Apartments may see cable competition (AP)

The new rule, which could significantly lower cable prices for millions of subscribers who live in apartments, is expected to be approved Wednesday by the Federal Communciations Commission, The New York Times reported Monday, citing an interview with the agency’s chairman. Under FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s proposal, cable companies, such as Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable Inc., would no longer have exclusive deals with apartment buildings and other multiunit dwellings to provide cable TV to building residents, who usually have no other choice for such services. The new rule could benefit other video providers, including telecommunications companies Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. FCC spokesman David Fiske said the issue will be discussed at the agency’s meeting on Wednesday, but would not provide other details. Martin, who circulated the proposal among commissioners, previously said the proposal would be favorable to minorities because they disproportionately represent a larger share of apartment dwellers than non-minorities. The Times also reported that trade groups representing cable TV companies and building owners have indicated they may challenge the rule in court, if it passes. Shares of AT&T added 8 cents to $41.54, while Verizon added 14 cents to $45.74 in morning trading. Comcast dipped 18 cents to $21.05, while Time Warner fell 17 cents to $29.35.

Verizon 3Q profit falls, revenue rises (AP)

Verizon earned $1.27 billion, or 44 cents per share, in the July-September period, down 34 percent from $1.92 billion, or 66 cents per share, a year earlier. This year’s figure includes a charge of 16 cents per share for taxes related to a minority investment in Italian cell-phone carrier Vodafone Omnitel, and 3 cents per share in other charges. Excluding those charges, earnings would have been 63 cents per share, beating the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial by a penny a share. Last year’s earnings figure includes a number of businesses that have since been sold or spun-off, including the high-margin Yellow Pages business. Excluding those businesses, earnings in last year’s second quarter was 53 cents per share. Revenue came to $23.8 billion in the latest quarter, up 5.8 percent from $22.5 billion a year ago. Verizon shares rose 14 cents to $45.74 in morning trading Monday. The stock has risen steadily from a 52-week low of $33.98 set last November, as investors have gotten over their skepticism of Verizon’s expensive fiber-optic buildout plan. Analysts said the third-quarter results were largely in line with their expectations. Bank of America’s David Barden and UBS’s John Hodulik both maintained their “Buy” ratings and pointed to an increase in the company’s planned stock buybacks this year, from $2 billion to $2.5 billion. Verizon’s major growth driver, the cell-phone operations, added 1.6 million customers, for a total of 63.7 million, just behind AT&T Inc.’s 65.7 million. While Verizon has generally been slowly closing the gap with the larger AT&T, Verizon’s rival pulled ahead this quarter with an assist from Apple Inc.’s iPhone, for which it is the exclusive carrier. Verizon Chief Operating Officer Denny Strigl said the iPhone has had “minimal impact,” but acknowledged two brief jumps in customers applying to have their numbers transferred to another carrier. The first was when the iPhone went on sale in the previous quarter. The second occurred when the iPhone’s price was lowered in September. “We have a very aggressive fourth-quarter plan in terms of introduction new products” Strigl said. The new phones include the LG Voyager, which like the iPhone has a large touch-sensitive screen. Strigl said it was “a very close competitive offer to the iPhone.” Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon and Vodafone Group PLC of Britain. All of its revenue — $11.3 billion in the third quarter — is counted on Verizon’s books, but only 55 percent of its profits, with the rest going to Vodafone. Verizon’s other growth engine, though still much smaller than the wireless division, is the fiber-optic network that it is building out to replace its copper phone lines. It added 229,000 fiber-optic subscribers during the quarter, up from 203,000 in the second quarter. It connected 202,000 subscribers to the TV service, FiOS TV. At the same time, the wireline division continued to lose regular phone subscribers at a much faster rate — 3.7 million in a year. The New York Times reported Monday that the Federal Communications Commission was set to void agreements between cable operators and landlords that keep out competing video providers like Verizon. The decision would make it easier for Verizon to bring FiOS to apartment-dwellers, but exclusivity agreements are just one of the contractual and regulatory hurdles that affect its buildout. Exclusive access agreements are already illegal in some states. Strigl said its FiOS lines pass by buildings with 2.1 million apartments, but it is able to market its service to only 400,000 of those. Of the 4.4 million single-family homes passed by FiOS, Verizon is able to market to about three-quarters. “It would be very helpful to have the kind of rules the FCC is looking at,” Strigl said. ___ On the Net:

