Valleywag: Verizon

ISPs agree on how to spy on you

Nicholas Carlson — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:20:00 PDT

Verizon, AT&T and Time Warner Cable executives told Congress yesterday they would not track user behavior online unless given explicit permission, but that they would prefer to police themselves, instead of having to deal with government oversight. Because that would be Orwellian. [Wired]

Verizon tech tapped 950 landlines for $220,000 in sex chats

Paul Boutin — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:20:00 PDT

It's gotta be some kind of world record: A former (we're guessing: fired) Verizon technician in New Jersey spent 15 weeks' time in the past 40 weeks on sex-chat lines. WCBS-TV has the minimal info available so far:

NEW YORK (CBS) ― A former Verizon technician racked up $220,000 in phone-sex calls by tapping into the land lines of nearly 950 customers, authorities charged on Tuesday.

Joseph Vaccarelli, 45, of Nutley, NJ, made approximately 5,000 calls, resulting in 45,000 minutes of call time, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said in a news release.

Vaccarelli placed the calls in about 30 municipalities in Bergen County, according to the release.

Verizon estimated that out of a 40-week period, Vaccarelli spent 15 weeks talking on 900 chat lines, authorities alleged.

Why do text message rates keep going up?

Paul Boutin — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 10:00:00 PDT

Text message rates have doubled since 2005, from about 10 cents each to 20 cents today. Senator Herb Kohl (D.-Wisc.), who chairs the Senate's antitrust subcommittee, has asked Verizon, AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile to explain it to him. "It does not appear to be justified by rising costs in delivering text messages," the letter says. "Text-messaging files are very small, as the size of text messages are generally limited to 160 characters per message, and therefore cost carriers very little to transmit." Kohl's suspicion: The four big carriers have increased their prices nearly in sync, suggesting a collusion to wring more money out of the market rather than to compete against one another. Read the whole thing — it's no Series of Tubes. (Photo via Gizmodo)

850 new reasons for San Franciscans to hate AT&T

Paul Boutin — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:40:00 PDT

So that's what those things are. The box in the photo holds equipment for AT&T's U-verse cable service. The grumpy guy is David Crommie, president of the Cole Valley Improvement Association. He's torqued because AT&T got an exemption from environmental review requirements to install up to 850 of these things around the city. You'll also see smaller green boxes on city sidewalks — those are Comcast's. Verizon manages to bury all its equipment underground. The CVIA has stalled AT&T's plans, but the San Francisco Daily Post reports that "AT&T is now expected to reapply for exemption." (Photo by AP/Paul Sakuma)

Verizon's anti-iPhone tip sheet leaked

Paul Boutin — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:40:00 PDT

A tipster sent our gadget sister site, Gizmodo, a copy of Verizon's talking points for its employees to use against iPhone mania. Like last year's leaked "iWhatever" email from COO Jack Plating, it comes across mostly as validation that there's no phone like the iPhone in buyers' eyes.

But I disagree with my esteemed colleague Kit Eaton at Gizmodo on one thing: AT&T's network is indeed the iPhone's weak spot. At least 50 percent of the U.S. population lives in an area not served by AT&T 3G. Even David Pogue's iPhone musical called out AT&T service quality as a minus. Verizon's EVDO network — which reaches 80 percent of Americans, per the cheat sheet — would be a much better match. Someday.

Verizon Wireless chooses Google over Microsoft

Nicholas Carlson — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 08:20:00 PDT

Verizon and Google are finalizing a partnership that would turn over Verizon's mobile search and advertising to Google. Verizon considered a deal with Microsoft, but decided it wanted Google to put its search bar on device home screens because it "could prove attractive to consumers who reflexively use the Internet search engine on their PCs," reports the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. A translation:

Verizon picked Google because no one uses Microsoft search. The mobile ad market will hit $244 million this year, which isn't much, but almost everyone's convinced GPS-enabled mobile search is the next Google's next frontier. Google CEO Eric Schmidt told CNBC's Jim Cramer the market will eventually grow to $50 billion. (Photo by bragadocchio)

Qwest signs contract as union chalks up another win

Jackson West — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:20:00 PDT

The Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have reached a tentative agreement with Denver-based telco Qwest, pending approval by the 20,000 employees under contract. The agreement was reached in the eleventh hour after the CWA and IBEW had voted to authorize a strike when their contracts expired at midnight on Saturday. The contract calls for 9 percent raises over its three year term, and brought employees of Qwest's directory-assistance operations under contract. Based on the language of the CWA's press release, critics might complain about the agreements reached on healthcare, with the union citing the healthcare cost epidemic and Qwest's financial performance as mitigating factors in their concessions to the bosses during negotiations.

