News of the Day

• Telepresence robots bring workers to their desks virtually
  A growing number of employees are showing up at work with the help of remote-controlled telepresence machines that allow faraway workers to all but touch their offices. "This gives you that casual interaction that you're used to at work. I'm sitting in my desk area with everybody else. I'm part of their conversations and their socializing," said Dallas Goecker, a Seymour, Ind.-based engineer who works for a Palo Alto, Calif., technology firm. Goecker uses Suitable Technologies' Beam, one of more than a dozen mobile videoconferencing devices on the market. The Miami Herald (free registration)/The Associated Press (12/23)     

Business & Industry Watch

• Predictions: What's ahead for telecom in 2013
  Total Telecom staffers, looking at what might come to pass in the telecom sector next year, expect more cooperation but less consolidation among European telecoms. Other predictions include more consolidation in the U.S. market, including a possible move by Microsoft to buy Nokia. Total Telecom Magazine (U.K.) (12/21)     

• Other News

• Chambers files plan to sell large cache of Cisco stock
  Light Reading (12/23)     

• Ofcom tells BT it must repay enterprises for Ethernet charges
  Reuters (12/21)     

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by USTelecom dailyLead® readers in the past week.

• Alcatel-Lucent borrows $2.1B, will cut costs in tougher market (Reuters)

• Sprint seals $2.2B deal to buy the rest of Clearwire (The New York Times (tiered subscription model))

• Managed-services provider tw telecom eyes nationwide 10GE rollout (Channel Partners)

• At the eye of the storm, AT&T kept its networks running (V3.co.uk (U.K.))

• USTelecom calls on FCC to relax regs, saying competition is fierce (Broadcasting & Cable)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

Video Upload

• Roku CEO: One way or another, you'll watch TV on the Internet
  Most people will soon watch television on Internet-connected TV sets or through set-top boxes tied into the Internet, according to Roku CEO Anthony Wood. He noted that Roku-ready TV models will be rolled out at the 2013 International CES. "We think there's a huge opportunity to expand our platform from streaming players, where we're a leader today, into TVs," Wood said in this interview. CNBC (12/23)     

• NimbleTV tests cloud-based TV streaming
  NimbleTV has launched a test of a cloud-based system that will let subscribers access TV content on any device, including their smartphones. The service is available in New York City and will eventually be offered elsewhere in the U.S. and in India. TechCrunch (12/21)     

Technology Trends

• Cogeco will broaden data hosting with PEER 1 purchase
  Canada's Cogeco Cable said Friday that it would pay $533 million to acquire Vancouver-based PEER 1 Network Enterprises, an Internet infrastructure company. The Montreal-based division of Cogeco Inc. will pay a premium of about 32% to get PEER's data hosting and cloud computing operation as it expands its IT-hosting business. Reuters (12/21), Total Telecom Magazine (U.K.)/Dow Jones Newswires (12/21)     

IP Download

• Data caps may face tougher stance from FCC than from Senate
  Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., might face tough sledding in the Senate regarding his proposal to regulate the use of data caps by Internet service providers, but the Federal Communications Commission might be more sympathetic, says Guggenheim Securities analyst Paul Gallant, pointing to comments made by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. Wyden introduced his measure Thursday. In a report, Gallant warns that ISPs might need to consider self-regulation to ward off federal intervention. Investor's Business Daily (12/21)     

Editor's Note

• The dailyLead will not publish Tuesday
  In observance of Christmas, the dailyLead will not publish Tuesday. Publication will resume Wednesday. Enjoy the holiday!     

LeadQuote

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home." --Edith Sitwell, British poet and critic