TelecomWeb News Digest articles from November 2004

TelecomWeb News Digest archives from November 2004

Report Shows Huge Political Spending by Communications Industry.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The Washington, D.C.-based Center for Public Integrity has just released an investigative report showing that the U.S. communications industry has spent in excess of $1 billion since 1998 in an effort to influence election outcomes and federal...

Survey Shows Use of Internet Enhances Political Awareness.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The Internet is contributing to a wider awareness of political views during this year's campaign season as more Americans increasingly go online for political news and commentary, according to a new survey from the Pew Internet & American Life...

Covad Finds A Silver Lining In FCC Fiber Ruling.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... While pretty much the entire telecom industry has been buzzing about the FCC's decision to exempt fiber to the curb and fiber to the premises from unbundling, the folks over at Covad have been reading the decision a different way. Covad has...

Verizon Wireless Revenues Begin To Crowd Wireline Numbers.(Verizon Communications Inc.)(Financial reports)
November 1, 2004... Consumer news outlets just now are reporting what the telecom industry has known for quite some time: People want to take their voice, data and video with them for a wherever, whenever communications fix. The most recent indication of this...

Network Services Key To Carrier Evolution, Yankee Group Says.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... According to a new Yankee Group report, professional services are one source of revenue within the telecom space that has stayed stable and, for some firms, even has grown. While carriers continue to keep an eye on their capital expenditures,...

Japanese Cable Companies Band Together For VoIP Assault.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A coalition of otherwise competing Japanese cable broadband companies has banded together to study the possibility of providing primary VoIP phone services as a group. The group includes a dozen of the 18 different cable operators in the Kansai...

Cellphone Satisfaction Ratchets Up, Power Survey Says.
November 1, 2004... According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2004 U.S. Wireless Mobile Phone Evaluation Study, customer satisfaction regarding their wireless handsets gained 5 percentage points year over year, with improved features topping the list. As more...

Global Regulators View Video Launches Differently.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Video Networks has launched telephony services, and it now claims it is the first "quadruple play" provider in the U.K. Video Networks now can offer customers television, Internet, telephony and video-on-demand services to some 1.25 million...

Four More Years: The Industry Comments On The Re-Election.
November 4, 2004... Now that the dust has begun to settle following Tuesday's re-election of President George W. Bush, the telecom industry can begin making plans for the next round of regulatory and legislative wrangling with the White House and a new group of...

Rural LECs Propose 3-Pronged Intercarrier Compensation Revamp.(local exchange carriers)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2004... The latest shot in the Intercarrier Compensation reform wars at the Federal Communications Commission has been fired, with the triggerman being the Expanded Portland Group (EPG) this time. The EPG is a group of small and midsized rural local...

Research House Foresees 100Mb/s Homes By 2009.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2004... The "tech-savvy" broadband home in the United States will be consuming nearly 100 Mb/s in bandwidth by 2009, according to a research note from Jupiter Research issued this week. The forecast provides justification for such technologies as FTTx,...

McCaw, Intel Team To Explore New WiMax Frontiers.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2004... Kirkland, Wash.-based broadband provider Clearwire, the latest brainchild of wireless entrepreneur Craig McCaw, is teaming with another heavy-hitter, Intel, to jointly develop and deploy wireless broadband capabilities using WiMax networks. As...

Nokia: Two Billion Mobile Subscribers In 2006.(Nokia Corp)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2004... Nokia today offered a glimpse as to how it is seeing the mobile market shape up as well as some company-level targets. Industry wide, the company expects to see the mobile-device industry grow 10 percent in 2005 from the 630 million units the...

Kansas City Telecom Exec Still Could Face Charges.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2004... Earlier this summer, a Belton, Mo.-based businessman was arrested for allegedly being part of a suspected $430 million Mafia scam targeting Internet and telephone fraud, but he has been released while the U.S. Department of Justice continues to...

Startup Promises First U.K. WiMax Network.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2004... British wireless network provider Telabria, which went into business just last year and has been installing Wi-Fi meshes for about nine months now, says it has begun installing what it touts as being the first WiMax network in the United...

Save The Date!(Telecommunications)(Follow the Money: Satellite Business Opportunities for 2005 and Beyond)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2004... TelecomWeb sister publication Satellite News will host a virtual seminar, "Follow the Money: Satellite Business Opportunities for 2005 and Beyond," Nov. 18 from 2 p.m. to 3:30 pm EST. In just 90 minutes, you will hear about the most promising,...

