February 18, 2008 - Verizon-FairPoint asset deal gets Vermont nod

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February 18, 2008 Sign up Forward Archive Advertise Read more at SmartBrief.com News for telecom industry leaders Search recent stories:       News of the Day    Verizon-FairPoint asset deal gets Vermont nod Regulators in Vermont have approved Verizon Communications' proposed wireline-asset sale to FairPoint Communications. The $2.7 billion deal, previously approved in Maine, must clear regulators in New Hampshire before it can be made final. American City Business Journals/Charlotte, N.C. (2/18) , The Burlington Free Press (Vt.) (2/16) , BroadbandReports.com (2/16) Telecom switches emphasis: Preliminary analysis of the 2007 Telecom Industry Survey. To remain competitive as industry boundaries blur, telecom providers will require new sets of capabilities beyond the traditional strengths that telecom executives continue to emphasize. Learn more by downloading this IBM white paper.   Business & Industry Watch  Intel funding may spark new Sprint-Clearwire deal Intel reportedly is considering a $2 billion investment that would rekindle the WiMAX partnership between Sprint Nextel and Clearwire. Although none of the parties involved is commenting on the rumor, TheStreet.com reports an announcement of a new company could come as early as this week. The Seattle Times (2/16) , The Street.com (2/15) FiOS campaign "blows away" the competition Verizon Communications is launching a FiOS advertising campaign, with one spot featuring "Transformers" director Michael Bay demonstrating how FiOS "blows away" the competition from cable. "We wanted to talk about the incredible difference fiber provides when uploading information -- about 25 times faster than cable, and a superior Internet experience," Geoff Walls, executive director of marketing at Verizon, said of the campaign. MediaPost Communications (2/18) Report: AOL in talks with Yahoo! Yahoo! representatives reportedly have met with AOL advisers to discuss a potential partnership to block Microsoft's buyout proposal, according to the Sunday Telegraph. BBC (2/17) Google's winning mobile search strategy for Japan Google has made tremendous inroads into Japan's wireless market, inking deals with the country's two largest carriers that give the search giant access to a reported 82 million mobile users. Google hopes to replicate this mobile success in other countries, according to this article. BusinessWeek (2/15) Premium Company Profile AT&T Inc. The recent acquisition of Bellsouth has made AT&T one of the largest wireless service providers in the US. The company is poised for growth through assimilation of merger synergies. Access the most important information about the company; understand its strengths and weaknesses and review AT&T's five year adjusted financial data with this report.   Hot Topics  Top five news stories selected by USTelecom dailyLead readers in the past week. Verizon continues fight to protect its patents (TMC Internet Telephony) Broadband race continues to heat up (The Wall Street Journal) Mueller: Qwest looking for ally in broadband wireless (Telephony Online) Google fails in auction bid, but may emerge winner (BusinessWeek) Sprint's Hesse will beat to own drum (USA TODAY) Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.   Video Upload  Dutch company unveils sponsorship-supported IPTV box United Content Distributors is looking to deliver free IPTV set-top boxes to consumers by having corporate sponsors foot the bill. "It can be part of a loyalty program from Wal-Mart or Sears or a local car dealer," said John Goedegebuure, spokesman for UCD. Telephony Online (2/15) Showtime makes suite deal with Sheraton Hotels Showtime is expected to announce a major deal Tuesday with Sheraton Hotels that will get the channel in 74,000 rooms beginning next month. The deal puts Showtime squarely in competition with HBO, which has been considered a dominant force in hotel TV for years. The New York Times (2/18) Other News Study: More than 10 billion online videos viewed in the U.S. in December Multichannel News (2/17) The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS) Call for free 45-day equipment trial and let ZyXEL make your transition to next generation IP Network painless. With complete IP broadband access solutions from COE to CPE for copper and fiber deployments, ZyXEL enables service providers to quickly deploy rich, value added voice, data and video services. Call 800.255.4101 or click here for more information. Interested in learning more about advertising in the USTelecom dailyLead? Contact Amy Abbey at 202-737-5500 ext 250 or aabbey@smartbrief.com.   Technology Trends  Partner to test femtocells Partner Communications is planning trials of femtocell technology. The company is eying partnerships with Ericsson and Israel's Bynet Data Communications. Globes (Israel) (2/18) Next-gen broadband to fuel mobile-apps growth in China Video and advertising applications will get a revenue boost in China thanks to the rollout of next-generation broadband networks, according to In-Stat. "In an era where people can't live without the Internet, accessing the Internet via a handheld is obviously the next big thing," In-Stat said. ZDNet (2/18)   IP Download  Aastra Technologies buys Ericsson's PBX unit Aastra Technologies plans to pay $102.7 million for Ericsson's enterprise PBX subsidiary. As part of the deal, Aastra will acquire roughly 630 employees from Ericsson. cellular-news (U.K.) (2/18) Voice Mobility offers Google-enabled unified communications Voice Mobility has integrated its enterprise messaging capabilities into the Google Apps suite, which includes Gmail, Google Talk, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Contacts and Mobile. Telephony Online (2/15)   LeadQuote  The world is full of willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let them." --Robert Frost, American poet       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, February 15, 2008 Thursday, February 14, 2008 Wednesday, February 13, 2008 Tuesday, February 12, 2008 Monday, February 11, 2008     Lead Editor:  Susan Rush       Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005     © 1999-2008 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information