Webwire: MS complains about Motorola patents; France Tel losing out to Free Mobile

Microsoft claims Motorola Mobility is over-charging for use of its patents, in a complaint to European Union competition authorities. The move is viewed as an attack on Google, which is in the process of buying Motorola.
 
France Telecom states it has lost 201,000 subscribers since rival Free Mobile burst onto the scene with low-cost services early January.
 
South Africa's Econet Wireless is suing Bharti Airtel for $3.1 billion (€2.3 billion), claiming it was frozen out of the decision to sell what is now Airtel Nigeria to the Indian operator. A local court ruled Bharti’s holding is void as a result.
 
A research firm suggests a link between the growing popularity of smartphones and a rise in cases of identity theft in the US. Thefts grew 13% to 12 million in 2011, Javelin Strategy & Research claims.
 
US operator Verizon has restored LTE services after suffering its fourth major outage in the last three months.
 
Google is seeking regulatory permission to provide cable TV services over a trial high-speed fiber network in Kansas City, USA.
 
ABI Research forecasts India's fixed and wireless broadband subscriber base will grow to 15.4 million by the end of 2012.