FairPoint Communications (Nasdaq: FRP) has allocated $6.6 million to extend broadband DSL service to 19 rural communities in Vermont.

Among the unserved portions that will be targeted by this latest build are: Bethel, Bradford, Brownington, Chelsea, Corinth, Dummerston, Eden, Fairlee, Guilford, Johnson, Pittsfield, Readsboro, Thetford, Vershire, Washington, West Fairlee and Weston.  

Upon completion the service provider said 3,200 of its phone service subscribers in Vermont will be able to have a DSL connection, with 70 percent of that group being able to access speeds of 7 Mbps or higher. Of course, the reality is that actual delivered speeds will depend on how far they are from the Central Office (CO).

Mike Smith, FairPoint state president for Vermont, said in order to support its broadband roll out in Vermont it "has connected more Vermonters to broadband, spending nearly $90 million and adding more than 1,100 miles of new fiber."

This new build is part of an agreement the telco reached with the Vermont Public Service Board that allows it to redirect penalties assessed from 2008, 2009 and 2010 towards investing in expanding availability of broadband service in the state.  

Last July, the telco said it had reached about 90 percent broadband penetration to its telephone customers in Vermont, and that it offers broadband service to over 83 percent of its telephone customers in Maine and over 85 percent in New Hampshire.

However, some residents in their Vermont footprint remain skeptical of FairPoint's move. One reader on WCAX-TV's website in Burlington, Vt. believes that users won't get anywhere near a 1 Mbps connection neer mind 7 Mbps.  

"Do you know what the state's definition of broadband is? It is 760 Kbps download and 200 Kbps upload," the reader commented. "Yes that's a 'k.' If you want to talk Megabits that is: .760mps and .200mps. You may not see it but there is a decimal point in front of these last 2 numbers. And guess what speed your DSL is going to work? It's hardly worth upgrading to these rates in this day and age."

For more:
- see the release
- WCAX News has this article

Special report: ILECs grew video, business and broadband power in Q1 2012

Related articles:
FairPoint's Q1 2012 revenue stabilizes as broadband, Ethernet services grow
FairPoint extends its Vermont broadband reach, but is it enough to satisfy customers?
FairPoint offers early retirement deals to Vermont call center workers
FairPoint gets approval to redirect Vermont penalty payments to broadband expansion
FairPoint gains regulatory relief for service pricing in Vermont

Source:Fierce Telecom

Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) CEO Lowell McAdam on Thursday urged the Senate to ratify the international Law of the Sea Treaty, arguing that doing so would help provide U.S. carriers clarified rules for building and repairing underwater telecom cables.

McAdam

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), as it is formally known, sets rules for the use of marine natural resources. It was signed in 1982 and came into force in 1994, but was never ratified by the United States.

According to the United Nations, 162 countries and the European Community have signed the UNCLOS treaty.

"Senate ratification of the Convention will provide confidence to U.S. companies that their undersea submarine cable investments are protected by more specific and reliable international law," McAdam told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in remarks prepared for delivery.

Verizon relies on 38 undersea cables to for voice, Internet and video data delivery, McAdam said, noting that in 2007, commercial vessels from Vietnam damaged active, international cables in Southeast Asia.

The result, he said: the two affected cables were out of service for about three months, over 106 miles of cable were removed from the seabed and repaired, at a cost of over $7 million.

"It would have been very helpful if the United States, Verizon and other affected U.S. companies had been able to use the Convention to compensate cable owners, arbitrate disputes over service disruptions, and deter future violations," McAdam testified.

McAdam testified at the June 28 hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Thomas Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Jack Gerard, president of the American Petroleum Institute; and Jay Timmons, president of the National Association of Manufacturers.

Critics have warned that ratifying the treaty might compromise U.S. sovereignty, ceding power to the United Nations. Specifically, they argue that the treaty could restrict international movement by the U.S. Navy. Moreover, joining the convention could limit U.S. businesses' access to ocean mineral resources, by agreeing to allow the International Seabed Authority to decide access rights.

