For years the rumor has floated out there that either Verizon or AT&T would buy DirecTV in order to have direct control of the company's satellite TV operations. Sometimes these rumors are based in conjecture, but more often than not they're based on nothing whatsoever. With DirecTV prepared to get a new CEO (their last CEO just departed to be Rupert Murdoch's right-hand man at News Corp.), the rumors are apparently bubbling up once again. According to Reuters, representatives from both AT&T and Verizon have approached Liberty Media over the last few years about a sale, and the outlet cites sources who believe new CEO Michael White is little more than a "babysitter" until this endlessly-rumored deal can be accomplished.

As it stands, the fastest tier AT&T offers is the company's "Max" 18Mbps/1.5Mbps U-Verse tier, which costs $65 a month as part of a TV bundle. We're now seeing rumblings in our forums that the carrier may unveil a $75, 24Mbps downstream 2Mbps upstream tier in the middle of August.

An insider at Comcast tells us the company will soon be dropping the price on their rather pricey 50Mbps/10Mps tier, which currently costs $139.95 a month. Additional documentation obtained by Broadband Reports seemingly confirm the price cuts -- at least in California.

• Pelosi Asks Justice To Take Broader View Of Competitive Landscape [multichannel.com]
• The risks of a national broadband network [aardvark.co.nz]
• Congress re-mulls ban on wireless tax [theregister.co.uk]
• Google, Yahoo, Skype in survey that states obvious: Consumers expect unrestricted Internet access [reuters.com]
• Is it a bad idea for IBM to buy Sun? [cnet.com]
• Survey reveals woeful service from UK broadband big boys [pcpro.co.uk]
• In-Stat: 30% of subscribers will be 3G or 4G by 2013 [fiercewireless.com]
• Skype offers Mac users free Wi-Fi [yahoo.com]
• Choruss' Music Tax Plan: Bait-And-Switch [techdirt.com]
• Further Sony Ericsson Break-Up Rumours [cellular-news.com]
• AT&T to offer unsubsidized iPhone 3G with no commitment required? [engadget.com]
• Privacy watchdog barks for federal Gmail probe [theregister.co.uk]

• FCC's Copps: Support Growing For Analog Extension [multichannel.com]
• FCC White Spaces Report Misses the Mark, Groups Say [pcworld.com]
• Broadband Forum Preps Release of New IPTV Standards [xchangemag.com]
• Virgin Now Licensed to Offer BGAN Satellite Services in Canada [marketwatch.com]
• UK Releases Details, But Delays, Plan To Surveil Every Bit Of Communication [techdirt.com]
• Google fails some users for more than 24 hours [theinquirer.net]
• Microsoft Wants To Bring Silverlight To iPhone, Android [informationweek.com]
• Google's G1 or Apple iPhone? The Experts Weigh In [internetnews.com]

User djrobx writes in to note that Chatter on AT&T's U-verse forum suggests that the company is cooking up a new, 18mbps tier they'll offer U-verse customers this November. At least one member in our forums here says they've been offered the new tier by an AT&T salesperson. In both cases, it has been suggested that it will be priced at $10 more than AT&T's "Max" tier, which would put it at $65 per month.

• Qwest Updates FTTN Effort [xchangemag.com]
• FCC Sets Nov. 4 Vote on White Spaces [eweek.com]
• VoIP Households to Grow by 8.5 Million by 2011 [xchangemag.com]
• How bad is U.S. broadband deployment? [networkworld.com]
• Rural Broadband Effort Afoot [lightreading.com]
• Martin Backs Verizon-Alltel, Wants More Asset Sales [bloomberg.com]
• 802.11n chipset maker promises 600 Mbps throughput [betanews.com]
• Mobile phones are vulnerable to botnets [theinquirer.net]

Last week an insider told me that in addition to the $150, 50Mbps/5Mbps tier Comcast is deploying in DOCSIS 3.0 upgraded regions, the cable company is planning on unveiling a slower, 22Mbps/5Mbps tier as well. While Comcast will never officially comment on unreleased products, posts to our Comcast forums seem to confirm the upcoming tier, and suggest it will be priced at $62.95 a month.

• FCC Report Supports Use of White Spaces For Wireless [washingtonpost.com]
• No opt-out of filtered Internet [computerworld.com.au]
• WiMax Handset the Iceberg’s Tip for Devices? [muniwireless.com]
• Sprint execs named "most overpaid" in 2007 [theregister.co.uk]
• T-Mobile Has Already Sold 1.5 Million Android-Powered Smartphones [brighthand.com]
• Wi-Fi Security Is No Longer Secure [zdnet.co.uk]
• Google Gmail, Other Apps, Vulnerable To Attack [informationweek.com]
• WiMAX Coverage for Rural Kansas [cellular-news.com]

• No IPv6 For UK Broadband Users [aaisp.blogspot.com]
• Delaware court stays iPCS-Sprint suit over WiMax [businessweek.com]
• Tackle broadband 'duopoly', UK regulator Ofcom urged [computerweekly.com]
• Portland Seizes MetroFi Muni Wi-Fi Gear [xchangemag.com]
• Quantum cryptography now a reality [theinquirer.net]
• TiVo Collects $104 Million From EchoStar [multichannel.com]
• Time Warner Cable Brings Web Video to TV in Hawaii [cable360.net]
• Porn, abuse, depravity - and how they plan to stop it [theregister.co.uk]

