Midwest Video Solutions – Bringing IPTV to Rural America and Beyond
Midwest Video Solutions
May 15, 2008

While large national telephone companies announce their rollouts of digital TV services in larger metropolitan areas, several rural Wisconsin independent telephone companies have been providing the leading edge triple-play combination of entertainment, information, and communication services to their residential and business customers for years.  Midwest Video Solutions provides IPTV head-end services to other telecommunications companies.

TDS Telecom to get United Way award for volunteerism
Capital Times
May 29, 2008

TDS Telecommunications Corp. has been chosen to receive the United Way 2008 Community Volunteer Business Award.  United Way President Leslie Ann Howard will present the award to TDS President and CEO Dave Wittwer at a ceremony at TDS.  Each year the United Way of Dane County recognizes one area business for its volunteerism efforts.  In 2007, more than 500 TDS employees volunteered more than 6,000 hours and helped more than 30 local groups.

More news: TDS Telecom acquires Mosinee Telephone

Verizon uses line between trees to restore Lake Delton service
Capital Times
June 11, 2008

When Lake Delton overflowed Monday and excavated a path to the nearby Wisconsin River through what was a slice of land containing County A, it also tore out underground utility lines.  Local contractor Allen Steele and his workers stretched a temporary sewer line across the 200-yard breach on Tuesday, stopping the flow of raw sewage into the river.  Seeing what Steele had done, Verizon contacted him about restoring telecom services to about 450 customers who lost theirs when Verizon’s fiber-optic line was destroyed.

More news: Gov. Doyle Declares State of Emergency for 30 Wisconsin Counties  Gov. Doyle Requests FEMA Assistance

Done deal: Verizon (Wireless) will buy Alltel for $28B
USA Today
June 5, 2008

Verizon Communications said Thursday that its Verizon Wireless unit has sealed the deal to buy Alltel, the USA’s No. 5 wireless carrier, for about $28 billion.  The agreement calls for a cash payment of $5.9 billion and Verizon Wireless to assume $22.2 billion in debt, Verizon says.  The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, pending regulatory approvals.  The deal gives Verizon Wireless more than 80 million customers, easily eclipsing AT&T to take the No. 1 spot.

More news: Wireless rivalry may intensify as Verizon (Wireless) bids to buy Alltel  Alltel stands strong as rivals gobble spectrum

Mahaska Communication Group Selects Computer Systems Billing Software/Solutions
Computer Systems
June 3, 2008

Mahaska Communication Group (MCG) of Oskaloosa, Iowa, recently selected Computer Systems, LLC (CSLLC) as its new billing vendor.  CSLLC will be providing MCG with Retail and CABS billing services.  After an extensive evaluation of CSLLC’s software and services MCG determined they were the right choice based on the stability they offer their customers.  CSLLC has been providing telecommunications services since 1969.

Communications Data Group Announces Two New Products
Communications Data Group
May 23, 2008

Communications Data Group, Inc. (CDG) recently announced the addition of an independent Mediation module and an application that can identify wireless originating Inter-MTA usage that is eligible for CABS billing.  CDG’s stand-alone Mediation module allows customization of business rules used to filter, edit and rate call detail records.  CDG’s Wireless Access Billing Module is a service that can correctly identify terminating Inter-MTA wireless usage that is valid for CABS billing.

Falcon IP/Complete deploys Thomson’s end-to-end IPTV systems
Falcon IP/Complete
April 12, 2008

Falcon IP/Complete has deployed Thomson’s end-to-end IPTV solutions with two new customers – Adak, a local telecom operator in Alaska and Magazine Telephone Company, a local exchange operator in Arkansas.  The new deployments by Falcon feature end-to-end IPTV solutions from Thomson including NetProcessors and ViBE MPEG-4 encoders from its video head-end range, SmartVision service management platforms with video-on-demand servers and IP set-top boxes and DSL gateways for consumer premises.

