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MAY 31 FCC OPEN MEETING AGENDA
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on Thursday, May 31, 2007, which is scheduled to commence at 9:30 a.m. in Room TW-C305, at 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. The Commission will consider recommendations submitted by the Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks; a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning wireless Enhanced 911 location accuracy and automatic location identification for interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services; the Emergency Alert System; Telecommunications Relay Services; cable wiring; and carriage of broadcast signals on cable and satellite TV systems. Audio/Video coverage of the meeting will be broadcast live with open captioning over the Internet from the FCC's Audio/Video Events web page at www.fcc.gov/realaudio.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-273285A1.doc
May 31 FCC Open Meeting Agenda
GROWING THE 'PRIVATE' CLUB
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Orit Gadiesh & Hugh MacArthur]
Private equity is becoming a benchmark of performance for CEOs and boards of directors. Boards are asking themselves, "What would we do differently if we were privately held?" The answer is a lot. Public-company shareholders are often passive or cast votes by dumping shares. And public companies are constrained by Sarbanes-Oxley, which can slow down or hamper fixes needed for the mid-to-long haul. Private-equity shareholders -- particularly those from top firms, like Blackstone -- behave like active owners. They understand the companies they own and drive them to address problems more rapidly while investing more deeply in attractive longer-term initiatives. What does this mean? For one, private-equity firms invest with a thesis for improving performance in a realistic, but aggressive time frame -- three-to-five years. Compare that with public companies' quarterly earnings scramble and a sense within public companies that each business they own will be a permanent part of the corporate portfolio. For another, the best private-equity firms test their investment thesis hard after the deal closes with a detailed plan of where and how to build value. Their plans often include a few simple metrics -- e.g., cash, market and operating measures -- and top fund professionals frequently review and revise these plans with management. They swiftly move unproductive assets off the balance sheet. And finally, they compensate managers strictly on results.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118005241817814142.html?mod=todays_us_op...
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118005241817814142.html?mod=todays_us_opinion
TRIBUNE CO'S CLIMB TO GOING PRIVATE GETS STEEPER
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Serena Ng serena.ng@wsj.com]
Tribune Co.'s prolonged and tortuous undertaking to sell itself isn't getting any easier. The newspaper and television concern cleared a hurdle yesterday by completing a tender offer for half of its shares, but to do so it had to commit to borrowing terms that could make its life more difficult in the months ahead. On April 2, Tribune said it would take itself private in a two-stage $8.2 billion deal backed by real-estate magnate Sam Zell. The deal, financed almost entirely by debt, isn't expected to close until late this year. To fund the tender offer that is the first stage of the buyout, and to refinance some existing debt, Tribune last week sold more than $7 billion in loans to debt investors. Even in today's easy- money atmosphere, the company's bankers had a tough time pushing the deal through. The bankers ended up forgoing roughly a third of about $120 million in fees to get the deal done. Tribune ended up agreeing to pay higher interest rates than planned on most of the debt. It also agreed to pay down a chunk of the loans within two years, rather than the seven-year term it sought. The moves raise questions about the company's ability to service its debt load while navigating the deteriorating newspaper business.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118001663047013412.html?mod=todays_us_mo...
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* Foundation to tender all of its Tribune Co. shares
Tribune Co.'s second-biggest shareholder, the Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation, disclosed in a regulatory filing Thursday that the non-profit foundation intends to tender all of its 28 million Tribune Co. shares -- representing an 11.6 percent stake in the media company -- in Tribune's current $34-a-share tender offer.
http://feeds.chicagotribune.com/~r/chicagotribune/business/~3/119417149/...
* Judge Won't Stop Sam Zell Deal For Tribune Co.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_con...
NCTA: DON'T BAN CABLE FROM FCC AUCTION
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
The Federal Communications Commission should reject arguments that cable operators need to be excluded for competitive reasons from an upcoming auction of old broadcast-TV airwaves, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association said in an FCC filing late Wednesday.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6446245.html?rssid=196
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6446245.html?rssid=196
PHILADELPHIA WIRELESS INTERNET PROJECT ADVANCES
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jon Hurdle]
Philadelphia has finished testing its wireless Internet project, setting the stage for America's biggest citywide Wi-Fi network that will also offer access to low-income households, officials said on Thursday. The city government this week approved results from a 15-square-mile test zone where people can access the Internet for $21.95 a month or $9.95 if they qualify for low-income assistance. Access is free in parks and other outdoor spaces, and for people participating in community programs such as employment training or housing assistance. By the end of this year, Philadelphia will have wireless Internet access throughout its 135 square miles.
