Sprint names CEO Forsee as chairman
Sprint Nextel Corp. said Tuesday that it named CEO and President Gary Forsee as its chairman. Forsee will replace Tim Donahue, who retires as executive chairman at the end of December. USA TODAY/Associated Press (12/12)  
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Microsoft begins VoIP beta
Microsoft has released a beta version of Office Communications Server 2007 to about 2,500 IT professionals. The voice-server software allows users to place VoIP calls from Office Communicator 2007 and is part of the company's plan to offer businesses a unified communications infrastructure. Network World (12/12)
Skype to charge for phone service that is now free
Skype Technologies said effective Jan. 1 that it would charge $30 a year for unlimited Internet phone calls made to landline and mobile phones within North America. Ebay, which bought Skype for $2.5 billion, will expand Skype's product offerings by introducing a click-to-call service. NYTimes.com (12/13)
Sprint finishes Revision A rollout for 2006
Sprint said Tuesday that it was done with the Revision A upgrade to its EV-DO networks in 10 additional markets. The cities include New York, Los Angeles and Washington. The network is now in 20 markets and covers 60 million people. Telephony Online (12/12)
The Net challenges for big media in 2007
The digital challenge next year for big media seeking to boost online and interactive revenue is to decide whether to acquire other Net properties, develop their own Web outlets or forge entirely new initiatives. USA TODAY/Associated Press (12/12)
Vodafone Italia, Sky Italia sign mobile TV deal
Vodafone Group's Italian unit has announced a new mobile digital TV service that will offer programs from News Corp.'s Sky Italia satellite broadcaster on Vodafone mobile phones. The service will use Vodafone's own network combined with DVB-H technology and will be offered for free until March 31, 2007. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (12/12)
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More than 75% of Web users are on broadband
Seventy-eight percent of Web users used a broadband connection in November, up from 65% a year earlier, a Nielsen/NetRatings study reports. The study says e-mail, social networking, games and instant messaging are among the top activities of high-speed users. MSNBC/Associated Press (12/12)
Q-and-A: Ad executive discusses mobile advertising
The market for mobile-phone advertising is expected to reach $860 million next year, research firm eMarketer predicts, but Courtney Jane Acuff of the consultancy Denuo says obstacles remain. Acuff says barriers include concerns over consumer privacy, lack of opportunities for marketers to buy inventory and the fact that marketers need to understand and learn how important this marketplace is. The Wall Street Journal (12/13)
SMS wildly successful, but successor being sought
An estimated 936 billion SMS messages were sent in 2005, and this number may reach 2.3 trillion by 2010, research firm Gartner predicts. "Nobody could have could have predicted the phenomenal success of SMS and the race is on to find its successor," said Gartner analyst Nick Ingelbrecht. "Without a doubt new services are needed, but a clear leader has yet to emerge from the messaging services currently being deployed such as mobile IM [instant messaging], video messaging, mobile e-mail and unified and integrated messaging." cellular-news (U.K.) (12/13)
Report: Global handset users top 2.6 billion
There are now more than 2.6 billion mobile-phone users worldwide, a report by The Mobile World finds. "The adoption of mobile telecommunications worldwide continues to show an upward trend, with particularly strong growth in India, China and the Middle East & Africa," said John Tysoe, co-founder and principal analyst at The Mobile World. cellular-news (U.K.) (12/13)
Michigan moves to expand video competition
Michigan lawmakers passed a bill Tuesday that will place all video providers under a statewide franchise system. The legislation, which the governor is expected to sign, will create a competitive marketplace that will put the consumer in the "driver's seat," said AT&T Michigan President Gail Torreano. Detroit Free Press (12/13)
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