By RyanKamauff

Here are the top tech news and stories of the day.

• AT&T’s LTE investments will go big by using small cells - AT&T will be spending $14B to update their wireless and wired networks this year. Part of that investment will have to go into increasing their LTE footprint. In the nextgen network, they are seriously lagging behind the leader, Verizon. AT&T will use small cells using the “HetNet Concept.” The small cells will allow them to target dense populations to get bang for buck. Via GigaOM, more here.
• Report: North American Internet Data Usage Up 120% In The Last Year, Netflix Still Responsible For 33% Of Peak Traffic - According to Sandvine, a broadband internet provider, fixed network data is up 120% over last year in NA. The average household is using 52GB of data a month, a huge leap. Netflix is occupying 33% of peak traffic, compared to the 1.75% and 1.38% used by Amazon and Hulu respectively. Traffic is disproportionately used by the upper end of the usage spectrum, while conversely, the bottom 50% use only 5.2 total percent of all data. TechCrunch and Sandvine see this as providing fire to the inexorable move to usage-based pricing. Via TechCrunch, more here.
• Instagram CEO: The speed of the product dictates how often it’s used - The CEO of Instagram, Kevin Systrom, believes that Instagram is so popular because the app is so fast to use. He thinks that while wireless broadband is growing faster (and the software is as well) equally as important is the speed of the back-end processing (the poor image quality that Instagram uploads cannot negatively impact speed either). He sees that every second/half-second of waiting time shaved equates to increased usage of the application. This could absolutely impact web usage as well. Via GigaOM, more here.
• Sprint buys Chicago, St. Louis markets from US Cellular in spectrum grab - Sprint who is severely lagging behind all other networks in speed and coverage is purchasing increased spectrum in the midwest. While they are certainly a bargain carrier, Sprint has to catch up with at least T-Mobile to remain viable in the mobile market. Sprint’s early gamble on WiMAX did not pay off as LTE is the clear 4G choice in the US. Via Ars Technica, more here.
• Jetlore Helps Businesses Turn Short Social Updates Into Usable Data - Jetlore is launching a platform hoping to speed social data companies in their time to market. Jetlore performs text analytics and matching it to usable data and topics. Jetlore does not worry about collecting data itself, but rather analyzing the data the customer can bring to bear. Via TechCrunch, more here.
• Nerds Unite! Steam for Linux goes live as a limited beta - As Windows 8 is pushing gaming developers away from Windows (and users are ditching Microsoft for other OS options), Linux is fast becoming a low-cost choice for users, and nerds. The beta is available initially only for Ubuntu 12.04+ users, but that should increase as time goes on. Via BetaNews, more here.
• Megaupload Case Has Far-Reaching Implications for Cloud-Data Ownership Rights - as the Megaupload case continues, it is entirely likely that it could set the precedent for all cloud-data and ownership in the future. As owners of data are currently blocked from retrieving it, the question is raised, “whose data is it in the cloud?” As well as do the protections change if the data is owned by a corporation or government entity instead of a private citizen. The answers reached by this case could be pivotal in determining cloud-adoption for corporation and government agencies. Via Wired.com, more here.
• Airbnb Partners With NYC.gov To Provide Free Housing For Hurricane Sandy Victims - Airbnb is providing great opportunities to those dispossessed by Hurricane Sandy. They have waived fees for those affected and are asking local users to drop rates in accordance. This week, they have partnered with NYC.gov to provide more than 80 places for free. Airbnb has over 20,000 listings in the area, and hopefully more will join. Via TechCrunch, more here.