• China orders telecom 'Big 3' to share networks [chinadaily.com.cn]
• Spectrum Bridge solves the white space problem [theregister.co.uk]
• Ambitious satellite broadband plan submitted to EU [siliconrepublic.com]
• Government Scheme Will Monitor All Communications In The UK [gizmodo.com]
• Q&A: WiMAX's potential to deliver rural broadband [networkworld.com]
• Wholesale bandwidth 40% cheaper than last year [guardian.co.uk]
• Gartner Warns of Wi-Fi Vulnerabilities [redmondmag.com]
• Study: No, mobile phone radiation will not harm you - until the next study comes out anyway... [cellular-news.com]

• US webcasters get a break; may escape ruinous royalty rates [theinquirer.net]
• Hughes Introduces Broadband Backup Service [data-storage-today.com]
• Xohm Rollout Troubled by Comcast's Shadow [technewsworld.com]
• Could the iPhone Be Coming to Verizon? [brighthand.com]
• Skype hype disappoints - Not altogether a better beta [theinquirer.net]
• Sprint Clears Motorola WiMax Gear In Chicago [multichannel.com]
• The digital dividend: A unique opportunity for Europe's wireless economy [egovmonitor.com]
• DoS attack reveals (yet another) crack in net's core [theregister.co.uk]

• U.S. Households Viewing Broadband Video Doubles: ABI [promomagazine.com]
• Calls for 100Mbps broadband likely to go unheard... this year [arstechnica.com]
• FCC Chairman Kevin Martin Revives Class A Must Carry [multichannel.com]
• Vint Cerf pushes IPv6; warns of Internet meltdown (again) [theinquirer.net]
• Breaking up telecom companies is hard to do [cbc.ca]
• BT withdraws Wi-Fi access to The Cloud [theregister.co.uk]
• The RIAA's Playbook: No New Business Models Without RIAA Ownership [techdirt.com]
• Swedes back-peddle on snooping laws [theinquirer.net]

• EU Aims For Broadband Access For All Europeans [webpronews.com]
• ISPs Eye Tiered Broadband Pricing [lightreading.com]
• Taking the Broadband Revolution to Rural America [ktre.com]
• Verizon: Put the brakes on broadband monitoring [cnet.com]
• Regulators ease path for BT's superfast broadband [ft.com]
• China reports 77.83 million broadband users [People's Daily Online]
• Mistrial declared in RIAA file-sharing lawsuit [theinquirer.net]
• 'You can't use Google' - EU Parliament [theregister.co.uk]

• Future of Fixed Mobile Convergence High on Agenda at the Broadband Forum’s First Meeting [gomonews.com]
• HughesNet Leasing Option Lowers Broadband Cost [i4u.com]
• Meraki does not have 80% of San Francisco covered with free Wi-Fi [muniwireless.com]
• Google To Create OffShore Data Centers? [webpronews.com]
• WiMAX Lab puts mobile broadband to the test [networkworld.com]
• ip.access Picks Femto Test Lab [unstrung.com]
• AOL Broadband handing out PS3's at no extra cost thanks to customer complaints [techwatch.co.uk]
• Touchscreen BlackBerry details leaked [theregister.co.uk]

Cable operator Wide Open West (WOW) offers service in portions of Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois, but hasn't upgraded their top speed tier (for most customers that's 6Mbps) for going on three years now. However, industry gossip seems to indicate that a 15Mbs/2Mbps tier is currently in testing, and some customers have been told that unofficially, the new tiers are scheduled to drop this fall. Officially, WOW isn't yet willing to publicly comment on the new speeds (fairly common practice until launch). Currently, the fastest standalone broadband service WOW offers is 6Mbps/1Mbps for $63.99.

Earlier this month, FCC Chief Kevin Martin announced that he believes Comcast should be punished for the actions that they have taken to throttle P2P traffic. That punishment is pending agreement from the other FCC commissioners which won’t be official until August 1st. However, rumors indicate that a majority of the members intend to vote in favor of punishing the company.

Even if punishment is approved when the official vote is announced, the result will probably not be too damaging to Comcast – a slap on the wrist and the requirement that they make changes they’ve already agreed to make (more consumer disclosure about network management practices, for example). But the decision would set precedent and could have a more widespread impact on future violations.

Yesterday CNBC jumped the gun, announcing that (according to those infamous "people familiar with the talks") South Korea Telecom was preparing to acquire the troubled Sprint. As it turns out, Reuters quotes the even better known "sources familiar with the matter" who say the two companies are simply in talks to collaborate on technology, not planning to merge. Sprint's stock certainly benefited from yesterday's gossip, jumping as high as eighteen percent at one point.

Dave Burstein's latest industry newsletter passes on the interesting (but unsubstantiated) rumor that Time Warner Cable is looking to sell off their New York City networks. The report claims the move is being prompted by the company's need to pay Time Warner $9 billion as part of the recently announced break up.

Sprint has faced a lot of difficulties in the last year, difficulties which CEO Dan Hesse says are “fixable” but which have left the company in a tight spot. There are rumors floating around that one company which might be interested in helping Sprint out of that tight spot is Deutsche Telekom.