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from: Gotham Gazette

Expanding Wi-Fi Beyond Manhattan
by Joshua Breitbart
08 Jan 2008

Municipal wireless may be struggling in other cities, but New York City's Wi-Fi cloud is growing steadily. In addition to the fee-based access points in Starbucks, McDonald's and other venues, various civic groups continue to deploy wireless hotspots in parks, apartment buildings and lower-income neighborhoods. Late last year, CBS announced it would start offering an advertising-supported wireless Internet service in a tourist-heavy swath of Midtown. But there are many steps the city could take to promote these efforts, especially as it works to promote Internet access across the five boroughs.

from: Capital Times

Gov should have vetoed cable bill

An editorial — 1/07/2008 9:59 am

Gov. Jim Doyle recognized that Assembly Bill 207, the plan to restructure cable regulations to favor AT&T and other big telecom companies, was flawed legislation.

That recognition led Doyle to veto substantial portions of the proposal that was crafted by AT&T lobbyists and that critics say was advanced by Republicans in the Assembly and Democrats in the Senate in order to satisfy the demands of big campaign donors.

from: Blogging Broadband

Comcast Deadline to Respond to Chairman Dingell Approaches

Within hours, Comcast is expected to respond to Representative John Dingell’s December 21, 2007 letter which asked the company to postpone its plan to migrate public, educational, and government (”PEG”) access channels to the company’s digital tier. Representative Dingell is Chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, and may well be the most experienced member of Congress on cable issues. Nevertheless, I fear that Comcast will proceed with its plan.

from: Times Herald

Comcast risks its commitment to public access

The Blue Water Area Chamber of Commerce sent the following letter to Brian Roberts, Comcast's president and chief executive officer, in response to the announcement of its plans to eliminate PEG channels on the basic package for Comcast subscribers:

from: NY Daily News

City to hold hearings for cable watchers

BY FRANK LOMBARDI
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Friday, January 4th 2008, 4:00 AM

The city is giving cable television viewers a rare opportunity to make some static about the service they get from providers.

from: Lansing State Journal

Tim Skubick: Cable giant holds reins
Comcast's shift on local access reflects the times

Admittedly picking on the cable TV industry is easy. What other industry can routinely tell its customers to wait at home for a month for the repair guy to show up?

from: Broadcasting and Cable

Investors File Suit Against Comcast
Cable Operator Accused of Inflating Stock Price with Misleading Statements
By Jon Hemingway -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/4/2008 4:54:00 PM

Two class-action suits were slapped on Comcast this week accusing the company of issuing statements about performance that resulted in its stock being “artificially inflated” and “overvalued.”

from: Paul Gardner - via Free Press

Minnesota Video Franchise Bill in Legislature

From State Rep. Paul Gardiner (Minn.), January 4, 2008

[Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from Rep. Paul Gardiner (Minn. D-53).]

Town hall meeting: With the legislative session coming up on February 12th, Senator Rummel and I will be holding a town hall meeting to meet with constituents on Wednesday, January 23rd at 7:00 p.m. at Lino Lakes City Hall. Directions are on the home page of the Lino Lakes web site.

from: Portland Press Herald

Verizon sale to FairPoint approved PUC
Vermont and New Hampshire regulators and the FCC must give
their approvals for the sale to become final.

By TUX TURKEL, Staff Writer January 4, 2008

AUGUSTA — The Maine Public Utilities Commission voted late
Thursday to approve the sale of Verizon's telephone network in

from: Union Network

"Connect Ohio" Project Embraces CWA's Speed Matters Campaign

- Labour news from UNI global union - for trade unions in a global services economy.

Determined to bring high-speed internet access to all of Ohio, CWA's District 4 has helped launch a private-public partnership in the state that will identify underserved areas and build coalitions to attract investment. Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland announced the program, called Connect Ohio, this week at a news conference attended by CWA District 4 Vice President Seth Rosen, as well as members of the telecom industry.