BellSouth Ad Campaign Focuses On 'Grand Slam'.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... The early returns from BellSouth's bundled service offering shows that its partnership with El Segundo, Calif.-based DirecTV is producing results. Creative marketing efforts by BellSouth and a new holiday advertising blitz by DirecTV that...

Verizon Campaigns For King Of The Hill.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... Staring its competition Cingular Wireless directly in the face, Verizon Wireless is pushing to regain its Number One spot with a $3 billion check to NextWave Telecom for all its remaining PCS licenses. The deal won't go through until NextWave...

S.D. Paging Company Changes Hands.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... For those who don't believe old-fashioned paging is alive, well and marketable, South Dakota-based Midcontinent Communications, which bought its first paging system nearly 20 years ago, just sold its entire paging operation - covering Sioux...

Rogers Wireless/Microcell Merger Gets The Nod.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... Canada's Rogers Wireless Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc., has gotten the Canadian Competition Bureau's blessing regarding its proposed purchase of the securities of Microcell Telecommunications Inc., and for all...

OPASTCO Asks FCC For CALEA-Compliance Time Shift.(Federal Communications Commission)(Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies)(Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act)(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... In response to a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) released by the FCC regarding the scope of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act's (CALEA) applicability to such packet-mode services as broadband Internet access, and...

Taipei Wi-Fi Scheme Gets The Green Light.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... The Taipei city government has given the go-ahead for a city-wide WiFi broadband network that is believed to be the largest so far announced in the world. The project, called M-City (an shortcut for Mobile City), calls for a WiFi mesh that will...

Sofia Digital Looks At Mobile TV.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... Sofia Digital in Helsinki, Finland, wants to play a bigger role in the mobile-to-TV services market, thanks to its acquisition of SMS TV applications company Outer Rim. The acquisition will increase Sofia Digital's product portfolio...

Prepaid-Card Companies Tap Into Gaming Audience.(DuoCash Inc.)(Internet Payment Solutions Inc)(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... DuoCash Inc. and Internet Payment Solutions Inc. say players of 29 online games, including "Ultima" and "Dark Age of Camelot," can use DuoCard's prepaid phone cards to pay for a game. Game players can buy a phone card over the counter at any of...

FCC Takes States To Task Over VoIP Services.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... Earlier this week, VoIP pioneer Vonage won the battle, but time will tell if it wins the war. During its monthly open meeting this morning, the Federal Communications Commission ruled Vonage's DigitalVoice service "is not subject to traditional...

Why SBC Is Getting DTV-Aggressive.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... Giant SBC Communications is embarking on one of the most aggressive TV projects of any telecom carrier anywhere in the world. "Project Lightspeed" will enable SBC to offer millions of residential and small-business customers access to...

Hot Spots Heat Up In Europe.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... U.K. consulting company BroadGroup says that, according to its recent count, there are close to 27,000 European hot spots in operation today, and users are paying more to hook into them than they do for similar access in the United States and...

Enterprise Market Still Viable For Wireless.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... Only a few years ago, the enterprise market was seen as the big driver for wireless data services, but that has fallen off, replaced with more consumer-oriented applications like ring tones and games designed for the mobile handset. But with a...

Microsoft Sweats FCC Regs Just Like Anyone Else.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... According to a new report from Legg Mason, Microsoft is looking to leverage its market power in the emerging broadband multiple-use networks. Gates & Co. is developing a suite of voice, video, and data products to exploit this opportunity, but...

What Kind Of Network Will $15,000 Buy?(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... Upstate New York could be the next big installation of an allencompassing fiber network service a number of counties. What's missing now is, of course, the money. The Adirondack-Champlain Community Fiber Network wants to deploy what looks like...

BellSouth Bundles Its Way To Success.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... According to Kate Griffin, senior analyst for The Yankee Group, "In order to effectively compete in this competitive marketplace, companies...must answer customers' demands for increased savings and simplicity. Bundles provide greater savings...

Broadband Connection Arena Gets Satellite Competition.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. says its U.S. subsidiary, Spacenet Inc., has added commercial-grade, hybrid VSAT/DSL services to its Connexstar family of broadband connectivity solutions. Spacenet's expansion of its Connexstar offering allows the...

SBC Offers IP-Based Advanced TV.(Brief Article)
November 15, 2004... Telecom giant SBC Communications [SBC] announced bold investment plans Thursday that will have an impact on satellite-TV and cable-TV operators in the regional telephone company's service area. SBC unveiled plans to build an advanced, Internet...

