MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2012

DIVERSIONS

LUCK( FOR ME , IT WAS ONLY A ZH-HOUR BUG ! I FEEL MUCH BETTER NOW

THE LAWTON CONSTITUTION

MR.1131LKIN5,MENINGIIIS 15 A SERIOUS ILLNESS !SOME PEOPLE DIE FROM 11)14043 CAN'IOU MAKE UP SUCH STORIES?!
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AT&T to expand wireless, wired broadband reach

NEW YORK (AP) Many homes in AT&T Inc.'s local-phone service areas will see the company becoming more competitive with cable for broadband service under a new $14 billion investment plan the company revealed Wednesday. But in more outlying areas, the company will start shifting customers from regular phone lines to wireless service. Like other phone companies, AT&T is having a hard time competing with cable broadband in much of its service area, because regular "DSL" broadband is now much slower than what cable companies offer. After reviewing its options, AT&T concluded that it won't sell off phone lines in outlying areas like Verizon Communications Inc. did. Instead, it will pursue a split strategy of upgrading some areas to higher speeds and abandoning phone lines in less dense areas in favor of wireless. AT&T already sells a "wireless home phone" box that buyers can plug a regular home phone into. It then relays the signal wirelessly to an AT&T tower. To help shift households to wireless, AT&T said it plans to build out its "4G LTE" wireless network to cover 300 million people, up from the 250 million people it had initially planned to cover. Of the $14 billion investment, $8 billion will go to the wireless network. Data speeds on "4G LTE" are often faster than DSL and can be comparable to cable, but since AT&T has limited space on the airwaves, it imposes caps on monthly data usage that are much lower than those for wired broadband. That means customers who replace wired broadband with wireless will find it expensive to use data-intensive services like TV-quality streaming video. Not all of the $14 billion represents an increase over AT&T's regular $19 billion to $20 billion in annual capital spending. The company expects to spend roughly $22 billion a year for the next three years, it said, before returning to more normal levels. Still, investors were not happy about the plan to invest more in the wired operations, which are only marginally profitable. AT&T shares fell $1.21, or 3.5
THE PLAN: AT&T has a new $14 billion investment plan for broadband. HOW IT WORKS: Many homes in AT&T Inc.'s local-phone service areas will see the company becoming more competitive with cable for broadband service. But in more outlying areas, the company will start shifting customers from regular phone lines to wireless service. THE BACKDROP: Like other phone companies, AT&T is having a hard time competing because regular DSL broadband is now much slower than what cable companies offer. So it will upgrade some areas to higher speeds and abandon phone lines in less dense areas in favor of wireless.

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ALL OUR ELECTRIC BROOMS ARE ON SALE TODAY FOR $79.95.

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@12MacNelly - Dist, by King Features SHOECOMICS.COM

percent, to $33.59 in midday trading as broader indexes fell about 2.5 percent. Speaking to investors in New York, AT&T Chief Financial Officer John Stephens said the investments in wired and wireless infrastructure would be "mutually supportive," with faster lines helping to serve cell towers. That's part of the reason the company decided not to sell off local-phone service areas. Dallas-based AT&T is the country's largest wired phone company, serving 33 million traditional phone lines in 22 states. It's the second-largest wireless carrier, after Verizon Wireless. To compete with cable broadband, phone companies have made expensive upgrades of their lines to replace them with optical fiber for at least part of their run. AT&T calls this upgraded DSL "U-Verse," and uses it to provide TV services in addition to broadband. U-Verse is available to 24.5 million homes, and AT&T said it will expand that number to 33 million. It's going to upgrade phone lines with a less expensive technology to serve an additional 24 million homes. In all, these upgraded lines will serve three-quarters of homes in AT&T's service area. Also Wednesday, AT&T said it's raising its quarterly dividend by 1 cent to 45 cents per share. The next dividend payment is on Feb. 1. AT&T has raised its dividend every year for the last 29 years.

