• FCC to test proposed free wireless service for interference [news.com]
• AT&T-iPhone Problems May Signal Difficulties For Android [informationweek.com]
• Judge: Qualcomm violates Broadcom ruling [post-gazette.com]
• China's 3G strategy revealed [theinquirer.net]
• Clearwire WiMAX demo coming to S.F. CTIA show [muniwireless.com]
• Phone Companies Launch Backup Plans for Gustav [foxnews.com]
• EVDO and VoIP for remote audio transmission [linux.com]
• One in nine broadband users breaking law [thinkbroadband.com]

It's Friday, so take off your shoes, put up your feet, and empty your head into the comment section below.

Over the past few years a growing number of wireless and broadband ISPs (AT&T, Comcast, Verizon and T-Mobile come to mind) have been trying to erode your legal rights via fine print. By burying legalese in your contract, carriers attempt to prevent you from participating in class action lawsuits.

For those of you bored stiff of iPhone stories (who can blame you), please stop reading here, and instead check out this story about the Blackberry Bold being available via AT&T by October 2. Or this one about T-Mobile offering EeePC's with embedded 3G.

Techdirt points out that the Malaysian government has been trying to silence critical bloggers, who the government blames for their recent problems at the polls. The effort began with the government first (unsuccessfully) trying to pass a law forcing all bloggers to register with the government. When that didn't work, they apparently decided they'd force ISPs in the country to block access to blogs that are critical of the government. After the Malaysia Today website was blocked by state-owned Telekom Malaysia, the website quickly found a workaround for impacted users. In the end, all the censorship likely accomplishes is the creation of more critics.

Yesterday we were the very first to report that Comcast will be implementing a 250GB monthly cap starting October 1. Online discussion of the caps has since absolutely exploded, with opinions ranging from the belief the caps are perfectly reasonable, to the belief that the move signifies the "end of the Internet as we know it." As we noted yesterday, this is really just a move to clear up an already existing cap, previously invisible, that our users have been complaining about for more than half a decade.

Ah, sweet anonymous sources. If it weren't for you, American consumers would be forever trapped in a candyland unreality of rosy service perfection, where service problems are forever denied by bubbly PR agents and ignored by ridiculously overpaid executives.

Broadband Reports user and Union City, California resident cbrock writes in to note that AT&T U-Verse users are receiving e-mails alerting them to the fact that the company's "whole home DVR" concept is now being deployed. This comes on the heels of upgrades that finally allowed users to receive two simultaneous HD streams. The new service allows U-Verse IPTV customers to watch recorded DVR content on any television in the home. According to the letter, the upgrade is a free and automatic software update of existing gear. From the letter:The next major upgrade to wait for will of course be line bonding, which should allow AT&T to provide faster data speeds than their current 10Mbps top of the line offering.

• Sunflower Broadband is holding back customers from optimal Internet [kansan.com]
• Operators Eye Net Management Makeovers [multichannel.com]
• Verizon FiOS tops ComputerWorld list of best broadband ISPs [computerworld.com]
• Viacom: Veoh Ruling Doesn't Change YouTube's 'Infringement' [multichannel.com]
• Cambridge Broadband Networks Spur Debate across Telecoms Industry [commsbusiness.co.uk]
• Hughes Network launches new broadband access plan for SMBs [cbronline.com]
• Multitasking Chips Point to Future Cell Phones [businessweek.com]
• Atom Demand Still Stymied by Testing Bottleneck [pcworld.com]

• Engineer accidentally deletes cloud [theregister.co.uk]
• Mobile Broadband value added services: Industry can learn from Asia-Pac’s lead [telecommagazine.com]
• Broadband makes kids smarter, get better grades [silicon.com]
• Sprint lines up partners for Geobrowsing WiMAX but keeps mum on who [Kansas City Business Journal]
• Growth in Mobile Broadband to Drive Changes in Regulation of UK Mobile Industry [marketwatch.com]
• Deutsche Telekom to provide 96 pct of German households with DSL by end 2008 [afxnews.co]
• Eligible Consumers in Nearly 40 Florida Communities Now Can Get Verizon's Fastest DSL-Based Internet Service [marketwatch.com]
• Quebec sued for buying Microsoft software insted of Open Source [theinquirer.net]

Qwest has been the least aggressive of the three baby bells in upgrading their broadband network, partially because they lack a cash cow wireless division (charging a million dollars per SMS really helps your bottom line), but also because they were trying to remain lean for a potential sale. Qwest is spending $300 million (Verizon's spending $23 billion on FioS and AT&T's spending $6 billion U-Verse) to run copper-based ADSL2+ service to two million customers by the end of this year.

