Naperville government places giant yellow boxes around town (similar to Itasca's pink boxes last week) to show example of what AT&T Uverse will do to landscape. Each box has the inspirational message on it, “This big ugly box brought to you by AT&T Project Lightspeed in the name of competition.”


Article: »www.dailyherald.com/news/dupages···d&tc=&t=

From the front page.
»DOJ Approves AT&T-BellSouth Deal

Posted 2006-10-11 11:12:58 by Corona

The Justice Department has approved the AT&T BellSouth merger, according to the Associated Press, leaving the FCC as the final hurdle in rebuilding a significant portion of Ma bell's original empire. The $78.5 billion deal creates the nation's largest provider of phone, wireless and broadband services. As mentioned yesterday, the newest Conservative FCC chief has recused himself from the vote due to his previous stint as a CLEC lobbyist, leaving the possibility for a partisan split vote, which could delay final approval.

San Antonio's Express-News reported today that AT&T will be bringing 2,000 jobs back to the US and employees today, including 800 union positions, and 1,200 customer service positions.

Although discussed in 2004 with members of the CWA (Communications Workers of America), many here doubted AT&T (then SBC) would live up to to any part of that agreement.

See »www.mysanantonio.com/business/st···7ce.html for more details.

The Metropolitan Mayor's Conference has begun negotiating with AT&T so the company can introduce its Internet-based video services in Chicago-area municipalities.

Offered through a program called Project Lightspeed, AT&T has contacted about 70 Chicago-area municipalities about building node boxes that will bring fiber optic closer to customers, offering a full-range of Internet and voice services, including video.

»www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beac···_S1.htm

»/shownews/72937

The purchase price will be $65 billion dollars, and continue to reassemble the old AT&T under chief Ed Whitacre's control.

»www.nytimes.com/2006/03/05/busin···tt.html

»today.reuters.com/news/articlein···-US.XML

Official AT&T press release: »att.sbc.com/gen/press-room?pid=4···id=22140

»www.sbc.com/gen/press-room?pid=4···d=21850

»www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mp···3419639

»seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/···ame.html

Light Reading points out that SBC has quietly tacked another 6 months on to its "Project Lightspeed" deployment timeline - a project that will provide next-gen DSL speeds and IPTV services. "We are on track with our plans to bring IP video, voice, and data services –- we will reach 18 million households by mid 2008," says an exec. While that total is down from 19 million, and further along than the late 2007 target stated earlier this year, technical trials are "going smoothly," according to the company.

Story Continues

A Dow Jones item from the SBC CFO: »money.iwon.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt_to···20051020

The telephone companies are rushing to become video companies.

SBC Communications Inc. asked the Public Utility Commission for a state video franchise Monday. It's the fourth telephone company to seek that authority...

»www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent···62.html

SBC's latest DSL Pricing for NEW customers and package deals. The Basic modem now requires a mail-in rebate to make it free. (plus S&H)

See the July 1,2005 rate structures here: »www05.sbc.com/DSL_new/content_ne···,00.html

Company execs tour state to lobby against regulations

BY KEITH BENMAN
Url: Northwest Indiana Times

SBC is preparing to send some strong signals to the Indiana General Assembly about regulatory reform in the 2005 session.

The telecommunications company wants Indiana legislators to eventually get rid of regulations that hinder it from offering products of the future such as bundled phone, Internet and video programming.

SBC President George Fleetwood was in Northwest Indiana Monday to take that message directly to legislators at a dinner together at Alexander's Steak House in Highland on Monday night.

SBC Communications Inc. plans to begin selling Internet-based phone service in Michigan and other states in 2005, a move that analysts say is necessary for the company to keep large numbers of customers from defecting.

Michigan residents will be able to sign up early next year for the service, which routes calls over a high-speed Internet connection instead of SBC's century-old network of copper wires. Users plug a telephone into an adapter the size of a paperback book, then make and receive calls exactly as usual.

Continued at: americasnetwork.com

SBC Communications Inc. today announced a five-year, approximately $1.7 billion primary supplier agreement with Alcatel to provide network equipment and video system integration services for Project Lightspeed, the SBC initiative to drive fiber deeper into its networks to provide customers new, feature-rich Internet Protocol (IP)-based services, including IP television, voice over IP and ultra-fast Internet access.

Alcatel's network equipment will include core network access, aggregation and switching equipment platforms that will provide the Internet Protocol, packet-based technologies over fiber optics that connect the neighborhoods to the central office. Additionally, Alcatel will work with SBC to ensure seamless video systems integration.

Story continues in this SBC Press Release

October 14, 2004

SBC Communications Inc. said today it will dramatically accelerate its plan to build a new fiber-optics network into neighborhoods, providing 18 million households super high-speed data, video and voice services in two to three years — rather than five years as previously announced.

For full story, see: »www.sbc.com/gen/press-room?pid=4···id=21427

SBC Companies And Microsoft Begin Testing IP-Based, Digital TV Services Over Fiber
Regulatory Clarity Advances Multi-billion Dollar Network Investment

SBC companies have defined a strategy to drive fiber deeper into its networks to power high-speed, IP-based local connections. Pending final clarity on applicable regulatory requirements and successful completion of neighborhood-level trials, which begin this summer, the SBC strategy could result in an incremental investment of $4 billion to $6 billion over five years to deploy the network and make advanced services available to millions of customers in the SBC service territory.

For full article, see:
»www.sbc.com/gen/press-room?pid=5···id=21207

BPL got off the ground recently when Current Communications and Ohio-based utility Cinergy partnered to begin offering the service.

»www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,a···X,00.asp

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - SBC Communications Inc. (SBC) said on Friday that President William Daley has resigned, effective immediately.

SBC Communications Inc. and its largest union resumed contract talks on Friday ahead of a Saturday midnight deadline for new contracts in negotiations covering about 100,000 workers.

The CWA has also said it wants its workers to have access to work in the parts of SBC that are growing, such as broadband Internet access and data networks.

»www.forbes.com/technology/newswi···388.html

SBC now offers a "Quadruple Play" bundle (local/long distance, cell phone, DSL, DISH Network), with "limited-time" discounts on DISH Network service.

»www.sbc.com/gen/press-room?pid=5···id=20997