The Qwest deal follows on a larger contract signed on behalf of Verizon employees by the CWA, also under threat of strike. "That day, with the strike deadline looming, the company started bargaining a lot more seriously," CWA spokesman Jeff Miller said of the earlier negotiations in a phone call last week. But even by adding call-center employees, the CWA has their work cut out for them expanding its rolls. "The new technologies are not as labor-intensive as past years. An awful lot of jobs have disappeared in the traditional copper wireline business," Miller added. What about fiber-optic linemen, like those working on Verizon's Fios efforts? Those employees were largely under contract already, according to Miller. And once the fiber's in the ground, those jobs will get buried, too. (Photo by AP/David Zalubowski)

Verizon avoids strike, for now

Jackson West — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:40:00 PDT

65,000 employees of Verizon represented by the Communication Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers agreed to postpone any strike after their contracts expired over the weekend. The unions agreed to indefinitely hold off on any work stoppage because progress was being made on the health benefits and job security fronts. Verizon has been aggressively replacing unionized employees with non-union technicians by outsourcing work to subcontractors. [WSJ] (Photo by AP/Mike Groll)

Senator Ted Stevens indicted for making "false statements"

Jackson West — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:20:00 PDT

Ted Stevens, the Republican Senator from Alaska who has held office for a record 40 years, has been indicted on seven counts of making false statements in connection with illegal influence peddling by the likes of convicted Veco CEO Bill Allen — who says the company dispatched employees to remodel Senator Stevens's Alaskan home and paid former Alaskan State Senator Ben Stevens, Ted Stevens's son, $234,000 in bribes. However, none of the indictments arises from his much-parodied description of Internet infrastructure as a "series of tubes."

His strong opinions in the network neutrality debate may have something do with contributions from Internet service providers like Verizon and AT&T, which are respectively third and fifth on the list of largest contributors to his current re-election campaign, both ahead of oil industry services company Veco. He also counts News Corp. and Disney as top donors, and has championed broadcast flag provisions that would have required electronics manufacturers to bar users from recording digital audio or video flagged by rightsholders.

The investigation by the Department of Justice has been going on for four years, having raided the senator's remodeled home last year. But it's clear that corporations have known that Senator Stevens's vote has been for sale for some time now. The bad news alone might spell doom for the senator's re-election campaign, which would count as good news for open Internet advocates — the Democratic challenger, Anchorage mayor Mark Begich, is a strong supporter of network neutrality legislation.

"TechNigga" comic's made-for-Valleywag video

Paul Boutin — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:20:00 PDT

Disgraced video comic Loren Feldman has been removed from Verizon's phone and broadband video-on-demand library. I wouldn't compare the guy to Lenny Bruce, but this much is true: Feldman, a member of both the Screen Actors Guild and the risqué Friars Club in New York, goes out of his way to be offensive and sometimes it works. OK, so sometimes it doesn't. His year-old "TechNigga" clip, which Verizon didn't even carry, got Feldman axed from the lineup. "TechNigga" consisted of a Jew portraying a stereotypical black thug — booze, dope, hookers, etc. What could go wrong? Far funnier and less awwwwwwkward is Feldman's puppet interview with Jason Calacanis's bulldogs from April. The puppet host is a spoof of marketing consultant Shel Israel. At this point, you either know all about Shel and his contempt for Feldman, or you don't care. Just watch the video.

"TechNigga" video gets 1938 Media removed from Verizon

Paul Boutin — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:00:00 PDT

1938 Media is a one-man videoblog run by Loren Feldman. The guy is funny, in that edgily-offensive way that makes you wonder when someone's going to punch him in the face. Last week, Verizon cut a deal with Feldman to market his videos on Verizon phones and broadband connections — a big win for a one-man act. But eight days later, 1938's clips are gone from Verizon. The reason? A backlash from activist groups who've branded Feldman's shtick as racist. A year ago, Feldman posted "TechNigga," in which he pandered to stereotypes in an attempt to parody TechCrunch. The video wasn't in Verizon's collection of 1938 clips, and Feldman long ago made his apologies. Protesters don't care. Watch the first 1:05 of "TechNigga" and you'll understand everything.

