June 30, 2008 - Court upholds FCC video franchising rules

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June 30, 2008 Sign up Forward Archive Advertise Read more at SmartBrief.com News for telecom industry leaders Search recent stories:       News of the Day    Court upholds FCC video franchising rules The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit upheld an FCC rule easing the way for telecommunications firms to compete in the pay-television business in states and municipalities. FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin welcomed the ruling, saying, "This means consumers will not only get more choices among providers and additional competition, but also lower bills." The Washington Post (6/28) Free Download from TARGUSInfo! Learn how to optimize existing marketing investments to help sales and marketing staff qualify and target the most lucrative SMBs in real time. Click here to download the free TARGUSinfo white paper.   Business & Industry Watch  France Telecom abandons pursuit of TeliaSonera Shortly after reopening talks with TeliaSonera, France Telecom said today that it had dropped its bid to acquire the Nordic telecom company, saying it had failed to reach an accord with TeliaSonera's board, which had previously rejected an offer. The Scandinavian carrier said French Telecom continued to "substantially" undervalue the company. ClipSyndicate/Bloomberg (6/30) , Bloomberg (6/30) , The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) (6/30) AT&T changes corporate headquarters address AT&T said Friday that it would move its corporate headquarters from San Antonio to Dallas for logistical reasons. The telecom company plans to begin the move within weeks, with completion scheduled for later this year. The New York Times/Associated Press (6/30) SingTel acquired shares and goes global Singapore Telecommunications announced last week that it had gained more shares of Globe Telecom, the Philippines' second-largest telecom company by sales. The move will increase the company's stake of Globe's total common shares. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (subscription required) (6/30) Momentum changing for better at Sprint Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse's turnaround strategies are starting to pay off as stronger cell phone sales and customer retention have helped push up the company's stock. There are signs that Sprint's newest product, the Samsung Instinct, is doing well as a number of stores have reported selling out of the device. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) (6/30) Cable & Wireless makes another run at Thus Group Cable & Wireless has sweetened its bid for Thus Group, a Scottish telecom, to about $656 million. The bid by C&W, which was rebuffed in an earlier, lower offer, has become appealing enough to Thus leaders to send it to the full board for consideration, but said the deal still might not be compelling enough. Bloomberg (6/30) , International Herald Tribune/Reuters (6/29) Other News Report: Telecoms, tech companies aim to defend against patent lawsuits The Wall Street Journal (6/30) USTelecom Spotlight How Interviewing, Hiring & Orientation Contribute to Employee Retention Tomorrow, July 1, 1 p.m. Eastern time Participate in this webinar to learn how your peers are maximizing their recruitment and selection process to identify a targeted applicant pool. Explore how employee assimilation processes are being used to maximize retention. Low national unemployment rates and an aging employment population are why you need to focus on hiring and retaining top talent. Get an overview of the evolution of best practices as they apply to the initiation of the employee life cycle. Register today. 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. T-Mobile USA takes home phone service nationwide (ClipSyndicate) AT&T puts millions in content-delivery network (xchange) Verizon executive muses on FiOS, the future (CNET) "Hunter" Verizon wants Vodafone out of U.S. venture (Financial Times) CEO: Alltel tried to buy rivals (Arkansas News Bureau) Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers. H&M NetWorks' dedication to performance starts with our customers' needs. These often include requirement definition, execution of cutting-edge installation practices, and comprehensive follow-up support. Our full services include: Consulting, Design, Project Management, Installation, Service, and Maintenance. Contact Us Today!   Video Upload  Median age of live-TV viewers reaches 50 According to a study by Steve Sternberg of Magna Global, the median age of non-DVR using TV viewers was 50 in the previous season. The figure is notable because it is the first time the median age of live-TV viewers was found to be outside the 18-to-49 demographic typically sought by marketers. Variety (6/29) Get ready to watch YouTube on your widescreen TV Apple, Netflix, and Hewlett-Packard are all betting that interactive television -- taking audio and video from your PC or the Internet and displaying it on your TV -- will be the next big thing. This piece explores some of the obstacles companies encounter when they try to bridge the gap between the two and create the "halo effect." Knowledge@Wharton (free registration) (6/25) 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  Telstra adds to online holdings in China Telstra, Australia's largest telecommunications group, has acquired a 55% stake in two Chinese online advertising groups, Norstar Media and Autohome/PCPop, for $73 million. Telstra also owns 51% of Chinese real estate site SouFun, which it bought for $254 million two years ago. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (subscription required) (6/30) New Vodafone service is the best of both worlds For folks who want it all, Vodafone has come up with a new phone service that's a little bit wireline and a little bit mobile. Callers using the company's new Local Zone service can use their phone at home or in a designated area as a wireline phone or outside the designated area as a mobile phone. The New Zealand Herald (6/30) DigitalBridge brings WiMAX to small, midsize towns While Sprint Nextel has faced delays in deploying its WiMAX network, an Ashburn, Va., company has been bringing the nascent technology to an array of small towns dotted throughout America. DigitalBridge Communications extends broadband not only to residential customers, but also to people on the road. The Washington Post (6/30)   IP Download  NBC goes for online gold with Olympics coverage NBC has committed to delivering 2,200 hours of live competition coverage online from the Beijing Olympics. The online offering will also feature live blogging, on-demand highlights, and recaps and analysis of daily events. Forbes/Associated Press (6/28)   LeadQuote  The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not our circumstances." --Martha Washington, former first lady       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, June 27, 2008 Thursday, June 26, 2008 Wednesday, June 25, 2008 Tuesday, June 24, 2008 Monday, June 23, 2008     Lead Editor:  Susan Rush       Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005     © 1999-2008 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information