California Senate committee backs statewide franchise
A California Senate committee approved a plan to create a statewide franchise system and strip municipalities of their authority to regulate the cable industry. The change, which was backed by Verizon Communications and AT&T Inc., is expected to speed up the introduction of TV services by telecom companies. Los Angeles Times (6/30)  
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Telstra could scrap broadband plan
Telstra Corp. has threatened not to build a $2.2 billion FTTN network if it is forced to let rivals use the network for regulated prices. "We will not invest in FTTN unless we achieve regulatory settings that will permit Telstra's 1.6 million shareholders to earn a competitive return that they expect and they deserve," CEO Sol Trujillo said. InfoWorld (6/30)
IMS rollouts more than triple over 12-month period
The number of network operators adopting IMS architectures has more than tripled in 12 months, according to a report by inCode, which tracks trends via its IMS Global Deployments Matrix. "Wireless, wireline and broadband operators are ultimately headed toward IMS," inCode's PK Prasanna said. "The questions for many operators are how will they get there and when will it happen." Telephony Online (6/29)
AOL, DirecTV to resell EarthLink Wi-Fi service
AOL and DirecTV have agreed to become resellers of EarthLink's municipal Wi-Fi services. EarthLink announced the partnerships yesterday when it opened its Wi-Fi network in Anaheim, Calif. The Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.) (6/29)
Palm, RIM report earnings
Palm posts higher Q4 profit, outlines expansion plans: Thanks to strong Treo sales, Palm reported a fourth-quarter profit of $27.2 million, up from $17.7 million a year earlier. The company laid out plans to roll out two more Treos and to expand into Europe. San Jose Mercury News (Calif.) (6/30)
RIM's revenue, subscribers jump in Q1: Research In Motion posted a first-quarter profit of $129.8 million, compared with a year-earlier profit of $132.5 million. The company said sales jumped 35% to reach $613.1 million and it added nearly 680,000 new subscribers. The Washington Post/Associated Press (6/30), The Wall Street Journal (6/30)
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Carriers form 4G group
A group of seven wireless carriers has formed an organization to create a 4G network standard that would complement guidelines issued by various standards groups. Carriers in the group, called Next Generation Mobile Networks, include KPN Mobile; Orange; Sprint Nextel Corp.; and T-Mobile International. EE Times (6/30)
Vonage aims to tackle business market with V-Phone
Vonage Holdings is targeting medium- and large-size enterprise customers with its new V-Phone, a 256 MB memory drive which, when plugged into the USB port of a computer, lets users make VoIP calls. The strategy builds on the company's traditional focus on the consumer VoIP market. CNET (6/30)
Report: VoIP-over-Wi-Fi to cut roaming revenues
Wireless carriers in Europe should add VoIP-over-Wi-Fi to their arsenals to compensate for the threat the technology poses to roaming revenues, according to a report from research firm visiongain. cellular-news (U.K.) (6/30)
Verizon sues Maryland county over franchise demands
Verizon Communications has filed a lawsuit against Montgomery County, alleging it has made unreasonable and illegal demands in negotiations over a cable franchise. Broadcasting & Cable (6/30), Reuters (6/29), The Wall Street Journal (6/30), The Washington Post (6/30)
More information emerges on NSA surveillance plan
USA TODAY has published an article saying new information about the National Security Agency's domestic phone surveillance program confirm some elements of its original report on the subject but contradict others. According to the article, some lawmakers have received information from intelligence officials confirming major telecoms' cooperation with the program was not as extensive as first reported by the newspaper in May. USA TODAY (6/30)
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