless, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile are joining forces with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to work on curbing phone thefts using a central database that will store information about stolen phones, according to reports.

Major app store players, such as Apple, Google and Microsoft, may be unlikely to adopt new privacy rules proposed by the GSM Association (GSMA) this week, as it would restrict their money making business models, according to analysts.

This year the number of operators that have implemented HD Voice has almost tripled, and more phones are also compatible with the technology, according to a report by industry organization GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association).

China Mobile and China Unicom, two of the country's largest mobile operators, said they plan to bring SIM card-based Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to their customers.

Four operators will be able to offer mobile broadband in the 800MHz band, which is especially well-suited for rural areas, after a spectrum auction in Sweden, local telecommunications regulator PTS said on Friday.

1. It really is fast. TeliaSonera, the Swedish carrier that in 2009 launched the first major commercial long-term evolution (LTE) service, delivered an average downstream speed of 33.4Mbps in informal tests last year. Verizon Wireless, which is using narrower spectrum bands, estimates that even on a fully loaded network, individual subscribers will get between 5Mbps and 12Mbps downstream and about 2Mbps to 5Mbps upstream.

Mobile network operators and their equipment suppliers are working hard to make telephony over data-oriented LTE (Long-Term Evolution) mobile networks a reality, with the number of demos at Mobile World Congress a sign they are getting closer.

A task force led by the GSM Association will take a look at how SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards embedded in non-phone devices can be remotely programmed and activated, in an effort to expand the use of mobile broadband , the organization said on Thursday.