We've previously noted that if Verizon FiOS has a weak spot, it's the service's billing, which frequently contains errors that are sometimes impossible to correct. According to the St. Petersburg Times, customers are getting annoyed with multi-page FiOS bills they say they can't understand, and which rarely are the same amount from month to month. Both Time Warner Cable and Bright House networks are taking advantage of the complicated bills and hidden fees, by promising customers a simpler billing experience if they return. "Changes are coming," a Verizon spokesman tells the paper (a promise users have heard before). "And I think it will really be something our customers will really appreciate."

Verizon tells the Associated Press that their $28.1 billion acquisition of Alltel is on track, despite recent economic concerns. The deal, which would make Verizon Wireless the largest wireless carrier in the United States, was announced last June and awaits FCC approval. Some analysts aren't so sure the deal will stay on schedule. "Considering the size of this deal, it would be surprising that Verizon would enter something with such significant risk that it really threatens to preclude this deal from closing," said Bill Densmore of New York-based Fitch Ratings.

Ad Age explores how Time Warner Cable (TWC) is taking aim at AT&T and Verizon by taking a page out of the negative political attack ad playbook. Their new ads and website feature Comedian Mike O'Malley, and jab Verizon on things like complicated billing and the occasional dug up azaleas.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and the panel’s senior Republican, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, have asked trade negotiators not to make the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) too specific, notes consumer advocacy firm Public Knowledge. The ACTA takes aim at BitTorrent websites like the Pirate Bay, whistle-blowers, and even legit distribution systems like Tor. It's also believed that the global proposal, being hashed out in secret between governments and the entertainment industry, includes mandatory ISP piracy filters.

Charter, Cox, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, Comcast and Bright House Networks are collaboratively working on a new advertising system they've dubbed "Canoe." The effort, designed to help keep billions in ad dollars from flowing to the Google's of the world, will attempt to make TV advertising more interactive and user (or neighborhood) specific. While the program isn't expected to really take off until the first quarter of next year, customers tell us they're already getting e-mails concerning Canoe pilot programs.

For those of you who can't wait until later this month when T-Mobile officially starts offering the HTC G1 smart phone with Android OS, Gizmodo notes that T-Mobile has posted an emulator to their website that mimics the general layout of the handset and OS. Unfortunately, it's not 100% accurate, given it shows their HSDPA network is actually available -- something that won't be true for a very significant number of people who buy the next-gen handset. But it does give you the general feel of the device for those interested.

It appears that Verizon is shaking up their HD channel offerings -- and while customers will get a number of additional channels, they'll be paying more for the privilege. According to MultiChannel News, the telco is widening the rollout of their $57.99 FiOS TV Extreme HD programming package, a 200SD 50HD bundle which is replacing the $47.99 Premier package in markets where it's deployed. The company is also expanding a $47.99 "Essentials" tier, which includes up to nine local HD channels. Some additional discussion on these packages can be found in our FiOS TV forum.

Earlier this week, AT&T admitted that the credit freeze was having an impact on business, AT&T unable to sell any commercial paper (short term IOU notes) for terms longer than overnight. A user in our AT&T forum suggests that AT&T has apparently found one way to generate some immediate cash: billing landline customers for next month's long distance fees this month instead. However, it appears that this may have been in the works for a while, given AT&T already charges next month's fees in advance for many other services, like wireless. The user directs our attention to the full AT&T notice over at his blog.

According to the latest data by Jupiter Research, consumers impacted by an economic downturn will trim movies and TV from their budgets long before they trim broadband. Speaking to broadband's shift toward necessary utility and away from luxury service, only 2% surveyed by the firm would trim broadband in tough economic times, while 12% would trim premium cable channels. "It is noteworthy that broadband has reached this core status, joining the list of utility services along with electricity, phone and cable that consumers consider vital to the household," says report author Bobby Tulsiani.

Several airlines recently started offering Gogo in-flight broadband service on select domestic flights, charging users $12.95 for cross-country flights, and $9.95 on flights of three hours or less. However, an early problem has sprung up: airline attendants are complaining about passengers viewing porn, leading to a debate over whether these services should see content filters. While American Airlines has opposed filters, Delta says they'll now block inappropriate websites -- though knowing the unreliability of filters, it may not completely solve the problem.

