FLO TV at an End?
Posted by Steve Fravel on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 · 
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Citing low subscriber growth during the first three years of operations, Qualcomm is said to be looking closely at options for its FLO TV division. Those options may include selling the division outright, selling the spectrum or finding a partner that can modify the business and take it in a new direction.
Qualcomm reportedly invested $683 million to acquire the wireless spectrum necessary to provide the FLO TV service. FLO TV provides ESPN, ABC, CNN, CBS and Comedy Central among the approximately 20 live channels carried. It is not a nationwide service, though it is available in most major cities around the country.
Disney Pays $763 Million for Social Games
Posted by Steve Fravel on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 · ·
According to observers, the social gaming business is booming. Disney’s initial payment of $563.2 million places the Walt Disney Co. squarely into social gaming as the largest Hollywood operator. The deal is reportedly structured to include additional payments of nearly $200 million should Playdom achieve significant undisclosed growth benchmarks.
The concept uses simple games that include ”virtual retail” opportunities for players to purchase everything from clothing and spa visits to refreshments for their game characters. Playdom is one of a group of game developers that are part of the rapid expansion of social game growth in network environments like Facebook.
AT&T Launches New Hotzones, Advances WiFi Strategy
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, July 26, 2010 · ·
AT&T announced today that it is expanding its WiFi hotspot initiative, launching another free “hotzone” in Charlotte, N.C., with another hotzone to be deployed in Chicago in the coming weeks.
AT&T initially launched its hotzone concept back in May with a massive network in New York City’s Times Square.
The free (if you are an AT&T customer) WiFi hotspots are intended to supplement AT&T’s mobile broadband coverage in areas with consistently high 3G traffic and mobile data use. Read more
VOTW: Guy Walks Across America
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, July 26, 2010 · ·
And last but not least, our video of the week (VOTW): Guy Walks Across America.
Watch this average Joe trek past American landmarks. The video was created by a combination of stop-motion and time-lapse shots. The finished project consists of 2,770 still frames shot over 14 days. In this behind the scenes footage, the filmmakers explain the journey: six guys traveling cross-country in an RV, living on the Gatorade diet and stopping at scenic places along the way to do their shoots.
Zayo Partners with 10 Independent Telcos for Colorado Fiber Network
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, July 26, 2010 · ·
Zayo Bandwidth, a national provider of fiber-based solutions for carrier, enterprise and government customers, announced late last week that it has joined forces with independent telephone companies to form the Colorado Communications Transport LLC (CCT). CCT will develop a 746-mile fiber-optic transport ring which will cover northeastern Colorado and provide connectivity to major communication hubs in Denver.
In addition to Zayo, the founding members of CCT include 10 telcos in northeastern Colorado: Agate Mutual Telephone Cooperative Association Inc., Eastern Slope Rural Telephone Association Inc., Nunn Telephone Co., PC Telcom, Peetz Communications LLC, Plains Cooperative Telephone Association Inc., Roggen Telephone Cooperative Co., Stoneham Cooperative Telephone Corp., Wiggins Telephone Association and Willard Telephone Co. Read more
Rumor: Verizon to Launch Usage-Based 3G Pricing
Posted by Jesse Ward on Friday, July 23, 2010 · ·
Update: John Killian, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Verizon, reported on the carrier’s annual earnings conf call that VZW has no no immediate plans to migrate to usage-based data pricing plans. However, Killian said Verizon is studying the possibility of adding such plans for 3G.
Verizon Wireless is planning to introduce new usage-based mobile data pricing plans on July 29, according to a post at Engadget. The tech blog cited an unnamed source which offered few details except that Verizon is preparing to announce the pricing changes at the end of this month.
Numerous media outlets have repeated the 3G usage-based pricing rumor, but Verzion has declined to comment. However, just yesterday, Verizon business development executive director Jennifer Byrne was quoted in media reports stating that new Droid X users are consuming 5X the amount of data as compared to other device users, perhaps laying the groundwork for the yet-to-be confirmed pricing changes. Further, Verizon executives have repeatedly noted that the carrier likely will release 4G usage-based data pricing when it launches its LTE network in the fourth quarter.
AT&T paved the way back in June when it switched from a flat-rate pricing scheme to a usage-based model for mobile data. Analysts have speculated that other carriers might follow suit. Of note, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA have indicated they have no plans to change their current pricing structures.
For more, view the Engadget post.
Alcatel-Lucent Intros IPTV Solution for Small Telcos
Posted by Jesse Ward on Friday, July 23, 2010 · ·
Alcatel-Lucent is targeting small telcos with the release of a compact IPTV solution, powered by Microsoft Mediaroom, which can scale from 1,000 to 100,000 set-top boxes. The solution provides high-quality television programming, and also enables new services through the blending and personalization of Web and broadcast content.
Alcatel-Lucent’s Integrated Solution for Microsoft Mediaroom is a substantially modified version of an existing solution that the company has previously deployed in more than 25 large networks globally. The new solution, based on Microsoft’s Mediaroom Hyper-V architecture, includes a unique design that can support more than three times as many households, while using a smaller number of servers. Read more