Microsoft to buy Thai medical info firm (AP)

Global Care Solutions Ltd., or GCS, specializes in creating software modules for hospitals’ clinical and administrative operations, allowing them to run more smoothly. Financial terms were not disclosed. The Bangkok-based company, whose core product was first marketed in 2000, has implemented its systems in seven hospitals in the Asia-Pacific region. They are based on Microsoft software products that already exist. Neupert said that the deal, under which Microsoft will acquire software, intellectual property and other assets of GCS, would allow the technology to be marketed worldwide. In Thailand, GCS has worked closely in developing its products with Bumrungrad International Hospital, which says that the company’s system has helped it bring the average waiting time to see a doctor down to 17 minutes. The development of Global Care technology will remain in Bangkok, and Microsoft said that it would continue to work closely with Bumrungrad hospital. Microsoft signaled its interest in the health care sector last year when it bought Azyxxi, a software system to collect and display real-time patient data. This year, in addition to the GCS acquisition, Microsoft has also bought a startup company that develops Web search technology for medical information and launched a Web site to store medical information online.

Russian human rights Web site says was attacked (Reuters)

"This is a site to support the portal 'Human Rights in Russia' () which has been attacked and has been temporarily withdrawn from service," the group wrote on its new Web site address . The group wrote that the Web site had stopped working properly on October 21 but that no person or group had claimed responsibility. President Vladimir Putin is hugely popular in Russia but has been accused by the European Union and Russia's small and divided opposition of undermining democracy and gagging freedom of speech. He accuses Western governments of using human rights as a pretext to try to interfere in Russia's domestic affairs. Russia holds a parliamentary election in December, and a presidential election in March to find a successor to Putin.

Hutchison 3 to release Skypephone in eight countries (InfoWorld)

Hutchison 3G, branded as "3" in the U.K., is offering free calls between Skype users through the 3G mobile phone, which goes on sale Friday in the U.K. The Skypephone will be released by the end of the year in Australia, Denmark, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Macau, and Sweden. Some mobile phones already support Skype, but volume-based data usage charges typically make the service expensive to use. Skype recommends using its mobile application with unlimited 3G data plans or Wi-Fi. Hutchison 3 has been offering unlimited Skype calls on its pricier X-Series phones, but the Skypephone is simpler and aimed at the mass market, according to a company spokesman. The phone has a large button with Skype's logo that's used to launch calls and IMs. Hutchison 3 is not charging for the cost of Skype calls on its network, although it does to about 4,000 minutes per month. Hutchison 3 will then suspend outgoing Skype calls but allow incoming ones. If a user is outside of Hutchison 3's network, roaming charges apply, which can be pricey despite a rate drop from operators after warnings from the European Commission earlier this year. The Skypephone is dual-band and won't work in the U.S. Hutchison 3's Skypephone allows free calls between registered Skype users, but the SkypeOut service that allows PC users to call regular telephone numbers using Skype is not available. Those must be dialed as regular calls charged for by Hutchison 3. The , which comes in white and black, was developed by Huchison 3 and Qualcomm. It has a 2-megapixel camera, MPHutchison 3 player, Bluetooth connectivity, 16MB of internal memory that can be expanded to 1GB with a Micro SD memory card. In the U.K., the handset costs £49.99 ($102) for customers who prepay their service. The phone is free for those on a contract with Huchison 3, which start around £12 per month. Skype, which is owned by eBay, and Hutchison 3, agreed in 2006 to work on a mobile VOIP phone. Hutchison 3 is the smallest U.K. operator and has shown less aversion to shaking up the market, particularly with VOIP, which threatens operators' revenue, wrote John Delaney, principal analyst at Ovum. "The bigger operators, such as Vodafone, T-Mobile, and Orange, have all taken flak recently for alleged hostility towards customers using VOIP on their networks," Delaney wrote. "Now here comes Hutchison 3, not only encouraging its customers to use VOIP, but bending over backwards to make it easy for them."  

