Well this episode should have been one of those Friday the 13th episodes, we had a few "technical" problems getting started (mainly me :) but in the true spirit Mark and Michel soldiered on until I could join in. There was a lot of news including Google and the 700Mhz spectrum auction, where our little conspiracy theory comes from, as well as some quarterly numbers and more wireless carrier purchases. (Verizon Wireless and Rural Cellular)

Here are some of the links to the news items we discussed:

• Google Pushes Tailored Phones To Win Lucrative Ad Market - WSJ.com
• Study claims telcos can overtake cable
• FCC adopts rules for wireless auction -- baltimoresun.com
• Google, Sprint Team Up On New WiMax Network
• Sprint pulling out of joint venture with cable TV industry
• Verizon Wireless to Acquire Rural Cellular Corporation, Expand the Nation's Most Reliable Wireless Network
• Verizon Earnings Up 4.5 Percent in 2nd Quarter (NY Times report)
• Verizon Posts 2nd Quarter Results
• More uses found for texting as its popularity soars - expect 60% usage by 2011
• Cisco Data Center Play Gains Steam with VMware Stake
• Cisco Rolls Out Two-Year Plan for Data Center Virtualization
• Finance Blog - Market Movers by Felix Salmon: Using the iPhone Abroad - Portfolio.com
• Boing Boing: ATT + iPhone int'l. roaming data horror story: $3K bill - UDPATE

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