Nortel Faces Possible NYSE De-Listing.(Brief Article)
November 15, 2004... Financially impaired Nortel Networks Corp. once again is putting off filing its restated financial results, and this development is sending a shiver down the spine of the investment community. It also has chilled the company's stock price....

Post-Merger, Cingular Pounds The Pavement.(Brief Article)
November 15, 2004... Cingular Wireless inked contracts with first responders in the Carolinas and in Georgia to provide wireless priority services (WPS), beginning sometime next summer. The contracts, signed with the National Communications System, allow emergency...

Rogers Aims To Take Wireless Unit Private.(Brief Article)
November 15, 2004... As if following in the footsteps of Sprint, which eliminated its wireless tracking stock some time ago, Canada's Rogers Communications Inc. is looking to take its wireless unit private. TelecomWeb has learned that the company is offering 1.75...

TeliaSonera Feels The Need For Speed In Sweden.(Brief Article)
November 15, 2004... TeliaSonera, a leading Nordic telecom carrier, is getting ready to launch a new high-speed Internet service in Sweden. The 24 Mbit/s service will be rolled out in 101 municipalities in that country during the next three months. "Telia Broadband...

Iowans Seek Vote On Public-Communication Backbone.(Brief Article)
November 15, 2004... A coalition of citizens from 83 communities across Iowa have banded together to create an organization with the avowed goal of creating a community owned communication infrastructure that would compete with privately owned communications...

Telenor Offers Special Holiday Rates To Spur Calling From Ships.(Brief Article)
November 15, 2004... Oslo, Norway-based Telenor Satellite Services will offer cut-rate phone calls to sailors during the upcoming holiday season. The company, in tandem with satellite operator Inmarsat, is extending low-cost Super Quite Time (SQT) hours...

Is PayPal Going Mobile?(Brief Article)
November 15, 2004... eBay's PayPal payments unit last week posted a job notice on CraigsList, the popular bulletin board, for a mobile payments expert, raising immediate speculation that it was about to launch a new payments venue or, at least, it was testing the...

Cut Portability Fee, Consumer Group Says, To Retain Subs.(Brief Article)
November 18, 2004... Both Verizon Wireless and Sprint cut their wireless local number portability fees considerably earlier this week, and now the Consumers Union wants all the other wireless carriers to follow suit. "This is good news for consumers," said Janee...

Alcoa Company Targets U.S. FTTx Market.(Brief Article)
November 18, 2004... AFL Telecommunications, in which American industrial giant Alcoa [AA] holds a 51-percent stake and Japanese conglomerate Fujikura [FKURF] holds the rest, is entering the U.S. active Ethernet FTTx market. It's begun selling active Ethernet...

Boots On The Ground Get Net-Centric Satellite System.(Brief Article)
November 18, 2004... Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin completed the installation of a new network-centric satellite communications system for use by coalition forces in Iraq. The Coalition Multinational Network, developed for U.S. Central Command, provides...

Who Oversees CALEA: The FCC Or Congress?(Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994)(Federal Communications Commission)(Brief Article)
November 18, 2004... The FCC will find little guidance and much to ponder as it sifts the second round of comments regarding the possible expansion of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (CALEA) to cover broadband information services,...

The End Of An Era: Hollings' Last Speech.(Brief Article)
November 18, 2004... Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-S.C.) made his final speech on the Hill this week, capping a career that spanned nearly 40 years in Washington, D.C. Hollings, who had announced his retirement sometime ago, will be replaced by newly elected Republican...

Verizon Asks Ohio For Late-Fee Increase.(Brief Article)
November 18, 2004... Verizon's local subscribers in Ohio who sometimes are late paying their monthly bills could be socked with a 16-percent increase in the going late-fee rate if the carrier gets the nod from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). Verizon...

Are Wireless Enterprise Solutions Ready For Prime Time?(Brief Article)
November 18, 2004... As the wireless industry began rolling out more data networks and applications, the enterprise market was seen as driver of services beyond voice. But a quick look at what is happening on the data side of the wireless market offers a different...

BT Puts BlackBerrys In Its Basket.(Brief Article)
November 18, 2004... BT, the largest U.K. telco, hopes to boost its position in the European wireless marketplace by signing a key deal with messaging provider Research In Motion (RIM). The deal will see BT become Europe's first virtual network operator to sell...

Adelstein Stays On FCC Panel.(Brief Article)
November 22, 2004... FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein will stay in his office until June 30, 2008, now that the Bush administration has indicated it plans to keep the Democrat (whose main congressional backer is outgoing Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.). on the...

