Sumner Lemon

A high-profile government crackdown on Internet cafes in China resulted in the temporary closure of 18,000 Internet cafes between February and August, but few cafes were closed permanently, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Nine Chinese operators and telecommunication equipment makers have formed an alliance to jointly develop mobile multimedia applications and standards, according to the official China Daily newspaper.

Carly Fiorina conceded that she made mistakes during her tenure as HP's top executive - in particular, Fiorina said she should have made certain "people decisions" sooner.

A slowdown in demand for semiconductors that began earlier this year was caused in part by Chinese cellular handset makers' inexperience with managing their supply chains and forecasting end-user demand, according to the top executive at semiconductor distributor Avnet Inc.

China Network Communications Group Corp. (China Netcom), China's second-largest fixed-line operator, plans to offer wireless broadband services in one more Chinese province, while simultaneously expanding coverage in the three other provinces where the service is currently available, network equipment vendor Alvarion Ltd. said Tuesday.

Cisco Systems Inc. plans to open a research and development (R&D) centre in Shanghai that will focus on developing Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, the company's chief executive officer (CEO) said Thursday.

Iranians have paid the equivalent of US$600 each to preregister for mobile phone services as the Mobile Communication Company of Iran (MCCI) gears up for an aggressive expansion of its network.

China's National People's Congress, the country's top legislative body, on Aug. 28 passed a law that legalizes the use of electronic signatures, paving the way to overcome an important obstacle to doing e-commerce in the world's most populous country, according to the official Xinhua News Service.