News of the Day

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AT&T offers free HD programming
AT&T is giving away a one-year subscription to its HD programming, which consists of 25 channels, to lure customers to its U-verse and co-branded satellite-TV services offered in partnership with EchoStar and DirecTV. Telephony Online (4/3) Multichannel News (4/3)

Business & Industry Watch

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Tropic Networks sells to Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent will buy Tropic Networks' assets. The deal includes metro WDM networking intellectual property that Alcatel funded in July 2004, when it led a $33 million investment round. Alcatel says it will be able to give cable companies better control of optical backbones. CED Magazine (4/2007)

AboveNet connects with AT&T, Verizon
AboveNet has purchased 60 building fiber connections from AT&T and 180 from Verizon Communications. The two separate deals cover connections held in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Washington/Baltimore and Philadelphia. Forbes/AFX News Limited (4/4)

Nokia Siemens signs on to host MVNO network
Virtual mobile operator Blyk is calling on Nokia Siemens Networks to supply, build and host its planned network, which will deliver an advertising-supported mobile telephony service. The deal is said to be the firm's first signed MVNO-hosting deal, according to Nokia Siemens. ScientificAmerican.com/Reuters (4/4)

Alltel completes asset sale
Alltel has completed an asset sale in four of its wireless markets in Minnesota to Rural Cellular Corp. The $45 million deal was spurred by a divestiture agreement Alltel made with the FCC to win approval for its acquisition of Midwest Wireless late last year. Forbes/Associated Press (4/3)

"Prom Queen" makes debut on Verizon
Verizon Communications will carry "Prom Queen," the first production from former Disney CEO Michael Eisner's new-media studio Vuguru. The show will be available on Verizon Wireless' V CAST and Verizon's FiOS TV services. Multichannel News (4/3)

Regulator tells Deutsche Telekom to share networks
Germany's telecom regulator has ruled that Deutsche Telekom has to give competitors access to its VDSL broadband network. This adds to last month's ruling that Deutsche Telekom must share its ATM bitstream network. Forbes/AFX News Limited (4/4)

Other News

• Privacy rules may impede Sprint's deal with cable companies
  The Wall Street Journal (4/3)

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Technology Trends

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Analyst predicts boom in IPTV market
The number of worldwide IPTV subscribers will reach 103 million in 2011, according to projections by market research analyst iSuppli Corp. The firm expects revenue to grow 40-fold between 2006 and 2011 to reach $39.1 billion. EE Times (4/3)

Intel spins out new quad-core chips
Intel has launched the E5335 and E5345 quad-core chips for embedded applications. The 80-watt chips, part of the company's Clovertown Quad-core Xeon family, will offer more power for designers of telecommunications infrastructure. InfoWorld/IDG News Service (4/3)

New technology can transmit DTV to mobile devices
New wireless technology from Harris Corp. and LG Electronics reportedly will be the first to allow for the broadcasting of local DTV programming to mobile devices, such as cell phones, car media players and handheld TVs or DVD players. Broadcast stations, depending on the size of their market and the number of channels involved, will have to spend $100,000 to $500,000 on improved transmitters to accommodate the new technology, a Harris spokesman said. The Boston Globe/Reuters (4/3)

Cisco aims system at smaller businesses
Cisco Systems is targeting its new Smart Business Communications System to small businesses. The technologies integrate voice, e-mail and text messaging into productivity applications. InfoWorld/IDG News Service (4/3)

Boomers go online for research, not entertainment
Three-quarters of baby boomers use broadband to access the Internet at home, according to a survey by ThirdAge and JWT BOOM. Most of them are researching -- not watching videos, writing blogs, playing games or downloading music. MediaPost Communications (4/4)

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Regulatory & Legislative

Analysis: The Democratic Congress and the FCC
With Congress under Democratic control, the FCC is facing a litany of complaints from key lawmakers about the pace of decision-making and other concerns. "The lesson I should learn from that is, we've got to pay attention to what Congress thinks about these issues," said FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin. The Washington Post (4/4)

Cities sue over video-franchise rules
Several organizations representing municipalities nationwide filed suits in federal court seeking to overturn new FCC rules easing cable-franchising rules. The FCC's position is that competition is "desperately needed in the video market," an FCC spokeswoman said. Los Angeles Times/Associated Press (4/4)

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