If the traditional media companies aren’t already nervous about the amazing rise of dot.com era superstars Google and Yahoo, they should be. And if the traditional business press isn’t worried about blogs, well, let’s hope they stay that way.
One of the biggest stories in the VoIP world today, namely that Yahoo is buying VoIP provider DialPad, was broken by Om Malik yesterday with Andy Abramson at VoIP Watch hot on his heels.
The Dialpad deal puts to rest (for now) any notion that Yahoo may buy Skype, but raises interesting questions about how Yahoo will relate to its broadband telco partners. SBC-Yahoo, for example, is the biggest DSL service in the U.S., and despite its ho-hum response to Yahoo’s purchase of a major VoIP provider, SBC has got to be a little wary of its portal partner.
Yahoo also announced today the purchase of blog aggregating company blo.gs, which, while little know in the general business world, is an up-and-coming blog search engine and a source of a lot of traffic to blogs, including this one.
We have to agree with Mark Evans that Yahoo’s phenomenal survival story is attributed to CEO Terry Semel, a former Hollywood chief who took over the helm at Yahoo in 2001 amid the widespread Internet implosion. Despite his lack of technology expertise, Semel has displayed uncanny instincts, straightforward assessments and endless hard work in preventing Yahoo from suffering the same fate as AOL or other dot.com disasters.
Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 5:25 PM | Print | Comments (0) | TrackBack
In an important franchising battle, the New York State PSC today ruled that Verizon does not need a local franchise for the construction of its fiber-to-the-premises network. In its decision, the PSC said that Verizon already has obtained the necessary permits and rights-of-way for the fiber system and that no national law requires local franchises for the provision of broadband service.
In sum, we declare that Verizon’s FTTP upgrade is authorized under its existing state telephone rights because the upgrade furthers the deployment of telecommunications and broadband services, and is consistent with state and federal law and in the public interest. In contrast to a company seeking to build an unfranchised cable television system, Verizon already has the necessary authority to use the rights-of-way to provide telecommunications service over its existing network, and should, therefore, not be required to seek additional authority to enhance its offerings related to that specific service.
The decision came as a blow to Cablevision and a group of municipalities that had petitioned the PSC to require Verizon to obtain a franchise, as is required under Title II of the Communications Act. The PSC did say that Verizon must first obtain franchises to build facilities that are used exclusively for the provision of video services, an unlikely scenario given that FTTP systems are engineered for the simultaneous delivery of voice, video and data services.
Given the complexities of the rapidly changing communications industry, the PSC also announced today the initiation of a broad review of telecommunications. In its announcement of the review, the PSC said:
Through this proceeding, the Commission hopes to establish a regulatory framework that better reflects current market conditions and trends. Specifically, the Commission seeks to reexamine the extent to which its rules and regulations align with the emerging realities in the marketplace, with the goal of maximizing market efficiencies, maintaining high levels of public safety and network reliability, protecting consumers from potential market power abuses, and promoting economic development in New York State. The maintenance of a level playing field for telecommunications providers and essential consumer protections will continue to be among the highest priority issues for the Commission.Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 3:12 PM | Print | Comments (0) | TrackBack
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