According to a statement by the USDA's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Uncle Sam will be consolidating the two remaining broadband stimulus funding rounds into one. According to the government, they're merging the funding rounds "to increase efficiency and better accommodate applicants." The government also issued a fifteen-day RFI requesting feedback from bidders aimed at improving the application process. So far, about 2,200 different companies and organizations have put in bids for the $7.2 billion in available funding, making two additional funding rounds a little silly for the volume of demand, versus the limited funding available.

As we explored last week in detail, Verizon appears to be pausing in their FiOS deployment in order to recoup some of the money in markets they've already deployed the service. One of the cities impacted by that pause is Boston, which is wondering where FiOS is given Verizon's struck citywide franchise deals with Philadelphia, New York, and Washington DC.

As we've been exploring, both AT&T and Verizon absolutely despise Google. Why? Because the company represents an Internet future where phone companies are relegated to "dumb pipe" network operators, and more innovative and adaptable companies wind up making a killing in the content and service business.

If you've paid attention, you know the modern "network neutrality" debate took off in 2005, when then AT&T CEO Ed Whitacre proudly, though dumbly, proclaimed that Google got a "free ride" on his network. According to Ed, this unfairness could only be rectified by charging companies who already pay for bandwidth money to ensure their traffic reaches AT&T consumers quickly.

If you recall, back in May Time Warner Cable tried to force a bill through the North Carolina legislature that would have banned towns and cities from wiring themselves with broadband. Specifically, Time Warner Cable lobbyists were targeting a handful of new fiber to the home projects in the state in places like Wilson, where users can now get FTTH service that far exceeds Time Warner's aging DOCSIS 1.1 technology. The bill ultimately failed, thanks in part to heightened attention from consumers already annoyed by Time Warner Cable's efforts to impose metered billing, though dozens of such bills have already been passed in other states. The company's key Democratic political ally for the bill in North Carolina, who at the time seemed remarkably oblivious about his own bill, has now resigned under a cloud of controversy surrounding his strangely robust campaign finances for a non-election season.

The FCC has leaked word to the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post that the agency plans to introduce new network neutrality guidelines on Monday. The FCC's existing network neutrality policy statement (pdf) isn't law and may not even be enforceable in court -- something Comcast's lawyers are currently trying to prove after getting their wrist slapped by the FCC for P2P throttling last year.

The Pittsburgh City Council today voted unanimously (9-0) to give Verizon a FiOS franchise in the city, after the two sides haggled over local TV funding and the installation of a small local support center. The agreement requires that Verizon deploy FiOS to the entire city within six years, though such agreements generally include plenty of wiggle room for Verizon.

As noted earlier this week, a number of carriers have responded to the FCC's request for a concrete definition of broadband with the suggestion that the FCC stick to their current definition of broadband as 768 kbps downstream and 200 kbps upstream. Consumer advocates want the definition set higher, given this is about setting a goal for ourselves as a nation as we craft our first national broadband plan.

Earlier this week we noted how controversial telco-tied broadband mapping operation Connected Nation won Florida's bid for broadband mapping, despite a higher bid, thanks in part to having a former BellSouth executive Judging the merits of the outfit. It looks like things aren't too much different in Minnesota, where Mike O’Connor, a member of the State's broadband Task Force, blogs about Connected Nation getting a cozy inside track on that state's mapping process as well.

Declan McCullagh has for years had a nasty habit of actually reading the laws Congress passes into law, which is frequently more than can be said of Congress itself. Last week, McCullagh wrote a piece for CNET exploring a new bill aimed at shoring up the nation's cybersecurity defenses.

Politicians continue their love affair over Connected Nation, the broadband mapping group that's been accused of being little more than a front-group for the nation's largest carriers, tasked with grabbing government cash in return for glossed-up reports on broadband competition and penetration. Techdirt directs our attention to the fact that Connected Nation won a bid to map broadband in Florida, despite the fact that their bid for mapping was more than double the closest alternative. One of the Judges who gave Connected Nation a huge leg up? Bill Price, the broadband stimulus program manager for the state of Florida, whose previous gig was as vice president for business development for BellSouth Business. Are we learning yet?

Back in December of 2007, the FCC passed a rule saying that if you're a cable operator, you can't own more than 30% of the pay TV market. According to the FCC, the rule was "designed to ensure that no single cable operator or group of operators, because of its size, can unfairly impede the flow of programming to consumers." Given Comcast sits somewhere around 27%, the operator quickly sued the FCC, noting some degree of FCC hypocrisy in capping Comcast growth, but signing off on every baby bell merger that comes their way.

Part of the continuing problem with the telecom sector (well, most sectors, and not just in the States) is that there's a revolving door between industry lobbyists and regulators, which creates a legion of regulators who simply nod dumbly at corporations as they search for their next paying gig. While that's certainly their individual right, that obviously leaves regular users in the dust, since there's just no money in giving a damn about consumers.

As was expected, the FCC unanimously voted on three notice of inquiries (NOIs) aimed at analyzing the wireless sector for competitive shortcomings. In a statement (pdf), new FCC boss Julius Genachowski said the inquiry was aimed at "developing policies that maximize and accelerate innovation and investment." The inquiry came about, however, only after the agency and Congress showed concern over things like exclusive handset deals, possible SMS price collusion and AT&T/Apple's recent Google Voice blockade.

While the vote on the inquiries were unanimous, the traditional 3-2 partisan divide remained evident with the Commission Republican minority insisting the market was "robustly competitive" and required only a "light regulatory touch." What happens now? Lots of talking, accompanied by lots of lobbyists proclaiming the wireless industry's infallible, followed probably by no substantive action by the FCC.

But that's just a wild guess. It would be nice to be proven wrong.

As we've been saying for years, the "franchise reform" bills the baby bells have been pushing state by state promise lower TV prices, but are really little more than legislative wish lists that erode consumer protections, legitimize next-generation broadband "cherry picking," strip away eminent domain rights, and make lobbying easier for carriers. After dozens of states drank a little too much lobbyist juice, consumers in those states are waking up in bed with a ragged-looking AT&T or Verizon, and no lower TV prices anywhere in sight.

We've been complaining that while new FCC boss Julius Genachowski has been doing a ton of interviews, he hasn't actually been saying anything of substance -- apparently treading a vague middle ground either to avoid upsetting either consumers or huge corporate constituents, or to keep opponents to looming plans fighting blind. Of course as we've argued, the industry could use a lot less regulatory ambiguity, and a lot more, well, kicks to the hind quarters.

Broadband mapping organization Connected Nation has come under fire for being little more than a baby bell policy vehicle. Primarily those complaints come from consumer advocates, who say the group overstates their success rates in certain states (like Kentucky, where they claim there's close to 100% broadband penetration) in order to help the baby bells fend off regulation that would increase competition and lower revenues.

If you've been following this sector at all for the last decade, you'll note that the broadband industry has had a hard time even accurately defining what broadband is, much less how we should forge a national policy. The FCC has traditionally defined broadband as anything faster than 200kbps, only recently upgrading that definition to 768kbps downstream and 200kbps upstream.

With the network neutrality circus back in town, the use of bogus grass roots groups (aka "astroturf") is again on the upswing as corporations lobby Uncle Sam to prevent network neutrality legislation. Such misleadingly named groups (grandmothers for network justice?) are used by corporations in every sector to give the illusion of broad consumer support for ideas that are anti-consumer.

Back during Verizon's second quarter earnings call, the company announced they'd be laying off 8,000 employees this year in order to generate some savings. There's a combination of reasons for the layoffs, including continuing losses of both landline and DSL customers, and Verizon's continued shift away from more rural markets.