Dawn Kawamoto

Worldwide subscriptions to telecom-delivered TV are expected to grow threefold by 2012, according to a report released Monday. Despite the dire economic climate, the number of such subscriptions is expected to reach 71.6 million by that time, according to market researcher In-Stat's report.

On Monday Sprint Nextel announced it will fire 8,000 people as the economic meltdown cuts into the telecommunications carrier's business. The workforce reduction is expected to result in a $300 million charge in the first quarter for severance payouts, but also is anticipated to save the company $1.2 billion in annualized labor costs.

Global Internet usage reached over 1 billion unique visitors in the month of December, with 41.3 percent coming from the Asia-Pacific region, according to a report released Friday by comScore.

The American Electronics Association and Information Technology Association of America trade groups announced on Tuesday plans to merge lobbying efforts. The combined group, to be known as the Technology Association of America, is expected to have approximately 2,000 member companies.

Online shoppers put a stranglehold on their wallets in the first several weeks of November, marking the first historic decline in e-commerce sales, according to Market researcher ComScore. Online shopping declined 4 percent during the first 23 days of November, compared with a comparable time period last year.

Yahoo and Google are nearing a point where they'll have to decide whether to fish or cut bait on regulatory approval for their search advertising deal. During the past two months, efforts to appease federal antitrust regulators have gotten bogged down with potential restrictions on the deal.

The Center for Digital Democracy has written Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) asking him to call on the Department of Justice to oppose the partnership between the two companies, or at a minimum establish "meaningful safeguards" to the arrangement.

Federal antitrust regulators have clearly laid out their concerns to Yahoo and Google regarding their controversial search advertising agreement, but discussions of potential remedies have yet to come up, according to a source familiar with the discussions.

Yahoo on Friday released a copy of its controversial search advertising partnership agreement with Google, marking the first time details of the deal have been made publicly available. However, it is heavily redacted.