---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <20171115052138.GA12051@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2017 00:21:38 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Law Firm Reminds CenturyLink Senior Notes Purchasers of Important Deadline in Class Action NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE:CTL) 7.60% Senior Notes, Series P, due 2039 from March 1, 2013 through June 19, 2017, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period") of the important December 26, 2017 lead plaintiff deadline in the class action. The lawsuit seeks to recover damages for CenturyLink investors under the federal securities laws. The complaint alleges that defendants during the Class Period made false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) CenturyLink's policies allowed its employees to add services or lines to accounts without customer permission, resulting in millions of dollars in unauthorized charges to CenturyLink customers; (2) CenturyLink's illicit practices were designed to allow it to gain an advantage over its competitors and to increase profits; (3) CenturyLink's illicit conduct was likely to subject it to heightened regulatory scrutiny; (4) CenturyLink's revenues were the product of illicit conduct and were unsustainable; and (5) as a result, CenturyLink's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages. http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171107006343/en/CTL-LOSS-NOTICE-Rosen-Law-Firm-Reminds -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20171115051041.GA19919@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2017 00:10:41 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Shame on you, CenturyLink The Islands' Sounder - Orcas Island, Washington Letters To The Editor On Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 1, a call arrived on my answering machine from a representative at CenturyLink: "Hi, this is Jeff at CenturyLink. My tech tells me that Orcas Online is going out of business and we're wondering what you'll be doing for internet service." I had received an email from Orcas Online the beginning of October informing me that in order to offer DSL they had to rent phone lines from CenturyLink and the cost had become too high for Orcas Online to stay competitive. My DSL connection expired on Oct. 31. The following day I received the call from CenturyLink. http://www.islandssounder.com/letters/shame-on-you-centurylink-letter/ -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20171115051252.GA6996@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2017 00:12:52 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Comcast, CenturyLink smacked down in Colo.: Voters approve city-owned broadband network by Bob Fernandez Fort Collins, Colo., voters rebuked Comcast and CenturyLink on Election Day, approving a ballot question enabling the city to build its own high-speed broadband network even as anti-broadband opponents poured more than $450,000 into the campaign to defeat it. Fort Collins Citizens Broadband Committee officials said they spent only about $15,000 to rally voters behind their cause. The vote in Tuesday's referendum was 21,641 to 16,228, with the ballot question approved 57 percent to 43 percent, Colorado election results showed. http://www.philly.com/philly/business/comcast/comcast-centurylink-smacked-down-in-colo-voters-approve-city-owned-broadband-network-20171109.html -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20171117224013.GA10371@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2017 17:40:13 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: AT&T to ask for White House, DOJ communications if Feds sue to block Time Warner purchase, report says By Evelyn Cheng If the government sues to block AT&T's deal to buy Time Warner, the telecommunications company plans to ask for communications between the White House and Justice Department, Bloomberg reports, citing sources. Representatives from both the White House and Department of Justice say there was no communication between them on the deal. AT&T announced an $85 billion takeover of Time Warner last fall, but the deal has yet to close. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/14/att-to-ask-for-white-house-doj-communications-if-feds-sue-to-block-time-warner-purchase-report-says.html -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20171117223629.GA5763@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2017 17:36:29 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: With AT&T and Time Warner, Battle Lines Form for an Epic Antitrust Case By James B. Stewart If the government goes to court to block the merger of AT&T and Time Warner, as seems increasingly likely, it may well be the antitrust case of the decade, even without the claims of presidential meddling that have already engulfed the deal in partisan controversy. A lawsuit by the Justice Department, along with its earlier, widely reported demands that AT&T sell either DirecTV or Turner Broadcasting to gain approval for the deal, would mark a radical departure from decades of antitrust enforcement policy, both in defining what is an unlawful anticompetitive merger and in fashioning a remedy to cure the problems. