The 2 giants of the internet are fighting it out again. Microsoft has complained to the European Commission, claiming that Google was being anti-competitive when it came to sharing their services with other competitors like Microsoft. Microsoft's biggest issue currently with Google is that refusal to allow new Windows Phones to access YouTube in the same way that Android phones can. Google's Android OS contains a functionally rich YouTube application that enhances the YouTube experience while Windows Phones are left with just the standard YouTube page without any added functionality. Here is what Brad Smith, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Microsoft Corporation wrote:

First, in 2006 Google acquired YouTube—and since then it has put in place a growing number of technical measures to restrict competing search engines from properly accessing it for their search results. Without proper access to YouTube, Bing and other search engines cannot stand with Google on an equal footing in returning search results with links to YouTube videos and that, of course, drives more users away from competitors and to Google.

Rumors have started floating around that the next version of the iPhone will have LTE antennas. The iPhone 5 which has also been rumored to be pushed back to late this year has been subject to much speculation to what Apple will do next. According to the Japanese blog Macotakara, the iPhone 5 hasn't even entered the manufacturing stages yet which also contradicts our earlier news release that said it had. The next iPhone could actually support 4G LTE and it makes a lot of sense too. More and more 4G phones are entering the market today and Apple may want to get in on that market. Their hardware can definitely take the increased speeds and processing required for higher speeds that LTE has to offer. However, Apple has been slow to adopt new technologies in the past, they like to wait till they are more widespread or proven. We will not know anything of course until Apple releases the official specifications for the phone but until then, rumors will fly.

AT&T Executive Randall Stephenson recently spoke at an event in New York and tried to smother rumors that with less competitors the prices for wireless would rise after the $39 billion dollar T-Mobile deal goes through. He referred to a government report that indicated a 50% decline in wireless prices despite the 5 wireless mergers that occurred over that period. He followed by stating that "The U.S. market "is the most highly competitive in the world." Back in the day AT&T customers would pay $1.90 per megabyte of data on their phones and now pay an average of 16 cents which is quite a difference. Stephenson also states that the AT&T network will receive a 30% boost in capacity and coverage that should alleviate many of the dropped call issues present in larger cities. AT&T is also now committed to spend $8 billion over a seven year period to reinforce it's infrastructure. Other parts of the new deal include reducing roaming costs for subscribers that venture outside of their coverage area on occasion. The deal is still being investigated by the FCC so it has not even come close to being approved. We can expect this investigation to last many months as the transition is not supposed to take place for 12 months. What do you think about this, do you think that the wireless rates will increase after the acquisition? Please write your opinion below in the comments area, we would love to hear it.

Remember that campaign that Google had announced a long while back to bring fiber to your front door? Well, it looks like they are making some actual progress now and launching part of the network in Kansas City, Kansas. The city of Topeka had actually temporarily renamed the city to Google, Kansas the capital city of fiber optics in a move to get Google to lay fiber there. Well it seems to have worked because a deal has just been signed to roll out the fiber in the city which should be available to everyone in the area by 2012.

In selecting a city, our goal was to find a location where we could build efficiently, make an impact on the community and develop relationships with local government and community organizations. We’ve found this in Kansas City. We’ll be working closely with local organizations including the Kauffman Foundation, KCNext and the University of Kansas Medical Center to help develop the gigabit applications of the future.

Make sure you watch the official announcement in the Google YouTube channel live at 1PM EST.

Looks like Verizon is now ready to release the 4G LTE hotspot that we saw earlier this year at CES and has eluded us till now. The 4G hotspot built by Samsung is available for order now at VerizonWireless.com for $99.99 after a $50 mail in rebate as well as a 2-year commitment. The hotspot will be available in stores on March 31st.

Key features:

• · Share 4G LTE internet connection with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices at the same time
• · 4G LTE – customers can expect download speeds of 5 to 12 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps in 4G Mobile Broadband coverage areas
• · Backward compatible with the Verizon Wireless 3G network
• · Dimensions: 2.32”(H) x 3.54”(W) x 0.45”(D)

The mobile package for the hotspot starts at a hefty $50 a month for only 5GB of data. With the fast speeds on the 4G LTE network from Verizon 5GB may not be enough.