AT&T's Chief Operating Officer Randall Stephenson told attendees of CTIA Wireless Tuesday that the company had received some 1 million requests to be notified when the iPhone becomes available. While the company is not taking advance orders for the phone, expected to retail for $499 and $599 USD for the 4GB and 8GB models, respectively, it has an option on the site to leave an e-mail address to be contacted when it becomes available.

"One million people have asked us to call when this phone is available," he said. The company plans to begin selling the iPhone in June, and has signed a multi-year exclusive deal with Apple that could bring several additional models to the carrier over the next few years.

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In a sign that 3G is getting closer to becoming commonplace in the US cellular market, Sony Ericsson on Monday introduced its first HSDPA phone for North America, the Z750.

Up until recently, manufacturers passed over the American market in favor of the European and Asian markets where 3G is already widespread. However, with Cingular already beginning to offer HSPDA service and T-Mobile preparing to this year, companies are beginning to roll out phones for the US.

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In an editorial for the Washington Post this morning, Viacom general counsel Michael Fricklas defended what observers are remarking may be an unpopular position. Fricklas argued that YouTube cannot effectively shield itself from prosecution using the "safe harbor" provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, saying there's no way YouTube's millions of customers can be aware that copyright infringement takes place on the site while the company itself remains oblivious.

"YouTube's own terms of use give it clear rights," Fricklas writes, "notably the right to take anything down. YouTube actively monitors its content. For example, its managers remove pornography and hate content and, as was recently reported, claim they can detect and remove 'spam.' Without knowledge and control, how could YouTube create 'channels' and 'featured videos' sections on its site? YouTube has even offered to find infringing content for copyright owners - but only if they do a licensing deal first."

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Responding to media reports that initial adoption of Windows Vista has been slow and news that certain government agencies are holding off on upgrading, Microsoft announced Monday that it sold more than 20 million copies of Vista in the first month - double the copies of Windows XP sold in its first month.

The figure includes Vista licenses sold to PC manufacturers, in addition to upgrades and full versions of the new operating system sold via retail outlets. Microsoft says the "strong sales" reflect positive consumer response, and put Vista on track to becoming the quickest-adopted version of Windows.

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AT&T said Monday that it had come to an agreement with Napster to bring the music service's offerings to both its broadband and wireless subscribers. Customers would receive one year of free service to Napster to Go, which would also allow them to transfer songs to compatible portable devices. Service would be made available beginning April 1 to wireless customers with qualifying plans, as well as customers with qualifying 'triple pack' bundles of wireless, home phone and broadband services.

"Merging communications with entertainment -- in this case, linking Napster To Go's rich library of music to our wireless and broadband services -- again shows that we are committed to delivering enhanced content across key screens both at home and on the go," AT&T Consumer chief marketing officer Rick Welday said in prepared remarks.

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As promised three weeks ago, Microsoft's first experimental foray into the click-to-call field of VoIP - its Office Communications Server 2007, due to replace Office Live Communications Server 2005 - has been opened to public beta tests today. Its aim is to integrate voice communication with other Office users as well as with the server itself, directly into Office 2007 applications.

Here is where we start to see Microsoft's plan to become a communications company take shape. With the acquisition of Tellme Networks two weeks ago, Microsoft now has a centralized platform for the delivery of search and other services via voice, worldwide. For potential customers looking to design enterprise telecom networks, this shifts the services logic out of the server room and onto an outsourced platform.

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Several news outlets are citing various sources saying Microsoft plans to release the Xbox 360 Elite, a high-end limited edition console that would retail for $479 USD and include an HDMI connector, IPTV capabilities, and a 120GB hard drive.

The Redmond company is not confirming the rumors, although it has been reported that a Microsoft XNA framework developer may have unintentionally confirmed the HDMI functionality in a company forum for the technology.

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It seems as if Apple is determined to not take a similar route as Windows Vista with its next-generation operating system, code-named "Leopard."

The company took the unusual step on Friday of responding directly to speculation by the Taiwan technology publication DigiTimes that its newest operating system was delayed, saying it was on track to deliver Leopard in the spring.

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With EV-DO Revision A deployments well underway, Qualcomm on Monday debuted a new chipset for Revision B that is said to have reached average data speeds of 9.3Mpbs in field trials.

At that data rate, a mobile data connection would be roughly the same as that of a current cable modem connection. Qualcomm says its chipset, called the Mobile Station Modem MSM7850, is the first device solution for EV-DO Rev. B.

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The day after the US Federal Communications Commission announced it would open an "inquiry" (as opposed to an "investigation") into concerns that certain major industry players may be able to attain preferential access to network bandwidth, it declared wireless broadband service an "information service."

On the surface, that may seem like a non-event; but as FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps warned in his concurrence with the decision last Thursday, declaring something an "information service" as opposed to a "telecommunications service" (like telephony) puts it in a very different regulatory bracket.

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Verizon has signed a three-year deal with Alcatel-Lucent worth $6 billion to continue building out its network in the United States and help extend the reach of its multimedia and data services.

The agreement would mean the country's second largest mobile operator would be able to expand its EV-DO Revision A coverage, as well as add new services. Among those planned are VoIP, push-to-x (an extension of PTT), video calls, and other technologies.

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The Recording Industry Association of America says that over a quarter of the 400 students threatened with a lawsuit for illegally sharing music online have agreed to settle, as part of the organization's crackdown of illicit file swapping on college campuses.

The standard settlement offer is around $3,000, which is far less than what the RIAA informs students they will owe if taken to court, which could amount to $750 per song distributed. The first wave of letters was sent in February to 13 universities, asking the institutions to pass them on to students suspected of piracy. A second round of letters went out last week to 23 universities.

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Microsoft has been given 20 more days to respond to new charges by the European Union that it is not meeting the requirements of the rulings against it, honoring a request by Microsoft lawyers. Instead of the original April 3 deadline, the Redmond company now has until April 23 to respond.

European Commission competition officer Neelie Kroes told the EU Parliament Thursday that she was unhappy with Microsoft's rates it was charging for interoperability information with its servers. Additionally, she said that third-party products were still not running smoothly with the company's products, a major requirement of an earlier judgment against it.

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Calling the turmoil following a Friday verdict banning it from using VoIP technology patented by Verizon an "overreaction," Vonage said Monday that it was confident it would be able to win on appeal, but investors are worried.

US District Judge Claude Hilton issued an injunction Friday after dismissing arguments by Vonage that it was in the public interest to not enforce such an action, siding with Verizon's claims of 'irreparable harm.'

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A few days ago, Qualcomm elected to withdraw its patent infringement claims against Broadcom, and Broadcom in turn withdrew almost all of its counterclaims...except a few. Late yesterday, we learned why. US District Judge Rudi Brewster ruled yesterday in favor of Broadcom. In 2003, when Qualcomm failed to provide information to the US International Trade Commission supporting the two specific patents it's defending now, Judge Brewster found that Qualcomm waived its rights to enforce those same patents later.

This portion of the judge's ruling coincides with an advisory verdict made by a jury last January.

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