Verizon CEO thinks iPhone hype is a "conspiracy"

Jackson West — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:00:00 PDT

Obviously tired of being pestered with questions about iPhone this and Steve Jobs that, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg put on a tinfoil hat and sat down for an interview with the Financial Times:

He scoffs at suggestions that the iPhone is about to become a mass-market handset because Apple has accepted mobile operators' pleas to subsidise it. "There goes the conspiracy again," he says of Apple. "You're declaring them a winner before they've earned it on the field."

The Verizon CEO is right. Until the second coming of JesusPhone starts working financial miracles, both here and abroad, the media should be a little more skeptical of the word of Jobs — we all know what happens to those who worship false idols. (Photo by AP/Dima Gavrysh)

TelCos bought wiretapping immunity for a song

Jackson West — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:20:00 PDT

The average contribution from AT&T, Verizon and Sprint to the 94 Democratic congresscritters who change their votes from "no" to "yes" on the bill which would grant the companies immunity from charges of illegally wiretapping American citizens? $8,359. How much for all 293 "yes" votes, total? $2,830,087. Eleven California dems changed their votes — Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who represents San Francisco, scored $24,500 in sweet, sweet lobbyist contributions. [MAPLight.org] (Photo by AP/Susan Walsh)

Verizon's privacy reputation is due for an update

Nicholas Carlson — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:20:00 PDT

In a statement last updated in 2003, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg calls the company's "Privacy Principles" the best in the industry. One of Verizon's broadband customers doesn't buy it. He's forwarded us an email Verizon sent him updating its "Acceptable Use Policy." The policy now reads:

Verizon may, but is not required to monitor your compliance, or the compliance of other subscribers, with the terms, conditions or policies of this Agreement.

Verizon PR has long made much of its pro-privacy policies, and its lawyers have even fought the record industry in court to protect subscribers (or, more cynically, to minimize the cost of investigations). This latest change suggests Verizon's becoming friendlier to spying on its customers. Maybe it's time for a 2008 update, Ivan?

Spectrum winner Verizon not concerned with letter of the law adherence to Google's "open rules"

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:20:00 PDT

The members of Google's team for its multibillion-dollar wireless-spectrum bid worked themselves to exhaustion and sickness. That was all in an effort to force the contest's eventual winner to abide by "open access" rules Google convinced the FCC to adopt last summer for its 700-Mhz spectrum sale. The auction winner, Verizon, seems to have little concern for Google's mobile whimsy. It plans to launch and heavily market "crippled, walled garden phones with no VoIP, Verizon content, highly restricted [terms of service], [and] high priced SMS," according to Broadband Reports.

In recognition of the rules, Verizon will also make available much-more expensive devices that abide by Google's "open access" rules, but the company doesn't plan to market them. Upset, petition-filing Google lawyers say "Verizon's position would completely reverse the meaning of the rule." (Photo by mtcool1988)

AOL lands Verizon's 94 million monthly pageviews -- but will splashy deal make money?

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:00:00 PDT

AOL moved into its new New York headquarters today, and new ad boss Lynda Clarizio has roped Verizon into paying a portion of the lease. The companies announced a deal today that will make AOL's Platform-A the exclusive manager of Verizon's Web and wireless ads. That inventory includes 94 million pageviews a month. It's Clarizio's first big deal after replacing Curt Viebranz in an internal coup earlier this year. He was the the sixth advertising chief at AOL since 2001. But should we be that impressed?

Probably not. For one thing, brokering ads, while trendy right now, is a lower-margin business than selling ads on a website a publisher owns. AOL will have to split any profit with Verizon. And Verizon's inventory, like AOL's, is likely heavy on pageviews from Web-based email and other low-value traffic.

