• Political, Economic 'Bloodbath' Awaits FCC's Broadband Plan [foxbusiness.com]
• Google's Pacific Ocean cable close to completion [v3.co.uk]
• If ACTA Gets Approved, Expect China To Use It As Justification For Censorship [techdirt.com]
• Sprint offers prepaid mobile broadband service for wholesalers [fiercewireless.com]
• Apple swears iPad partners to secrecy [msnbc.com]
• Canon Becomes First Single Word Domain Holder [techdirt.com]
• Vodafone Spain Admits to Having 3,000 Malware Infected HTC Magics [slashgear.com]
• Mac OS X has 20 zero day flaws [theinquirer.net]

Another week in the books. Empty your thoughts below.

Inmarsat CEO Andrew Sukawaty talks to the Washington Post and seems upset that satellite broadband didn't get more attention in the FCC's recently released national broadband plan. Sukawaty downplays the success other nations have had in deploying 100 Mbps as a product of geography, argues the country is just gosh-darn big, and then unrealistically pushes satellite's role as a broadband niche filler even above and beyond technologies like Mobile WiMax and LTE.

In July of last year we noted how the MTA was exploring the possibility of deploying Wi-Fi on New York City area train lines. Last fall Cablevision, which has been busy building Wi-Fi services they offer free to their subscribers, offered to partner with the MTA to extend their existing service.

Amsterdam not only has one of the busiest global Internet exchanges, but consumers also see some fantastic speeds in a city that increasingly treats broadband like an open access utility. At the heart of that effort is CityNet, a joint partnership between the city and two private investors. CityNet is run by a guy named Herman Wagter (this older interview is a must read). We've talked a lot about Wagter and CityNet over the last few years, including exploring how they've been working on 1 Gbps connectivity to Amsterdam homes (and houseboats). Wagter has now written a really great piece for Ars Technica on the finer details of delivering FTTH service in a densely-populated European city where all fiber must be buried.

An FCC statement (pdf) indicates that the agency is fielding public comments on Comcast's planned merger with NBC Universal. The nation's largest TV and broadband provider (and third largest phone company) is hoping to create a $28.2 billion joint venture with GE, which would give Comcast a a 51 percent share in NBC Universal.

While Time Warner Cable dropped faster "Wideband" 50 Mbps speeds this week in parts of New York State like Buffalo and Syracuse, cities like Rochester, New York and Binghamton, New York were won't be seeing upgrades anytime soon. Why? Competition, or more accurately -- a lack thereof.

Verizon's John Czwartacki this week asked via Twitter what the public's biggest question was surrounding Verizon's upcoming Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless broadband launch this year. Given we know the service will launch in 25-30 markets this year, offering speeds of 5-12 Mbps (probably more around 3-8 Mbps) -- our biggest question remains: what's the price tag, and what kind of caps are we looking at? Judging from the lack of response to that question, Verizon hasn't decided yet.

• Virgin Media UK Demo 200Mbps Cable Broadband [ispreview.co.uk]
• Google, Intel, Sony to join forces on 'Google TV' [timesonline.co.uk]
• Skype's global WiFi service a big price gouge for travellers? [pcauthority.com.au]
• Google To Shut Down China Unit in April? [businessweek.com]
• Charter Picks FourthWall EBIF Platform to Deliver Interactive Programming, Advertising; Eyes 50% Of Digital Footprint By End Of 2010 [multichannel.com]
• 10 Reason Why the Apple Lawsuit with HTC Could Set Back the Mobile Industry [eweek.com]
• Analysis Of Google And Viacom's Mud-Slinging Arguments Over YouTube [techdirt.com]
• Global sales of built-in 3G modules to exceed plug-type data cards in three years, say sources [digitimes.com]
• Energizer site still plagued by data-stealing trojan [theregister.co.uk]

• EU Proposes Criminalizing Inducing Infringement In ACTA Draft; Could Outlaw Google [techdirt.com]
• AT&T, Verizon Undecided on LTE Pricing; Wary of Consumer Protest Over Usage-Based Pricing [lightreading.com]
• Cable TV Is Doomed! [theatlantic.com]
• Smartphones Drive More Handset Sales Overall, But Lower Prices Stall Total Handset Revenue Growth [prweb.com]
• LTE may heat up mobile net neutrality debate [networkworld.com]
• London gets kiddie Internet addiction center [theinquirer.net]
• Free Wi-Fi Via Skype Access This Weekend [ubergizmo.com]
• Apple Patents: Your Next iPhone Doubles as a Walkie Talkie [fastcompany.com]

The last year or so has seen an endless stream of rumors surrounding T-Mobile owner Deutsche Telekom, and their desire to improve T-Mobile's fourth-place fortunes in the U.S. wireless market.

