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  issue highlights December 8, 2008 | A Penton Media, Inc. Publication  
TelcoTV's emerging video trends

Report from TM Forum's Management World

TelcoTV: Telcos share IPTV lessons learned

Embarq rejected higher offer to do CenturyTel deal


editor's perspective
What the FCC didn't tell us about the USF audit
By Joan Engebretson

As they were leaving the White House in 2001, certain disgruntled Clintonites allegedly removed the W keys from government-owned keyboards in presidential offices in an apparent display of spite for the our current president and his single-letter nickname. I can't help thinking there might be something similar going on involving a report recently issued by the FCC estimating that telcos had been overpaid by $970 million, or 23%, from the High-Cost Universal Service Fund.

The late-November report from the FCC drew predictably snide or irate comments from people who never bothered to look at the actual document. And even though the FCC is not actually trying to collect $970 million from USF recipients nor accusing them of fraud, the FCC report casts an unfortunate shadow on Independent telcos just as policymakers are considering USF reform.

I put some effort into deciphering the report and have some serious questions about the amount of the estimated overpayment, which appears way too high — by a factor of five or more.

Read more of "What the FCC didn't tell us about the USF audit" online.

E-mail me at joanengebretson@cs.com.


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Learn how to build new revenues with this new Webcast from Telephony!

Take a break and join us Decemeber 11 for Telephony University's "The Positive Side of DPI Webcast," December 11 at 12:30. DPI enables a variety of different new service possibilities for network operators, along with the ability to manage network resources more effectively. Matt Davis, broadband analyst with IDC, explains how DPI can be used to offer better security and corporate network protection; in-network parental controls, automated bandwidth boosts for high-quality video traffic, quality assurance for VoIP services and more. Davis also will explain how service providers can use subscriber and traffic profiles to control bandwidth flows, and make optimum use of network facilities. Don't miss it! Register at vshow.on24.com/clients/vshow/telephony/register.html



telephony podcasts

TelcoTV's emerging video trends

Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst for Parks Associates, which hosted a workshop on the Business Cases for Emerging Video Services at TelcoTV this week in Anaheim, Calif., speaks with Associate News Editor Sarah Reedy about the year's biggest trends in video.
  READ MORE >>  

Report from TM Forum's Management World

We talked with the chairman of the TM Forum's Keith Willetts about how service providers can survive the economic downturn and took a tour of the Content Encounter area in this report from the the Management World show in Orlando this week.
  READ MORE >>  

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telephony blogs

TelcoTV: Telcos share IPTV lessons learned

At Conklin Intracom's Perspectives on IPTV Workshop, held yesterday in advance of TelcoTV, several telecom service providers in various stages of IPTV deployments shared what they learned from being in the trenches.
  READ MORE >>  


top news

Embarq rejected higher offer to do CenturyTel deal

When Embarq accepted CenturyTel's $5.8-billion acquisition offer last month, it rejected a slightly higher offer from another company, according to regulatory filings made by CenturyTel last week.
  READ MORE >>  

Indy wireless play pushes open source into back office

Crossroads Wireless is building an Independent-centric mobile virtual network operator offering that aims to leverage the economics of open-source software to make a splash in underserved rural service markets.
  READ MORE >>  

Leap's network starting to look more national

For a company that specializes in local wireless calling plans, Leap is starting to look a lot more like an operator with a nationwide coverage.
  READ MORE >>  

Cable kicking butt, analyst notes

As DSL numbers keep trending down, telephone companies are fighting back but may not be doing enough, according to one industry analyst.
  READ MORE >>  


commentary

The crystal ball for 2009

By Alex Liu, A.T. Kearney
"When there is blood in the streets, buy real estate." In the last few months, we have all witnessed the widespread financial panic that this old adage refers to …
  READ MORE >>  

Billing may be a ticket to efficiency

By Rob Purks, Accenture
"Efficiency is doing better what is already being done," according to Peter F. Drucker, a noted economist, author, and pioneer in management theory.
  READ MORE >>  


more news

Surviving the Recession: The residential market

After years of selling faster speeds and more high-definition TV channels, Comcast is now pitching cheaper services, offering a triple-play bundle of basic voice, video and data offerings for less than $30 each, with the promise that this isn't introductory pricing that goes up later.
  READ MORE >>  

Business wireline growth turns negative

U.S. businesses have added almost 700,000 wireline access lines in the past five years to hit 5.3 million landline connections in total, according to a Vertical Systems Group report, but the past four months have actually seen a downturn …
  READ MORE >>  

Diverse group calls for national broadband policy

A diverse group of 55 signatories, including major telecom companies and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, today released a call to action for a national broadband strategy aimed at making broadband deployment and adoption a priority for the Obama administration.
  READ MORE >>  

With new model, Utah takes last shot at Utopia

Utah's multicity Utopia network is taking perhaps one last shot at making its wholesale municipal fiber project work, with a revised model, new management and a new focus on business customers.
  READ MORE >>  


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