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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: telecom

telecom stories: 25 news summaries

1 - 20 of 25 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 French Telecom Suicides 
 Spark Official Unease 

Firm's chief to meet with labor minister

Sep 12, 09 4:54 PM CDT
(Newser) - A spate of suicides by workers at a French telecommunications company is prompting a meeting between the firm's CEO and France's labor minister, the BBC reports. Since last year, 23 employees of France Telecom have killed themselves; unions blame tough management practices, but the firm, which was privatized in 1998,... More »

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suicide • France • labor • telecom • labor unions • labor relations

Federal Court Ruling
Shakes Up Cable Industry

FCC limit doesn't take into account other sources of competition, court rules

Aug 28, 09 2:42 PM CDT
(Newser) - In a decision that could revolutionize the communications industry, a federal appeals court has struck down an FCC rule prohibiting a cable TV company from serving more than 30% of the market, Reuters reports. The court declared the rule "arbitrary and capricious,” noting that cable operators face competition... More »

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Congress • Comcast • FCC • Cablevision • US Court of Appeals • antitrust • sattelite • telecom • Cox Communications • Charter Communications

(Newser) - 3G landed in the US in 2003. But it wasn’t until the iPhone came around five years later that “consumers finally had a device that showed them the power of mobile broadband networks,” Stephanie N. Mehta writes in Fortune. In fact, "a few executives at... More »

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Verizon • telecom • Sprint Nextel • smartphones • 3G wireless networks • wireless industry • mobile devices • hype • 4G wireless networks

(Newser) - AT&T pledged to spend $565 million to replace its current vehicle fleet with models that run on alternative fuels, the Detroit Free Press reports. The firm will buy over 15,000 hybrid and natural-gas-powered cars, mainly from Ford. AT&T billed the move as not only environmentally responsible but... More »

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alternative energy • Ford • telecom • trucks • hybrid car • natural gas • AT&T

Skype Plans Voicemail-to-Text Service

Users will fork
over 25 cents
per message

Mar 3, 09 9:19 AM CST
(Newser) - Internet-telephone firm Skype will offer a service that converts voice messages into texts in any one of four languages, the company plans to announce today. But at 25 cents per text message—and with long voicemails running up to three texts—users’ costs could add up. And if a poor... More »

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Internet • communication • telecom • text message • Skype • voicemail

ANALYSIS

AT&T Layoffs Just the Beginning of Telecom Pain

Reduced consumer spending will result in cycles of layoffs and decreased capital expenditure

Dec 5, 08 1:59 PM CST
(Newser) - AT&T’s elimination of 12,000 jobs is just the beginning of cutbacks that will radiate throughout the telecom industry, BusinessWeek reports. As pinched consumers cut back on communication spending, job and capital-expenditure reductions will only continue. One surprising statistic shows how consumers are downsizing telecom budgets: The fastest-growing... More »

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cell phones • iPhone • telecom • subscription • revenue • AT&T • financial crisis

Service Lets Callers Dodge Conversation

Slydial users can sneak a message straight onto voicemail

Aug 2, 08 7:04 AM CDT
(Newser) - A new phone service is a hit with people who want to make a phone call without actually talking to anybody, the New York Times reports. Slydial allows users to skip directly to leaving a message on voicemail without the recipient realizing they have an incoming call. Users say the... More »

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cell phones • communication • telecom • phone service • voicemail • telephone

EARNINGS

Alcatel-Lucent CEO, Chair to Quit After 6th Straight Loss

6th straight quarterly loss for troubled telecom giant

Jul 29, 08 6:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - Patricia Russo, the CEO who led the merger of Alcatel-Lucent, will step down by the end of the year after the troubled telecom giant released yet another grim quarterly report, posting a net loss of $1.73 billion. That figure was much larger than analysts had predicted, and almost double... More »

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France • CEO • earnings reports • telecom • Patricia Russo • telecommunications • Alcatel Lucent

 Skype Pushes Video Calls 

Version 4.0 will make seeing who you're talking to more integral

Jun 18, 08 1:06 PM CDT
(Newser) - The newest version of Skype is designed to make video calls easier and more widespread. Skype 4.0, which begins public testing today, detects bandwidth and attached devices to make it simpler to use a computer to add video to calls, Reuters reports. Skype's president says that the resolution of... More »

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Internet • telecom • Skype • VOIP • IP telephony

Mukasey Open to Spy Bill Deal

AG calls for 'creative' solution to debate on phone company lawsuits

Mar 21, 08 8:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - The nation's top lawman welcomed a deal today on a stalled federal spy bill, Reuters reports. “If somebody has some brilliantly creative compromise, I'm happy to hear that,” Attorney General Michael Mukasey said. A recent House bill would allow lawsuits against phone companies that gave records to Washington,... More »

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Senate • telecom • FISA • Michael Mukasey • warrantless wiretapping • House Democrats • telecommunications companies

Wireless Tech Leaps Forward ... on Balloons

Flying 'towers' could revolutionize rural Internet, cell use; Google interested

Feb 20, 08 11:22 AM CST
(Newser) - A decidedly whimsical business model could bring wireless Internet and cell service to wide swaths of rural America, slinging signals from balloons drifting toward the edge of space. Don’t scoff—the system is already providing services for truckers and oil companies, courtesy of Space Data Corp., and Google is... More »

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Google • Internet • telecom • hot air balloon • WiFi • municipal wireless • rural America • Space Data Corp.