Skypephone Set To Disrupt Wireless Market (NewsFactor)

Skype announced a collaboration with Hong Kong mobile operator 3 to launch a handset that lets you make free Skype-to-Skype calls and send free Skype instant messages from the phone to other Skype users no matter where they are. Dubbed the 3 Skypephone, the device is a fully featured 3G cellular phone with Skype built right in. The phone makes Skype calls and conventional wireless calls, and can be used to access 3's Internet services. "Skype is now truly mobile," Michael van Swaaij, acting CEO at Skype, said in a statement. "It couldn't be simpler — put Skype in your pocket and make free Skype mobile calls and send free Skype instant messages at the touch of a single Skype button." Giant Step for Mobile The 3 Skypephone was developed by Skype and 3 in partnership with Qualcomm, using Qualcomm's Brew platform to enable Skype to work with core handset features such as address book and messaging. The 3 Skypephone could see a potentially wide audience when it officially launches on November 2, as 3 operates in Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Denmark, Italy, Sweden, Ireland, Austria, and the UK. "Thanks to 3, Skype has now taken a giant step forward in the mobile arena. It takes an innovative operator like 3 to challenge traditional thinking and offer the kind of product other operators are still shying away from," van Swaaij added. John Jackson, a wireless analyst at Yankee Group, agreed that the 3 Skypephone challenges traditional thinking — and said this is just the beginning. "This is the type of disruptive device and service offering has all the hallmarks of everything we are expecting in terms of the way the Internet domain is going to seek inroads into the traditional cellular domain," Jackson said. "This is a market manifestation of this clash of cultures." Open-Ended Questions Kevin Russell, 3's UK CEO, described that disruptive approach by saying that 3 wants to make mobile Internet available to everyone, a goal that demands services that are simple to access and affordable. "To enable Skype to go mobile in this way brings free Internet calls together with an affordable 3G handset," Russell continued. "Mobile has the potential to massively increase access to Internet calling." However, Jackson said there are many open-ended questions. By virtue of 3's minority positions in most of the markets it serves, he explained, the company is compelled to behave in a contrarian and disruptive manner. "3 is compelled to innovate," Jackson said. "The question is whether or not it will be enough to counter not just the likes of Vodafone but the likes of Sony Ericsson and Nokia as well." That, Jackson said, will have a lot to do with the price, design, brand, and functionality of the 3 Skypephone. His conclusion: This type of innovation is great for the market and great for consumers. He said we can expect to see more products like the 3 Skypephone in the future.

Tech Recruiters Turn to Facebook (PC World)

According to 58 percent of IT recruitment firms polled by the Association of Technology Staffing Companies, an industry body, such sites are more useful in finding staff than traditional print advertisements. And 49 percent said they were now more effective than internet banner advertising. But seven in 10 recruiters said job boards provided a better quality of candidates, and two in 10 preferred cold calling. Only 9 percent saw social networking as providing the most appropriate candidates. Atsco said that the headhunters were favoring special interest groups on the sites to find candidates with the right background and knowledge, over the "scatter gun" approach of finding the right people through print advertising. It admitted, however, that print and online recruitment advertising would remain an important way for employers and recruiters to build brand value and target senior level appointments. Ann Swain, chief executive at Atsco, said the success of social networking sites as a recruitment tool was a result of their being interactive, as opposed to the one-way communication of print advertisements. She said they offered "a dynamic, two-way dialogue between recruiter and candidate" rather than "another passive form of advertising." "Social networking sites make it very easy for recruiters to become trusted advisers to candidates and genuinely get to know them," she added. "Candidates often reveal far more about themselves on these sites than they would do on the phone or in interview." But the survey also revealed that recruitment firms were risking their valuable databases online. Only a quarter of staffing companies currently write restrictive clauses into consultants' contracts, asserting ownership of databases and contact lists constructed by staff on social networking sites. As "the lifeblood of the recruitment industry," these databases needed much more security, Atsco said. "This is currently an area where contract law is lagging behind social trends and an area of risk that the recruitment industry needs to pick up on," Swain said.