MIT's Technology Review takes a look at new millimeter wave technology, which can -- at least so far in the lab -- achieve speeds between 10 and 20 gigabits per second. Millimeter-wave technology operates from 60 to 100 gigahertz, and would be ideal for transferring large files over relatively short distances (across campus). The spectrum it operates within is licensed, but hasn't been used much due to the cost and difficulty involved in forging a millimeter-wave signal, encoding information on it, and then decoding at the other end.

What financial oblivion? It's Friday! Take off your shoes, put up your feet, and empty your heads into the comment section below. Just remember to clean up after yourselves.

While the 6-10Mbps offered by AT&T's "next-generation" U-Verse service might be plenty for standard users, it's still not going to be enough to battle cable on the marketing front -- particularly once cable begins deploying DOCSIS 3.0 technology. To that end, AT&T has been promising for the last few years that they're going to offer faster speeds via bonded VDSL2.

The latest JD Power and Associates analysis of wireless carrier customer satisfaction again puts Verizon Wireless tops in five out of six geographical regions (T-Mobile ranked highest in the SouthWest). The survey ranks service on several criteria (listed in order of importance): call quality (32%); brand image (17%); cost of service (14%); service plan options (14%); billing (12%); and customer service (11%). The latest survey also finds that more than one-fourth of wireless phone customers have replaced their traditional landline connections at home and are now using wireless service exclusively to communicate on a daily basis.

A report (pdf) by Canadian researchers this week discovered that text communications conducted using the Chinese version of Skype that contain keywords of interest to the Chinese government are stored for censorship and civilian monitoring purposes, and communications containing these keywords are blocked. While China censoring and spying on their citizenry is not new, the fact this data was being stored in unsecured servers has embroiled Skype in a week-long public relations nightmare.

We recently noted that the New York State Public Service Commission is recommending that Verizon stop FiOS installations in NYC after a routine inspection found many installs weren't bonded and grounded. But an electrical expert hired by Verizon tells the Albany Times Union that the installations are perfectly safe (as if someone being paid by Verizon would say anything else), even if they don't meet code.

It looks like once Sprint XOHM and Clearwire merge to become the new MEGA-Clearwire, Comcast has plans to release mobile WiMax-based femtocells in the second half of 2009. The devices will act to expand coverage throughout the home while routing VoIP calls over the traditional Comcast network. While Comcast PR says "we're not commenting," it's believed that the cable giant currently has a request-for-trial (RFT) issued to the femtocell vendor community. Comcast, an investor in the new Clearwire, hopes to bundle wireless broadband service with VoIP, TV and cable broadband -- an idea CEO Brian Roberts wasn't originally keen on.

Sprint's acquisition of Nextel was one of the worst telecom decisions in recent years, with the merger offering consumers little more than an endless stream of customer support headaches. The Wall Street Journal called it "the deal from hell;" the company being worth $35 billion when acquired in 2005, compared to a value of $5 billion today. It now appears that Sprint is ready to sell Nextel to Latin American service provider NII Holdings and private equity firms, provided a buyer takes a significant chunk of Sprint debt with them.

• US broadband adoption grew 17% in 2008 [zdnet.com]
• McCain's Long, Brutal History of Opposing Sensible Broadband Rules [wired.com]
• Wanted: A viable model for fiber [computing.co.uk]
• Apple threatens to close Itunes [theinquirer.net]
• DVLA: A licence to bill [theregister.co.uk]
• Senate Passes Pryor's Content-Blocking Study [multichannel.com]
• What will make WiMAX service a must-have for you? [muniwireless.com]
• Yes, China Is Spying On Skype Conversations [techdirt.com]

Cable Digital News finds a bit of irony in the fact that analysts from the same firms who often criticize ISPs for high "homes passed" financial numbers are now taking a $700 billion bailout to save them from their own, overly clever book-keeping. Crunching the numbers, writer Michael Harris notes that $700 billion could deliver fiber to the home to every single American, with enough money left over to outfit half of all homes for solar electricity.