In This Update:
• Comcast to Modify Network Practices
• Amazon Tightens Grip on Print-on-Demand Publishers
• AT&T Plans MediaFlo Mobile TV Service for May
• Li Ka-shing Ups Facebook Stake to $120 Million
• Google TV Now Pitching Local Stations
• Glam Media Acquires Fashion Site StyleMob
• VeriSign Says Registry Fees for Internet Domain Names to Rise
• Electronic Arts Revises Take-Two Tender Offer
• Analyst: Money will Fuel Mobile Spying Programs
• CBS Testing HD Streaming
• Open Range Communication Receives $267 Million Loan for Rural Broadband
• AdGent 007 Raises $5.3 Million Round
• Stealth Startup Glassdoor.com Takes $3 Million Series B

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Comcast to Modify Network Practices
REUTERS
Cable operator Comcast Corp promised on Thursday to change how it manages its network in response to accusations it blocks some Internet file-sharing services because they require large amounts of bandwidth. But Comcast’s move did not go far enough to satisfy the top U.S. communications regulator. Kevin Martin, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, vowed to continue investigating the management practices of broadband providers and whether they discriminate against certain applications. Comcast, which has more than 13 million broadband subscribers, said it would adopt a new technique for managing capacity on its network by the end of 2008. The new practice will not discriminate among different applications.
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Amazon Tightens Grip on Print-on-Demand Publishers
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Amazon.com Inc., flexing its muscles as a major book retailer, notified publishers who print books on demand that they will have to use its on-demand printing facilities if they want their books directly sold on Amazon’s Web site. The move signals that Amazon is intent on using its position as the premier online bookseller to strengthen its presence in other phases of bookselling and manufacturing. Amazon is one of the biggest booksellers in the U.S., with a market share publishing experts estimate to be about 15%. Amazon doesn’t comment on sales.
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AT&T Plans MediaFlo Mobile TV Service for May
LIGHT READING
AT&T Inc said on Thursday it would launch mobile television services in May from MediaFlo USA, a unit of Qualcomm Inc, in an effort to bolster revenue from services other than phone calls. AT&T, the biggest U.S. mobile service, said it would offer MediaFlo to users of the Vu phone from LG Electronics Inc and the Access from Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and plans two exclusive channels it did not name. AT&T, which offers everything from music to Web surfing to help bolster its revenue as phone call prices fall, had originally said it expected to offer the service by the end of 2007. It did not reveal service pricing.
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Li Ka-shing Ups Facebook Stake to $120 Million
REUTERS
Social networking site Facebook has closed a second $60 million investment round with Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing through his foundation, a source familiar with the deal confirmed on Thursday. The source said the deal, which boosts Li’s holdings in Facebook to $120 million, including an earlier $60 million round late last year, is valued on the same $15 billion terms as a $240 million stake Microsoft took in October. Li’s investment was made by the Li Ka Shing Foundation. Li-backed companies such as Hutchison Whampoa Ltd and TOM Group were not involved, the source said.
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Google TV Now Pitching Local Stations
SILICON ALLEY INSIDER
Google (GOOG) has had lot of trouble convincing the TV world that it can be trusted to sell their 30-second spots. Since it announced its first deal to sell TV ads on Dish Network nearly a year ago, Google TV’s Mike Steib has spent a lot of time trying to convince other cable systems and networks to get onboard, with little success. So Thursday Steib took his case to what he hopes will be a more receptive audience: local TV stations. His pitch: There are between 6,000 and 7,000 advertisers working with Google AdSense that would be happy to advertise on TV, but don’t know how to do it. Google (GOOG) could make that happen — and give local stations a new revenue stream.
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Glam Media Acquires Fashion Site StyleMob
WEBWARE
Women’s-focused media and advertising company Glam Media has acquired StyleMob, a small social-media site consisting of a blog and some community features pertaining to fashion. Financial terms were not disclosed. StyleMob, centered on “street fashion” rather than the runways of Paris and Milan, had already been a part of Glam’s advertising network prior to the acquisition.
