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By Alana Grelyak
Can you believe that the summer is almost over? We certainly can't. These last
few weeks of summer are often a busy time, as everyone tries to cram in
everything they didn't finish before the fall hits us with holidays, school, and new responsibilities. The telecom world is no different. We have plenty of news for you that covers mergers and acquisitions, AT&T's decision to move its headquarters, and even a brand new and unexpected issue for Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft. We've done our best to cover what we think you need to know. Here's your NewsWatch for September.
Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google are being mentioned in the same paragraph again, though not for the takeover dispute we've been following each month. This time, it seems the three companies were issued notices by India's Supreme Court. Apparently, the companies are in hot water for allowing ads for "sex selection" services, which allow parents to select the gender of their unborn child. This goes against India's "Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques Act," which prohibits gender selection of unborn babies. India has wasted no time in making their dissatisfaction known with a public interest lawsuit against the companies. The claim was filed by Dr. Sabu Mathew George, who's looking to block access to the sites that violate the Act and
 wants to sue for punitive and deterrent action. Similar ads are already banned on TV, on the radio, and in print within India.
Within the Microsoft/Yahoo takeover issue, Carl Icahn has won himself a seat on the Yahoo board. The board is also being expanded from nine members to eleven. Other than that, at least at the time of our publishing, no major changes have occurred in the saga.
AT&T has decided to move its headquarters from San Antonio, Texas to downtown Dallas, Texas. The city of Dallas is clearly happy with
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In the ever-present fight for customer love, SPs are coming up with new ways of drawing attention to themselves. |
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the decision and is showing its support by offering AT&T a $5 million grant. And in other good news for AT&T, Boeing has selected the company as the primary carrier for landline voice and data services. The contract is valid for 5 years and is estimated at more than $400 million. Maybe AT&T can use that $5 million grant to throw a celebration party...
In the ever-present fight for customer love, SPs are coming up with new ways of drawing attention to themselves. In Chicago, for instance, Comcast was recently running a promotion where customers could get a free Nintendo Wii if they signed up for a 2-year deal on the Preferred Plus or Premier Triple Play packages. Now Verizon is offering free high-definition DVR use for customers who switch to FiOS TV service. I, as a customer, look forward to seeing the next generation of customer temptations that come into play. Anyone else holding out for a Lamborghini?
Best Buy will be selling the Apple iPhone, the first retail chain to be able to do so, as of September 7 of this year. "The iPhone has changed the way people think about their mobile phones, and we are delighted to help more customers get their hands on this revolutionary product," said Brian J. Dunn, president and chief operating officer, Best Buy. "Our Best Buy Mobile employees have the training and expertise to deliver the best experience possible for our customers - from the initial purchase through the life of their iPhones." Don't get too excited, though; customers still need to sign a 2-year contract with AT&T. This just makes it more convenient for you to do it, and will probably give Best Buy a nice sales boost this Christmas season.
Subex has announced that its customer base has surpassed the 200 benchmark. "This is a great moment for us as it is an important indicator that Subex has become a trusted OSS and BSS supplier to telecommunications service providers around the world..." said Subash Menon, Founding Chairman and Managing Director and CEO of Subex Ltd.
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