The study will examine use of technology by 10,000 seniors, Dishman said. Intel is looking for partners that can put up funding for the proposal and the study, and will complete a proposal outlining the study this year, he said.

As part of a five- to 10-year endeavor, researchers plan to use sensors, Web-connected computers and other devices to capture data about seniors' daily activities, such as when they take medicine and how quickly they move about the house. The purpose is to prove that the technology can track cognitive and physical decline and to understand how technology can help providers better care for seniors in home settings, rather than hospitals and other facilities where care costs have skyrocketed in recent years. The market for so-called aging-in-place technology is expected to surge. Global revenues from home monitoring of patients with diseases like diabetes and cardiac arrhythmia should rise to $16.6 billion in 2015, from $11 billion last year, according to Swedish consultant Berg Insight.

"There are likely to be more older people who'll need assistance living at home," Andre Malm, senior analyst at Berg, said in an interview. "It's a way to improve quality of living for patients who want to live at home. What's needed is good, independent research" to prove that at-home technologies work. The number of Americans aged 65 or older will rise to 72.1 million by 2030, up from 39.6 million in 2009, according to Administration on Aging.

One goal is to prove that at-home technologies can be useful in early detection of diseases, and alerting caregivers to emergencies such as falls, Dishman said. "I am sure we'll figure out ways to increase fall prevention and reduce depression," he said. Computers might remind consumers with Alzheimer's, for instance, what they discussed during a previous conversation. A door sensor may notify a caregiver that a senior hasn't gone outside for four days.

"You can address a problem sooner, before it becomes clinical," Paul Crawford, director of health product research for Intel Labs, said in an interview. "Intel is trying to bring independent living into the digital age. It's in analog age now." Crawford and Jeff Kaye, a professor at Oregon Health & Science University, are leading the work on the proposal. The study is expected to be administered by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health.

The study may begin as early as 2012, if additional funds are secured, Dishman said. His SILvR (Senior Independent Living Research) Initiative study could cost $200 million over 10 years, and would eventually track some 10,000 households with seniors, he said. The exact cost of the study will be determined this year.

Potential backers of the proposal work include The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National Science Foundation, Dishman said. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which provides funding for public health projects, is "intrigued by the idea," Paul Tarini, senior program officer at the foundation, said in an interview. The organization has talked with Intel about the study and is now awaiting a funding proposal.

Intel makes chips and software used in at-home care. The company and GE Corp. formed a joint venture focused on telehealth and independent living technologies in August.

Intel has invested in senior healthcare technologies for 12 years, funding more than 100 university grants, Dishman said.

Once the proposal is completed by year-end, Intel will push U.S. and European Union authorities to fund the study, Dishman said. Intel has also talked with White House officials, including Federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, and is pushing for the study to become a presidential election issue in 2012, he said.

"It's too expensive even for Intel to single-handedly produce the clinical and financial evidence that these technologies detect diseases and lower costs," Dishman said. "Even competitors need to come together and co-invest."

The carrier's network outperforms those of Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA in 14 of 23 markets, according to the data, due to be released on Nov. 11. In markets such as Washington, D.C., Seattle and Philadelphia, AT&T earned a higher RootScore, based on the company's proprietary algorithm that weighs the carrier's voice and data quality. AT&T is also one of two best performers in six additional markets.

The RootMetrics data underscored the difficulty AT&T has encountered in other markets, including San Francisco. There, AT&T's gear didn't perform as well as Sprint's and Verizon's. AT&T's RootScore in the market is on par with T-Mobile's. AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel didn't immediately return a request for comment.

Venture capital-funded Root collects data independently as well as with help from several thousand consumers, who've downloaded its special app on their Android device, BlackBerry or the iPhone. The app periodically checks the network's performance and tracks dropped calls. From February of 2009 to October of 2010, Root checked network quality in 40 million locations around the country, says CEO Paul Griff.