Tacoda, the company whose acquisition brought Viebranz to AOL, had promised to boost significantly the value of ads on those pages. Executives at AOL's Advertising.com unit, including Clarizio, were skeptical of Tacoda's claims, and opposed the acquisition. After Viebranz's ouster, Clarizio now has to prove what insiders at Advertising.com argued: They could do a better job than Tacoda at making money from those ads.

Verizon pays dearly for right to operate open network

Jackson West — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:20:54 PDT

The big winner in the U.S. government's recent wireless-spectrum auction was Verizon, having spent at least $4.7 billion and as much as $10 billion to acquire licenses nationwide. AT&T was the next highest bidder, with satellite broadcaster EchoStar the biggest of the new kids. Verizon unveiled plans to open up its wireless network to third parties yesterday, likely in anticipation of today's announcement. I have to agree with VentureBeat's MG Siegler — the real winner here is Google, which didn't have to pay a dime, but changed the terms of the contract for the eventual winner just by entering a lowball bid. Well played, Google, well played. (Photo AP/Don Ryan)

Who are the big wireless spectrum auction winners?

Jackson West — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 04:00:13 PDT

The FCC's auction of the 700MHz spectrum, soon to be abandoned by analog television broadcasters, is over. Bids totaled $19.6 billion for licenses across the country. But it may be weeks until the winners are announced publicly. Among the big bidders, AT&T and Verizon are the most likely, and the most boring. Google tried to shape the debate over access to the spectrum with a promised bid, and have been acquiring infrastructure over the years. And there's a chance an unknown or three might make a splash. Valleywag is, of course, all ears at tips@valleywag.com.

The D-Block is still up for sale, so Google could still pick up a slice of nationwide bandwidth for $1.3 billion. Though the search giant would have to build out coverage for at least 75% of the population in four years, plus share it with emergency services and other public agencies, and we all know how successful Google's been at working with public officials on wireless infrastructure projects. (Photo by Omid Tavallai)

Why Verizon isn't fighting file sharing

Jordan Golson — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:20:48 PDT

While Comcast has been trying to curtail file sharing, Verizon has taken a hands-off approach. Why? It's not because Verizon executives are free-the-Internet libertarian nutjobs. No, it's because file sharing can make them more money. The phone company partnered with peer-to-peer software startup Pando Networks to speed video downloads. When DSL customers share files with others on Verizon's network, it cuts costs 75 to 90 percent and dramatically reduces the load on Verizon's network. Before you hold up this capitalist move as an argument for network neutrality, consider this: Verizon had to share data about its network with Pando to optimize delivery of the video files. (Photo by /Mark Lennihan)

Sprint rolls out super-unlimited-everything-plan for $99

Jordan Golson — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:10:21 PST

The great wireless price war of 2008 continues. The latest salvo from Sprint: A new plan, called Simply Everything, offers unlimited voice, data, SMS, email, Web, music, TV, and Nextel's push-to-talk feature — for $99. The other providers charge between $140 and $150 a month for all that stuff. An AT&T spokesman told us "we will review Sprint's offer against what our customers have told us they want and we will continue to evaluate the marketplace as we always do." Hopefully that means I can hook AT&T's version of this bad boy up with my iPhone by the end of the week — but I'm not holding my breath. (Photo by AP/Robert F. Bukaty)

AT&T, Verizon join Sprint in offering unlimited voice plans

Jordan Golson — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 10:58:18 PST

The great cell-phone price war of 2008 has begun. Almost 2 weeks ago, Sprint introduced a $119 unlimited voice plan in four markets (including San Francisco). Today, both Verizon and AT&T have rolled out $99 all-you-can-talk voice plans nationally, with Verizon introducing a less-than-spectacular new EVDO data plan.

Here's Verizon's deal:

$99 - Unlimited voice
$120 - Unlimited voice, SMS text messaging, MMS picture messaging
$140 - Unlimited voice, SMS, MMS, VZNav, VCAST, email
$150 - Unlimited voice, SMS, MMS, and data)
$170 - Unlimited voice, SMS, MMS, and international data)
$200 - Family plan with two lines, $100 per additional line.
$59.99 - EVDO card with 5 GB of download (formerly unlimited data)
$39.99 - EVDO card with 50 MB of download

The new EVDO card plan is especially annoying. Before, $59.99 a month would deliver unlimited data over your EVDO card. Now, users are restricted to 5GB a month, with $0.49 overage per MB. With almost every service offering all-you-can-eat plans, this seems like a backward move. Anyone on an old plan gets to keep it.