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN2436904820070524
Philadelphia wireless Internet project advances
E-MAIL REPLY TO ALL: 'LEAVE ME ALONE'
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Mike Musgrove]
The supposed convenience of electronic mail, like so many other innovations of technology, has become too much for some people. Swamped by an unmanageable number of messages -- the volume of e-mail traffic has nearly doubled in the past two years, according to research firm DYS Analytics -- and plagued by annoying spam and viruses, some users are saying "Enough!" Those declaring bankruptcy are swearing off e-mail entirely or, more commonly, deleting all old messages and starting fresh. E-mail overload gives many workers the sense that their work is never done, said senior analyst David Ferris, whose firm, Ferris Research, said there were 6 trillion business e-mails sent in 2006. "A lot of people like the feeling that they have everything done at the end of the day," he said. "They can't have it anymore." So some say they're moving back to the telephone as their preferred means of communication.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/24/AR200705...
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E-Mail Reply to All: 'Leave Me Alone'
CABLE GIANTS TUNE IN TO SMALL FIRMS
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune 5/23, AUTHOR: Jon Van]
Big cable operators are targeting the small and medium-size business market in a fight for turf that phone companies have had to themselves until now. Companies such as Cox Communications Inc., Time Warner Inc. and now Comcast Corp. have recently announced that they will provide small businesses with voice and data services, a potentially lucrative market that can bring three to four times as much revenue per customer as residential services. A recent study by The Insight Research Corp. noted that among an estimated 7 million small businesses located in the United States, about 6.4 million are located in areas served by cable TV. "Serving this market is a no-brainer for the cable industry," said Robert Rosenberg, president of Insight. "For the same effort it takes to win a residential customer that you may send monthly bills of $40 you can win a business customer whose monthly bill might be $200." For small-business customers the increased competition will likely lead to more choices and better prices, Rosenberg said. But the fierce competition could translate into lost revenues for phone companies. According to Insight, phone companies are expected to lose more than 1.5 million small-business phone lines to cable competitors by the close of this year and nearly 10 million small-business phone lines over the next five years. Cable companies already have had success in luring away residential customers from phone companies. Time Warner claims to have 2.1 million residential phone customers in its first three years and began selling phone services last month to small and medium-size customers in five cities.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-wed_comcastmay23,1,914515,p...
TENNESSEE CABLE BILL DEAD FOR THE YEAR
[SOURCE: Memphis Commercial-Appeal, AUTHOR: Richard Locker]
Telecommunications giant AT&T's months-long efforts to win legislative approval of a bill to streamline its entry into Tennessee's cable television market is dead for the year. Legislative sponsors of the bill, Reps. Steve McDaniel and Charles Curtiss, said late Wednesday they will take the bill "off notice" until the 2008 legislative session -- effectively killing it for the year. The move came after continued fighting over the issue and the belief that the bill did not have enough votes to pass. The cable industry -- primarily Comcast, Charter and the Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association -- plus the Tennessee Municipal League, which represents city governments across the state, vigorously opposed the bill, which has passed in at least a dozen other states served by AT&T.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/midsouth_news/article/0,1426,MCA_149...
* Franchise-Reform Bill Withdrawn in Tennessee
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6446252.html
Tennessee cable bill dead for the year
NO TEXAS-SIZED RATE DECLINES IN TEXAS
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Haugsted]
Basic-cable rates have not declined in any of the Texas communities where there are competitive providers, according to a survey done by the Texas chapter of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors. Rates for the tier including off-air signals and public, educational and government channels have actually increased over the past two years, according to the study posted May 22 on the group's Web site. The greatest hike, according to the group, was in Denton. There, Charter Communications raised basic rates from $12.78 per month in 2005 to $19.05 today despite competition from Grande Communications and Verizon Communications. However, the arrival of Verizon as a video competitor provided a lower-cost alternative for consumers of basic and expanded-basic services.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6446439.html?rssid=196
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6446439.html?rssid=196
EU BACKS RISE IN ADVERTISING ON BROADCAST TV
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Anne Jolis anne.jolis@dowjones.com]
The European Union's national governments approved sweeping changes to the bloc's television-broadcasting rules, extending the amount of advertising allowed and allowing product placement in TV shows. Until now, such product placement has been illegal in many EU countries, and that angered producers who saw their U.S. counterparts cash in on the practice. The new regulations also help broadcasters by allowing them to show advertisements more frequently. The legislation sidesteps the issue of how much content produced in the EU is required on TV. EU film and TV companies have lobbied for tough limits on Hollywood imports, but yesterday's overhaul leaves unchanged a 1989 mandate encouraging local-language production. Another area left largely unregulated is the Internet. Web sites, such as Google Inc.'s YouTube, will remain exempt from EU rules, though video-on-demand services will now come under the same regulations as regular television. The omission of Internet regulation is a loss for television broadcasters, who lobbied hard to include the emerging Internet-based audiovisual industry in the new rules. They said that they face increased competition from services such as YouTube and mobile-multimedia companies and that exempting these players from regulation would put broadcasters at a competitive disadvantage.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118004402666113909.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118004402666113909.html?mod=todays_us_marketplac…