News of the Day

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Alltel deal represents largest U.S. telecom LBO

Private-investment firms TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners have agreed to pay $71.50 a share for Alltel Corp. The $27.5 billion offer is the largest leveraged buyout in the history of the U.S. telecommunications industry and represents a 10% premium over the wireless carrier's Friday stock price. The deal must be approved by shareholders and regulators before its planned March 2008 close.  ClipSyndicate (5/21) MarketWatch (5/21) CNNMoney.com/Reuters (5/21) International Herald Tribune (5/21)

Business & Industry Watch

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AT&T begins final phaseout of Cingular name
It's rebranding effort ahead of schedule, AT&T this week will change the name of its wireless stores, dropping the last remnants of the Cingular brand. This move comes a month before the planned rollout of Apple's iPhone, for which AT&T will be the only service provider in the U.S. Reuters (5/21) The New York Times (5/21)

Siemens goes out of the fold for new CEO
The supervisory board of Siemens AG has announced that Peter Löscher has been appointed as the company's new president and CEO. Löscher's appointment was a surprise to some industry insiders because he doesn't have an engineering background. Electronic Engineering Times (Asia) (5/21)

Qwest seeks to offer video service in Portland, Ore.
Qwest Communications is trying to tie up the loose ends in the Portland, Ore., area with public officials so it can offer video service next year. Qwest would still need to upgrade its network before it competes with Comcast for video customers. The Oregonian (Portland) (5/21)

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Hot Topics

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Top five news stories selected by USTelecom dailyLead readers in the past week.

• AT&T executive: U-Verse, wireless ads have $1 billion potential (The Washington Post)

• Verizon Business buys Cybertrust (Forbes)

• Siemens ordered to pay $51 million, former managers convicted (Bloomberg)

• Embarq turns 1 (The Kansas City Star (Mo.))

• IPTV offers opportunity for broadband providers (America's Network)

Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

Technology Trends

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PC World picks top 20 products of the year
The "Top 20 Products of the Year," according to the editors of PC World, include Web applications such as Google Doc and Spreadsheets, RIM's BlackBerry 8800, Verizon Communications' FiOS service and Apple TV. PC World (5/21)

Gear vendors ready new products
Foundry and Nortel are expected to take big swings at Cisco and others this week in the WAN routing arena, with the unveiling of a new Ethernet switch and WAN router/VoIP platform, respectfully. Network World (5/21)

Online ad deals mark tipping point in market
Microsoft's planned $6 billion acquisition of online advertising holding company aQuantive represents a milestone in the evolution of new media, according to observers. The deal is just the latest in a spate of advertising sector acquisitions by Google, Yahoo!, AOL and WPP Group. Bryan Wiener, chief executive of search marketing firm 360i told The New York Times: "It's not just talk anymore. The flood of dollars online is starting to accelerate to match the amount of time we spend online." Advertising Age (5/21) Adweek (5/21) The New York Times (5/19)

Interactive Intelligence introduces mobile-IP client
Interactive Intelligence has introduced the first version of its Interaction Client for mobile devices, offering such services as call conferencing, call recording and text messaging. The product is aimed at companies with field personnel. TechNewsWorld/CRM Buyer (5/21)

IP Download

Argonne drops VoIP, offers lessons for future implementation
After a troubled pilot phase, Argonne National Laboratory has pulled its planned VoIP phone system. The network faced several technical hurdles, but the real "death blow," according to Argonne's network services manager, Scott Pinkerton, was the reaction from users, who disliked the ergonomics of their new VoIP handsets and the sound quality of speakerphones. Network World (5/21)

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Regulatory & Legislative

China warns: Start taking TD-SCDMA seriously
China has warned foreign wireless vendors to start taking its TD-SCDMA standard seriously or risk losing out when 3G service is introduced. Forbes/AFX News Limited/Thomson Financial (5/21)

Editor's Note

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