Michels Corporation Ranks High Among Top Contractors
Michels Corporation
June 3, 2008

Michels Corporation has been honored with a new ranking by Engineering News-Record (ENR), a leading U.S. trade publication for the construction industry.  ENR’s Top 400 Contractors list has ranked Michels Corporation number 64 among the nation’s top contractors.  A big jump from last year’s ranking of 93.  Companies were ranked according to their construction revenue for the year 2007.  The company has a record-setting year in revenues hovering around $900 million.

More news: Dwyer Named New VP of Michels Power

Wisconsin’s Local Telephone Companies Award Scholarships
WSTA
June 10, 2008

The Wisconsin State Telecommunications Foundation (WSTF) has issued annual scholarship award totaling $46,500 to 33 students statewide.  Since 1966, the Foundation has awarded a total of $1,049,200 to 849 students.  From 65 applicants, the Foundation awarded 27 scholarships of $1,500 each to graduating high school students throughout the state, plus six scholarships of $750 each to first-year students attending Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College’s Electronics Telecommunications Program.

WSTA Announces Bi-Partisan Excellence in Leadership Awards
WSTA
June 6, 2008

On Wednesday, May 21, 2008, the Wisconsin State Telecommunications Association (WSTA) proudly presented Sen. Jeff Plale (D-South Milwaukee) and Rep. Phil Montgomery (R-Ashwaubenon) with their Excellence in Legislative Leadership Awards for the 2007-2008 Biennial Legislative Session.  The lawmakers received the awards while attending WSTA’s 98^th Annual Convention in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.  Rep. Montgomery received the award for the second time and Sen. Plale was a first-time recipient.

Big telecoms decry high costs of ‘traffic-pumping’
USA Today
June 6, 2008

AT&T says schemes that route adult chat and other calls made by its customers to rural phone numbers are costing it hundreds of millions of dollars and may force it to raise the price of its $55 unlimited-calling plan.  With rural phone carriers able to charge high rates to connect calls to their networks, AT&T, the nation’s largest phone company, says the ploys cost it $250 million last year.  The FCC did crack down on the rural phone companies last summer, but a new brand of rural competitors is skirting the constraints.

More news: Fiber optics is the future, city (Madison) officials told  Next-gen Internet will create bigger digital divide  Study: Internet has small influence on consumers

FCC tackles NFL Network on new rules
Capital Times
May 27, 2008

The odds of a breakthrough in the bitter battle between the NFL Network and the major cable companies appear as bleak as ever.  Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin has indicated that he won’t attempt to adopt rules that could help the NFL Network prevail in its carriage dispute with Comcast Corp., the nation’s largest cable company.  A deal with Comcast generally is seen by analysts as something that would happen before NFL Network would make deals with other major cable companies.

More news: Most Comcast Web service to top 100 Mbps by 2010  Comcast to test new way to manage Internet jams  Hackers took over Comcast portal

FCC’s free broadband plan on hold
USA Today
June 6, 2008

A plan by the nation’s top telecommunications regulator to provide free wireless high-speed Internet service hit a snag this week over concerns about possible interference and a proposed censoring feature that upset free speech advocates.  Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin told The Associated Press on Thursday that the plan will not be voted on at the June 12 meeting as first proposed, but he hopes to present it to the full commission in July.

More news: FCC ponders free high-speed Internet network plan  Tech columnist lambasts FCC chair over lagging U.S. broadband  Starbucks offers new flavor: Free Wi-Fi

Time Warner may eye Charter, report says
Capital Times
June 10, 2008

Pali Research media analyst Richard Greenfield last week speculated that once Time Warner Cable completes its split from parent Time Warner Inc. it could set its sights on Charter Communications.  Greenfield, one of the nation’s most highly regarded cable analysts, wrote in a report that he didn’t expect a Time Warner bid for Charter until at least middle-to-late 2009 – the Time Warner split is scheduled to be completed at the end of this year.  Charter officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the report.

