Today's Top Stories Google Fiber's (Nasdaq: GOOG) rule in its terms of service that prohibits customers from attaching servers to its networks has drawn the ire of consumer group Free Press which says the Internet giant needs to live up to its promise that it is not like traditional cable and telco broadband providers. "I urge Google to follow through on its claim to provide a "different kind of Internet" by becoming a different kind of ISP," the group wrote in a letter to Milo Medin, VP of access services at Google. "It should start by revising its terms of service to explicitly allow individual users to host servers on Google Fiber networks for personal use." This ban means that residential users won't be able to attach their own servers for e-mail or run popular online video games such as Minecraft. It also prohibits customers from using peer-to-peer software since it enables a computer to act as both a client and a server. News of the server ban first appeared in a Wired article that came out earlier this week citing a complaint filed with the FCC by potential Google Fiber customer Douglas McClendon. Google Fiber lawyer Darah Smith Franklin wrote in response to McClendon's complaint that "Google Fiber's server policy is consistent with policies of many major providers in the industry" including AT&T (NYSE: T). For more: - see the Free Press post Related articles: Google closes deal to acquire iProvo Does Google Fiber's iProvo move spell doom for open access? CenturyLink protests Google Fiber's move into Provo Google's iProvo purchase draws fire from Utah-based XMission Google Fiber goes to Provo on the cheap Read more about: Net Neutrality back to top | This week's sponsor is Alcatel-Lucent. |  | Webinar: Getting started with carrier WiFi - what's it take for a great user experience? Wednesday, August 27th, 11am ET/ 8am PT Meeting customer expectations has never been more challenging than it is today. Learn how Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess™ Wireless LAN switch family and Access Point product line can help you deliver the Wi-Fi solution your customers want and create new revenue streams. Register Today! | President Obama has nominated Michael O'Rielly, an aide to Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), for one of the vacant Republican spots on the FCC. O'Rielly's nomination comes as the process to confirm Tom Wheeler as FCC chairman continues to move through the Senate. On Tuesday, Wheeler's nomination got approval from the Senate Commerce Committee. He now needs the vote by the full Senate. However, as reported by FierceWireless, the nominations of O'Rielly and Wheeler may not be voted on for several weeks as Congress heads into August recess. When Wheeler and O'Rielly are confirmed, the FCC will be able to again operate with its full five member panel. Right now, the FCC is being overseen by Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn. O'Rielly, reports Reuters, has spent two decades dealing with telecom policy issues. Before working for Cornyn, he advised former Senator John Sununu of New Hampshire and former House Commerce Committee Chairman Tom Bliley of Virginia on telecommunications issues. He'd join FCC commissioner Ajit Pai as the FCC's second Republican, taking over from Robert McDowell, who departed the regulator earlier this year. "I congratulate Mike O'Rielly on his nomination to serve as an FCC Commissioner," Pai said in a statement. "His expertise, experience, and fresh perspective will be a tremendous asset to the commission as we confront the many challenging issues on our agenda. I look forward to working with him and wish him all the best during the confirmation process." Among the wireline issues that the new FCC leaders will grapple with are USF reform and the call from large incumbent telcos to transition their TDM-based wireline voice networks to all-IP. For more: - Reuters has this article Editor's Corner: 5 wireline issues Wheeler will face if he becomes FCC chairman Related articles: Obama nominates Senate aide O'Rielly for Republican FCC spot Verizon, FCC net neutrality case to be heard by court in September Read more about: FCC back to top Tellabs (Nasdaq: TLAB) reported that second-quarter revenue declined year-over-year to $212 million, down from $288 million, but its results were in line with its guidance for the quarter. The vendor said it widened its losses to $8 million or 2 cents a share from $5 million or 1 cent a share a year earlier. Over the past few quarters, Tellabs has been going through a series of transitions, including the exiting of two CFOs and cutting costs via layoffs and scrapping product lines such as 9200 platform. "We made good progress in the second quarter, compared with the first quarter, as revenue and gross profit margins improved," said Dan Kelly, Tellabs CEO and president, in the earnings release. Here's a breakdown of the company's four key segment metrics: Optical: Optical segment revenue was $112.7 million, down year-over-year from $122.4 million in Q2 2012. A rise in 7100 optical transport system revenue was more than offset by lower revenue from its 6300 managed transport systems and 5000 digital cross-connect systems. Optical segment profit was $25.4 million, down from $29 million in the same period a year ago. Data: In the data segment revenue dropped to $35.8 million from $77.7 million in Q2 2012 due to lower revenue from the Tellabs' 8600 and 8800 smart routers and its 8100 managed access systems. Likewise, the data segment loss, driven primarily by the lower revenue level and lower gross margins, was $2.5 million, compared with segment profit of $5.4 million. Access: Driven by lower revenue from its 1600 single-family Optical Network Terminals (ONTs), access segment revenue was $19.4 million, down from $37.3 million. Meanwhile, access segment profit, driven primarily by the lower level of revenue