• What is Sprint's trump card? [fiercewireless.com]
• White House Seeks Easier FBI Access To Internet Records, Blocks Oversight Attempt... Just As FBI Caught Cheating On Exam To Stop Abuse techdirt.com[]
• Clearwire adds Best Buy as 4G wholesale partner [fiercewireless.com]
• San Francisco Bay Area Selects Motorola for the Nation's First Public Safety 700 MHz LTE Broadband Network [redorbit.com]
• Ofcom Faces Backlash For Broadband Criticism [eweekeurope.co.uk]
• Sprint set to release 3G-enabling "case" for iPod touch [arstechnica.com]
• Amazon Launches $139 Wi-Fi-Only Kindle [informationweek.com]
• 1 Billion Global Broadband Subs by 2015 Reports Strategy Analytics [tmcnet.com]

Vermont already wasn't exactly a great state for broadband, given the largely rural state is a ROI nightmare for large ISP bean counters. Their broadband fortunes were recently made substantially worse by Fairpoint Communications, who acquired Verizon's unwanted New England DSL network, then subsequently imploded under the not so watchful eye of Vermont regulators.

Google recently found themselves under fire from privacy regulators in multiple countries for the company's admission that they had been collecting Wi-Fi user data from unsecured hotspots using Street View vehicles. Google initially stated they only collected publicly available SSID and MAC Address data -- then later acknowledged that they were collecting snippets of actual transmitted data -- though Google insisted they did so accidentally. However, a UK review has found no real privacy harm was done:The UK's findings are in line with Google's admission that the equipment used changed channels roughly five times a second while the vehicle was moving.

In other words, while Google did intend to collect publicly available SSID and MAC information, most of the live Wi-Fi user data collected (from unsecured hotspots only) was largely useless. Google has admitted error and apologized for their screw up, though the company still faces inquiries in multiple countries and in the United States.

Gizmodo notes that several Comcast customers are apparently being told that they need to pay their outstanding balances of $0.00, or they face having their broadband connection disconnected. The website also posts the complaint of a Charter Communications customer who actually did have their broadband service terminated for failing to pay their $0.00 bill.

JD Power and Associates has released their 2010 Wireless Customer Care Performance Study, which tracks how well wireless carriers manage customer complaints using the Internet, phone support, in-store retail assistance, and via automated support systems. According to the standings, T-Mobile came in first place with a consumer care rating of 777 followed by AT&T (757), Verizon (749) and Sprint (734).

While the two administrations certainly have their differences, the Obama administration is following the Bush administration's lead on a number of fronts -- specifically in terms of surveillance and privacy in the digital age. According to the Washington Post, the Obama camp is working to make it easier for the FBI to compel your ISP to turn over your online activity records without a court order "if agents deem the information relevant to a terrorism or intelligence investigation:" story continues..

Phone Scoop noticed a few documents in the ever-compelling FCC document pile that reference a new and somewhat different product from ZTE that's set to launch via Sprint. From the documents, it appears to be some kind of sleeve that can be wrapped around the iPod Touch but has no physical connection to the device. Instead, it appears that the device is essentially a tiny 3G hotspot integrated into a case, allowing users to easily connect their iPod Touch to the Sprint 3G network. Like many of these mobile hotspots, this one comes with integrated GPS and supports up to five additional devices via Wi-Fi. Full documents and photos for the device are available here at the FCC website.

Turner Broadcasting and Verizon have announced that the two companies have expanded Verizon's "TV Anywhere" Internet video ambitions by providing FiOS TV customers with access to TBS and TNT content. According to the companies, users will now have access to show from these channels 24 hours after they air on regular TV. Users can access the content either through the TV Everywhere website for TBS, The TV Everywhere website for TNT, or the Verizon FiOS TV Online website. The walled garden video technology being used is provided by both Adobe Systems Incorporated and FreeWheel.

According to Reuters, Research In Motion is expected to hold a joint announcement next Tuesday to unveil the new BlackBerry 9800, which will feature a new operating system, a revamped web browser and full slide-out keyboard. While the new 9800 will be unveiled next week, it won't officially hit store shelves until mid-August. Early leaks also seem to hint at a looming Storm 3 phone that should launch late this year on Verizon. The phone (like the 9800) is RIM's attempt to play catch up with Android by incorporating features like a portable 3G hotspot, 802.11N Wi-Fi, more RAM, and a 5 megapixel camera.