The U.S. Chamber rejects the notion U.S. sovereignty would be compromised.

"This treaty promotes our sovereignty, by codifying our property rights in the Arctic and on our extended continental shelf," Donohue told the committee. "It will be ours, people will know it's ours, and we'll have every right to defend it."

Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) said he is calling for the treaty's ratification amid support from U.S. businesses, including leaders in the telecom, oil and gas, and manufacturing sectors.

"Our companies want this treaty, simply bottom line, because it affects their bottom lines," Kerry said in a statement. "Our failure to join the Treaty actually forces them to look elsewhere–greater expense, greater uncertainty, and lack of protection of American sovereignty. The status quo is simply not acceptable."

U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, too, has voiced his support for ratification, Foreign Policy reported.

In addition to Verizon, ratification is supported by AT&T (NYSE: T) as well as the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA).

For more:
 - read the  UNCLOS Treaty text
 - read McAdam's written testimony
 - read Kerry's statement
 - see the Foreign Policy article

Related articles:
Submarine cabling boom drives down bandwidth prices in high cost regions
Japan-U.S. Cable Network selects Ciena's 100G equipment for upgrade

Source:Fierce Telecom

The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning enforcement of the Federal Communications Commission's indecency regulation reaches beyond the broadcast industry into the telecom sector.

Augustino

That's because in the June 21 ruling on FCC v. Fox Television Stations, the high court, in reversing penalties against broadcasters for so-called fleeting expletives and partial nudity, set a "high bar" for FCC enforcement under the Communications Act, thus affecting actions dealing with common-carrier regulation.

Specifically, the narrow, procedural Supreme Court ruling appears to limit regulators' ability to fine carriers for violations of Section 201(b) of the Communications Act, which bars unjust and unreasonable practices, including cramming and nefarious marketing of prepaid calling cards.

"Fox Television will significantly constrain the FCC's ability to impose fines in 201(b) cases, at least in the absence of clear FCC rules defining the conduct required or prohibited," Steve Augustino, partner at Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, opined in a client note.

The decision, he explained, placed in doubt over $35 million in forfeitures proposed by the five-member, independent commission.

In FCC v. Fox Television Stations, the Supreme Court held that the FCC's decency rules– specifically, 18 U.S.C. §1464–failed under the due process clause, ruling Fox was not guilty of "indecency" over fleeting instances of vulgarity or nudity because the FCC had not given the broadcasters fair notice the content aired was, in fact, indecent.

The unanimous decision–by Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy–upheld an appeals court ruling that rejected the FCC's indecency regulations as unconstitutionally vague.

"Regulated parties should know what is required of them," Kennedy wrote, "so they may act accordingly; and precision and guidance are necessary so that those enforcing the law do not act in an arbitrary or discriminatory way."

He added: "A fundamental principle in our legal system is that laws which regulate persons or entities must give fair notice of conduct that is forbidden or required,"in the 17-page opinion.

The justices–by deciding the case on due-process grounds–did not address the First Amendment arguments presented to the court.

The case stems from two incidents involved Fox's live broadcasts of Billboard Music Awards shows in 2002 and 2003 in which Cher and Nicole Richie, respectively, uttered apparently impromptu fleeting expletives during the shows. In the third incident, an ABC broadcast of "NYPD Blue" included brief female nudity.  

ABC and 45 affiliates were hit with proposed fines totaling over $1.2 million. Fox, however, was not fined and the commission said regulators would not take the matter into consideration for license renewal or in any other context.

"The Court found the possibility of increased penalties for future violations to render the FCC's action sufficiently punitive to implicate the Due Process clause," Augustino said. "The FCC has a similar authority in non-broadcast cases to consider a carrier's 'history of compliance' in setting a penalty.  

As a result, non-broadcast enforcement actions will be impacted, even if they do not impose monetary forfeitures."