Like many carriers, Cox Communications' broadband speeds and prices depend on the amount of local competition -- and if there isn't any, speeds are usually lower and prices higher. In Arizona, users in some markets were lucky enough to begin seeing faster DOCSIS 3.0 speeds last summer, now according to users in our Cox forum, the carrier is again tinkering with prices and speeds in the region. Users statewide are receiving letters informing them that the cost of Cox's "Premier" plan increased from $59.95 to $64.95 starting this week. On the plus side, the tier is also apparently jumping from 15 Mbps down and 1.5 Mbps up to 20 Mbps down and 4 Mbps up (speeds that should get closer to 25/5 with Powerboost, a technology that will give you a surge in bandwidth for the first 18 to 22 MB of a download).

Comcast insiders earlier this year told Broadband Reports that as part of Comcast's Xfinity rebranding effort, the carrier was hoping to deliver a new 100 Mbps tier to roughly 20% of their footprint before the end of the year. 100/15 Mbps service is currently offered in only one Comcast market (Minneapolis), but at a price tag of $370 per month.

Though we've yet to find any reference of it in regional news, an internal Comcast newsletter forwarded to Broadband Reports tells the amusing tale of a man and a woman who recently got into hot water with both Comcast and the Houston police. Apparently, the couple had been driving around Houston in a Dodge Durango stealing backup batteries from Comcast power supply enclosure pedestals.

You probably knew this already from first-hand experience, but some broadband support reps are very good at their jobs -- and some, well, aren't. The The Consumerist has a nasty habit of highlighting the worst of the worst, and this week was no exception.

User Kabanos drops us a line to note that the FCC has given an update on their new broadband speed test, which the agency launched just last Friday. According to a blog post by the FCC's Jordan Usdan, the speedtest has already seen 150,000 unique users who've taken 300,000 tests and submitted 4,000 addresses.

• Comcast: 100-Meg Residential Service Coming This Year [multichannel.com]
• Berners-Lee says rate countries by data sharing [theregister.co.uk]
• ZigBee and Wi-Fi Alliances to Collaborate on Smart Grid Wireless Networking [cellular-news.com]
• Illegal file sharing in Europe could cost £215 billion by 2015 [thinkbroadband.com]
• Android 2.1 arrives in force [theinquirer.net]
• What Would You Want From a Google Set-Top Box? [newteevee.com]
• Verizon 4G handsets out by mid-2011 [cnet.com]

• America's Broadband Revolution: Where We Go From Here [huffingtonpost.com]
• Public safety fee for broadband will be less than $1 a month [computerworld.com]
• First WiMAX phone to debut next week? [theregister.co.uk]
• Mobile apps market is set to explode [theinquirer.net]
• (Still) Defining Net Neutrality [lightreading.com]
• California’s Smart Meter Battle: Google vs. Utilities [earth2tech.com]
• Microsoft prepping Xbox 360 Slim? [gamespot.com]
• Mozilla will put Firefox 3.0 to bed [theinquirer.net]

There was already no love lost between Verizon and Cablevision, who are engaged in a heated competitive battle in the NY Metro market. Verizon's now upped the ante, and according to Light Reading has filed suit against Cablevision for violating five DVR patents.

Back in October of 2008, Comcast implemented a 250 GB usage limit for all broadband subscribers. In December of 2009 Comcast finally released their usage meter, which allows users to track their consumption via the Comcast portal. The meter originally showed up in Portland, then showed up in Seattle and Spokane last January, and the Boston area in February. According to users in our Comcast forum, the meter has recently expanded more quickly into several additional markets, including portions of New Mexico, Colorado, Connecticut, and Georgia. Comcast still isn't offering an official release schedule, though users should receive an e-mail before the meter officially goes live in their market.