July 30, 2008 - Video gives boost to Embarq

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July 30, 2008 Sign up Forward Archive Advertise Read more at SmartBrief.com News for telecom industry leaders       News of the Day  Video gives boost to Embarq Embarq's decision to commit to video is already proving fruitful, as the telecom posted improved profit during the second quarter. The company added 22,000 video customers during the period. "Growth in data and high speed Internet revenue continued to offset the impact of the decline in voice and we're making significant gains in expense and capital efficiency," said CEO Tom Gerke. Telephony Online (7/30) , Forbes/Associated Press (7/29)   Business & Industry Watch  Vonage taps ex-Cingular executive as CEO Former Cingular Wireless executive Marc Lefar will take the helm as CEO of Vonage Holdings, which is working on a long-term competitive strategy. Lefar -- who has held positions at Cable & Wireless, Verizon Wireless and Cingular Wireless -- will initially be tasked with improving customer service and finding ways to help boost customer additions. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) (7/30) Analysts ponder possible contenders for Alcatel top spot The gossip mill for the next CEO for Alcatel-Lucent is churning as analysts began speculating Tuesday on who would replace departing CEO Patricia Russo at the telecom-equipment maker. The morning line favorite appeared to be BT Group CEO Ben Verwaayen, but others mentioned included a pair of former Alcatel executives, Philippe Germond and Mike Quigley, as well as Thierry Breton, the former chief of France Telecom. cellular-news (U.K.)/Dow Jones Newswires (7/29) SoCal telecoms contend with post-quake call spikes Telecom carriers suffered minimal equipment damage from Tuesday's Southern California earthquake, but a gigantic surge -- even relative to past disasters -- in wireline and wireless calls caused network congestion around the region, several companies reported. "That's very common after an event like this," said AT&T spokesman John Britton. "It's like what happens if the Dodgers win the World Series. Everyone picks up the cell phone and makes a call. It's called network congestion." Los Angeles Times (free registration) (7/30) , mocoNews.net (7/29) California court rules against Sprint on early-cancellation fees Sprint Nextel must reimburse $18.3 million to former cell phone customers in California for charging fees when they canceled their accounts before the end of their contracts, a judge in California said Tuesday in a preliminary ruling that the fees were illegal under state law. The decision could encourage consumers in other states to follow suit even as the FCC considers whether to adopt federal uniform guidelines on the fees. The Washington Post (7/30) , Los Angeles Times/Associated Press (free registration) (7/30) New Vodafone CEO wants quick results Vittorio Colao, the fresh face as Vodafone's CEO, said the global carrier leader might need to reduce prices on some of its basic subscription plans to retain more economically pinched Europeans. Colao, who took the reins Tuesday, said he was eager to move quickly on addressing the company's challenges because "I know that nothing excites our people, our staff and makes our customers proud of being with Vodafone like seeing things happen quickly." The Guardian (London) (7/30) , Reuters (7/29) Other News Qwest promotes from within to find new COO CNNMoney.com/Associated Press (7/29) USTelecom Spotlight USTelecom Events: Technology and content, marketing and broadband This month, USTelecom puts the focus on how technology affects IPTV content, marketing strategies, emerging business models for advertising and how disruptive applications are accelerating your broadband business. Free upcoming webinars include CSI Meets IPTV: Media Protection + Digital Forensics on Tuesday; Investing Your Marketing Dollars With Confidence on Aug. 12; and A New Advertising Ecosystem on Aug. 21. Plus, don't miss our past webinars, now available on demand. Learn more about USTelecom -> NXTcomm  |  News  |  Join USTelecom  |  NextGenWeb  |  Webinars   Video Upload  Study: Online viewers moving to longer-form content A study by Integrated Media Measurement shows that 50% of respondents who said they watch some amount of prime-time TV online are doing so instead of viewing the content on a TV set. The study suggests that an increasing number of consumers are using their computers to view longer-form programming and not just short snippets. Advertising Age (7/29) In U.K., T-Mobile expands VOD to longer-form content Spurred by the success of its short-form video-on-demand service, T-Mobile will begin offering movies and other extended-length content that U.K. subscribers can rent for viewing on cell phones or computer screens, the service provider said. T-Mobile, which is in talks with content providers to extend their short-form license deals, will offer a seven-day rental period to customers, who can download the video from the company's Web site. New Media Age (7/30) Nielsen: DTV readiness on the rise An estimated 9.3% of U.S. TV households are unprepared for next February's switch to all-digital TV signals, according to Nielsen data, down from 10.5% in January. Broadcasting & Cable (7/29)   Technology Trends  Adaptive Beamforming takes WiMAX to the next level Fujitsu Microelectronics America and Cisco have released a collaborative paper outlining ways Adaptive Beamforming could help boost WiMAX signals. The technique increases the range of WiMAX networks while increasing signal strength indoors. TMCnet.com (7/29) Qwest begins rolling out Verizon Wireless option Qwest Communications has started reselling wireless services from Verizon Wireless, which is taking over for Sprint Nextel. Qwest is offering the service in its residential coverage areas. The Examiner/Associated Press (7/30) , TMCnet.com (7/30)   IP Download  Report: Wireless broadband to hit 2.1 billion subs by 2015 Service revenue from wireless-broadband technologies will reach $784 billion worldwide by 2015 as 2.1 billion people will have access to these services, according to a report from Analysys Mason. The firm said that during this time period, the HSPA and HSPA+ broadband technologies will retain a market share of 54% despite the development of LTE and WiMAX alternatives. cellular-news (U.K.) (7/30)   LeadQuote  There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. 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