Alereon Lays Claims To UWB Wireless Spec.(Brief Article)
November 22, 2004... Wireless broadband semiconductor house Alereon says it completed the industry's first over-the-air demonstration of 480 Mb/s and 320 Mb/s transmissions that meet the recently released Multi-Band OFDM Alliance (MBOA) ultra-wideband (UWB)...

AT&T Wireless Passes On Continued Lightbridge Services.(Brief Article)
November 22, 2004... Lightbridge Inc. is feeling a little left out of the newly merged Cingular Wireless/AT&T Wireless party. It just decreased its revenue and earnings-per-share guidance for 4Q04 due to AT&T Wireless cutting Lightbridge out of the...

Illinois Takes A WiFi Walk In The Park.(Brief Article)
November 22, 2004... Transnet Wireless inked a pact with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources under which it is installing WiFi hot spots in parks through the state. Transnet, which is using Airpath's WiBOSS to handle customer provisioning, authentication...

U.S. Per-Minute Costs Continue To Drop.(Brief Article)
November 22, 2004... The latest cost survey from economic research and consulting firm Econ One says October saw charges for wireless service dropping yet again in the top 25 U.S. markets. The average cost of service, calculated based on four typical levels of use...

World's First WiFi/Cell Phone Ships.(Brief Article)
November 22, 2004... The first combination WiFi/Cell Phone, the NEC model N900iL, has gone on sale in Japan, offered by NTT DoCoMo. The phone makes SIP-based VoIP calls over a standard 802.11b WiFi network or, when it can't reach such a network, it operates on the...

Broadband Trade Groups To Merge.(Brief Article)
November 22, 2004... The Broadband Content Delivery Forum (BCDF) and the Service Creation Community (SCC) have agreed to merge into a new organization to be called the Broadband Services Forum (BSF). "Members of the BCDF and the SCC found that the two groups had...

Japanese VoIP Forum Launches.(Brief Article)
November 22, 2004... With a little help from the International Packet Communications Consortium (IPCC), Japanese companies have set up a trade group called the VoIP Forum of Japan (VFJ), chartered to foster the deployment of VoIP both in Japan and globally. The new...

Report: Global WiFi Switch Sales Soar.(Brief Article)
November 29, 2004... WiFi switch revenues spiked an impressive 80 percent quarter-over-quarter, according to a new study by Infonetics Research released this week. The number of switch ports grew by an even larger 127 percent - the difference between the growth...

Help Wanted: New Association CEO.(chief executive officer)(Brief Article)
November 29, 2004... In a surprise move, H. Russell Frisby Jr., longtime CEO of CompTel/ASCENT, just announced his decision to leave the association next year, following the hiring of a successor. A search committee already has been formed. The group already...

WLNP: One Year Old And Growing.(Wireless Local Number Portability)(Brief Article)
November 29, 2004... Happy first birthday, wireless local number portability. Since Nov. 24, 2003, the FCC says more than 8.5 million consumers have taken advantage of wireless LNP, and nearly 10 percent of those consumers cut the cord completely, leaving their...

Europe Leads Business DSL Growth.(Brief Article)
November 29, 2004... Lead primarily by growth in Northern Europe, the number of business DSL lines in use worldwide grew to 11.4 million as of June, according to a new study by U.K. research house Point Topic. The total is up 24 percent from the end of 2003, a...

FCC Issues 'Alien Ownership' Bible, But Don't Quote It.(Brief Article)
November 29, 2004... The FCC's International Bureau issued an early Christmas present for junior associates belonging to the federal communications bar in the form of an instructive 35-page guidebook to navigating the arcane precedents associated with interpreting...

New Satellite Broadband Service Reunites Partners.(Brief Article)
November 29, 2004... Neo-Sky is set to launch a new satellite broadband service in Spain. The broadband operator, which provides services in the Iberdrola region of Spain, reached an agreement with SES Astra to offer the service, and it will target those consumers...

LightRiver Takes On Amedia FTTx Line.(Brief Article)
November 29, 2004... LightRiver Technologies is going to distribute Amedia's QoStream FTTx product line. The distribution deal gives Amedia a crack at LightRiver's customer list, which includes telephone companies, municipalities, utilities, government agencies and...

eircom Sets Ambitious Broadband Target.(Brief Article)
November 29, 2004... eircom, reportedly the largest telco in Ireland, plans to serve 500,000 broadband customers in that country by December 2007. If these new numbers are achieved, the carrier believes Ireland will be well-ahead of the European Union (EU) average...