Net Pioneer Cerf Leaves Oversight Group

Qantas Tests In-Flight Cell Phone Use (PC World)

While the technology is almost ready to allow passengers to use their mobile phone during flights, they shouldn't expect to do so anytime soon. Qantas has extended until February 2008 a technology trial that allows passengers to send text messages and emails from their mobile phones during flights, with the plane acting as a mobile phone tower. Passengers roam onto the tower as they normally do when travelling overseas. In April, Australia's communications regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), gave Qantas a 12 month window of opportunity to temporarily test the service on one of its planes, a Boeing 767 travelling domestically. While Qantas had initially flagged plans for a three-month trial, company spokeswoman Holly Williams told The Australian Financial Review last week the test period had now been extended, and was slated to finish early next year. "They figured they might as well use the entire period to evaluate customer responses," Ms Williams said of Qantas's technical team. Qantas expects to release preliminary results of the trial later this year. Qantas's efforts come as other carriers, such as Dubai's Emirates Airlines, flag similar trials this year although most remain concerned that mobile phones, which use a specialized form of radio waves, have the potential to interfere with in-flight signalling equipment. Virgin Blue spokeswoman Amanda Bolger said the carrier did not offer any internet, SMS or mobile phone options on its planes, although the matter was under consideration. ACMA and other government groups will consider permanent regulatory arrangements for in-flight mobile services once Qantas releases its results from the trial. The Qantas trial involves the use of a so-called network control unit that acts like a tiny mobile phone tower connected by satellite to ground networks. In-flight mobile voice services could also be even further away than mobile text and email services. Qantas's trial does not allow voice services, reportedly due to the need to prevent talkative passengers from disturbing others. Passengers on Qantas flights can already communicate via available telephones located in their seats. However, they may soon have another option. In July, the airline announced it was planning to buy a number of Airbus A380s, which would provide wi-fi internet capability throughout the plane. This is in addition to in-seat access to email, the internet and SMS. The planes will also feature USB and ethernet ports as well as the ability to power laptops.

Microsoft to buy Thai health software vendor (InfoWorld)

(GCS) of Bangkok, Thailand, is Microsoft's third purchase of a health-care software vendor in the past 13 months, according to , vice president for the . The group was formed two years ago and the purchase of GCS is one more step to building the Microsoft health-care business, he said. GCS specializes in hospital software that takes care of patient scheduling, billing, clinical workflow, regulatory compliance and medical record-keeping. The privately held company has worked for years with , a facility made famous by its focus on catering to visiting tourists. What makes GCS software special is the amount of specialized record keeping required by Bumrungrad. Doctors at the hospital see over 1.2 million patients each year, including 400,000 foreign patients from 190 countries, meaning varying language, insurance and billing data. Half of the 3,200 patients seen at Bumrungrad each day walk in without an appointment, yet GCS's scheduling software ensures patients wait an average of 17 minutes to see a doctor. Microsoft will retain all GCS workers after the acquisition. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The companies also announced a collaborative alliance with Bumrungrad Hospital to continue work on tweaking and improving technology to improve hospital care. "We now have a partner that's willing to experiment with us," said Neupert. He said future work will include software development as well as experimenting on how (radio frequency identification) can improve hospital care. Microsoft will focus GCS software sales on hospitals in emerging countries, said Neupert. The software fits well with emerging market hospital needs, requiring just a small investment in computer hardware, he said. Microsoft has not been receiving requests for the kind of software GCS provides, he said, but made the acquisition based on what its Health Solutions Group required, and because the company has a good understanding of its business. GCS software is in use in seven hospitals around the Asia-Pacific region, the company said.