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VeriSign Says Registry Fees for Internet Domain Names to Rise
REUTERS
Internet services company VeriSign Inc said registry fees for .com and .net domain names would increase as per its agreements with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), effective October 1. VeriSign said the registry fees for .com and .net domain names will increase to $6.86 and $4.23 from $6.42 and $3.85, respectively.
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Electronic Arts Revises Take-Two Tender Offer
PAIDCONTENT
Electronic Arts (NSDQ: ERTS) has updated the terms of its hostile, tender offer, two days after Take-Two rejected it, adopted a poison pill and changed the date of its shareholder meeting. That meeting was pushed back a week, from April 10 to April 17, so Electronic Arts has moved the deadline of its offer from April 11 to April 18. And in response to the poison pill-which would cause dilution to the acquirer – Electronic Arts says it will only proceed if the poison pill is somehow invalidated or recanted by the board.
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Analyst: Money will Fuel Mobile Spying Programs
INFOWORLD
Spying programs for mobile phones are likely to grow in sophistication and stealth as the business around selling the tools grows, according to a mobile analyst at the Black Hat conference on Friday. Many of the spy programs on the market are powerful, but aren’t very sophisticated code, said Jarno Niemela, a senior antivirus researchers for Finnish security vendor F-Secure, which makes security products for PCs and mobile phones. But there is increasing evidence that money from selling the tools will create a stronger incentive for more accomplished programmers to get into the game, which could make the programs harder to detect, Niemela said. Niemela said his prediction follows what has happened with the malware writers in the PC market. Many hackers are now in the business of selling easy-to-use tools to less technical hackers rather than hacking into PCs themselves.
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CBS Testing HD Streaming
TECHCRUNCH
CBS released a high definition player today in the labs area of their site, along with a few clips. They are currently streaming (not progressive download ) in H.264/AVC format at 480p, with 720p and 1080p coming soon, they say. Hulu and others are also beginning to test high definition streaming. Some shows on Hulu, for example, are optionally available in 480p format. They also have a few clips available in 720p.
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Open Range Communication Receives $267 Million Loan for Rural Broadband
GIGAOM
If you live somewhere in United States where dial-up is the only Internet access option, relax help is coming and so is broadband, thanks to Denver, Colorado-based Open Range Communications. The company got a hefty $267 million loan from (US Department of Agriculture) USDA Rural Development and will roll out broadband services in 518 rural areas in 17 states that include Illinois, rural areas in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Wisconsin. RDUP doesn’t give money to areas that already have broadband available from a WISP, CLEC or ILEC. Open Range also has buttoned up $100 million in private equity investments. This is one of the largest investments in rural broadband so far.
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AdGent 007 Raises $5.3 Million Round
ALARM:CLOCK
San Francisco’s AdGent 007 has raised $5.3M with CM Capital, which put in $5M of that as its lead Series A investor. AdGent had raised seed funding from One Ventures. AdGent 007 plans to monetize geo specific inventory on premium brand websites across the globe. For most US publishers, they sell direct and/or work with ad networks to sell their US inventory. That often leaves as much as 40% or more of a site’s traffic that comes from outside the US squandered. The only real option is to run Adsense on international traffic as it’s the only truly global ad network at this point. AdGent 007 is putting together regional on ground sales forces. Its first recent hire was to put a sales guy in Europe.
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Stealth Startup Glassdoor.com Takes $3 Million Series B
TECHCRUNCH
Glassdoor.com has taken $3 million Series B in a round led by Benchmark Capital. Not a lot is known about the Sausalito, CA based company. CEO and Founder Robert Hohman was previously the President of Hotwire.com, and the team includes Richard Barton, CEO of Zillow and Tim Besse, previously in senior management at Expedia. PEHub suggests the company is a “social networking company focused on employment conditions in the workplace,” where as Rent Bits suggests that it may be Real Estate related.
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Tags: Amazon, Benchmark Capital, Boston, Brand, CBS, Cisco, EMI, Facebook, File-sharing, Glam Media, Google, Hulu, ISP, Local, Microsoft, Music, Progress Partners, RIM, Samsung, Seed, Series A, Social Networking, U.S., VC, Zillow