February 28, 2008 - Sprint Nextel pushes Sprint as umbrella brand, unveils flat-rate calling

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February 28, 2008 Sign up Forward Archive Advertise Read more at SmartBrief.com News for telecom industry leaders Search recent stories:       News of the Day    Sprint Nextel pushes Sprint as umbrella brand, unveils flat-rate calling Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse announced that the company planned to push Sprint as its main brand and would use the Nextel brand for more targeted products like push-to-talk. The carrier, which unveiled a $99.99-a-month flat-rate wireless plan today, reported a $29.5 billion loss for the fourth quarter and expects to lose as many as 1.2 million annual-contract customers during the first quarter. Reuters (2/28) , The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (subscription required) (2/28) , Google/Associated Press (2/28) 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  Deutsche Telekom open to acquisitions Deutsche Telekom reported strong results for its T-Mobile unit in the U.K. and Eastern Europe, but said a weak dollar continued to weigh on results in the U.S., even though T-Mobile USA had total revenue of $5.07 billion. Overall, the company's adjusted profit fell 1.9% from a year earlier, but beat analyst expectations as its CEO reiterated his forecast for a flat year in cash flow and operating profit and said the operator might look to make some acquisitions to expand its reach to new markets. MarketWatch (2/28) , OneTRAK (2/28) AT&T maintains 2008 forecast of single-digit growth AT&T on Wednesday kept to earlier forecasts that revenue will grow in the mid-single-digit percentage range this year. The company's new $99.99 plan for unlimited wireless calling will have little effect on revenue because few customers spend more than $100 a month, said John Stankey, group president for telecommunications operations, in a webcast of an analyst conference. Reuters (2/27) France denies interest in Alcatel-Lucent stake The French government is not interested, at least not right now, in buying into Alcatel-Lucent, according to a government spokeswoman, after business magazine Challenges reported such a move as under consideration. CNNMoney.com/Thomson Financial (2/27) Verizon aims for customers at home-buying stage Real estate agency Weichert Financial Services will tout Verizon Communications' service bundle on an exclusive basis at 500 of its offices nationwide, as well as on its Web site. Multichannel News (2/26)   Video Upload  AT&T's executive bullish on U-verse TV AT&T's U-verse TV has achieved 10% penetration in markets where it has operated for at least a year, and the telecom expects that to grow by 40,000 homes a week by the end of 2008, John Stankey, group president of the company's telecom business, told analysts at a Merrill Lynch conference Wednesday. Stankey said that the video market in U-verse's territories was worth $35 billion and that AT&T had "great upside" in those areas. CNNMoney.com/Dow Jones Newswires (2/27) Akimbo unveils online VOD solution for content providers Web-video company Akimbo has launched a new service that enables content providers to easily integrate video-on-demand offerings on their Web sites. Male-oriented digital channel MavTV is Akimbo's first partner for its VOD solution. Broadcasting & Cable (2/27) Arts service Ovation enters VOD arena Ovation TV will present local content and repeats -- including a library of HD programming -- on its video-on-demand service, which launches Saturday, the arts network said. The on-demand slate will include content from a cross-section of its schedule including performance, people, art, music and film programming. Multichannel News (2/27) The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS) Emerson Communications Conference '08… will feature AT&T Sr. VP Ernie Carey, discussing why IP is the right technology; Michael Bruce, Sr. Advisor of Finance at the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, highlighting government-initiated alternative energy programs; as well as speakers from Intel, Verizon and Tellabs. Join us April 23 to 24, in Dallas. Making the Switch -- TDM to Softswitch that is Switch migrations require extraordinary attention to detail, and can easily go wrong. Learn how One Communications did it right -- and reduced operating expense and while delivering new applications at the same time. Download a free case study from MetaSwitch. 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    IP bundle offers "Business in a Box" AT&T has unveiled a unified IP bundle for small and mid-size businesses that delivers voice, Internet and data communications services over an integrated platform. AT&T Business in a Box is designed for companies that migrate traditional analog networks to VoIP. American City Business Journals/St. Louis (2/27) Sony updates Mylo personal communicator Sony has added hardware, features and size to its Mylo 2, a personal communicator that is a combination laptop and cell phone, but not quite both. The $300 device has Wi-Fi, but makes only Skype phone calls, a small keyboard, camera, IM, microphone and the ability to play audio and video files. The New York Times (2/28) Delivering Multimedia Apps in Pre-IMS Networks The current NGN architecture has no core-signaling infrastructure, causing a host of operational issues – scalability, IOT, billing, IMS upgrade, etc. With a capable SIP signaling & control layer, the NGN can grow systematically in response to increasing demand for VoIP, as well as multimedia services. NGN Upgrade Whitepaper   IP Download  CRM ASP integrates Vonage technology CRM ASP said small-business users could now fully integrate Vonage's VoIP services into its CRM platform consisting of Free CRM and CRM ASP licensed products. The system provides one-click calling, automated phone dialing and outbound sales campaigns with Vonage. TMC Internet Telephony (2/27) Senate OKs 911 bill for VoIP providers The Senate has given a thumbs up to a bill that is designed to give VoIP providers access to enhanced 911 capabilities. The bill must now be streamlined with a similar measure already passed by the House before being sent to the president, according to this article. Broadcasting & Cable (2/27)   LeadQuote  How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." --Anne Frank, German-Jewish diarist, Holocaust victim       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: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 Tuesday, February 26, 2008 Monday, February 25, 2008 Friday, February 22, 2008 Thursday, February 21, 2008     Lead Editor:  Susan Rush       Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005     © 1999-2008 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information