News of the Day

• Deutsche Telekom lowers 2007 earnings expectations
  Tough domestic competition and a strong euro forced the German Deutsche Telekom to revise its 2007 earnings outlook down to $24.6 billion. The Washington Post/Associated Press (1/28)

Business & Industry Watch

• BT rivals complain to European officials
  Cable & Wireless, Carphone Warehouse and other BT rivals complained to the European Commission that the U.K.'s Ofcom is not able to regulate the British communications giant. The Times (London) (subscription required) (1/29)

• Regulators, rivals pursue Qualcomm
  Qualcomm is fighting a multifront legal battle as regulators in Europe, South Korea and Japan probe its business practices and Nokia and other wireless-equipment makers allege the company charges too much for its technologies. San Jose Mercury News (Calif.)/Associated Press (free registration) (1/28)

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Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by USTelecom dailyLead® readers in the past week.

• AT&T expands IPTV service (CNET)

• Analysis: Telecom video intrigues investors (Reuters)

• Future looks bright for Comcast, cable industry (NYTimes.com)

• Cable industry moves to address bandwidth crunch (Light Reading)

• AT&T reports 17% increase in fourth-quarter profit (MSNBC)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

Founded in 1923, Henkels & McCoy provides technology-based solutions for carriers, operating telcos, utilities, the government, the military, and private industry on a national level. It's an exciting time to be at the forefront of our nation's telecommunications construction business. We can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Technology Trends

• Chip makers turn to hafnium
  Intel Corp. and IBM Corp. each announced it would replace silicon with hafnium in a key part of its semiconductors, which researchers say will help the companies continue to improve semiconductor performance while cutting size and cost. One engineer said, "It's somewhat of an exaggeration, but it's like going from a propeller plane to a jet engine." Los Angeles Times (1/28)

• Report forecasts growth for Web TV downloads, warns about piracy
  Downloads from such Web sites as YouTube, Google Video, Movielink and Apple's iTunes Video will grow tenfold to be worth $6.3 billion in 2012, according to a report by the business information group Informa. The report cautions that providers of audiovisual content need to protect against piracy to avoid the mistakes made by the music industry. Financial Times (free content) (1/28)

• In the U.S., the mobile Web still lags
  Around the world, mobile-telephone users have access to a broad array of next-generation Web functionality, but in the U.S., use of the mobile Web has yet to gain popularity. An estimated 88% of mobiles on the market in the U.S. have some Web-browsing capability, but a modest 16.6% of users actually take advantage of the technology to go online, according to research firm M: Metrics Inc. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (1/29)

• Bye-bye conventional TV, Microsoft chairman says
  Within five years, viewers will abandon conventional broadcast television as PCs and TV sets merge and online video content explodes, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. The Boston Globe/Reuters (free registration) (1/27)

	Planning your 2007 advertising campaign? Whether you are launching a new product or service, generating leads, sponsoring a conference, exhibiting or building your brand, USTelecom dailyLead provides you with the most trusted and cost-effective means for reaching telecom executives. To learn more, click here or contact Eric Hoffman at ehoffman@smartbrief.com or 773.549.3868.

Regulatory & Legislative

• Web, broadband companies fight over who pays
  In a battle over the Internet's future, Web companies push for rules against tiered pricing, while cable and phone companies fight against regulation. Bloomberg Businessweek (1/29)

• Localities take the offensive on franchise issue
  Local governments are banding together to complain that the FCC is trying to "federalize" the cable-franchise process to facilitate the move by telecom companies to offer video services. The Washington Post/Associated Press (1/28)

LeadQuote

The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on." --Walter Lippmann, writer and journalist