Cable industry news from across the Web:
> Cox Communications has beaten CenturyLink to the punch by launching 1 Gbps broadband service for residential customers in Phoenix. Story
> GCI says it will deploy 1 Gbps fiber service in Fairbanks, Alaska by the end of 2016. Story
> British Sky Broadcasting Group shareholders have approved by a wide margin the purchase of European satellite TV providers Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland from 21st Century Fox. Story
> AMC has ordered a sixth season of The Walking Dead. Story
> A former accounting firm employee accuses Comcast of convincing his ex-employer to fire him following a customer service complaint. Story
> AOL has hired former Viacom executive Dermot McCormack as president of its video operations, replacing Ran Harnevo. Story
> Prolific TV producer Chuck Lorre (Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Mike & Molly) says he will end his signature practice of writing irreverent vanity cards running with the end credits of his shows. Story
> The U.S. Commerce Department's inspector general has asked West Virginia officials to turn over invoices and thousands of other documents relating to how Frontier Communications used federal stimulus money to build a $42 million fiber optic network in that state. Story
And finally … AT&T is warning select customers in Vermont that one of its employees illegally accessed their personal information. Story