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The article reports on the talks between Qwest Communications International Inc. and its workers' union which have been pushing to keep health care costs down in 2008. Verizon agreed to the health care terms of its employees but the position of Qwest is different from Verizon as it lacks wireless arm to offset losses in its landline and direct satellite link. Qwest is expecting full revenue to decline 2.5% while its labor agreement is set to expire on August 24, 2008.

The article reports that Best Buy Co. will start selling iPhone from Apple Inc. in September 7, 2008. All Best Buy Stores in the U.S. where AT&T wireless services are available will carry the eight- and sixteen-gigabyte models at prices that will reportedly match those at Apple and AT&T. Best Buy is the first retailer to offer the iPhone and Apple said that there were no plans for other U.S. partnerships.

The article reports on the 12% decrease in the 2008 second quarter net income of Windstream Corp resulting to a renewed interest in merger prospects. The telecommunications company announced a $102 million earnings compared with $115.9 million in 2007 and a revenue of $799.9 million. The Arkansas-based firm also announced that AT&T Inc. will acquire its North Carolina wireless properties for $60 million.

The article reports on the decline in net losses of Vonage Holdings Corp. in the second quarter of 2008. The Internet telephone company reported a loss of $6.9 million compared with a loss of $23.2 million in 2007. It notes the struggle of the company to reduce turnover in a saturated and competitive telecommunications industry. Also mentioned is a refinancing deal with Silver Point Finance LLC being completed by Vonage.

The article reports on the financial performance of telecommunications carrier Sprint Nextel Corp. in the second quarter of 2008. It is said that the company showed signs of recovery in the quarter as it reduced customer defections, but it warned that subscriber losses would increase again. The company posted a $344 million loss, from a 2007 net income of $19 million. Decline in company revenue was reported at 11% to $9.06 billion.

The article reports on the decline in profit posted by Qwest Communications International in the second quarter of 2008. The 24% drop in profit reported by the telecommunications company was attributed to land-line losses and market-share declines in its broadband unit. The firm posted net income of $188 million, or 11 cents a share, compared with $246 million, or 30 cents a share, in 2007. Decline in company revenue was reported at 2.3% to $3.38 billion, while it ended the quarter with 12.2 million access lines, down 8.2% from 2007.

The article reports on the initiative of AT&T Inc. to offer computer networking and storage services for its business clients. Known as cloud computing, it abolishes the need for a data center and enables the companies to pay for bandwidth based on their demands. Google Inc., International Business Machines Corp., and Verizon Communications are among the telecommunications firm interested in such technology. The U.S. Olympic Committee is AT&T's first client.

The article announces that Marc Lefar was appointed as chief executive officer (CEO) of Vonage Holdings Corp.

The article reports on the plan of EarthLink Inc. to facilitate consolidation in the Internet dial-up access market. The announcement prompted speculation that it may be considering a deal with AOL. The decline in dial-up subscribers experienced by EarthLink and AOL can be attributed to faster Internet offerings. AOL has expressed its interest in eliminating its dial-up unit and focus instead on its advertising business.

The article reports on the investment to refinance the $253 million convertible notes of Vonage Holdings Corp. as it faces a December 2008 deadline to buy back the notes. According to the article, uncertainty about its ability to do so prompted its auditors earlier in 2008 to question Vonage's ability to stay in business. Jeffrey Citron, acting chief executive officer (CEO) of Vonage, announced that a limited number of qualified institutional buyers, including Silver Point Finance, will invest a total of $90 million in exchange for a new series of notes.

The article reports on the plan of Vonage Holdings Corp. to name a new chief executive officer (CEO) to succeed Jeffrey Citron as the Internet-phone provider neared the completion of a refinancing deal it entered with Silver Point Finance LLC. According to Vonage, it will use the net proceeds and its own fund to repurchase the remainder of its $253 million in convertible notes. It cites the plan of Citron to let someone else manage the firm's operations, though he will remain involved with the company.

The article reports that the net income of AT&T Inc. based in Dallas, Texas increased by 30% for the second quarter of 2008. According to the company, increases in its wireless-data services helped offset declines in its landline telephone business. Information on the company's revenues, competition and growth potentials are offered.

The article reports on the increase in the profit and revenue of Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM) due to the demand for its BlackBerry wireless devices. According to the firm, it earned $482.5 million for the fiscal first quarter ended May 31, 2008 compared with $223.2 million in 2007. The operating expenses of the firm rose 22%, reflecting its increased spending in marketing and research and development. The firm is expected to launch a touch screen and clamshell versions of BlackBerry in 2008.

The article reports on the decision of a group of investors from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to take over the city's wireless Internet network one month after its operator, EarthLink Inc., announced that it would withdraw from the service due to disappointing financial results. Richard Rasansky of the group, which temporarily goes by the name NAC LLC, cites its plan to change the business model of the wireless fidelity (WI-FI) service. The service has drawn only about 5,000 customers in May 2008.

The article focuses on New York company VoodooVox founded by Scott Hamilton which reflects the relentless search by marketers for new ways to reach potential customers. Callers stuck on hold waiting for a customer-service representative are particularly susceptible to marketing pitches while they are on hold because they are attentively waiting for someone to arrive on the other end of the line. VoodooVox's ads play during 320 million calls a month and revenues are divided with the publisher of the call such as radio stations or conferencing services.

