May 19, 2008 - Banks look to retool terms of BCE buyout

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May 19, 2008 Sign up Forward Archive Advertise Read more at SmartBrief.com News for telecom industry leaders Search recent stories:       News of the Day    Banks look to retool terms of BCE buyout The proposed buyout of Bell Canada's parent BCE has hit a possible snag, after the banks financing the deal reportedly have asked for a revised agreement that includes higher interest rates and more stringent restrictions. BCE has previously said the deal is to close at the end of June. The New York Times (5/19) , The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) (5/19)   Business & Industry Watch    Vodafone inks deal for rest of German broadband operator Vodafone is paying $739 million to take control of German fixed-line company Arcor AG, which has 2.6 million broadband customers. Before the deal, Vodafone owned a 74% stake in the company. Bloomberg (5/19) Technology chief resigns from Motorola Rich Nottenburg, Motorola's chief strategy and technology officer, is leaving the company "to be with his family and pursue new opportunities." The R&D unit Nottenburg managed has been downsized by about 40%, and the company's planned spinoff of its handset division is expected to reduce those numbers further. cellular-news (U.K.) (5/18) Microsoft, Yahoo! in talks to forge ad partnership Microsoft reportedly has resumed talks with Yahoo! for an online ad partnership that would stop short of a full takeover. The deal would be a way for Microsoft both to boost its online ad share and stop rival Google from making a similar pact with Yahoo!. Microsoft and Yahoo! indicated in separate statements that Microsoft had broached a fresh round of talks but provided no details. The New York Times (5/19) , The Wall Street Journal (free content) (5/19) , The Guardian (London) (5/19) Cbeyond plans defense against lawsuit Cbeyond intends to "vigorously defend" itself in a lawsuit accusing the IP services CLEC of insider trading. The class-action lawsuit claims the insider trading began Nov. 1, 2007. xchange (5/16) Telecom switches emphasis: Preliminary analysis of the 2007 Telecom Executive Survey. To remain competitive as industry boundaries blur, telecom providers recognize the need for new business models and other capabilities beyond their traditional strengths. Learn more by downloading this IBM white paper. USTelecom Spotlight Webinar: Content Acquisition Strategies & Alternatives Thursday, May 22, 1 p.m. Eastern time Video content is taking multiple forms, as broadband and video technologies continue explosive growth all over the world. Join USTelecom as Ken Pyle from Viodi.com and an expert panel cover the current state of video-content acquisition, and explore various ways for service providers to secure new content. A must for any service provider offering broadband capacity and video services. Register now. NXTcomm08 to shed light on Carrier Transformation On June 19 in Las Vegas, NXTcomm08 will review the future of the world's largest legacy carriers in "Carrier Transformation." While they presently control access to the premise, powerful forces are breaking in, time to market is shortening and voice service is in decline. Can carriers remain relevant in the communications world of the future? Receive complimentary registration to NXTcomm08 using the code USTE8. Learn more about USTelecom -> NXTcomm  |  News  |  Join USTelecom  |  NextGenWeb  |  Webinars   Hot Topics    Top five news stories selected by USTelecom dailyLead readers in the past week. Rural-broadband funds make it into farm bill (xchange) Embarq pulls out of Sprint deal (The Wall Street Journal) AT&T takes U-verse service to businesses (American City Business Journals) Windstream profit comes with broadband, video benefits (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock)) Qwest: FTTN strategy on target; no expansion expected (OneTRAK) Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers. Join Henkels & McCoy at NXTComm 2008! Booth # SL 9321 - June 16-19, 2008, Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. We have been a trusted resource for operating telephone companies. Our capabilities include design, engineering, installation of local loop infrastructure and equipment, route design and placement of long-haul fiber optic cable. Click here for more.   Video Upload  Market for IPTV equipment posts growth The market for IPTV equipment is growing at a rate of 45% year-over-year, according to Synergy Research Group. The IPTV market is on pace to reach 40 million customers by 2010, the report found. TMC Internet Telephony (5/19) Verizon: Broadcast fully supports FiOS Verizon Communications is in no hurry to switch its FiOS service to an IP-based architecture because its offering is fully supported by the broadcast model. "It would have to be a situation where there's something we couldn't support on our broadcast wavelengths," said Vincent O'Byrne, director of access technologies at Verizon. "Also if we found ourselves moving more and more features to the 1490, that would be the biggest rationale, because as you go to the 1490, you're using bandwidth that you could use for other items." Light Reading (5/16) Viacom's Dauman upbeat about pay-TV venture Speaking at a news conference in New Orleans at the opening of The Cable Show, Viacom President and CEO Philippe Dauman told reporters that he's having "good conversations" with companies about carrying the pay-TV channel being developed by Paramount, MGM and Lions Gate. The Hollywood Reporter (5/18) The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS) Addressing High Density Fiber Management Issues Manufacturers are scrambling to develop higher-density equipment and systems that can accommodate higher and higher numbers of terminations in smaller and smaller areas. The key to the future is flexibility— Register for ADC's Next Gen white paper series. 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    MetroFi to exit muni Wi-Fi services MetroFi became the second municipal Wi-Fi service provider to leave the business in as many weeks, saying that it is studying a sale or exit of its nine-city wireless network, which provides free and low-cost Web access. As with EarthLink, MetroFi suffered financial problems as it operated with meager upfront support from cities. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) (5/17) Municipalities face risk when taking own path to broadband: More than a dozen small cities and towns have decided to take on the broadband cause themselves by building fiber networks, although, according to this article, some municipalities fail to realize the expense related to essaying such a project alone. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) (5/19) AOL sees future in specialty sites AOL is morphing from a one-site-fits-all-content strategy to one in which it is the umbrella brand for dozens of niche sites. "The consumer market is clearly fragmenting," said Bill Wilson, AOL's executive vice president for vertical programming. "We wanted to give people many front doors, not just one front door to come in." Forbes/Associated Press (5/17) Grade A Prime Mid-Band Ethernet services deliver 10x the bandwidth at 1/10th the cost– your new Cash Cow for growing your top-line. Let Hatteras show you how to convert your copper lines to high-bandwidth, profitable Ethernet services. To meet your new Cash Cow, visit www.hatterasnetworks.com.   IP Download  Vermont to build wireless Internet network for rural areas Under legislative mandate to bring high-speed Internet to rural sections of the state, the Vermont Telecommunications Authority plans to tap a $40 million bond issue to build hundreds of towers for wireless Web and cell-phone service. But some critics, such as state Rep. Jim Masland, say fiber optic would be a better choice. The Times Argus (Barre-Montpelier, Vt.)/Associated Press (5/17)   LeadQuote  You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing." --Michael Pritchard, motivational speaker       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 | Archive | 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, May 16, 2008 Thursday, May 15, 2008 Wednesday, May 14, 2008 Tuesday, May 13, 2008 Monday, May 12, 2008     Lead Editor:  Susan Rush       Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005     © 1999-2008 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information