More news: Cable companies ramping up Web, HD, mobile service  Two New Applicants for Wisconsin Video Franchises

Charter to track customer browsing; pilot program outside Wisconsin
Capital Times
May 15, 2008

Charter Communications is preparing to begin testing a program under which it will track the browsing habits of its high-speed Internet customers in order to send them targeted ads, providing a new revenue stream for the company, but raising privacy concerns.  Customers can opt out of receiving the targeted ads by going to Charter’s Web site and installing an opt-out cookie, but the cookie doesn’t stop the tracking of online usage.

More news: Charter is dropping cable deal with Madison; Madison City Channel, WYOU could move to triple digits  Charter honors local small businesses

No-call registry expands to cells
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
June 6, 2008

Starting today, cell phone users for the first time will be able to add their numbers to the state’s popular do-not-call list.  The addition of cell phone numbers to the no-call list was part of the budget repair bill signed last month by Gov. Jim Doyle.  Residents have until the end of August to be added to the list, and a new list will be provided to telemarketing companies in October.  About 1.1 million landlines are already on the Wisconsin list, but the state doesn’t know yet how many cell phone users will add their numbers.

More news: Sen. Erpenbach: Cell Phone Do Not Call Sign Up Begins Today  DATCP: No Call accepting cell phones

Slower cell phone growth in USA could bring good deals
USA Today
May 30, 2008

After years of go-go growth, the number of people signing up for cell phone service in the USA is finally slowing.  That could spell good news for consumers as carriers turn up the marketing heat, says Craig Moffett, a senior analyst at Bernstein Research and author of a report documenting the trend.  The wireless industry added 23% fewer subscribers in the first quarter this year than it did last year.  The overall growth rate – how fast the total is growing – dropped from 7.9% to 11.5%.

More news: Study: Teen drivers ignore cell phone laws  AT&T to invest $20M more in state wireless network  Vodafone returns to profit; CEO Sarin to step down

It’s presto, change-o as new iPhone is unveiled
USA Today
June 9, 2008

Wouldn’t it be cool if you could use your cell phone to monitor activities in your home, say, to zoom in for an audio/video check of the baby’s room while you were at work, or even adjust the heat?  Such concepts are not pie in the sky, but actual programs that have been developed for Apple’s iPhone, the combination iPod/phone and Internet device first introduced to acclaim a year ago.  According to sources, the new Apple device will be available in Apple and AT&T stores beginning this summer.

More news: iPhone hype begins again  Second-generation iPhone picks up speed  New iPhone’s business model is tough on unlockers

Are Google, Yahoo the next dinosaurs?
USA Today
June 10, 2008

Charles Darwin famously declared that “natural selection” was Mother Nature’s way of improving a species so it could advance.  Internet search engines are locked in their own Darwinian drama.  Depending how it turns out, desktop brands such as Google and Yahoo could become sturdier versions of themselves, ensuring survival as more people bolt for the mobile Web.  Or they could become the Dodo birds of the Net – outclassed by a new generation of rivals.

More news: Yahoo facing possible trial before Icahn showdown  Icahn letter pressures Yahoo to set sale priceCarl Icahn steps up campaign to oust Yahoo board  Google makes health service available to public

Wisconsin falls from ranks of top 10 highest-taxed states
Wisconsin State Journal
May 28, 2008

For the first time in nearly a generation, Wisconsin has fallen out of the ranks of the top 10 highest-taxed states in the nation, two independent researchers have found.  Measured as a share of the money residents earn, Wisconsin’s state and local taxes dropped to eleventh in the nation in 2006 – the latest year for which data are available – down from eighth in 2005 and sixth in 2004.  The last time Wisconsin ranked out of the top 10 was in 1980.

More news: (Gov.) Doyle boosts spending cuts  Assembly fails in override bid  Election fight centers on western Wisconsin