While behavioral ad firm NebuAD seems to have crashed and burned here in the States, Britain-based Phorm is alive and kicking despite a week where the company ejected a slew of executives -- supposedly for disagreeing with their boss over the future of the company. TelecomTV reports the four sacked executives were all in the US and were all interested in bringing Phorm here. Phorm says they're still interested in the U.S. market, despite questions here over whether such deep packet inspection systems violate privacy and wiretap laws.

Phorm was a former rootkit developer who now focuses on buying your browsing history from your ISP, delivering you targeted ads, then pretending they're offering you a useful service. Really, as Phorm UK CEO Hugo Drayton explains in a video interview with TelecomTV, it's all about providing ISPs with another revenue stream. It's rumored that Phorm has been in talks with several U.S. baby bells, several of whom have been busy lately trying to keep pesky consumer privacy laws out of their way so they too can embrace behavioral advertising.

While NebuAD's effort was temporarily derailed, behavioral advertising will ultimately land in the United States, given there's plenty of companies out there working to copy the NebuAD and Phorm business models.