EU eyes broadband boost

Access to broadband Internet has increased in the European Union to 90 million lines, but the bloc should act to increase competition and tackle EU states that are lagging behind, the EU`s top telecoms official said on Monday.

Broadband access in the EU`s 25 oldest member states - excluding Romania and Bulgaria - increased by 28.7% from July 2006 to July 2007, the European Commission said, according to Reuters.

Increasing the availability of broadband is seen by the EU`s executive as a key step to boosting economic growth by helping smaller businesses work better.

Chipmaker Broadcom said Monday it has developed a new processor that integrates all key 3G cellular and mobile technologies onto a single chip, reports CNET News.com.

The processor, which operates at extremely low power, will enable cellphone makers to build new 3G phones in more compact form factors, with very long battery lives at a fraction of what it costs today, the company said.

The new 3G "Phone on a Chip" supports the four next-generation cellular technologies used throughout the world: HSUPA (high-speed uplink packet access), HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access), WCDMA (wideband code division multiple access), and EDGE (enhanced data for GSM evolution).

Nokia on Monday began shipping its 8GB N95 smartphone, which is expected to hit the stores soon, says InformationWeek.

The N95 smartphone is an upgrade to the original 120MB N95 that Nokia first unveiled last year. Nokia is calling the new device "the memory-packed big brother" to the original phone.

With expanded memory, the N95 offers up to 20 hours of video, or up to 6 000 songs, according to Nokia.

The Pirate Bay, a Swedish organisation well-known as the scourge of law enforcement agencies and anti-piracy advocates, has staged one of its most audacious raids to date, states The Sydney Morning Herald.

The group, one of the world`s leading BitTorrent trackers, has hoisted its flag over the IFIP.com domain.

The address was, until recently, owned by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an industry body representing the recording industry worldwide.