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USA! USA! USA WINS!
Hi again, everybody - it's
Olympiad 2012 time! I hope you are getting
to see all of your favorite events and that your
favorite teams and athletes are winning! If not,
and if you haven't already found it, here is the
link to nbcolympics.com where you can find all the feeds
and schedules and what is currently happening.
Click Here
If that isn't enough for you,
here are a few extra items that I found
interesting, including a warning about
fraudulent websites (always be on your guard
when on the internet!)
3D coverage of Olympics will be available in
most U.S. homes
FiOS and U-verse TV are among the multichannel
services that will present a dedicated 3DTV
channel for the upcoming London Olympics. NBC
Olympics has signed 80% of the nation's TV
households with satellite provider DISH Network
one of the few pay-TV services that have not
signed up for the service that will provide
about 12 hours a day of 3D coverage.
Multichannel News
(7/20),
Websites touting Olympic video may be frauds,
Trend Micro says
Websites that sell live video streaming of
events from the London Olympics might be
defrauding people since few broadcasters are
authorized by the International Olympic
Committee to provide such streams, according to
Trend Micro, which cites more than a dozen
questionable websites. Some sites also are
trying to sell fake tickets to Olympic events,
Zscaler reports.
Network World/IDG News Service
(7/29)
AT&T launches
Olympian effort to shine a light on athletes
MediaPost Communications/Marketing Daily (7/26)
Olympic Entrepreneurs: Kristi Yamaguchi, Ice
Skater and Philanthropist Katie
Morell
Olympic Entrepreneurs: Michael Johnson, Sprinter
and Motivator Katie
Morell
Olympic Entrepreneurs: Shannon Miller, Gymnast
and Fitness Guru Katie
Morell
Enjoy the games, and if you have any extra time,
then read on for the Top Telecom news of the
month for JULY!
Editor Jim
Cybersecurity bill faces final test in Senate
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is
expected to consider a cybersecurity measure
backed by Democrats this week with a procedural
vote expected a few days thereafter before
Congress leaves for its August recess.
Republicans oppose the bill, citing burdensome
rules and its creation of too much bureaucracy.
The Hill/Hillicon Valley blog
(7/24)
Obama's smart-grid dreams are advancing
The U.S. smart grid has seen advances in the
past four years, as pushed by candidate Barack
Obama in 2008 -- but the gains haven't drawn a
lot of publicity, Michael Grunwald writes. "You
wouldn't expect the industry to be building new
wires left and right, but there's a huge amount
of activity. ... People don't see it, but it's
happening," said Peter Fox-Penner of Brattle
Group.
Time.com/Business blog
(7/26)
CenturyLink will get $35 million from FCC's
Connect America Fund
CenturyLink said Tuesday it will accept $35
million in federal grants to provide broadband
service to 45,000 homes in 22 states under the
Connect America Fund, set up by the Federal
Communications Commission to help carriers
defray the cost of providing broadband access to
remote customers. The telecom will use most of
the funds earmarked for underserved regions in
Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico, Virginia and
Washington. The carrier said it was only taking
a fraction of the $90 million in funding for
which it was eligible because federal
restrictions on spending the money "made further
deployment uneconomic." CenturyLink has
requested a waiver it says will allow the
telecom to add 60,000 homes to the deployment.
Vision2Mobile.com
(7/24)
Frontier will resell HughesNet's satellite-based
broadband
Frontier Communications said it will act as a
reseller for the HughesNet Gen4 satellite-based
broadband service that emanates from the
recently launched EchoStar XVII bird. The
carrier will begin offering the service in
September under the Frontier Broadband tag.
Telecompetitor.com
(7/24)
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Wash.
to become 1st state to register voters through
Facebook
Residents of Washington state will soon be able
to use a Facebook application to register to
vote. Shane Hamlin, co-director of elections,
said the app, which could be available next
week, is "a natural way" to sign up voters.
Although more than a dozen states offer online
registration, Washington would be the first to
enroll voters via Facebook. The social media
site will not collect details other than a
voter's name and date of birth, and will not
have access to the voter database, Hamlin said.
USA TODAY/The Associated Press
(7/18)
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Higher profits enable AT&T to double share-buyback bid
AT&T has doubled the stock-buyback program it announced
in December 2010, adding 300 million shares worth $11.1
billion to the plan in a bid to increase shareholder
value, the company announced. The plan, which carries no
deadline, amounts to about 5% of AT&T's outstanding
shares.
Total Telecom Magazine (U.K.)/Dow Jones Newswires
(7/30),
Redbox taps ex-FiOS chief for Verizon joint venture
Redbox will begin alpha testing today of its streaming
video service in partnership with Verizon Communications
and will be run by Shawn Strickland, a former vice
president of Verizon's FiOS division, according to a
published report that says the service will be called
Redbox Instant by Verizon when it launches, possibly
later this year.
Fast Company online
(7/24),
All Things D
(7/24)
Verizon taps Geek Squad to deliver IT services to SMBs
Verizon Communications will provide a full range of IT
support to small and midsize businesses through a new
program in which the carrier has employed Best Buy's
Geek Squad to deliver the managed service under the IT
Help Desk brand, the companies announced.
ZDNet
(7/18)
Legal clash coming over FBI's subpoena power for phone
data
An unidentified wireless phone carrier has fought a
government subpoena to turn over a customer's records
that the Federal Bureau of Investigation demanded under
provisions of the USA Patriot Act, according to a
published report. The Wall Street Journal says it has
narrowed down the list of potential carriers to five
companies. Legal experts termed the secrecy-shrouded
case one of the most important related to the 2001 law
passed after the al-Qaida attacks.
The Wall Street Journal
(7/17)
Netflix users streamed more than a billion hours of
video in June
Netflix users in June screened more than 1 billion hours
of online video, a first for the company, Netflix says.