• The 10 U.S. Cities With The Fastest Broadband [sfgate.com]
• Turner's TV Everywhere Goes Live With Verizon FiOS TV [multichannel.com]
• Former House Energy & Commerce Committee Chair To Genachowski: Abandon Title II Plan [multichannel.com]
• UK population to be guaranteed mobile 768Kb/sec service [theregister.co.uk]
• Broadband and Live Video, A Lifestyle Need [isedb.com]
• Pacnet, Pacific Fiber to build Australia-US cable [reuters.com]
• AT&T claims it will be 'the premier carrier' for Windows Phone 7 [engadget.com]
• Researcher 'leaks' 100 million Facebook IDs [tgdaily.com]

• Just two Chinese ISPs serve 20% of world broadband users [arstechnica.com]
• What does it take to migrate from WiMAX to LTE? [fiercebroadbandwireless.com]
• British Watchdog: Google Wi-Fi Data Contains Nothing Significant [maximumpc.com]
• Will LightSquared succeed with its LTE ambitions? [fiercewireless.com]
• What your phone app doesn't say: It's watching [msnbc.com]
• Google's licensing changes could put a lid on Android app piracy [cnet.com]
• UK Government Confirms Long-Awaited Spectrum Auction [eweekeurope.co.uk]
• Apple to investigate iOS 4 problems on iPhone 3G [cnet.com]

Now basing their determinations on real data and not just lobbyist Powerpoint presentations, the FCC earlier this month released a study highlighting U.S. broadband coverage gaps.

Verizon's transfer of millions of DSL and landline customers to Frontier Communications has gone smoothly so far, if a lack of complaints in our Frontier forum are any indication. Unsurprisingly we're seeing more difficulty in markets Verizon neglected for years (like West Virginia).

Sprint today posted their second quarter earnings, which show that while the company posted a quarterly loss of $760 million, the company saw their first subscriber gain in nearly three years. While the company lost 55,000 subscribers under its multiple brands (Boost, Sprint, Virgin Mobile), and lost 228,000 contract subscribers, the company managed a net gain of 111,000 subscribers -- mostly thanks to wholesale and affiliate subscribers added through resellers. The company says they've seen some help from the sale of the HTC EVO, though supply constraints continue to be a thorn in Sprint's side.

Comcast has released their second quarter earnings, which indicate the company saw earnings slip 8.6% due to costs related to their proposed union with NBC Universal. The company posted a net income of $884 million on the quarter, but dealt with $22 million in operating expenses and $37 million in financing costs incurred from the NBC Universal deal (hiring a massive army of lobbyists, lawyers and politicians is rather expensive).

According to a coming study by wireless billing Vendor Validas, Verizon Wireless smartphone users officially use more data than iPhone users on the AT&T network. According to Validas, the average monthly wireless data consumption for Verizon Wireless Smartphones is 421 megabytes per month, versus 338 megabytes per month for iPhones.

Sprint's supposed merger with T-Mobile is quickly becoming a rumor staple of the telecom sector right alongside other great buyout rumors that never seem to materialize -- like AT&T's acquisition of DirecTV, or Time Warner Cable's acquisition of Cablevision. Earlier this month Sprint CEO Dan Hesse rekindled the rumors by claiming a union of the two companies "makes sense" -- as long as they're working on the same fourth-generation technology. Now Forbes makes the case that new emergency network bills (which we covered here) could result in T-Mobile and Sprint being forced into a super-union for spectrum's sake.

According to Multichannel News, cable overbuilder Knology is preparing to buy Kansas-based cable broadband operator Sunflower Broadband (see our user reviews). The deal, which is estimated to be worth around $127 million, will involve the transfer of roughly 30,000 cable and telephone subscribers in Lawrence, Eudora and Douglas counties in Kansas (in contrast, Knology has about 600,000 RGUs). Sunflower was among the first to implement the idea of low caps and high overages ($2 for each additional gigabyte). However, the company has slowly been raising their caps as AT&T begins pushing uncapped U-Verse service harder into their markets. Sunflower customers may be interested to learn that Knology has no caps and is pushing forward with DOCSIS 3.0 upgrades.

• Privacy Lawsuit Targets Net Giants Over ‘Zombie’ Cookies [wired.com]
• Mobile-TV Push Gets Fuzzy Reception [wsj.com]
• Australia's largest telco fined AU$18.5 million for blocking broadband competitors [canadianbusiness.com]
• Kerry Will Push for Online Privacy Legislation [multichannel.com]
• Second Student Sues School District Over Webcam Spying [wired.com]
• Netflix Reaches 15 Million Subscribers as Streaming Grows [convergedigest.com]
• Knology Close To Sunflower Buy [multichannel.com]
• Firefox and Chrome security patches released [v3.co.uk]

• D Block Decision May Prompt T-Mobile/Sprint Marriage [forbes.com]
• FCC Chief: Broadband Authority Key to Cybersecurity, Privacy [multichannel.com]
• iPhone not king pig: Verizon 3G phone users gobble most data [arstechnica.com]
• For An Industry Being Destroyed By 'File Sharing,' Film Industry Keeps Reporting Record Numbers [techdirt.com]
• UK falls off list of world's fastest broadband locations [v3.co.uk]
• UK ISP TalkTalk Snoops On Customers’ Web Activity [eweekeurope.co.uk]
• Video Is Dead; Focus On Mobile, Broadband, Commercial: Analyst [multichannel.com]
• Out-of-Stock Droid X Is Best-Selling Android Phone [yahoo.com]
• Apple Responds to iPhone Jailbreaking Decision [foxnews.com]
• AT&T will support Straight Talk prepaid service [fiercewireless.com]