The article reports on the plans of MetroFi Inc. to sell and pull out of the nine cities in which the firm operates wireless networks. Like Earthlink Inc., which will stop its business operation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, MetroFi struggled to operate its networks which offered free and low-cost wireless Internet access. According to the article, MetroFi's biggest project, in Portland, Oregon had financial problems.

The article reports that Embarq Corp will stop its wireless resale negotiation with Sprint Nextel Corp. in 2009, becoming the next Sprint partner to terminate its alliance. The deal made Embarg sell its wireless service using Sprint's network, making available to Sprint customers a set of cellphones. According to the article, sales did not reach the expected number of customers.

The article reports on the 35% decrease in the first-quarter profit of Qwest Communications International Inc. in 2008. Chief financial officer John Richardson states that the objective of the company is to work around the difficult economic environment. The telecommunications firm also presented a new wireless agreement with Verizon Wireless in May 2008.

The article reports on the five-year deal signed by Qwest Communications International Inc. and Verizon Wireless. Under the deal, Qwest will sell the services of Verizon come summer of 2009. Qwest remains as the only regional phone company that do not have its own wireless service. It mentions that a previous deal with Sprint Nextel Corp. that expires in February was unpopular for Qwest.

The article reports on the increase in profit of Verizon Communications Inc. by 9.8% in the first quarter of 2008. At Verizon Wireless, revenue rose by 13% while turnover rate increased from 1.08% to 1.18%. Verizon chief operating officer (COO) Dennis Strigl attributed the growth in high-end consumers and financial results to the $99 unlimited-calling plans. Verizon shares gained 91 cents, or 2.5%, to $37.95 in 4 p.m. New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) composite trading.

The article reports on the increase in profit posted by telecommunications company AT&T in the first quarter of 2008. The company posted a 22% profit increase, while earnings at its wireless unit nearly doubled to $2.9 billion, as revenue rose by 18%. Shares of AT&T reportedly increase 22 cents, or 0.6%, to $37.81 in 4 p.m. New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) composite trading. The landline unit of the firm posted a 2.1% decline in earnings to $2.83 billion, while revenue also dropped by 2%.

The article focuses on the strategies that some exhibitors used to draw crowds to their booths at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2008. Casio featured a guitarist and a keyboardist who jammed and a dancing couple, while a spokeswoman demonstrated their new Exilim digital camera. However, Canon used a harpist, a portrait painter and an acrobatic dance troupe on stage to showcase their new line of Vixia camcorders.

The article presents business-related news briefs as of October 2006, including the acquisition of YouTube by Google Inc.

The article focuses on the move made by closely held company Veoh Networks Inc. to remove the adult category from its Web site.

Provides an update on the liquid crystal display LCD market, as of March 2, 2006, including consumption, worldwide sales of LCD screens and popular sizes of screens.

The article discusses a quarterly earnings report from Hewlett-Packard Co. Net income grew 14% as results were particularly strong in its services businesses. Chief financial officer Cathie Lesjak said that business conditions for the firm would improve in 2010, while chief executive officer Mark Hurd expressed confidence in Hewlett-Packard's market position.

The article focuses on computer attacks that affected many Web sites, including Twitter and Facebook, in the U.S. on August 6, 2009. A person familiar with the issue stated that Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. were collaborating with Google Inc. in order to investigate the incident. The companies referred to the incident as the so-called denial-of-service attacks. The blogging site LiveJournal.com claimed that it had experienced a similar attack.

The article reports that Hawaiian Telcom Communications Inc. has filed for bankruptcy. Private equity firm Carlyle Group purchased Hawaiian Telcom in 2005 for $1.6 billion, but encountered various regulatory and operational issues. The acquisition exemplifies a spate of heavily-leveraged, private-equity investments that have run into trouble in the face of a faltering U.S. economy.

The article reports on civil-fraud charges filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against eight former executives involved in a case wherein the company was accused of inflating its revenue during its merger with Time Warner Inc. in 2002. The executives have been charged with aiding to overstate advertising revenue by over $1 billion from 2000 to 2002. Half of the executives have settled the suit filed in May 2008. The SEC continued its inquiry into the case, even if it had charged and settled with AOL in 2005.

The article reports that Nortel Networks Corp. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Chief executive Mike Zafirovski noted that poor sales, growing pension costs, and a softening U.S. dollar had hurt his firm, but expressed his belief that Nortel could one day again become a relevant firm in the telecommunications industry.

The article discusses efforts by companies and business groups to urge the U.S. Congress to pass a measure aimed at bailing out the financial industry. The National Association of Manufacturers has advocated for a bill, and the Business Roundtable is coordinating lobbying activities. General Electric Co., Verizon Communications Inc., and Microsoft Corp. have all expressed a desire to see legislation passed.

The article reports that Verizon is in discussions to acquire rival wireless communication systems company Alltel Corp. for approximately $27 billion. The merger would create the world's largest cellular telephone systems company. Alltel is currently owned by private equity firm TPG Capital and a unit of Goldman Sachs Group.

The article reports on the forced landing of a US Airways Airbus A320 jet plane on the Hudson River in New York on January 15, 2009. The plane took off from the LaGuardia Airport and was bound for Charlotte, North Carolina. It is said that birds caused the damage to the plane's engines after take off, forcing the pilot to do an emergency landing. The captain, Chesley Sullenger III, a former U.S. Air Force pilot, was hailed for his decisive action by the 150 passengers, all of whom survived.