Even so, Peter Gutmann, broadcast transactions and regulation partner at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, noted in his analysis of the case, the "strongly disapproving terms" in which the FCC described Fox's conduct "constituted 'reputational injury' with audiences and advertisers to which broadcasters necessarily are sensitive."

The Supreme Court'd decision upheld a July 2010 ruling in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, that the FCC's rule against fleeting expletives on the airwaves is arbitrary and capricious.

In a statement, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, a Democrat, said the Supreme Court ruling "appears to be narrowly limited to procedural issues related to actions taken a number of years ago. Consistent with vital First Amendment principles, the FCC will carry out Congress's directive to protect young TV viewers."

The FCC, in 2001, modified its decency policy, Industry Guidance on the Commission's Case Law Interpreting 18 U.S.C. §1464 and Enforcement Policies Regarding Broadcast Indecency (16 FCC Rcd. 7999, 8002).

The Supreme Court case is Federal Communications Commission, Petitioner v. Fox Television Stations, Respondent, Docket No. 10-1293.

For more:
 - read Augustino's analysis
 - read Gutmann's case note

Source:Fierce Telecom

600 million subs can't be wrong: Asia Pacific, led by China, is dominating the rapid increase in broadband subscribers, a number which globally surpassed 600 million in the first quarter of 2012, the Broadband Forum reports. More than 16.11 million lines were added during Q1, a 2.7 percent increase sequentially and an 11.48 percent jump over the same period last year. Broadband shows no signs of slowing down, Robin Mersh, CEO of the Broadband Forum, said in a statement from the Communicasia show in Singapore. "It is just 18 months since we celebrated the 500 million subscriber watershed and even less time since IPTV subscribers reached 50 million – yet in both cases growth is still accelerating." News release (PDF)

Smart home market catches consumer interest: New aspects to the smart home business model, such as entertainment, security monitoring, control, and health, will help drive this emerging market segment from a $25 billion market in 2012 to a $60 billion market by 2017, according to Juniper Research. And new service providers Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) will be able to play a major role in the evolution of the smart home. However, collaboration is the key to success. "Cable operators and broadband service providers have a major role to play as they have an existing billing relationship with the consumers," said Nitin Bhas, author of Juniper's latest report. "Bundling other features into existing services enable them to be in a much better position within the pyramid, compared to other new entrants".  News release

Streaming video a bandwidth juggernaut: Consumption of bandwidth due to streaming video by corporate organizations worldwide increased more than 300 percent between November 2011 and May 2012, Palo Alto Networks reports. The research firm conducted peer-to-peer (P2P) and streaming-video traffic assessments for 2,036 organizations worldwide. Compared to the last assessment period of April-November 2011, "total bandwidth consumed by streaming video quadrupled to 13% of all bandwidth on enterprise networks and now represents a more significant infrastructure challenge to organizations." YouTube, Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), and generic HTTP video were the top three bandwidth consumers in the Americas. Article

Source:Fierce Telecom

Hawaiian Telcom (Nasdaq: HCOM) has expanded its video-content library by striking a deal with the Universal Sports Network, enabling it to provide Olympic sports coverage to its TV customers in Oahu.

Beginning on June 29, Hawaiian Telcom's TV subscribers will be able to access Universal Sports content on Channel 90 and HD Channel 1090. It will enable customers a two-month free preview before it becomes incorporated as an exclusive element of its Advantage Plus TV package.

Its latest agreement with Universal Sports is part of the service provider's broader effort to enhance its TV lineup.

After initially launching its digital TV service last July, Hawaiian Telcom has added an additional 30 High Definition channels– like Universal Sports Network HD–and now delivers over 100 full-time HD channels.

Being still a relative newcomer in Hawaii's TV market, which had been traditionally dominated by Oceanic Time Warner Cable, Hawaiian Telcom needs to continue ramping up its offerings to lure subscribers.

