Skype SA, the Internet calling service that was controlled until last year by eBay Inc., filed Monday for a U.S. initial public offering. Luxembourg-based Skype tentatively put the value of the offering at $100 million, but that’s a rough estimate only used as a basis for the filing fee for the Securities and Exchange Commission. Skype did not say when its shares would go on sale, or at what price. It expects to list on the Nasdaq Stock Market under an unspecified symbol.
Filed under: Internet
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Aug. 5, 2010 at 2:56 p.m.
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Filed under: Computers, Internet, Technology, Telecommunications FCC pulls out of “net neutrality” talks
Federal regulators are abandoning efforts to negotiate a compromise on so-called “network neutrality” rules intended to ensure that phone and cable companies cannot discriminate against Internet traffic traveling over broadband networks.
The announcement by the Federal Communications Commission ends weeks of FCC-brokered talks to reach an agreement on the thorny issue among a handful of big phone, cable TV and Internet companies. And it comes as two big companies that have been taking part in those talks — Verizon Communications Inc. and Google Inc. — try to hammer out their own proposal on how broadband providers should treat Internet traffic.
According to people briefed on the negotiations, Verizon and Google hope their proposal could help shape legislation in Congress.
Aug. 5, 2010 at 1:31 p.m.
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Filed under: Computers, Internet, Technology, Telecommunications Google denies ‘net neutrality’ deal with Verizon
Google Inc. on Thursday strongly denied a report that said the search giant was close to an agreement with Verizon Communications Inc. that would allow the carrier to speed the delivery of online content to Internet users if content creators paid for the privilege.
The purported agreement, reported by the New York Times, would severely undercut the Internet tenet known as net neutrality, in which no form of content is favored over another. The Times suggested an agreement between Google and Verizon could lead to a new tiered system in which consumers pay more for premium levels of service. Get the full story »
Aug. 5, 2010 at 10:26 a.m.
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Filed under: Airlines, Earnings, Hotels, Internet, Travel, Updated Orbitz profit tops Street on bookings; shares soar
Online travel agency Orbitz Worldwide recorded a better-than-expected quarterly profit on gains in bookings, sending its shares up nearly 13 percent.
The company, which owns travel sites Orbitz.com and Cheaptickets.com, said the total value of its travel bookings increased by 17 percent from a year ago, when the industry was hammered by a recession that drained travel demand. Get the full story »
AT&T launches Wi-Fi hot zone in Wrigleyville
AT&T is launching a Wi-Fi “hot zone” in Chicago’s Wrigleyville as part of a pilot program that seeks to supplement the company’s beleaguered broadband network.
This will be the third Wi-Fi zone set up by the company, which is setting up the zones in area with the highest traffic and mobile data use. The first pilot was launched in New York City’s Times Square in May and was followed by a hot zone in downtown Charlotte, N.C. Get the full story »
Lawsuit says ‘uncommon’ is too common
The word “uncommon” has become a little too common for two Web sites — www.getuncommon.com and www.uncommongoods.com — who are locked in a legal battle over their namesakes. Get the full story »
July 30, 2010 at 12:04 p.m.
Filed under: Cell phones, Consumer electronics, Internet, Technology, Telecommunications Verizon phone users gobble more data than AT&T’s
Thought your iPhone-toting friends were always buried in their phones? Seems Droid users are even more active Web surfers, according to a report released this week.
The average Verizon Wireless smart-phone owner gobbles up more of the network’s wireless data each month than AT&T customers, according to a survey of 20,000 cell phone bills by Validas. Get the full story »
Local companies swear by different e-mail policies
Goldman Sachs might be cleaning up its potty mouth — telling workers that it’ll bar filthy language in e-mails and use software to screen for it — but some Chicago-area companies have different philosophies.
“We do not have a policy on the use of curse words in e-mails,” said Lee Mitchell, managing partner for Chicago-based Thoma Bravo LLC.
But “now that Congress’ ‘financial reform’ legislation has made us subject to SEC regulation, I guess the SEC will be telling us which words are a systemic threat to the global economy and, therefore, have to be banned,” the private equity executive cheekily added. Get the full story »
July 29, 2010 at 10:20 a.m.
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Filed under: Advertising/Marketing, Internet, Media, Telecommunications Guy who saved Comcast via Twitter leaves for Citi
Goodbye, Comcast Twitter guy.
Frank Eliason, the social-media apostle who responded to tens of thousands of online Comcast Corp. customer complaints in the last two years, is leaving the cable company to help banking giant Citigroup Inc. connect with customers online. Get the full story »
July 28, 2010 at 6:31 a.m.
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Filed under: Earnings, Entertainment, Internet, M&A, Media, Telecommunications Comcast 2Q profit down on NBC-related expenses
Comcast Corp., the No. 1 U.S. cable operator, reported a nearly 9 percent decline in quarterly profit as it absorbed expenses related to its highly anticipated acquisition of NBC Universal.
While costs associated with the deal, including professional fees, undercut the cable company’s overall profit, its revenue rose a higher-than-expected 6 percent as it continued to add Internet and telephone customers. Get the full story »
Hulu viewer numbers suffer from metrics change
Hulu has been hailed as the future of television, but its reputation has been based in part on measurement techniques rooted in the past.
The high-flying online TV site frequently is touted as among the most popular video sites in the U.S., based on data from the industry-leading ComScore measurement service. A recent overhaul of ComScore’s methods, however, brought Hulu’s numbers crashing to Earth.
India unveils $35 tablet computer
Indian official Kapil Sibal unveils the $35 tablet for students in New Delhi. (AFP/Getty Images)
India has unveiled a $35 computer prototype as part of its program to provide connectivity to its students and teachers at affordable prices.
Kapil Sibal, the country’s human resources development minister, displayed what he called a low-cost computing and access device in New Delhi on Thursday. The ministry said the price would gradually fall to $10 a piece. Get the full story »
Playboy launches ’safe-for-work’ site
Looking to expand viewership among those who might court a lawsuit if they fired up the regular Playboy.com site at work, Playboy Enterprises Inc. today announced something called TheSmokingJacket.com, which the company bills as a “new safe-for-work men’s entertainment destination that provides guys with smart and sexy distractions throughout the day.”
Safe for work means no nudity, but plenty of Playboy-style hormonal prurience. One of the lead stories on the site: “How to Get Laid at Work.” Another: “7 Signs That You’ve given Up on Getting Laid.” Playboy founder Hugh Hefner greets viewers to the site in a weird little 21-second video of him sitting on a couch in, yes, his trademark smoking jacket.
“Next to the mansion it’s the best hang out on the planet,” Hefner says of the new site. Get the full story »
