Quick news from around the Web.
Mozilla touts growth of Firefox OS, future plans https://t.co/M0U2dZjxx2 via @firefox
— FierceWireless (@FierceWireless) July 17, 2014
> The Senate unanimously approved legislation to legalize cell-phone unlocking, which would make it easier for consumers to switch providers without buying a new phone. Article
> Juniper Research forecasts there will be 1 billion LTE connections by 2017 and 1.8 billion by 2019. Release
> LG Electronics launched LG G3 Beat, a mid-tier variant of LG's G3 smartphone. Release
> Alcatel-Lucent's Bell Labs has opened a research office in Cambridge, UK, led by Bo Olofsson. The office will focus on smartphones, games consoles, tablets, Smart TVs, and more. Release
> Google is offering businesses the chance to purchase and use Google Earth aerial imagery. Blog
> Google Wallet is now offering gift card support in Wallet apps for Android and iOS. Article
> Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing dropped 6 percent on reports that it will likely lose orders of next-generation chips from Apple and Qualcomm. Article
> Microsoft has started accepting requests from European users who want to remove search links from Bing under a recent "right-to-be-forgotten" ruling by Europe's top court. Article
> Apple CEO Tim Cook says he does 80 percent of his work on an iPad and you should too. Article (sub. req.)
Wireless Tech News
> AT&T, Google and others pick apart FCC's 3.5 GHz spectrum-sharing scheme. Article
> Ericsson says the most critical aspect that will influence how 5G networks manage traffic is the availability of additional spectrum. Article
> Signals Research Group says T-Mobile is leading the way in the United States to 4x2 MIMO cell site configurations. Article
Telecom Industry News
> How big is the dark fiber opportunity? And why is dark fiber still such a divisive issue among telcos and their competitors? Commentary
> Allied Fiber is pushing the limits of its existing fiber by completing a 1 Terabit-per-second super-channel transmission trial over a 1,700 km ring connecting West Palm Beach to Jacksonville, Fla. Article
> Verizon completed a trial carrying 100G traffic over its regional network between two 100G network interface devices (NID). Article
Cable Industry News
> The Copyright Office told Aereo that it doesn't believe the company qualifies for a statutory license to retransmit broadcast TV signals. Article
> Disney announced a flurry of carriage deals with independent pay TV operators however it has a long way to go to get ubiquitous coverage of its regional sports channel, SEC Network. Article
And finally… Vint Cerf, "co-father of the Internet" talks with Stephen Colbert about the great marriage of the Internet and the mobile phone. Article