While the telco is taking a careful approach to its IPTV build out, it is making progress with the service, increasing the number of paying subscribers and homes passed with the service.

As of the end of Q1 2012, it reported video revenues rose to $0.5 million up from $0.2 million in Q4 2011, a factor it said was driven by the doubling its subscriber base from 1,620 to 3,866. During the quarter, it also increased the number of homes passed from 27,400 to 41,200 and signed six new bulk multidwelling unit (MDU) contracts.

For more:
 - see the release (.pdf)

Special Report:  ILECs grew video, business and broadband power in Q1 2012

Related articles:
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Hawaiian Telcom migrates to Nasdaq Global Market

Source:Fierce Telecom

Colt (LSE: COLT) is taking charge of the European low-latency networking opportunity with its new Dublin to London route.

With a particular focus on serving Ireland's financial services and IT sectors, the European service provider claims it can maintain 4.267 milliseconds of latency between its nodes in London and Dublin, while providing improved resilience for connectivity up to 10G.

The new route is part of a broader network investment plan for Ireland. By the end of the year, Colt plans to complete an extension from Dublin to Cork, Ireland's second largest city.

Another potential advantage Colt has over other competitors looking to gain a foothold in the country is that it has over 250 buildings already connected to its European network. Having already built fiber into these buildings means those customers that have sites in other European countries can go to a single source for their services.  

While Dublin is home to a number of large financial institutions willing to pay a premium for low-latency services, Colt said it believes the new network investments will also benefit a number of multinational corporations, including San Jose, Calif.-based PayPal, which is expanding their global operations, and Ireland-based MNCs such as Ardagh Group.   

Broadening its capabilities in Ireland is just one part of Colt's European network investment plan. For this new route, it is leveraging the new Sea Fibre Networks cable, CeltixConnect and Infinera's DTN platform.

Gary Keogh, director at Colt Ireland, said, "Ireland is an exciting place for Colt because of the enormous success of its ICT sector which continues to grow, particularly in the Dublin area."

For more:
 - see the release

Related articles:
Hibernia Media, Colt strike broadcast services pact
VSG: AT&T, Level 3 raise global Ethernet profile, while Orange holds first place
Equinix adds Colt, GTS, Broadnet to European Ethernet exchange
Overture, Hatteras Networks merge to create a larger Ethernet aggregation, access vendor

Source:Fierce Telecom

AT&T (NYSE: T) is embroiled in a new content fight with AMC Networks (Nasdaq: AMCX), which wants to double the licensing fee to distribute AMC, WE tv and IFC content to U-verse TV subscribers.

While the service provider's contract with AMC expires on June 30, AT&T said it refuses to pay what it sees as an "excessive rate increase." AMC has seen the popularity of original programs such as "Breaking Bad," "Mad Men" and "The Walking."   

"AMC Networks is asking that AT&T pay nearly double what we believe other competitors pay–including a smaller-sized competitors. We believe the rates they are seeking are disproportionate compared to the viewership we see across their channels," AT&T said in a statement.

The service provider pays a licensing fee to AMC to provide IFC and WE tv channels to its U-verse subscribers.

This is not the first time AT&T has battled a content provider over fees, however. In August 2010, the service provider stopped carrying Hallmark channels, for example.

Besides AT&T, AMC is also embroiled in a content fight with satellite provider Dish Networks (Nasdaq: DISH) whose contract will also expire on June 30.

Conflicts between content owners and service providers have continued to erupt in recent years as content providers want higher fees while service providers want to reduce costs to provide content to their respective subscribers.

For more:
 - Reuters has this article
 - here's FierceCable's take

Related articles:
NCTC seals carriage deal for Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movie Channel
AT&T, Scripps agree to deal for HGTV, Food Network, GAC and more
AT&T pulls plug on Hallmark channels for U-verse subscribers

Source:Fierce Telecom

Terremark, Verizon's (NYSE: VZ) cloud and data center services unit, is again realigning its management team as company president Nelson Fonseca leaves the company.