—

AT&T is offering a $99.99 unlimited voice plan as well. This can be combined with the $20 iPhone unlimited data plan, or with one of AT&T's other data plans for standard non-smartphones.

If this sounds familiar to longtime AT&T users, it should. Way back in the pre-Cingular days, AT&T offered a "Charter" plan as part of its GSM rollout. It offered $99/month unlimited voice/SMS. Now, you have to pay $139/month for that.

Here are the iPhone unlimited talk options:

$99.99 unlimited voice + $20/$30/$40 data package
$20 = unlimited data and 200 texts
$30 = unlimited data and 1500 texts
$40 = unlimited data and unlimited texts
**Note: the unlimited voice option will not be immediately available in iTunes. However, customers can select one of the existing plans in iTunes, then call us to switch, at no charge, to the unlimited voice plan.

Here's the full press release.

SAN ANTONIO, Feb. 19, 2008 — AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) announced today new unlimited voice plans targeted to wireless users who want the predictability of flat rate pricing for unlimited minutes. The plans will be available to new and existing wireless subscribers for $99.99 a month for unlimited U.S. calling on all devices with no domestic roaming or long distance charges. The plans can be combined with any current wireless data plan to give customers the ultimate in wireless freedom.

The new plans, available Feb. 22, can be ordered at one of AT&T's 2,200 company-owned retail stores and kiosks, at www.att.com, or at one of the thousands of authorized AT&T retail locations. Existing customers can choose unlimited calling without extending their contract. New customers have the option of a month-to-month, 12 or 24 month contract.

As with other voice calling plans, AT&T customers can choose from a variety of MEdia Net and messaging plans to meet their needs. For example, customers with standard wireless phones* can choose a data plan such as $5 for 200 text, picture, video and instant messages or $35 for unlimited messaging and MEdia Net access.

"We are pleased to offer our customers these great new plans that deliver value and simplified pricing," said Ralph de la Vega, president & CEO, AT&T Mobility. "This is a highly competitive market and we're committed to moving fast to meet customer needs."

AT&T customers benefit from the nation's largest digital voice and data network, with 3G broadband available in more than 260 major metropolitan markets. The company recently announced plans to expand its 3G network to 350 markets, including all of the top 100.

For the complete array of AT&T offerings, visit www.att.com

Who needs the iPhone? Verizon Wireless added ...

Jordan Golson — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:50:40 PST

Who needs the iPhone? Verizon Wireless added 1.9 million customers last quarter, more than analysts had predicted. In its financials, Verizon met expectations, making $1.1 billion on $23.8 billion in sales. The company also reported broadband subscribers were up 18 percent year over year, in part because of the rollout of its Fios fiber-optic service. Verizon now has more than 1 million Fios subscribers, though higher than predicted capital expenditures — including on the Fios rollout — hurt earnings. [Wall Street Journal]

Vonage isn't just facing service issues today. ...

Tim Faulkner — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:32:20 PST

Vonage isn't just facing service issues today. It's also been revealed that Nortel countersued the Internet telephone provider over a patent dispute. That makes four big telephone companies suing Vonage for patent infringement: AT&T, Sprint Nextel, Verizon, and now Nortel. The good news: At this rate, Vonage is running out of companies to get sued by. [News.com]

"Don't tase me bro" goes commercial

Jordan Golson — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 16:35:04 PST

Andrew Meyer, a student at the University of Florida who was tasered after trying to ask John Kerry questions at a forum, got his 15 minutes of fame when millions saw video of him saying, "Don't tase me, bro!" on YouTube. If you thought it was the funniest thing you've ever seen, and you're a Verizon Wireless customer, you're in luck! You can purchase "Don't Tase Me Bro!" as your ringback tone. (A ringback tone is a short song or audio clip that plays when someone calls you. So, instead of hearing a boring "ring ring," your debt collectors and babydaddies will hear "DON'T TASE ME, BRO! ARGHH!" repeatedly. Who doesn't want that?) OK, seriously, this must be a sign of the coming apocalypse. For those who missed it, the full video of the arrest and tasing is after the jump.

