News of the Day

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AT&T sells BellSouth spectrum
AT&T has sold 2.5 GHz of spectrum either owned or leased by BellSouth to wireless broadband provider Clearwire. The deal is valued at $300 million. StreetInsider.com (2/20)

Business & Industry Watch

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Satellite mergers face antitrust scrutiny
With XM Satellite and Sirius Satellite Radio considering a merger, perhaps they might want to take note of the antitrust issues that arose the last time two satellite giants tried to merge. The 2001 deal between EchoStar Communications and DirecTV ultimately collapsed over antitrust issues. Denver Rocky Mountain News (2/20)

Dobson Communications unit to change name to Cellular One
Dobson Communications' Dobson Cellular Systems, which already offers services in more than 70 wireless markets under the Cellular One brand, plans to change its name next month to Cellular One. cellular-news (U.K.) (2/20)

Siemens ups speed, coverage of home fiber link
Siemens researchers have discovered a way to increase the speed of passive optical broadband connections, offering downstream rates of 10 Gbps and upstream of 2.5 Gbps. Siemens' research also showcased the ability to increase the distance between the hub and subscribers to 100 km to expand coverage area. InfoWorld/IDG News Service (2/20)

Alltel subscriber base up 55%

Alltel attracted 228,000 net new customers during the fourth quarter and experienced a 14% year-over-year increase in revenue. The carrier, however, reported a drop in net income, marking the first full quarter the company reported pure wireless numbers.  Bloomberg/ClipSyndicate (2/20) The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (2/20)

Ericsson wins IPTV deal
Ericsson signed on to assist in the development of an IPTV service for Vodafone Iceland. The operator plans to launch the service throughout Iceland. C21 Media (2/20)

NTT tests Eyeball's VoIP call-completion solution
Japanese telecom Nippon Telegraph and Telephone tested Eyeball's AnyFirewall software, which is designed to enable VoIP callers to traverse network protections, including firewalls, to complete calls. Red Herring (2/19)

Virgin Media signs Warner Bros deal
Virgin Media is fleshing out its on-demand television service with the addition of content from Warner Bros. The company said the agreement represented its largest content investment to date. Reuters (2/20)

Technology Trends

ISPs fuel router sales
Router sales hit $5.63 billion globally in 2006, according to Dell'Oro. Cisco Systems topped the market with $3.19 billion in sales. Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg (2/20)

Sprint plans iDEN push in the Middle East
Sprint Nextel is in talks with Wataniya Telecom and others to form a new business entity, called Sprint Nextel Middle East, to deliver iDEN push-to-talk services to markets in the Middle East and North Africa. Sprint's role in the venture will be one of consultant. The Kansas City Star (Mo.) (2/19)

Teens grasp technology's advantages, limitations
Teenagers understand how to use cell phones, Internet access, text messaging and other technologies, and they also seem to know when to use the appropriate tool for their communication needs. cellular-news (U.K.) (2/20)

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Regulatory & Legislative

Net activists focus on net regulation in '08
Internet activists have picked net regulation as a key issue to promote with a presidential election looming next year. The Washington Post (2/20)

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