January 7, 2008 - BT, Microsoft deliver IPTV via the Xbox

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January 7, 2008 Sign up Forward Archive Advertise Read more at SmartBrief.com News for telecom industry leaders Search recent stories:       News of the Day  BT, Microsoft deliver IPTV via the Xbox The U.K. telecom giant BT Group PLC has formed a joint venture with Microsoft that will allow viewers to watch TV through their Xbox 360 consoles, BT said today. Set for a mid-2008 debut, the service would give consumers who subscribe to BT Vision, the company's digital and IPTV service, the opportunity to play games and order films through the device. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (subscription required) (1/7)   Business & Industry Watch    AT&T debuts U-verse in Illinois AT&T is bringing its U-Verse IPTV service to Illinois for the first time, with its launch in 17 communities outside St. Louis after its introduction in the Missouri side of the market a month ago. The company hopes to introduce the service to the Chicago area by spring, although it has not set a firm deadline. St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1/6) Austar nets $57 million from OPEL spectrum sale Austar United Communications will sell its spectrum holdings to the OPEL joint venture, which is building broadband networks in Australia's rural areas. The OPEL partners, Singapore Telecommunications and Futuris Corp., will give the pay-TV provider $56.6 million for the spectrum. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (subscription required) (1/7) Vodafone vows improved service to Germans Vodafone Group will expand the number of its German retail shops by about 25% over the next two years as part of a concerted customer-service drive aimed at bringing in more wireless revenue and more customers for its high-speed Internet business. The company said today that its shops would total 2,000 within the next two years. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (subscription required) (1/7) Verizon Wireless aims to "evolve" wireless shopping in Florida Verizon Wireless has opened its first two "Evolution" stores in Florida as part of its nationwide push to make shopping for a cell phone a more pleasurable experience. The stores, in Winter Garden and the Tampa area, have about 75 items in stock for consumers to play with and test. The carrier expects to have more than a dozen Evolution stores up and running in the state this year. Orlando Sentinel (Fla.) (1/7) Saudi deal reaps $935 million for Nokia Siemens Zain, a Saudi Arabian wireless carrier, will pay Nokia Siemens Networks about $935 million to provide its digital network, NSN said today. The deal carries even greater significance for the company because of Zain's presence in more than a dozen countries in Africa and the Middle East. The Oregonian (Portland)/Associated Press (1/7) OSS Solutions Voice, data and video services are key to the success and growth of your business. SaskTel International can completely automate your provisioning, provide instant service-on-demand capability, and integrate your service assurance processes. To find out how we can give your company the competitive advantage, visit www.sasktelinternational.com   Hot Topics  Top five news stories selected by USTelecom dailyLead readers in the past week. Nokia Siemens aims to extend telecom capabilities (Reuters) Netflix partners with LG to stream flicks on TV (The New York Times) Telecom, cable industries get ready for torrid HDTV growth (The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)) Verizon's FiOS readies first urban push (Yahoo!) A British view of the hottest technologies for '08 (BBC) Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.   Technology Trends  Thomson bucks trend with new cordless features Thomson is putting more muscle into the home cordless phone with the introduction of a new line of GE-branded phones that have such features as a Bluetooth adapter and a digital photo frame. The Bluetooth device will turn a cordless phone into a dual-mode handset for cellular and land-line service as the company also said it would discontinue and phase out its 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz phones, respectively, in favor of its DECT technology. TWICE (1/7) Companies select LiMo as mobile Linux choice The competition over which mobile Linux phone standard will emerge as the leader has gotten more intense with a handful of companies joining the LiMo Foundation. Trolltech, Acrodea, ETRI, Huawei Technologies and Purple Labs have joined LiMo, whose roster also includes founders NTT DoCoMo, Vodafone and Motorola, all of whom are lining up behind their choices in a field that now also includes Google's Android platform. Techworld/IDG News Service (1/7) Yahoo! to open up mobile services as part of ad strategy Yahoo! is making some of its major mobile-phone software and services open-source, as part of Chief Executive Officer Jerry Yang's emphasis on having it become the Web "starting point" for most users. The move, which was slated to be announced today, is intended to make Yahoo! more competitive in the mobile-ad business with Google, Microsoft and other rivals, according to this article. The New York Times (1/7) The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS) Volt Telecom Group is working with one of the nation's largest communications holding company to upgrade its existing infrastructure within California. We are seeking splicers to be an integral part of this exciting new project. For more information, see our announcement or contact Sonya Young at 714.921.7506. Interested in learning more about advertising in the USTelecom dailyLead? Contact Eric Hoffman at 773-549-3868 or ehoffman@smartbrief.com.   IP Download  Sony, Skype confirm rumored deal for PSP Skype users will be able to make free phone calls over Sony's PlayStation Portable platform, under an agreement the companies disclosed today. The deal also allows PSP owners to call fixed-line and cell phones by purchasing credits from Skype. Financial Times (free content) (1/6) LG unveils new mobile device with DTV LG Electronics on Sunday introduced the Mobile Pedestrian Handheld prototypes capable of playing digital TV that it developed in conjunction with transmitter manufacturer Harris Corp. Broadcasting & Cable (1/6) , The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) (1/7)   Regulatory & Legislative  Florida aims to spur video competition New state legislation has opened up the telecom market in Florida as telecom companies are now finding it easier to compete in the video arena, according to this article. AT&T has announced that it will spend $750 million in the state on its U-Verse IPTV service; in response, cable operators are beefing up their service offerings as more companies aim to become the sole telecom provider for each household. Orlando Sentinel (Fla.) (1/7) Korea: Broadband penetration fuels support for online banking Korea's Financial Supervisory Commission is considering retooling rules to foster online banking in Korea. The FSC is looking to increase consumer access, which is expected to be facilitated by the country's high broadband penetration rate, according to this article. The Korea Times (1/7)   LeadQuote  The main thing is to make history, not to write it." --Otto von Bismarck, German aristocrat and politician       This dailyLead was created for webmaster@freeraovat.com Subscriber Tools       Update account information |  Change e-mail address |  Unsubscribe |  Print friendly format |  Web version |  Search past news |  Privacy policy Advertise Sales Account Director:  Amy Abbey (202) 737-5500 x250 Download Media Kit   Read more at dailyLead.com A powerful Web site for dailyLead readers including: Breaking News Industry Home Competitor News Readers' Choice Press Releases Search Archive       Recent USTelecom dailyLead Issues: Friday, January 04, 2008 Thursday, January 03, 2008 Wednesday, January 02, 2008 Monday, December 31, 2007 Friday, December 28, 2007     Lead Editor:  Susan Rush       Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005     © 1999-2007 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information