Title: Telecom Ramblings

The Barbarians Are In the Castle: Skype, Sling Approved on iPhone 3G

Published on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:00:06

After holding back the tide through 2009, it seems that AT&T (T: chart, news) could no longer stall the inevitable.  In quick succession, both the Sling Player and Skype have apparently been given the green light to operate on the iPhone over the operators 3G network.  Sling Media’s app was unceremoniously rejected as a bandwidth read more..

DT Considers T-Mobile USA IPO, Spinoff

Published on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:21:21

According to reports, German telecommunications powerhouse Deutsche Telecom (DT: chart, news) is considering an IPO or even a spinoff of its T-Mobile USA unit.  The idea would be to provide the unit with new funding with which it could reverse its flagging fortunes.  One suggestion is that they offer up some 20% of the company, read more..

More Data Centers, More Fiber – PAETEC, Lightower, Abovenet

Published on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:51:24

So much of the news in the sector lately has been about hooking up data centers, both new and old, as fiber operators add depth to their networks. Today national CLEC Paetec (PAET: chart, news) announced plans to build a new data center in Andover, to the north of Boston.  The two floor facility will add read more..

Akamai Finds Its Mojo

Published on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 01:11:46

Many eyes have been trained on today’s report by Akamai (AKAM: chart, news).  The company upset the status quo in the fall by lowering prices and setting off a bit of a pricing war.  Events went better than planned, and in December they unexpectedly offered increased guidance.  But what is really going on in the read more..

Savvis Returns to Growth in Q4, Expands in Chicago

Published on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:14:18

Colocation and managed hosting provider Savvis (SVVS: chart, news) reported Q4 and full year 2009 earnings this morning.  The company took a harder hit than most in the datacenter space during last year’s economic downturn, as churn from large financial customers took hold.  And just a few weeks ago, CEO Phil Koen stepped down.   read more..

Optimum Lightpath Moves to 40G

Published on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:02:06

Optimum Lightpath, the metro fiber division of Cablevision, announced today that it is offering 40G transport links to its customers, upgradeable to 100G when the time comes.  They will be initially targeting the services at the low-latency driven financial sector in the New York bandwidth market, which is currently the focus of a great deal read more..

Comcast to Buy NGT

Published on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:40:45

Cable giant Comcast Corp. (CMCSA: chart, news) is apparently buying New Global Telecom (NGT).  While there has been no formal announcement, there is a memo circulating at Comcast about the purchase.  Terms are of course not available, but it’s safe to say that for Comcast this purchase is small relative to its overall bulk.  However, read more..

Level 3 to Deliver Superbowl in Uncompressed HD

Published on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:39:05

The content markets division of Level 3 Communications (LVLT: chart, news) and its Vyvx predecessor have been delivering the Superbowl video feed from the venue to the broadcast studio for over two decades now.  In the past that meant delivering the raw feeds to a production truck outside the stadium, compressing it, and then sending read more..

M&A Journal: Reliance Finds Few Takers For Globalcom Assets

Published on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:59:53

According to a Reuters report, Indian telecommunications giant Reliance Communications is apparently having little luck shopping its Globalcom division since supposedly putting it on the market in mid December.  The deadline for bids has already been extended, and there just haven’t been many potential buyers even showing up to kick the tires.  Of read more..

Alpheus Expands in Houston

Published on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:27:59

Last week, Texas regional and metro provider Alpheus Communications joined the growing list of expansions by fiber-based telecoms in early 2010.  The company has invested in additional fiber in the Houston metro area, adding a major new ring in North and West Harris County.  The fiber passes through the energy and high tech areas along read more..

Deltacom Plans to Raise $325M, Pre-announces

Published on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:08:11

Southeastern CLEC ITC Deltacom (news) they announced that it intends to sell $325M in senior secured notes due 2016 to qualified institutional buyers this week.  Then intend to use the proceeds to refinance their senior secured credit facilities, which totaled $307M or so at the end of the third quarter.  The credit facilities will come read more..