July 31, 2008 - Telecoms eye tech support as new revenue stream

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July 31, 2008 Sign up Forward Archive Advertise Read more at SmartBrief.com News for telecom industry leaders       News of the Day    Telecoms eye tech support as new revenue stream More telecoms are offering tech-support services that extend beyond the phone line to the PC or TV. People want the same level of IT support they get in the workplace, said Dan Alcazar, Embarq's consumer-marketing officer. "When you're at home, you don't have access to these kinds of things," he said. "It became apparent that there was a business opportunity there." The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) (7/31) Windstream introduces online tech-support services: Windstream is teaming up with HiWired, a provider of technology-support solutions, to give its Internet customers online support services. Windstream will offer instant tech support, which will include questions covering setup, repair, PCs and other peripheral devices. TMCnet.com (7/29) Download the 2008 CFO Research Report. To see how other mid-sized companies are using corporate cards and other strategies to control expenses, register to download the Sixth Annual CFO Research Report, prepared by CFO Research Services, in collaboration with American Express.   Business & Industry Watch  Genband sells IMS specialist BayPackets Genband has sold off its BayPackets IMS unit, a company Genband bought two years ago. "For the most part we made some determinations that we wanted to focus on our core business, which is gateways," said Frank Puglia, director of corporate marketing for Genband. Light Reading (7/30) Interior Department hires Verizon Business to manage phone use The U.S. Department of Interior has awarded Verizon Business a contract worth up to $15 million for the company to manage the department's wireless-services procurement, run its back-office operations and advise it on the most cost-effective ways to cut calling expenses, Verizon Business announced Wednesday. InformationWeek (7/30) Enterasys, Siemens to combine in joint venture Enterasys and Siemens' Enterprise Communications will merge to form a $5 billion company serving more than 1 million clients worldwide. Enterasys says the deal will give it a desired edge against rivals, including Cisco and Juniper. Network World (7/29) Motorola shows signs of stabilizing Motorola reported an unexpected quarterly profit of $4 million, which reversed a year-earlier loss of $28 million, prompting one analyst to say the company is showing signs of stabilizing. Motorola managed to hold on to its title as the No. 3 handset maker in the world, even though revenue for Motorola's mobile-phone unit fell 22% and its quarterly loss increased to $346 million. Bloomberg (7/31) Other News Appeals court to review overturn of Nacchio conviction The Wall Street Journal/Associated Press (7/31) USTelecom Spotlight USTelecom Webinar: CSI Meets IPTV: Media Protection + Digital Forensics Tuesday, Aug. 5, 1 p.m. Eastern time Register today. Join industry leaders SecureMedia and Cinea for this free webinar discussing content security and digital watermarking, from overview to implementation on protecting your next-generation end-to-end IPTV platform. Today's media-driven marketplace requires that you have compelling and protected content to retain existing customers and attract new ones -- understand the tools needed to acquire premium content. Learn more.  Learn more about USTelecom -> NXTcomm  |  News  |  Join USTelecom  |  NextGenWeb  |  Webinars   Video Upload  LG, Netflix team up on Blu-Ray-Internet hybrid LG Electronics will introduce a device in September that not only plays Blu-ray movies in high-definition, but can also be used to stream movies from Netflix via the Internet. The LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player represents Netflix's latest attempt to transition from a video-by-mail distribution system to an online model. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) (7/31) Verizon reaches out to Puerto Ricans with WAPA deal Verizon Communications has inked a deal to bring WAPA America to its FiOS TV platform. The channel, which comes out of Puerto Rico, has made its debut already in Verizon's New York; Fort Wayne, Ind.; and Oregon markets, with plans in the works to extend the channel to additional markets. Multichannel News (7/30) Other News Study: TV, online and mobile viewing show gains MediaPost Communications (7/30)   Technology Trends    Sprint will put femtocell systems on sale Sprint Nextel is taking its femtocell trial commercial by introducing its Samsung-produced home-base-station platform at its stores Aug. 17, but the company is taking an unexpected route in marketing the wireless technology. The company is charging customers not only for the femtocell hardware (about $100), but also $5 a month for the basic femto connection as well as an additional $10 to $20 for calling plans, a pricing structure that Peter Jarich, an analyst for Current Analysis, says amounts to relying on subscribers to subsidize Sprint's network-expansion costs. Telephony Online (7/30) , American City Business Journals/Kansas City, Mo. (7/30) , TWICE (7/30) Set-top boxes become hot CE item About 143 million digital set-top boxes were shipped globally last year, an increase of 18% over 2006, and worldwide revenue reached $14 billion, according to market-research company In-Stat. Cartt News Service (subscription only) (7/30) Other News Output Services Group aims to expand business with Krawen buy xchange (7/31) Whitepaper: Migration Strategies for Success Given the slow adoption rate of IMS, how should carriers consider transforming their networks in order to support SIP, VoIP and multimedia services? This paper, jointly prepared with Frost & Sullivan, provides an overview of industry trends and issues impacting the evolution of wireless and wireline networks. Tekelec Whitepaper   IP Download  More than half of Hispanics now online New research from eMarketer shows that 52% of Hispanics, or about 23 million users, are part of the online population, beating a previous estimate that the Hispanic segment wouldn't pass the 20 million mark until 2010. The study also predicted that by 2012, the Hispanic Web count will reach 29 million, or 60% of the population, and found that most of the new users are young, U.S.-born Hispanics. Mediaweek (7/30) Study: Connected living rooms are on the rise The growth in popularity of online video and social networking has helped fuel robust demand for Web-based technologies to be integrated into consumer TV sets, according to a study from ABI. The study goes on to highlight various vendors and organizations that have worked to blend the Web into home entertainment, including the Consumer Electronics Association's CE-2014 initiative, which provides standards for developing HTML-based user interfaces in a connected living room. TMC Internet Telephony (7/30)   LeadQuote  If you're not nervous about your passion, you're not passionate about it." --Bobby Flay, chef and TV personality       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: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 Tuesday, July 29, 2008 Monday, July 28, 2008 Friday, July 25, 2008 Thursday, July 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