At Cell Phone Trade Show, Eyes on Google

But company keeps low profile as it pushes phone software

Feb 14, 08 1:06 PM CST
(Newser) - At this week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Google kept to the shadows, holding meetings away from the crowds as it pursued its telecom future. But its presence was everywhere as companies discussed Android, Google’s new phone platform, the New York Times reports. Android faces resistance from phone... More »

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Google • telecom • Barcelona • cell phone industry • Google Android • Mobile World Congress • LiMo

Congress Torn on Telecom Immunity

Senate panel
sidesteps; House passes bill without it

Nov 16, 07 7:48 AM CST
(Newser) - Congress is conflicted over proposed immunity laws that would retroactively protect telecoms from suits alleging they illegally handed the government information on calls. The Senate Intelligence Committee endorsed immunity 13-2 last month, but the Judiciary Committee left the immunity section out of the document it approved yesterday. The House passed... More »

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Senate • Senate Judiciary Committee • domestic intelligence • Patrick Leahy • domestic surveillance • telecom • Senate Intelligence Committee • warrantless wiretapping

Comcast Sued Over File-Sharing Interference

Telecom giant says it slows high-volume users to protect wider network

Nov 15, 07 7:33 AM CST
(Newser) - A subscriber has sued Comcast for slowing file-sharing activities after an AP report last month showed that the nation's largest cable company falsely signals file-sharing software that the network connection has dropped. The man alleges that Comcast misleads consumers by claiming it offers "mind-blowing" speeds and "unfettered access"... More »

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Comcast • FCC • file sharing • telecom

Cable, Telcos Killing US
Web Success
Says Pundit

Sees broadband providers' Luddite attitudes stifling growth, innovation

Oct 22, 07 11:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - Comcast’s recent disabling of big file uploads could lay waste to Silicon Valley’s media complex, says SiliconValleyWatcher’s Tom Foremski, injuring or killing Web 2.0 companies like YouTube or Facebook. Comcast's insistence that it isn’t contractually obligated to provide those companies’ services, he argues, is the... More »

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Google • YouTube • Comcast • cable TV • broadband Internet • Facebook • digital downloads • telecom • net neutrality • BitTorrent • telecommunications • web services

Dodd to Block Telecom Immunity

Vows to keep bill shielding carriers from coming to a vote

Oct 19, 07 6:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - Dem presidential hopeful Chris Dodd said yesterday he will place a “hold” on a bill that would grant retroactive immunity to telecom companies who handed over phone records to the feds without warrants. The White House and the Senate Intelligence Committee had made a deal to clear carriers Wednesday,... More »

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telecom • Chris Dodd • FISA

AT&T Stops Time (of Day)

Americans no longer calling in to hear the right time

Aug 29, 07 6:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - Californians are saying goodbye to a more genteel era, a time when they used to set clocks by calling in to AT&T for the correct hour. Cell phones and computers have made the service outdated, the company says. “Times change,” says a spokesman. “There are just... More »

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California • telecom • AT and T • Nevada • Jane Barbe • time

AT&T to Shift
All Ad Work
to 1 Agency

Five firms currently handle telecom titan's $3.3B budget

Aug 28, 07 4:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - AT&T plans to turn its decentralized media buying and planning over to one advertising agency, and the five incumbents are in the running for the business, which Advertising Age values at $3.345 billion for 2006. The telecom giant, the second-largest advertiser in the nation, says it is “... More »

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advertising • telecom • Cingular • AT and T • BellSouth

Ex-Qwest CEO Gets 6 Years

Nacchio's insider-trading penalty includes paying $71M

Jul 27, 07 5:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - Qwest's former CEO was sentenced to 6 years in prison today for engaging in insider trading while the company's stock plummeted. Joseph Nacchio committed "crimes of overarching greed,'' a federal judge in Denver said as he fined him $19 million in addition to the $52 million he must... More »

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prison • Qwest • Joseph Nacchio • insider trading • telecom • sentencing • scandal

Mr. Slim Is New Global Fat Cat

Mexican telecom
chief Carlos Slim beats Bill Gates as world's richest man

Jul 4, 07 7:11 AM CDT
(Newser) - Move over, Bill Gates. The Microsoft founder, who has  been the world's richest individual for a decade, has lost his lofty perch to a little-known Mexican telecom tycoon, Carlos Slim, the Guardian reports.  His wealth has been estimated at $67.8 billion compared with $59.2 billion for Gates. More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bill Gates • Carlos Slim • America Movil • telecom • billionaire

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