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/16/business/att-time-warner.html -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20171117223343.GA1989@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2017 17:33:43 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: AT&T near deal to buy Otter Media, its under-the-radar streaming video play By Sahil Patel Time Warner is the big fish that AT&T is trying to catch, but the telecommunications giant has another investment that could turn into a valuable streaming content and distribution play once all of the pieces are in place. Three years ago, AT&T formed a joint venture with The Chernin Group called Otter Media, which would focus on acquiring, investing in and launching streaming video services. The two partners said they committed $500 million to fund Otter Media, which has since served as a digital holding company for a variety of video businesses, including Crunchyroll, Fullscreen, Gunpowder & Sky (a studio founded by former MTV boss Van Toffler) and Hello Sunshine (a digital media company co-founded with actress Reese Witherspoon). https://digiday.com/media/after-time-warner-att-has-another-interesting-video-play-in-otter-media/ -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <314B02C4-F139-4CB8-8DFB-2BEF6EDA36E1@roscom.com> Date: Tue, 14 Nov 2017 08:38:36 -0500 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Schools and cellphones: In elementary schools? At lunch? Schools and cellphones: In elementary schools? At lunch? One school system in Maryland relaxes its rules as the devices become ubiquitous. By Donna St. George It's been a long time since mobile phones arrived in the nation's schools, but educators are still grappling with what to do about them. Should they be allowed in elementary schools? What about middle- schoolers using them at lunch? Which limits make the most sense for devices so ubiquitous? https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/schools-and-cellphones-in-elementary-schools-at-lunch/2017/11/13/1061064a-ba81-11e7-a908-a3470754bbb9_story.html ------------------------------ Message-ID: <2613304F-98C8-4204-9276-1ADD89B9D474@roscom.com> Date: Tue, 14 Nov 2017 08:58:48 -0500 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Missouri launches investigation into Google's handling of consumer data Missouri launches investigation into Google's handling of consumer data The move comes after a European investigation into aspects of Google's business. By Hamza Shaban Missouri's attorney general said Monday that he has launched an investigation into whether Google has mishandled private customer data and manipulated its search results to favor its own products, a further sign that Silicon Valley's political fortunes may be on the descent. The probe comes after European antitrust regulators levied a $2.7 billion fine against Google in June and as Washington is taking a harder look into the influence of dominant tech companies in American society. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/11/13/missouri-launches-investigation-into-googles-handling-of-consumer-data/ ------------------------------ Message-ID: <30AC90CD-BD59-488E-999A-B446E3D03F74@roscom.com> Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2017 00:41:18 -0500 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: FCC Adopts Narrow Call Blocking Rules at November Open Meeting FCC Adopts Narrow Call Blocking Rules at November Open Meeting In its continuing efforts to target unlawful robocalls, the FCC's Report and Order adopts rules to allow voice service providers the ability to block four specific categories of "spoofed" calls that are highly unlikely to be made for any legitimate purpose. https://www.acainternational.org/news/fcc-adopts-narrow-call-blocking-rules-at-november-open-meeting ------------------------------ Message-ID: <6194360D-BC49-45C0-B43A-8A9BABC4C2D5@roscom.com> Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2017 21:18:43 -0500 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: A New Phone Comes Out. Yours Slows Down. A Conspiracy? No. A New Phone Comes Out. Yours Slows Down. A Conspiracy? No. It happens every year: Apple releases new iPhones, and then hordes of people groan about their older iPhones slowing to a crawl. Just look at the recent data. Between September and early November - when Apple made the iPhone 8 available, followed by the iPhone X - Google searches for the keywords "iPhone slow" jumped about 50 percent. Your smartphone is not deliberately losing speed just because your phone maker has a new gadget for sale. For devices that do slow down, here are some fixes. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/15/technology/personaltech/new-iphones-slow-tech-myth.html ------------------------------ Message-ID: <BD79F1AD-5313-4197-B193-08DAE2FD91D6@roscom.com> Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2017 21:17:03 -0500 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Foiling Cyberspies on Business Trips Foiling Cyberspies on Business Trips Intellectual property theft is not new, but it's more widespread, experts say, thanks to tiny cameras and microphones or compromised Wi-Fi networks. By Julie Weed The admonitions to business travelers headed to other countries should be familiar by now: Keep your laptop with you at all times. Stay off public Wi-Fi networks. Don't send unencrypted files over the internet. But not all travelers are heeding them, and many are unaware of the foreign hackers and state-sponsored spies who are taking advantage of their lax security practices. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/13/business/foiling-cyber-spies-on-business-trips.html ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Sat, 18 Nov 2017