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Talk of an Apple netbook isn’t new, but the details from the story in today’s InfoTimes fit the vision that analysts like Technology Business Research’s Ezra Gottheil have had for nearly a year. (A translation of the original Chinese was posted by a commenter on MacRumors.)

“The screen size, the fact that it will be a touch screen, is pretty much along the route I think Apple should take,” said Gottheil. “The price point, though, is pretty high if Apple wants to do with [a netbook] what I think it wants to do.

“But then, Apple has never been above squeezing early adopters,” Gottheil added.

Two of the world’s largest mobile phone operators, the Spanish company Telefónica and the British giant Vodafone Group, said Monday that they would share infrastructure in some European markets in a move meant to cut costs as the economic downturn erodes their profits.

The companies said they had agreed to share networks in Britain, Germany, Ireland and Spain, and were in “detailed discussions” about doing so in the Czech Republic. In practice, the agreement means the companies will jointly build sites or consolidate existing 2G and 3G antenna mast sites and infrastructure, reducing the total number of cellphone antenna masts in operation.

The companies said they would continue to manage their call traffic independently, but they said they were also considering possible cooperation in the provision of transmission services.

Vodafone, based in Newbury, England, has about 289 million customers around the world. Telefónica, based in Madrid, has about 260 million customers in its fixed, broadband and mobile phone businesses.

Investors greeted the news coolly. Shares of Telefónica rose 1 percent in Madrid, while shares of Vodafone ticked up less than 1 percent in London.

Matthew Key, chief executive of Telefónica Europe, said in a statement that Telefónica and Vodafone would “continue to compete strongly against each other in local markets, while giving our customers enhanced mobile coverage in more places, using fewer mast sites.” Shareholders will benefit, he said, because “by reducing our costs in areas of the business that customers don’t see, we can ensure that we invest in areas they truly value.”

Michel Combes, chief executive of Vodafone Europe, said in the statement that the move would “enable us to focus our resources on developing more innovative and market leading services while delivering on our pledge to reduce the environmental impact of our network roll out.”

It is estimated that there are over 30 million people in rural America that cannot get high speed Internet access. But cheer up, satellite Internet access could be a solution to your problem.

There are several satellite Internet service providers that offer two way and one way satellite Internet service. Two way service uses your dish, that is mounted on your home, to send information to the satellite and then the download speed comes back to you. One way satellite Internet service utilizes your phone line to transmit to the satellite and the download comes back to you via the satellite and collected by your dish.

In a two way system your ability to transmit from your dish to the satellite is severely limited on rainy or cloudy days. Let’s face it, the satellite dish on your house isn’t as strong in sending signals as the satellite in orbit that costs millions of dollars. This issue is called rain fade.

Because one way systems use dial-up as a request path, the signal is beamed up to the satellite from a teleport atop a 14 story building at much higher power (35 times as much) than two-way systems. To some people using your phone line for the upload may be seen as a negative. But in reality it is a positive attribute because one way systems do not have issues with rain fade as two way systems do. Your browsing speed in either case comes to you via the satellite to your dish.

One way systems begins loading pages twice as fast as two-way systems because the data only makes one trip up to the satellite and then back down. Two-way systems require two round trips. Known technically as ‘latency’, even radio signals take time to make a 22,500 mile voyage 4 times. The World Wide Web does not reside on a satellite. Another major advantage that one way systems enjoy is affordability. Two way satellite systems are regulated by the FCC and they require professional installation as the only option.

Because one way satellite Internet service is simpler and more reliable it does not have FCC restrictions and self installation is an option. If you are relatively handy this option can help you save between $150 and $200 for a couple of hours work. If you would like professional installation, that option is available also.

So regardless of where you live satellite Internet access can be a real problem solver for your need for fast and reliable Internet service. Just because you live out in the country don’t let technology pass you by. Be sure to give satellite Internet access a try.