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I'M CHANGING MY PASSWORD FROM "PASTRAMI" TO "CRANBERRY" FOR THE HOLIDAYS

WHY ARE YOU BOTHERING TO DO THAT, HONEY?

OBVIOUSLY, BECAUSE I ENJOY MAKING THE MOST OF THE SEASON

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I CAN'T HELP IT IF I WAS BORN WITH AN OVERACTIVE HOLIDAY GENE!

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ONCE UPON A TIME... THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER... THE END.

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1. Sensors could be installed along roads to monitor traffic conditions along with dedicated short-range communications gear to transmit information to drivers

A mammoth initiative under study by state and federal agencies, dubbed the "connected vehicle" program, would use Silicon Valley technology to change how isre drive. The project, planned to be operating by 2019, would outfit cars with tech gadgets so they can communicate with other vehicles and roadside equipment about various traffic hazards.

4. Existing cellphone towers may be used to receive highway bailie information from cars and sensors and send that information back to drivers about possible hazards

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2. Roadside equipment could be in traffic signs, signals, cameras and attached to poles

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5. Wire sensors known as loop detectors," embedded in the pavement, could provide data on traffic speeds, volumes

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get real-time warnings about such hazards as slippery road conditions, accidents ahead of them, approaching emergency vehicles and when it's unsafe to change lanes, cross intersections or pass other cars
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Verizon Wireless plans full 4G by mid-2013

STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

All Verizon Wireless customers with a 4G LTE device should have access to the carrier's super-fast network by the middle of next year, a company executive said yesterday. Speaking at the Wells Fargo Securities Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in New York, Verizon's chief financial officer, Fran Shammo, said the company is aiming to complete its 4G LTE network rollout by mid-2013. He added that Verizon's 4G LTE network, as well as its device lineup, has contributed to recent revenue growth. "Our lead on 4G LTE and the footprint that we cover, and the reliability that our reputation has been built on... I think word of mouth is spreading that we have the superior network from a reliability standpoint and that the 4G LTE and our coverage ... I think we say that we have

more coverage than all of our competitors combined," he said. "We will have completed this build by mid-2013." Verizon in mid-October launched its 400th 4G LTE market in Marquette, Mich., two months ahead of schedule. The carrier's 4G LTE network is now 11 available in 419 cities, covering nearly 75 percent of the U.S. population, according to Verizon's website. Shammo acknowledged that Verizon's 4G LTE network experienced some issues early on, which he said is normal CROSSWORD/NEW YORK when starting up a new network, but said ACROSS 35 Unsuave sort 61 Spot for a it is "extremely stable" today. goatee 1 Rand McNally 36 Unrefined oil "People are massively migrating to publication 62 Spots for 38 Conceal that network," Shammo said. glasses 6 Where a fetus 39 Items checked develops At the end of September, approximate63 Skedaddles by T.S.A. agents or what 18-, 10 What says ly 35 percent of total data traffic was 40 Rugmaking 26-, 42- and "Miss America" traveling over Verizon's 4G LTE netapparatus 53-Across all on Miss America have work, Nicola Palmer, Verizon chief tech41 Target, as with a 14 "Grand" gun instrument nical officer said last month at MobileDOWN 42 Where one 15 Samoan capital CON 2012 in San Diego. might witness a
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Microsoft to drop Messenger, switch to Skype

NEW YORK (AP) Microsoft is scrapping its instant-messaging program and forcing most users to switch to Skype. Maintaining Windows Live Messenger made less sense after Microsoft Corp. bought Skype for $8.5 billion last year. A new version of Skype released a few weeks ago allows users to sign in with a Microsoft account. By merging the two services, people won't have to maintain two separate contact lists.
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Microsoft says much has changed in how people communicate. There's more use of text messaging and social networking, for instance. Microsoft said in Tuesday's announcement that Messenger users who switch to Skype will get benefits such as the ability to call landline and mobile phones and better support on mobile devices. Except for mainland China, Messenger will be discontinued worldwide after the first quarter of 2013.
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