Google has made two very interesting moves this week. The first was to close Lively, the company’s version of Second Life. The second was to launch SearchWiki, or personalised search results. On the surface, these don’t look related. Closing the virtual world Lively might look like a simple investment call, but Google hardly has to worry [...]

The telecom industry, to borrow a campaign trail phrase from VP-elect Joe Biden, girding its loins for a new age of increased regulation. New congressional leadership and incoming policy makers in the Obama administration are expected to crack the whip on media consolidation and net neutrality.

Key players on Capitol Hill will be Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.)and Representative Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), both of whom will be chairing the respective committees overseeing telecommunications issues. Hailing from rural West Virginia, Rockefeller is expected to favor policies for universal access. He is also expected to push legislation giving the FCC the authority to regulate television violence.

On the House side, Waxman is expected to focus on energy and health care, delegating most telecom issues to Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.). The longtime top Democrat on the House's telecom subcommittee is expected to cut loose on net neutrality

Other players worth watching are Senators Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine).

For more:
- WSJ reports today on new activist leadership in Congress

Related articles
Rockfeller set to rock telecom?
We don't need no Internet regulation, say telcos - FierceTelecom
Telecom's fingers in Obama transition team - FierceTelecom

Dell Inc, the world's No. 2 PC maker, posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit Thursday as cost cuts offset lower revenue, sending its shares up about 6 percent.

The following list includes venture capital and other investments into wireless companies announced during the past week. The value of the investment is included when available.

Twitpay! Tweet someone some money! I was very skeptical at first and still am. Executionally this is rather neat. Another example of the Twitter community developing a full set of trading tools. (tags: twitter paypal trust mashup) Soft Phones: An Opportunity For Someone Picked up via Andy Abramson this rant by Michael Graves on the state of soft [...]

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Clearwire shareholders decided Thursday it would be a good thing to collect $3.2 billion from Google, Intel, Comcast, Time Warner and team up with Sprint to build a new national high-speed wireless network, says the Kansas City Star. “Today, our shareholders have taken a transformative step toward enabling an entirely new mobile Internet experience for consumers [...]

U.S. broadband prices need to be pushed down by at least 25 percent and typical speeds need to be increased dramatically to catch up to countries such as France and Japan, according to a new report from Consumers Union and the Consumer Federation of America. Titled “Broadband in America: A Policy of Neglect is Not Benign,” the study calls on the incoming Obama administration and Congress to pursue policies to help prevent overcharging, blocking and discrimination against consumers and small businesses on the Internet. Consumers Union is the sponsor of this blog.

T-Mobile USA today said it’s adding Yahoo!’s oneSearch, customizable home pages and a new shopping store to its smartphones and feature phones alike.

Bad news from Nokia, Dell and the chip sector

Yesterday, Verizon announced its new content distribution strategy, using Velocix caching solutions and focusing on delivery to their own customers more so than the rest of the internet. And yet, the more I think about it, the more I think this is less about the CDN business than it is about the other elephant [...]

The Finnish phone maker's chief designer discusses his inspirations and what's next.

The much anticipated iPhone competitor from RIM finally arrives on Verizon's 3G …

Really? For an ad-based business model?

T-Mobile beat AT&T’s newly formed emerging devices business to the punch today with the debut of its first digital frame, Cameo. The frame comes equipped with its own cellular modem to receive photos direct from any mobile handset, which also means it get its own phone number, email address and expensive service plan.

The chip everyone's talking …

Just a reminder that we are having Tech Tuesday this coming week, on the 18th of November, at 5:30pm. It's at the Skellig Irish Pub again. This is in Waltham, MA, close to 128 and right near the commuter rail that comes from Porter Square. While they serve beer and stuff, like other restaurants all ages are allowed in. Admission is FREE and students are encouraged to attend, too, to mingle with each other, potential employers, and "seasoned" veterans and potential mentors. See the Event Sign Up page for a list of some of the people coming and to sign up (though you can just show up, too).

I’m honored to be named as co-leader of the FCC review team for the Obama-Biden Transition Project, along with the wonderful and brilliant Susan Crawford.  (Yes, “Ken Werbach” is me — I’m working on getting the typo fixed on the website.) The FCC has a vital role to play in the nascent Network Age. During the [...]

Live to tape: Look at what is happening right now (when we taped this)

Japanese giant NTT DoCoMo is buying a 26% stake in Indian operator Tata Teleservices for $2.7 …

Two thoughts to highlight how far we still have to go with developing the voice and messaging offering of telcos.

First, I’m reading a bedtime story to my kids. Maybe I’d like to share that experience with other members of my circle of nearest and dearest. I could easily plonk my mobile in front of me and call them on speakerphone. But I don’t for fear of using up these valuable ‘minute’ things on a Sunday evening. Rationed scarcity, not abundance, driven by termination fees.

Second, instead of ‘Push to talk’, why not ‘Push to listen’. Let’s say that I’m happy to allow selected people to listen in (for up to 30 seconds, perhaps) on what’s going on in my house before calling. Then they can judge whether it’s in the middle of a behavioural meltdown among my offspring (“It’s MINE; no SHE TOOK IT OFF ME!”); or maybe it’s so quiet the younger one just must be asleep. Each such instance of listening in is notified to me, and furthermore the audio is recorded and sent to me so I know exactly what was heard. It’s presence, Jim, but not as we know it.

Posted by Martin Geddes at 08:02 PM

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Enjoy Telepocalypse? Then try Telco 2.0™: Making money in an IP world

We need to get past the very corrosive idea that the Internet works because the carriers know what's best for us. It's just the opposite -- it works despite their efforts. But as we see in this response to my further comments those who defend the carriers seem to find it necessary to attack the messenger rather than the message -- after all they insist they own the message.

Filed under: Handsets, HTC, T-Mobile, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, Android

Well, now isn't this something? Best Buy has its fancy little iPhone 3G, but it'll be Wally World offering up the G1 outside of official T-Mobile outlets. As we'd heard yesterday, 550 Walmart stores across the country will begin selling the Android-powered handset beginning tomorrow, and folks who opt to pick one up here versus a traditional T-Mob store will save $31.11. Yep -- according to company spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien, the new / upgrade-eligible customer price for a Walmart-sourced G1 will be just $148.88 with a 2-year agreement. Wait, what? You already purchased your G1 at the full price? They always said the early bird pays the premium... or something along those lines.

T-Mobile G1 coming to Walmart for $148.88 originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seems that the Associated Press has discovered Frontier Communications’ proposed ridiculously miniscule usage caps… Internet provider’s usage cap raises questions Additional commentary and links at BroadbandReports.com: Associated Press Discovers Cap Debate The only slim glimmer of hope for Frontier Communications customers is that there’s a rumor going around today that the company might be sold to Little Rock, Arkansas-based [...]

We’re pleased to announce that TeleTips Network is partnering with Telecom Voices, adding our voice to their coverage of Telecoms. Telecom Voices is a site dedicated to rebroadcasting blogs focused on Telecoms, allowing a wide diversity of Telecoms ideas to be found and read on a single web site. The posts of TeleTips [...]

TeleTips NetworkTeleTips Network Joining Forces with Telecom Voices

We’re pleased to announce that TeleTips Network is partnering with Telecom Voices, adding our voice to their coverage of Telecoms. Telecom Voices is a site dedicated to rebroadcasting blogs focused on Telecoms, allowing a wide diversity of …