Comcast shares drop on lowered expectations

Jordan Golson — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 09:42:12 PST

Has cable's golden age ended? Cable-TV subscriptions were long seen as recession-proof. But as their price continues to soar, at last, consumers are voting with their pocketbooks. Comcast shares dropped 12.3 percent Wednesday after the company lowered earnings and growth forecasts. Added competition from Verizon, satellite providers and other cable companies took most of the blame as the triple-play price war continues, driving down average revenue per customer across the industry. On top of that, capital spending is up as Comcast rolls out more HD channels and video-on-demand. We would suggest that Comcast stockholders pray for strong growth, but after the cable giant blocked the Bible, it might not be the best idea.

MPAA head asks ISPs to save the movie industry

Tim Faulkner — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 16:40:27 PST

Dan Glickman, head of the MPAA, is calling on Internet service providers to implement filtering to protect movies from piracy. AT&T has already announced plans to develop such a system, but there are few details. It's also not clear if Glickman has any rationale for placing the onus on ISPs, considering the law's not on his side. And yet, the prospect of holding them legally responsible for piracy on their networks is implied in his statements.

Glickman says, "The ISP community is going to be at the forefront of this in the future because they have everything to lose and nothing to gain by not seeing that the content is being properly protected." And here I was thinking it was that Hollywood studios, the ones Glickman represents, with everything to lose and nothing to gain by forcing ineffective protections on its products.

ISPs stand on the frontline of the content industry's war on piracy, true. But they'd seem to have little to gain by taking up Glickman's fight — until you consider this: Cable Internet providers like Comcast are already in the TV business. AT&T and Verizon are starting to sell TV subscriptions as fast as they can. Blocking file sharing may generate some ill will among Internet customers — but more than ever, ISPs need friends in Hollywood so they'll have programming to fill their new channels.

Verizon calls Google's multibillion-dollar bluff

Owen Thomas — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 12:33:54 PST

When it comes to wireless, Google is full of hot air. But Verizon Wireless has now popped Google's bubble. By next year, CEO Lowell McAdam declares, Verizon Wireless will open its network to any devices that meet its technical standards. An important note: Verizon's standards, not Google's. Google will likely squawk at this. It's complained before, specifically about Verizon, and found willing ears among Silicon Valley's hopelessly naive press corps.

Earlier this month, BusinessWeek reported that "Google had become frustrated with phone companies that were blocking some Google applications from being used on phones attached to their networks." Which phone companies? Which applications? Which phones? The BusinessWeek article conveniently omitted such details, and neither Google nor the publication offered comment on the record when I asked for them.

That's because, I suspect, there are no real examples. Google's Chris Sacca, the leader of the company's wireless "special projects," has been talking up the evils of big, bad phone companies like Verizon. But Verizon's latest move shows that it's not that the phone companies are resistant to the idea of openness. They oppose, rather, the notion that Google should get to set the rules for competition — rules that will no doubt smooth the way for the sale of mobile advertising on terms favorable to Google's offerings.

With Android, its mobile-phone OS, and OpenSocial, its widget platform for social networks, Google is trying to upset others' applecarts. But make no mistake: This isn't because Google is trying to do good and fight for openness. It's because Google, in negotiations with players like Verizon and Facebook, isn't getting its ways. Releasing software APIs may seem like a particularly nerdy and passive-aggressive way of throwing a temper tantrum. But make no mistake: That's exactly what Google's been doing. Expect more bawling and rolling around on the floor at the Googleplex at Verizon's latest move.

(Photo by Wikimedia Commons)

At this point, does Vonage just exist to get sued?

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 08:55:19 PDT

AT&T is taking Vonage to court over patent infringements, just like everybody else. AT&T seeks an injunction, alleging Vonage infringed on a patent related to VOIP calls on standard telephone devices. Who knew there was anything left to gain from suing Vonage? Verizon and Sprint already had their way with the company when judges ruled in their favor in two prior suits. (Photo by Torbert Timson)

Shame on Verizon, it's giving away your data -- for free

Mary Jane Irwin — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 17:43:03 PDT

AT&T has taken a lot of shots for its evenings spent moonlighting as spy, but it turns out it's not the only telecom happy to hand over customer call information at the first sign of a government request. Verizon has happily supplied such information hundreds of times since 2005. But to our minds, the scandal here isn't that Verizon is volunteering to play snoop — it's that it's cheating shareholders by not charging for the privilege. Verizon is already prepping to share calling data with third parties. It wouldn't be too difficult to create a vast, for-pay resource for private investigation firms. How much would you pay to figure out who that 310 number your husband calls four times a day belongs to? Thought so.