The increased usage is in line with the video service's
goals of saving on mailing costs by converting
DVD-by-mail users to streaming. That strategy, however,
has also forced Netflix to spend tens of millions of
dollars over the past few years to expand its library of
online titles.
The Washington Post/The Associated Press
(7/3)
Google reveals Kansas City, Mo., ultrafast Internet
service details
Google Fiber on Thursday revealed details of its
broadband service launch in Kansas City, Mo., offering a
Gigabit Ethernet service for $70 a month or an
Internet/television package for $120 a month. "Access is
the next frontier that needs to be opened," said Patrick
Pichette, Google's chief financial officer. "We're going
to do it profitably. That is our plan."
The New York Times (tiered subscription model)
(7/26),
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Wis. is big winner for FCC rural broadband
funding
Wisconsin, with $38 million in federal funding
for rural broadband service, is the biggest
recipient of the 37 states receiving a total of
$115 million from the Federal Communications
Commission's Connect America Fund. The monies
must be used by 2015 to expand broadband in
rural communities.
Multichannel News
(7/26),
Some telecoms say no to Connect America Fund
grants
Verizon Communications and AT&T have declined
their shares of the Connect America Fund offered
by the Federal Communications Commission, while
regional carrier Windstream said it would accept
only a sliver -- $653,000 -- of the $60.4
million it was eligible for under the plan's
Phase One. "The rules cap support for broadband
deployment to $775 per unserved location, an
amount that is insufficient to make deployment
economic in a truly high-cost area," Windstream
said in an FCC filing.
Telecompetitor.com
(7/25),
AT&T nets 155,000 U-verse TV subs in as profits
jump
AT&T added 155,000 U-verse TV subscribers in the
second quarter to reach 4.15 million U.S. homes
with about 75% of them taking a triple-play or
quad-play option, the telecom reported today.
U-verse revenues jumped by 38% compared to a
year ago as the wireline segment enjoyed its
beefiest sales growth in more than four years.
On the wireless side, the carrier added 320,000
contract customers.
Multichannel News
(7/24),
Bloomberg
(7/24)
FiOS growth helps spark Verizon to 13% gain
Gains at its FiOS TV and Internet units helped
Verizon Communications increase its net income
13% and operating revenue 3.7% in the second
quarter compared with a year earlier, the
carrier announced today. Verizon's video
business netted 120,000 new subscribers and its
Internet unit netted 134,000 new customers as
average revenue per user climbed 8.5% at its
wireline business. On the wireless side, Verizon
surpassed Wall Street's predictions during the
second quarter by netting 888,000 contract
subscribers.
The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires
(7/19),
Multichannel News
(7/19),
Court rules that FCC can use USF money for
broadband access
Money collected by the Federal Communications
Commission for the Universal Service Fund can be
shifted to broadband-access projects, according
to a ruling Friday by the Federal Appeals Court
for the D.C. Circuit. The FCC move was opposed
by the Rural Cellular Association and the
Universal Service for America Coalition.
Multichannel News
(7/13)
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Internet
telephony: The merger of telecom and IT
The growth of Internet telephony is breaking
down the traditional barriers that once existed
between telecommunications and information
technology, as Voice over IP and deregulation
challenge the status quo. According to Scott
Schreiman, president and CEO of Kerio
Technologies, this paradigm shift will not
dislodge legacy providers from their
monopolistic market position, but will create
new opportunities for IT companies seeking to
capitalize on providing voice and data services.
Channel Partners/Peer to Peer blog
(7/11)
U.S.
businesses bullish on UC, IP telephony, report finds
Enterprise spending on hosted IP telephony services is
forecast to grow threefold through 2016 in the U.S.,
with the bulk of the growth driven by demand from firms
with more than 500 employees, according to a report by
InfoTrack. The five-year forecast predicts that overall
spending on IPT and unified communications will grow at
an annual rate of 10% as more businesses adopt
collaboration, mobility, UC client, messaging and
contact center solutions.
Telecompetitor.com
(7/10)
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Verizon, cablers say their deal looks better with
T-Mobile swap
Verizon Communications and its cable operator partners
argued to federal regulators that the carrier's spectrum
swap with T-Mobile USA would dampen concerns that
Verizon's deal with the cable companies will concentrate
too much spectrum in the carrier's hands. In comments
filed with the Federal Communications Commission on
Tuesday, the group also said that the T-Mobile deal
would "underscore the effectiveness of the Commission's
secondary markets policies."
Broadcasting & Cable
(7/10)
Verizon Wireless: Backhaul fears for cable deal are
overblown
Verizon Wireless has joined with its cable partners to
reassure federal regulators that their cross-marketing
and spectrum agreements would not impede the cable
companies' ability to compete aggressively in the
cellular backhaul market. The declaration came in
response to concerns voiced by Sprint Nextel last month
about continued access to cable facilities for
installing and accessing microcells at an affordable
price. Also, two public interest groups have asked the
Federal Communications Commission to give them more time
to comment on the deal. The FCC had originally stalled
its process until July 19 for that purpose.
Light Reading Cable
(7/5),
CenturyLink said to sell wireless licenses, gets rules
eased in Idaho
CenturyLink has reportedly sold a chunk of its A-Block
wireless licenses that it bought at auction to regional
carrier U.S. Cellular, which wants to expand its 4G
service. CenturyLink has turned its focus to reselling
service from Verizon Wireless' network. Also at
CenturyLink, the Idaho Public Utilities Commission
agreed to double the time telecoms have to respond to
power outages -- to 48 hours -- and will no longer need
to credit affected customers with free service.
CenturyLink also passed another hurdle to gaining a
cable TV franchise in Colorado Springs and Fountain,
Colo.
RCR Wireless News
(7/3),
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