July 1, 2008 - Despite setbacks, France Telecom still targeting acquisitions

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July 1, 2008 Sign up Forward Archive Advertise Read more at SmartBrief.com News for telecom industry leaders Search recent stories:       News of the Day  Despite setbacks, France Telecom still targeting acquisitions France Telecom's proposed takeover of TeliaSonera didn't work out, but the company may still have acquisitive eyes. Gervais Pellissier, France Telecom's chief financial officer, said the company still was looking for a major purchase in the next year or so. ClipSyndicate/Bloomberg (7/1) , cellular-news (U.K.)/Dow Jones Newswires (6/30)   Business & Industry Watch  Telecom, tech firms form patent-protection alliance Verizon Communications, Cisco, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Sun Microsystems and Ericsson have formed the Allied Security Trust to buy patents they feel will be important to the high-tech industry in the future. The group is hoping to minimize the practice of nontechnology companies' buying patents and then extracting large licensing fees from firms that actually develop the technology. InformationWeek (6/30) CenturyTel-NebuAd targeting deal on hold A plan by CenturyTel to serve ads based on overall user behavior -- a practice known as "deep packet inspection" -- has been shelved while lawmakers consider privacy concerns. "We have delayed implementation [of NebuAd] so that Congress has the time it needs to address the issues and policies associated with these services," said CenturyTel spokeswoman Annmarie Sartor. The Register (U.K.) (6/30) Alcatel-Lucent, Neuf Cegetel join forces on FTTH project Hoping to bridge the digital divide in Paris, Alcatel-Lucent and Neuf Cegetel have agreed to build a fiber-to-the-home network. The deal, the companies say, is part of a social project to bring high-quality broadband service to all residents of the French capital. Forbes/AFX News Limited (7/1) USTelecom Spotlight From big iron switches to servers in the data center As traditional phone companies transition into broadband and video service providers, the most dramatic change is taking place in the hardware platforms that deliver these new services. The workhorse voice switches of the past are now being replaced with routers and UNIX/LINUX-based server technologies -- and virtualization of servers, service applications and storage is an essential tool. Learn more at USTelecom's Engineering Summit, July 23 and 24. Learn more about USTelecom -> NXTcomm  |  News  |  Join USTelecom  |  NextGenWeb  |  Webinars   Video Upload    Starz streamlines at the top Starz Entertainment has consolidated all TV operations, which include the linear channel, VOD and third-party programming partners, under the leadership of Bill Myers, the company's president and chief operating officer. Also as part of the management realignment, William Hamm, the executive vice president of creative development, will oversee production and development for Starz's original programming and Starz Media. The Hollywood Reporter (7/1) China Telecom nears 1 million IPTV customers China Telecom is closing in on 1 million subscribers to its IPTV service. The country's largest telecom said that, as of May, its Internet protocol TV offering was in more than 940,000 homes, mainly in major cities such as Shanghai, Jiangxu, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Shaanxi. China Knowledge (7/1) Study shows that folks still watching TV on their TVs While watching shows online has become more popular, viewing on traditional television sets remains the first choice of 94% of respondents to a new study, which showed that people prefer to watch short pieces of content, such as movie trailers, on their computers. The Hollywood Reporter (6/30) LightGAIN is Optelian's complete DWDM, CWDM and hybrid solution, supporting 1 to 40 wavelengths of 10Mbps to 10Gbps traffic, SNMP managed and path protected. SFP and XFP transponders, tunable optics, and in-house manufacturing provide customers with short lead times, low cost, and customized solutions to fit their exact requirements.   Technology Trends  Nortel signs on to resell media gateways Nortel Networks has inked a deal to resell, distribute and support G6 and G2 media gateways from Genband. Genband sees the agreement as an opportunity to extend the reach of its business. xchange (7/1) AT&T launches Wi-Fi in St. Louis AT&T brought wireless broadband to the land of the Gateway Arch on Monday as it debuted its Metro Wi-Fi service to a one-square-mile area in downtown St. Louis. Prices range from $7.99 for a 24-hour pass to $15.99 for a week's service or subscribers can get free, ad-supported broadband for up to 20 hours a month. American City Business Journals/St. Louis (6/30) Other News In-home installation made easy Telephony Online (6/27)   IP Download  Allot brings in Qosmos, PeerApp for VoIP, P2P assistance Allot Communications has contracted with Qosmos and PeerApp to optimize its multimedia-traffic management. The deal with Qosmos relates to VoIP management, while the PeerApp partnership goes to more effective delivery of video and P2P content. Network World (7/1)   LeadQuote  I think the one lesson I have learned is that there is no substitute for paying attention." --Diane Sawyer, TV journalist       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: Monday, June 30, 2008 Friday, June 27, 2008 Thursday, June 26, 2008 Wednesday, June 25, 2008 Tuesday, June 24, 2008     Lead Editor:  Susan Rush       Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005     © 1999-2008 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information