February 4, 2008 - How does telecom factor into the proposed Microsoft-Yahoo! merger?

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February 4, 2008 Sign up Forward Archive Advertise Read more at SmartBrief.com News for telecom industry leaders Search recent stories:       News of the Day    How does telecom factor into the proposed Microsoft-Yahoo! merger? Microsoft's proposed $44.6 billion for Yahoo! could have important implications for mobile-service providers in areas such as ad sales and portal partnerships, according to this article. Microsoft is a service supplier when it comes to software for IPTV middleware, but is seen as more of a service-provider competitor in the areas of unified communications and software-as-a-service. Telephony Online (2/1) Google reaches out to Yahoo! to thwart Microsoft bid: Google reportedly is offering to assist Yahoo! in any effort to fend off a $44.6 billion unsolicited takeover bid from Microsoft. It's not clear what kind of help Google is offering, but Google could help Yahoo!'s bottom line by taking on search advertising functions for the beleaguered portal, or by encouraging other companies to submit competing bids. It's unlikely that Google would bid to acquire Yahoo! on its own, because of anti-competitive issues. The Wall Street Journal (free content) (2/4) , The Washington Post/Reuters (2/4)   Business & Industry Watch  CEO takes over Motorola handset unit Motorola CEO Greg Brown took over the reins of the company's troubled mobile-phone business Friday, the day after the company announced that its flagship unit might be put in play. In hopes of pushing Motorola to decide to spin off its mobile unit, activist investor Carl Icahn announced he would nominate four new people to join the company's board. Reuters (2/4) , The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) (2/2) Israeli telecom launches service to block adult content In a move aimed at the country's ultra-Orthodox population, Bezeq Israel Telecom began a "Kosher phone line" service Sunday that blocks calls to adult-content sites and other "improper" Web addresses. The company has faced competition in the land-line business from cable companies since September 2006. The New York Times/Reuters (2/3) 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. Cisco's Chambers sees decade-long upgrade (Reuters) CLECs pushing hard for market share (Telephony Online) Verizon posts FiOS, wireless gains (Bloomberg) Study: U.S. closing in on broadband-for-all goal (The Washington Post) WiMAX talks may resume between Sprint, Clearwire, report says (Google) Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.   Video Upload  AT&T expands U-verse reach in Kansas City AT&T has announced that its U-verse video service is now available to 130,000 households in the Kansas City area. Across its video footprint, AT&T estimates that it is installing U-verse services to roughly 12,000 new customers per week. The Kansas City Star (Mo.) (2/4) Cablevision premieres new VOD/DVD offering Cablevision Systems today launched its Popcorn DVDs on Demand program, which allows subscribers to order movies on VOD the same day they are available on DVD. The next major release for the service, in which subscribers are also buying the DVD, which is mailed to them later, will be Denzel Washington's "American Gangster" on Feb. 19. Mediaweek (2/4) National Geographic Channel site gets a makeover The National Geographic Channel is launching an ad-supported Web site dedicated to broadband video that will be organized by genre, such as "Animals & Nature," "Exploration & Adventure" and "History & Events." The Web site averages about 1 million unique viewers each month and, according to this article, NGC executives are looking to add four new video channels a year to the online offering. Broadcasting & Cable (2/2) The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS) Technicians' Best Practices: Handling Reduced Bend Radius Some monumental breakthroughs have taken place in optical fiber cables and their ability to bend around sharp corners without increasing attenuation. Despite these new developments, perceiving the new fibers as being virtually indestructible is a dangerous misperception. Register for ADC's Next Gen white paper series. Innovation on the Islands – Learn how IT&E optimized its tandem network and brought real voice competition to Guam through white label offering to island's cable provider. Download a free case study from MetaSwitch. Interested in learning more about advertising in the USTelecom dailyLead? Contact Eric Hoffman at 773-549-3868 or ehoffman@smartbrief.com.   Technology Trends  New Zealand company to track network in real time Telecom New Zealand said it would be able to monitor the network performance of its Xtra broadband service in real time after signing a data-tracking agreement with Epitiro Technologies, which won a government contract to produce broadband-benchmarking statistics. "Epitiro's services will provide Telecom with the ability to closely analyze the service it provides to customers," said Mike Cranna, Epitiro's managing director. National Business Review (New Zealand) (2/4) Cisco Israeli upgrade will curtail equipment Cisco Systems will team up with Taldor Group to improve Israel's Hot Cable Systems Media's CMTS network so that customers will need just a single piece of equipment for telephony and online service. Taldor beat out Netcom Group to install the system. Globes (Israel) (2/4) Lenovo, Ericsson announce mobile-broadband partnership Ericsson officials have announced that the company has partnered with PC maker Lenovo to provide mobile-broadband modules to Lenovo notebook PCs. The modules will be based on existing high speed packet access technology and are expected to debut sometime this year. The Washington Post/Reuters (2/4)   IP Download  Irish VoIP service takes a mobile aim Blueface, a Dublin-based VoIP carrier, has deployed software that will enable Irish cell phone users to make local and international calls over compatible handsets, at a reduced rate, according to the company. The technology is from an outfit named Fring, which offers free VoIP software. Silicon Republic (Ireland) (2/4) People en Espanol, Verizon Wireless see beauty in Net contest Banking on the popularity of its "50 Most Beautiful People" issue, People en Espanol has launched an online contest that invites readers to compete to become the list's 51st-most-beautiful person in America. Verizon Wireless is the main sponsor of the multiplatform promotion. Advertising Age (2/4)   LeadQuote  If you aren't going all the way, why go at all?" --Joe Namath, NFL Hall of Fame quarterback       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 01, 2008 Thursday, January 31, 2008 Wednesday, January 30, 2008 Tuesday, January 29, 2008 Monday, January 28, 2008     Lead Editor:  Susan Rush       Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005     © 1999-2007 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information