AT&T and Verizon cut the cell-phone bull

Jordan Golson — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:36:18 PDT

To avoid being gored, you don't have to outrun the bulls — you just have to outrun the other guys. That seems to be the strategy AT&T and Verizon are taking, at any rate. The telcos hope a few changes in policy are enough to hold off a sweeping regulatory bill proposed in the Senate last month. Verizon has stopped automatically renewing contracts when customers make a change to their plan and AT&T is offering prorated termination fees. The Senate has proposed a bill requiring prorated termination fees, no hidden fees not required by law, and a 30-day grace period for consumers to get out of any new contracts. An industry lobbyist says the bill is bad for consumers, natch — while the companies are marketing their changes, largely identical to lawmakers' requests, as good for consumers. Is this self-policing just bull? We're skeptical. This Congress has failed to get much done, but cell companies are oxen we'd all like to gore. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

Led Zeppelin is no longer "dazed and confused" ...

Tim Faulkner — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 07:44:01 PDT

Led Zeppelin is no longer "dazed and confused" by the MP3 world. It's capitalizing on a monumental one-night-only reunion by, at long last embracing song downloads — but through Verizon Wireless, not Apple's iTunes. Take it as another sign of the rising unease with Apple's dominance of digital music. The cell-phone carrier will sell full song downloads and ringtones of popular hits. The entire Zeppelin catalog and other partnerships will follow. [NYT]

Sprint Nextel board members are on the hunt ...

Jordan Golson — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 17:59:11 PDT

Sprint Nextel board members are on the hunt for a new CEO to replace Gary Forsee. Sprint has been losing out to AT&T and Verizon in signing up new customers and recently lost the confidence of investor Ralph Whitworth, who owns almost 2 percent of the company. [WSJ]

Vonage, the Internet phone service, has found ...

Mary Jane Irwin — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 15:53:25 PDT

Vonage, the Internet phone service, has found itself besieged by more legal woes. A court has found it infringed on six Sprint Nextel patents, and ordered Vonage to cough up $69.5 million and a 5 percent royalty on future sales. Last March, Vonage suffered similar penalties after it was found guilty of infringing on Verizon patents. A royalty here, a royalty there, and soon you're talking serious money. [Silicon Alley Insider]

Google's fiber-optic plans spur new phone talk

Owen Thomas — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 11:49:52 PDT

According to Australian tech trade Communications Day, Google may be planning to fund a new trans-Pacific fiber-optic cable, part of its growing in-house telecom network. (A Google rep neither confirmed nor denied the plans.) Why would Google want to lay cable on the ocean floor? Google already owns a considerable fiber network, used for in-house needs at present. But its telecom activities, which now include bidding on wireless spectrum in the United States, arouse suspicions that it might be getting into the phone business. Nonsense.

Google would like people to think it's getting in the phone business. The mere prospect of Google as a competitor causes panic among entrenched phone and broadband providers like AT&T and Verizon, and accomplishes two important goals: One, it helps persuade those companies to bend to Google's public-policy whims, like "network neutrality." And two, it lets Google's sharky telecom purchasers negotiate better terms when they do buy fiber-optic capacity. (Serving up those YouTube videos does chew up a lot of bandwidth, after all.) By owning some of its own fiber, Google knows how much it really costs to run a network — and how to lowball its suppliers.