and lower product gross margins, was $1.3 million, compared with $6 million. Services Segment: Due to lower deployment, support agreement and professional services, service segment revenue was $44.2 million, compared with $50.7 million in Q2 2012. Likewise, the decrease in segment revenue declined to $14.8 million from $17.2 million due to the lower level of revenue from support agreements and professional services. The vendor has forecast Q3 2013 earnings to come in between $200 million to $220 million. Shares of Tellabs were listed at $2.23, down 8 cents, or 3.46 percent, in Friday morning trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange. For more: - see the earnings release (.pdf) Special report: Wireline telecom earnings in the second quarter of 2013 Related articles: Tellabs appoints Crowe Horwath partner Larry Rieger as acting CFO Tellabs Q1 revenue declines to $209 million on challenges in Europe, Mexico UPDATED: Layoffs on tap as Tellabs Q4 revenue declines to $242 million Tellabs appoints Dan Kelly as new CEO, president Tellabs announces more layoffs as revenue drops to $264M Read more about: Tellabs back to top Shentel (Nasdaq: SHEN) may be placing more emphasis on growing its cable and wireless segments, but the telco reported that Q2 2013 wireline fiber sales rose 7.4 percent year-over-year to $5.6 million. The rural telco's wireline operating revenue rose 9.7 percent to $3.7 million, up from $3.3 million in the same period a year ago. Likewise, the wireline segment's adjusted OIBDA was $6.3 million, an increase of $0.6 million from Q2 2012. As expected, the telco reported that access lines declined to 22,419, compared to 22,670 on June 30, 2012. It also saw a slight gain in its broadband unit as DSL subscribers rose slightly to 12,600. Driven by growth in its wireless and cable segments, Shentel's Q2 net income grew 41 percent to $7.8 million, up from $5.7 million in Q2 2012, and revenue grew 8.5 percent year-over-year to $77.5 million. Cable service revenue rose to $1.2 million due to what it says was 2.7 percent growth in average revenue generating units (RGUs), video price increases driven by rising programming costs, and customers selecting higher priced digital TV services and higher speed data access packages. At the end of Q2, Shentel had a total of 116,115 cable RGUs, up 3.2 percent year-over-year. One of the goals that Shentel set for the rest of 2013 was to increase wireline and cable fiber lease revenues. Shares of Shentel were listed at $19.48, down 4 cents, or 0.20 percent, in Friday morning trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange. For more: - see the earnings release Special report: Wireline telecom earnings in the second quarter of 2013 Related articles: Shentel revenue up 10.4 percent to $76 million on stable wireline, cable results Shentel's wireline revenues rise 12% on fiber service sales growth Shenandoah Telecom to build Page County, Va.'s middle mile network Shenandoah Telecommunications to buy North River Telephone Cooperative Read more about: Shentel back to top Revenue for TDS Telecom (NYSE: TDS), the wireline operating subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc., rose 7 percent to $223.4 million with gains in triple play residential bundles and business managedIP connections. The telco said that 70 percent of its residential customers purchased more than one service. Out of that figure, 35 percent took a double play offering, while the remaining 25 percent subscribed to a triple play bundle of voice, IPTV and data. It saw gains in both broadband and IPTV. While TDS Telecom did lose 400 residential broadband subscribers, it added 1,500 new IPTV customers in markets where the service is available. Despite the slight decline in broadband subscribers, the service provider continues to make progress with IPTV and broadband. Taking a page from Google Fiber (Nasdaq: GOOG), TDS launched its "Fiberville" pre-registration campaign in Concord and parts of Knoxville, Tenn., where it plans to offer 100 Mbps fiber to the home and TDS TV services. It also made progress with broadband stimulus projects in both Arizona and Missouri. The service provider will also bolster its broadband coverage with the completion of its acquisition of Alamogordo, N.M.-based cable operator Baja Broadband. By acquiring Baja, TDS will expand its broadband and video service base in various markets including Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. On the business side, the service provider increased its commercial managedIP connections by 50 percent year over year. At the end of the quarter, it had a total of 19,900 managedIP customers. "TDS Telecom continued to increase ILEC residential broadband and video penetration in the quarter, and commercial managedIP connections increased 50 percent year over year," said LeRoy T. Carlson, Jr., TDS president and CEO, in the earnings release. "TDS Telecom's revenue growth in the quarter was driven primarily by our hosted and managed services acquisitions, where we are focused on offering comprehensive, end-to-end IT solutions for mid-market customers." TDS Telecom's parent Telephone and Data Systems, Inc., reported revenues of $1.23 billion, down from $1.32 billion in Q2 2012. Shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. were listed at $26.80, up 1 cent, or 0.04 percent in Friday morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. For more: - see the earnings release Special report: Wireline telecom earnings in the second quarter of 2013 Related articles: TDS Telecom completes broadband stimulus project in Orchard Farm, Mo. TDS' Fiberville program lures subscribers to IPTV, FTTH TDS offers 100 Mbps option in Tennessee, Minnesota FTTH markets TDS Telecom Arizona broadband stimulus project gets underway Read more about: Tds Telecom back to top |
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