> Despite the fact that an overwhelming number of voters approved an Opelika, Ala. plan to build a new telecommunications network, not everyone likes the outcome. Paul Davis, owner of the Tuskegee News thinks people overreacted in Opelika based primarily on dislike of incumbent cable operator Charter Communications (OTC BB: CCMM). "The only entity that has a lower approval rating than Charter is the Congress of the United States. That means both have an approval rating that is lower than a snake's belly," he wrote. On the other hand, he's troubled by the fact that there are limited details about how Opelika is going to proceed to outdo Charter and should, perhaps, look in the direction of Knology (Nasdaq: KNOL) , which is building a competitive service. Opinion piece.
> It doesn't seem that long ago the Bell Atlantic (before it became Verizon) dominated Philadelphia's business community and skyline. Now the phone company's gone and in a delicious bit of irony, Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA), which already dominates both the business community and skyline, has leased 43,000 square feet in the Bell Atlantic Tower. Seems that the biggest building in the city isn't big enough to handle all the Comcast workers. Story.
> Speaking of Comcast, the site TVPredictions.com takes issue with the MSO's claim that 60 percent of Americans own a DVR. "Bull**** (whatever that means). Don't believe it," the site says, citing Nielsen Media Research stats that say 40 percent is a closer number. Story.
> Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Internet unit, So-Net is reportedly in the running (and perhaps even the lead) among parties that want to buy a Taiwan cable TV content firm so it could push Japan's acTVila Internet-based on-demand TV portal into the Taiwanese market. Story.
And finally... Windstream's (Nasdaq: WIN) not in the bidding for anything. It's already agreed to buy Q-Comm, a privately held fiber optic network operator in 22 states for $515 million with the hopes of expanding its broadband and enterprise businesses, including a residential triple play offering. Story.