Network quality has emerged as a point of competition between carriers in the U.S. in the past year, when iPhone users in markets such as San Francisco and New York began complaining of AT&T's network congestion. The carrier has worked hard to improve its coverage. Its rivals, such as Verizon Wireless and T- Mobile, have also been beefing up their network. Sprint has been buying network capacity from carrier Clearwire, in which it's an investor.

Devices marked with the new Wi-Fi Direct label can connect to older Wi-Fi devices. Mobile phones, cameras, printers, PCs and gaming devices can now connect to each other directly to transfer content and share applications. Devices can make a one-to-one connection, or a group of several devices can connect simultaneously. How this might work: Your Wi-Fi Direct device will signal to other devices in the area that it can make a connection. You can view available devices and ask them to connect, or you might receive an invitation to connect to another Wi-Fi Direct device.

Chipmakers including Intel, Broadcom and Atheros have already announced Wi-Fi Direct products. If Wi-Fi Direct takes off, Bluetooth's future may be murky.

On Oct. 1, the U.S.'s sixth-largest wireless service provider will start giving bonuses to loyal customers in hopes of making them stay with the service longer -- and of even luring consumers away from rivals.

Customers will accumulate bonus points throughout the life of their first contract with U.S. Cellular, which serves 6.1 million people in 26 states, and in the months after it expires. The bonus points will buy accessories, ringtones, caps on overages, and discounts on new, replacement phones. Customers whose contracts expire will be able to buy new phones at the same, deeply subsidized price that new customers can -- but without having to renew their contracts, which is what most other wireless carriers require their users
to do. Plus, they'll be able to cut the price further with their bonus points.

For mobile carriers, retaining customers has become priority No. 1. Hence, the loyalty programs, which have already worked wonders for grocery stores, hotels and airlines. AT&T Mobility already offers customers who renew their high-priced contracts discounts on service plans. Earlier this year, Verizon Ventures invested into CardStar, a company that makes mobile loyalty applications. Now, U.S. Cellular is jumping into the fray.

"Our expectation is that, over time, our customers will stay longer," says CEO Mary Dillon. In the second quarter, the carrier blamed competition for losing 3,000 customers. The carrier's 1.4 percent monthly turnover rate is among the lowest in the industry.

With the bonuses system, the Chicago-based company hopes to attract new customers, and to see its net customer additions jump 10 percent a year, Dillon says. The new customers will have to sign a contract initially, so most U.S. Cellular subscribers will still have a contract in the next few years.

On Oct. 1, the U.S.'s sixth-largest wireless service provider will start giving bonuses to loyal customers in hopes of making them stay with the service longer -- and of even luring consumers away from rivals.

Customers will accumulate bonus points throughout the life of their first contract with U.S. Cellular, which serves 6.1 million people in 26 states, and in the months after it expires. The bonus points will buy accessories, ringtones, caps on overages, and discounts on new, replacement phones. Customers whose contracts expire will be able to buy new phones at the same, deeply subsidized price that new customers can -- but without having to renew their contracts, which is what most other wireless carriers require their users
to do. Plus, they'll be able to cut the price further with their bonus points.

For mobile carriers, retaining customers has become priority No. 1. Hence, the loyalty programs, which have already worked wonders for grocery stores, hotels and airlines. AT&T Mobility already offers customers who renew their high-priced contracts discounts on service plans. Earlier this year, Verizon Ventures invested into CardStar, a company that makes mobile loyalty applications. Now, U.S. Cellular is jumping into the fray.

"Our expectation is that, over time, our customers will stay longer," says CEO Mary Dillon. In the second quarter, the carrier blamed competition for losing 3,000 customers. The carrier's 1.4 percent monthly turnover rate is among the lowest in the industry.

With the bonuses system, the Chicago-based company hopes to attract new customers, and to see its net customer additions jump 10 percent a year, Dillon says. The new customers will have to sign a contract initially, so most U.S. Cellular subscribers will still have a contract in the next few years.