Fonseca

Fonseca, who was appointed Terremark's president just last December, gave no reason for his departure other than to say he was looking for other opportunities.

Verizon decided the better way to run the Terremark unit will be to expand the roles of three of its high ranking executives that hold specific roles in the business versus looking for a new president.

John Considine, Terremark's CTO, who came to Terremark from its acquisition of CloudSwitch, will also now oversee architecture development for cloud and security products. Chris Drumgoole, Terremark's senior vice president of client services, will gains responsibility of all cloud and security product operations, while Barry Field, senior vice president for global sales, will drive sales for its cloud and security products.

There has been a number of management shifts since Verizon purchased Terremark last April, beginning with the departure of Manual Medina, the company's founder and president. Later, Verizon's Kerry Bailey became president of the unit until he was named as the chief marketing officer of Verizon's revamped global enterprise business unit.   

Regardless of the ongoing management changes, Terremark has continued to expand its domestic and international data center presence with recent expansions announced in key cities including Denver and London, as well as expansions in Brazil.

Despite seeing obvious losses in legacy voice and wholesale revenue, cloud and data center services were a major contributor to Verizon's overall global enterprise revenue base. During the quarter, the telco's global enterprise revenues rose 0.9 percent over Q1 2011 to $3.9 billion.

For more:
 - Network World has this article

Related articles:
Verizon's Terremark appoints Nelson Fonseca as new president
Terremark increases its cloud network capacity in London
Terremark ups its North American cloud capacity in the Denver market
Terremark ups data center presence in Brazil
Verizon Q1: Wireline revenue impacted by wholesale losses; gains in FiOS, enterprise services

Source:Fierce Telecom

Tellabs' (Nasdaq: TLAB) board has named Dan Kelly, the vendor's executive vice president of global products, as its acting president and CEO.

Kelly is temporarily taking over the reins from Rob Pullen, who is being treated for cancer, and recently had surgery.

Michael Birck, chairman of Tellabs, said in a letter to shareholders that Pullen "remains in the hospital in stable condition and is under continuing care for his recovery" and that "We all wish Rob a quick and full recovery."

Pullen previously announced on April 20 that he was diagnosed with colon cancer, but said his prognosis was good.

For more:
 - see the letter

Related articles:
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Source:Fierce Telecom

Windstream (Nasdaq: WIN) has secured a contract extension with John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, illustrating the ongoing momentum in the business services market.

Under the terms of the extended agreement, the telco will provide Internet support services to 44 hotels in addition to 29 other properties it currently serves.

The service provider oversees the hotel chain's wired and WiFi networks, providing necessary equipment and associated tech support.

At each location, Windstream supplies a number of capabilities to support, including wireless access points, switches, and other network equipment; remote monitoring; support calls; and resolving issues from its NOC.  

Being able to renew a contract with John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, one of the largest private, independent owner and manager of hotels, is another key proof point Windstream can cite as it builds its presence as the fourth largest business-centric service provider. Besides John Q. Hammons, the service provider recently secured other large business service contracts with the Richmond, Va. school district and Pratt Industries.  

Not content to follow the herd, Windstream has been building its own business service unit organically and through smaller, yet targeted, acquisitions such as Q-Comm and Paetec, a strategy that's proving to bode good results for the once voice-centric rural service provider. In Q1 2012, it reported that business services rose 3.2 percent to $897 million. 

For more:
- see the release

Special report: ILECs grew video, business and broadband power in Q1 2012

Related articles:
Windstream lights up 1G fiber network for Richmond, Va. school district
Windstream helps Pratt Industries be more productive with MPLS-based UC services
Windstream to lay off 375-400 employees in Q3
Windstream extends enterprise services to the Las Vegas market
Windstream steps up copper theft battle in Oklahoma with $25K reward

Source:Fierce Telecom