Bob Brewin

Concerns about security have commercial and government enterprises in the United States moving quickly to reassess deployments of industry-standard wireless LANs.

PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. said it plans to outsource its IT operations to IBM Corp. and consulting firm Keane Inc. in a 10-year, US$1.2 billion deal that will save the company between $380 million to $400 million over the life of the contracts.

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Qualcomm Inc. has demonstrated a satellite-based aviation safety system, saying it could help prevent aircraft hijackings by relaying real-time video from airline cockpits and cabins to the ground and provide a dedicated voice communications channel for onboard air marshals.

The U.S. federal government has postponed for three years any plans to auction spectrum used by the U.S. Department of Defense to the cellular telecommunication industry for commercial, high-speed mobile data services.

American Airlines Inc. plans to examine what IT projects it can defer in the current tough economic climate and intends to focus its IT spending on systems that can improve security.

U.S. public-safety organizations pressed the FCC to stop granting waivers and extensions to cellular communications companies that would allow them to miss the Oct. 1 start date for Enhanced 911 wireless location services.