Ed Gubbins of Telephony Magazine e-mails me to note that AT&T's VDSL and IPTV service U-Verse has arrived in Little Rock, Arkansas. Flyers saying "U-Verse is now available in your neighborhood," are being hung on doorknobs in the heart of the city, according to area-resident Gubbins. AT&T had apparently been targeting the market for a September 2 launch, and an official press release should be forthcoming shortly. Also of note: it looks like AT&T is offering $125 cash back to users in some markets who are willing to switch from cable.

A few years ago, cable operators were very eager to eliminate the DVR, replacing it with a DVR-esque system that would store content at the ISP network head end. Unfortunately, the entertainment industry, fearing a loss of control as usual, took them to court.

In reaction to FiOS competition, most of the major cable operators have been running misleading ads that confuse customers into thinking core network fiber is the same thing as fiber to the home. Time Warner Cable is running advertising saying they offer "fiber optics without the hassle," while Charter is running ads that a spokesman says "reassure current Charter customers that they too have fiber optic technology bringing their homes to life." App Rising notes that this is now a preferred marketing tactic of Cox as well, who is running ads in FiOS markets dubbing themselves the "new face of fiber." Writes Geoff Daily:Of course Qwest plays this game as well, by dubbing their slower ADSL2+ service "Qwest fiber optic Internet." While not technically lying because these networks do have fiber in them -- can this be considered false advertising?

Back in May I broke the news that in addition to throttling back high-consumption users to "DSL like speeds," Comcast was considering implementing a 250GB monthly cap as part of their shift toward "protocol agnostic" network management. Despite consumer grumbling, that plan is in fact now moving forward.

As part of their merger agreement with BellSouth, AT&T was forced to offer "naked" DSL, or DSL without a mandatory bundled landline phone service component. Unfortunately, the FCC didn't require they advertise the offer or make it easy to get, nor did they make any effort whatsoever to ensure AT&T was holding up merger condition promises.

A few weeks ago, a Wall Street analyst raised a ruckus by claiming the iPhone contained a faulty chip from Infineon, which was causing 3G connectivity problems he claimed wouldn't be firmware upgradeable. Last week however, researchers in Sweden conducted tests showing that the iPhone's reception was just fine. Obviously, users impacted by the problems wanted more definitive data, so they offered their troubled phones for testing, and again the researchers found no physical hardware defect. Assuming these latest results are accurate, that means the problems being experienced by some iPhone users are either caused by AT&T's network, or by Apple's software.

• Do We Need An Internet Zoning Law? [techdirt.com]
• Court dismisses video copyright case against Veoh [reuters.com]
• Google stretching more underwater comms cable? [theregister.co.uk]
• IEEE standardizes fast Wi-Fi roaming [computerworld.com.au]
• Ericsson in exclusive broadband deal for flagship Saudi tech city [marketwatch.com]
• Primus Telecom to shape mobile broadband instead of charging if you go over your cap [product-reviews.net]
• Google explains missing Android features [pcpro.co.uk]
• From the its about time dept: PC makers rethink preloaded software [theinquirer.net]

• Report: Orange backs off iPhone 3G throttling [news.com]
• Here we go again: Mobile Broadband running out of capacity [techwatch.co.uk]
• Zhone expands copper’s boundaries [telecommagazine.com]
• BT to launch free Wi-Fi service [techwatch.co.uk]
• iPhone 3G Lawsuit Widens [internetnews.com]
• Euro guidelines will allow Bluetooth spam [theregister.co.uk]
• Why the Long Island Wi-Fi project is doomed: lessons from Fire Island [muniwireless.com]
• Microsoft adds nagware to Windows [theinquirer.net]

Last week I noted that Verizon was quietly revisiting every single one of their FiOS installations in New York State after the State PSC found that a number of installs weren't properly grounded and/or bonded. Light Reading editor Phil Harvey e-mails me to note they have more information on the problems and some photo examples of improperly grounded ONTs (optical network terminals). Verizon is apparently giving customers a refund should it be found their install wasn't up to code -- and the company estimates the total "may be in the millions of dollars" according to documents filed with the State.