Verizon doesn't like to share, suing FCC

Mary Jane Irwin — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 09:58:24 PDT

All this talk of auctioning and the 700mhz spectrum has thrown Verizon into a tiff. It's apparently none too happy that Google and other interested parties may soon have access to the airwaves once analog television broadcasts are discontinued in early 2009. So the telecom is suing the Federal Communications Commission on the grounds that its open-access rules — that the auctioned bands be made compatible with any device — are illegal. Sounds like its afraid of some friendly competition — the freed 700Mhz band could be used for anything from new wireless phone to broadband service. (Photo by majorvols)

Michael Capellas has a new company to sell

Tim Faulkner — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 10:10:41 PDT

If there's one thing Michael Capellas knows, it's how to make money fast. After becoming Compaq's CEO in 1999, he turned the company around — and turned around and sold it to Hewlett-Packard in 2002. Tenure as CEO? Three years. He then joined the bankrupt MCI in December2002. MCI emerged from bankruptcy in 2004, and by February 2005, Capellas sold MCI to Verizon for $7.6 billion. Tenure as CEO? Just over two years. Now, Capellas, most recently an advisor to Silver Lake Partners, was named CEO of First Data Corporation, a payment-processing company recently taken private by KKR. Tenure as CEO? At the rate he's going, Capellas still being the CEO of First Data in 2009 would be a real surprise. (Photo by Ben Baker for Fortune)

83 words you can't say on Verizon Wireless

Nick Douglas — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 11:10:33 PDT

Don't ask us how we got it, or how many honkeys and limeys we had to kill for it, but after the jump is Verizon Wireless's list of inadmissable naughty words. Verizon content providers (including many online news and entertainment sources) are banned from using obvious words like "fuck" and its derivatives, a smattering of racial slurs, and "queer" and "lesbo" — always a perfect way to pick a fight with more audacious gay rights activists. Ahh, the freedom of communication under New Media.

But the real reason I'm publishing this list is the more creative entries: "fleshpopsicle," "spearchucker," and "whiteswallow" (which I thought was one of the birds Craig Newmark feeds in his backyard). Like an 11-year-old boy, we had not thought of saying these words until we heard them, but now those words taste so good in our mouths.

Use the phrase "flesh popsicle" in a sentence today.

Disclosure: As far as I can tell, certain (but not all) entries from Gawker Media blogs are republished through Verizon and thus fall under these guidelines.

—-—-—-- Forwarded message —-—-—--

No Content provided to Subscribers of Verizon Wireless from Content Providers, whether in the form of text, audio, images, video or otherwise, may contain any of the words listed in Appendix A. This includes any variations in spelling of the words (e.g., fuck, phuck, fucks, fucker, fucked, fucking, etc.), any variations in pronunciation of the words (e.g., nigger, nigga, niggahs, etc.) or any combinations or creations containing any of the words (e.g., ass, assboy, asslicker, uptheass, etc.).

Nonetheless, it is not possible to compile a definitive list of unacceptable words. Language is fluid, with new words and phrases regularly entering the public vocabulary, and established meanings may change over time. For this reason, the list of prohibited words in Appendix A may change from time to time and is not meant to be all-inclusive.

anal
ass
bastard
beatoff
bitch
BJ
cameljockey
chink
circlejerk
clit
cock
coolie
coon
cornhole
cum
cunt
dago
deepthroating
dickhead
dickwad
dildo
dyke
eatme
fag
faggot
fellatio
fisting
fleshflute
fleshpopsicle
fornicate
fuck
fudgepacking
gangbang
genital
getlaid
gobtheknob
goldenshower
gook
hairpie
hardon
homo
honkey
jerkoff
jewboy
jizz
5
kike
lesbo
limey
manloaf
masturbate
muffdiver
nigger
nutsack
paki
panface
poontang
pubic
pussy
queef
queer
raghead
rimjob
rubyredbag
scrotum
shit
sitonmyface
sixtynine
slag
slant
sodomize
spankthemonkey
spearchucker
spic
spooge
teabagging
testicles
twat
vagina
wetback
whackoff
whipitout
whiteswallow
wop

DOJ wants Google, MS, and AOL to screw us over

Nick Douglas — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 11:33:40 PDT

Hide the porn and stop searching for "Bush is a loser" — the US government today asked Internet companies to keep records of e-mails and web searches. Not demanded — they'd need Congress's approval for that — but asked. Like, as a favor, in between the Chinese censorship and the Nazi collaboration. The Attorney General and FBI director made this request to AOL, Microsoft, Comcast, and Google (and Verizon, a known informant). Who will sell us out first? Let's guess!

Microsoft, AOL, Google Asked by U.S. to Keep Internet Records [Bloomberg]