By: Jesse Cryderman

Is the government monitoring your cell phone?

The hottest news in telecommunications last month came from Edward Snowden. The self-proclaimed whistle-blower produced documentation that he claims is proof of the United States government’s engagement in an elaborate surveillance program that monitors and records all telecommunications. Snowden, a former contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA), stated that the program infiltrates Chinese cellular networks as well. Pipeline outlined the possibility of government surveillance last year, and this story is likely the tip of an iceberg that will impact not only communications service providers (CSPs), but also providers of Big Data, cloud and network-security solutions. To read more, click here for NSA special feature.

Sprint, Dish, SoftBank, and Clearwire

The US wireless market is about to say “konnichiwa” to a foreign service provider. Sprint shareholders overwhelmingly voted to approve the company’s merger with Japan-based CSP SoftBank just days after Dish Network dropped its takeover bid; the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted approval of the deal on July 2. That wasn’t the only bad news for Dish, however: Sprint topped the company’s offer for Clearwire, and both Clearwire’s shareholders and the FCC have indicated a willingness to let the deal move forward unencumbered.

So far this soap opera has delivered a bidding war that sent Clearwire and Sprint shares skyrocketing upward; a lawsuit filed by Sprint against both Dish Network and Clearwire; a Dish-sponsored website, NationalSecurityMatters.com, that, ironically enough, played on fears of international spying concerns (the link and site now appear to be empty); and a hefty dose of sarcasm and vitriol between SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and Dish’s iconoclastic leader, Charlie Ergen. Stay up to date with the Pipeline News Center as this saga continues to unfold.

Intel is entering the pay-TV market

When news of Intel’s set-top box (STB) crossed the wire, many media analysts wondered what the silicon giant might be planning. Now we know: a next-generation pay-TV service.

Eric Free, the company’s general manager of content and services and vice president of Intel Media, tipped his hand while speaking at the TV of Tomorrow conference in San Francisco on June 25. “Ultimately we want to deliver a better form of television,” he said. “We’re very confident we’ll get the content we need to launch later this year.”

The service will be all-IP, delivered over the web, and it could be a cable killer. It all depends on the content deals Intel can strike; it’s reportedly offering content providers up to 75 percent more than the cable guys. In order to offset those costs, Intel’s STB will come complete with advanced advertising spy gear (a built-in camera that records user behavior) to improve both targeted advertising and subscriber data collection.

“One of the places where innovation really hasn’t happened, at least not at the pace of your phone, your tablet or your laptop, is really within the pay-TV stack,” Free added.