It's clear that Comcast has never liked FCC chairman Kevin Martin. The FCC boss rarely sees a baby bell position he doesn't like (in part thanks to more sophisticated lobbying by AT&T and Verizon), but has consistently been a thorn in Comcast's side about everything from P2P throttling, to most recently, high cable TV prices. While Comcast generally hides their disdain pretty well, Martin's likely departure next year has apparently loosened their tongue. In a week where Martin is once again probing high cable pricing, Comcast gave the FCC boss a verbal smack:Comcast, who pretty consistently comes in last place in customer satisfaction rankings, is an easy target for Martin, who is pursuing a post-FCC political career in North Carolina. Given Comcast's low popularity, and a general public disdain for high TV prices, Martin's cable "investigations" (whether it's his failed cap on cable growth or his investigation into Janet Jackson's breast) are a nice way to earn brownie points among certain voters. But you'll notice one recurring trend: they almost always fail to actually accomplish anything (which also pleases those in his base who believe that deregulation is the path to telecom nirvana).

But Martin isn't dumb -- the commissioner is generally considered one of the more politically savvy and ambitious FCC bosses in the agency's history. Either way, Comcast will be happy to be rid of him. Well, maybe not that happy, given the team Obama has tasked with finding Martin's replacement is unapologetically pro-consumer. Whomever they pick might actually launch investigations and inquiries that aren't just stage-dressing.

The bad news for Comcast is that the vetting of Martin's replacements could last up to six months. Quick tip: wait until after the key regulator who oversees your industry leaves office before very publicly calling him a moron.

Apple has been taking heat over global advertisements that show the iPhone 3G performing at speeds vastly faster than real world 3G (or 2G) networks operate. Two such ads were recently banned in the UK, to which Apple responded that the ads were "relative rather than absolute in nature." Here in the States, one 70-year-old San Diego resident filed suit against Apple for misleading advertising. Techdirt directs our attention to the fact that Apple this week responded to the suit, denying that the ads lie, but then adding this comment:In other words, we're not lying, but you're an idiot if you believed what we were saying. Of course there's a fairly obvious chasm (see video comparison) between the ads and real-world performance. Apple faces five lawsuits related to the performance (or lack thereof) of the iPhone when connected to networks in the real world, but the attorney for this false advertising case thinks their case "has the most teeth and the most legs to it."

The New York Times Bits Blog reports that as of tomorrow, companies and organizations can register web addresses with the new top-level domain of ".tel." According to the Times, the new domain stores and encrypts contact information directly into the Domain Name System, creating a central repository for contact data. At the moment only businesses can register for $400/year; individuals need to wait until the "Landrush" on February 3 of next year (when they can pay $150/year), or the general sale ($20/year) on March 24. Telnic, the main registrar for these domains, has set up a .tel simulator to help give you a better idea of how this works.

User Tcomp directs our attention to the fact that Fairpoint, who recently acquired Verizon's DSL networks in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, will be testing IPTV service in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Fairpoint has been taking former Verizon FTTH infrastructure and rebranding it from FiOS to "FAST." But unlike Verizon, whose FiOSTV is a hybrid coaxial/fiber system, Fairpoint apparently seems interested in running pure IPTV.

Yesterday a Comcast insider informed us that Comcast, who implemented a 250GB monthly cap in October, will be offering users an online bandwidth usage tracking tool starting January 5. According to the source, the tool will retain up to three months of usage and track multiple MAC addresses, though not in real time (3 hour delay).

AT&T recently offered free Wi-Fi for iPhone users, though to use an AT&T hotspot, users had to find the hotspot, enter their ten digit phone number, approve the AT&T EULA, wait for an SMS with a password, then click on that link to browse. A few iPhone application developers have simplified that process with "Easy Wi-Fi for AT&T," an application that reduces the above process into simply launching the application (iTunes link). According to Ars Technica, the app is free until Friday, after which it will cost $1.99.

PC Magazine has unveiled the latest data on broadband ISPs collected by their surfspeed application, which, unlike most speed tests measures the browsing speed of an ISP connection. When the application first launched you'll recall many of you took issue with PC Mag's data and their methodology, which they've since expanded to include tests from 17,000 IP addresses.

• Survey on impact of municipal broadband networks on economic development [muniwireless.com/]
• The UK white space debate is only just beginning [theregister.co.uk]
• Virgin launches mobile internet service [mobiletoday.co.uk]
• Airvana's Femtocell Technology Selected by Pirelli Broadband Solutions [msn.com]
• Virgin considered pulling out of T-Mobile deal [mobiletoday.co.uk]
• Japan's Largest Cellular Operator KDDI Selects LTE Core as Next-Generation Mobile Broadband Solution from Hitachi and Nortel [msn.com]
• First Aple, now Tiscali blasted over broadband ad speed claims [brandrepublic.com]
• Microsoft opens Vista SP2 testing window [theregister.co.uk]
• Tiscali's Freedom2surf email down for four days and counting [theinquirer.net]

• Economic Gloom Could Be Boon For Cable [multichannel.com]
• French courts tighten iPod tax loophole [theregister.co.uk]
• The Fastest ISPs - Rankings Shame Nation’s Providers [pcmag.com]
• BT sees Wi-Fi usage double [theregister.co.uk]
• Boston Sets DTV Readiness Tests [multichannel.com]
• Will Wireless Providers' Data Growth Engine Sputter? [cellular-news.com]
• Palm Continues Downward Spiral [internetnews.com]
• Bill Gates' nightmare - Browser replaces OS [theinquirer.net]

When Comcast recently started capping all users at 250GB per month, they annoyed some by failing to provide a tool to track usage, though they did tell us they were working on it. An anonymous Comcast tipster informs us that Comcast will soon implement a viewable online usage meter starting January 5.

If you recall, when T-Mobile first launched the new HTC G1 smart phone with Google's Android OS, we were the first to note that buried in the fine print was a provision saying that users who used more than 1GB per month would be throttled back to 50kbps or less. Even for more constrained wireless networks that's a little sad, especially considering the G1 touted as a next-gen broadband-powered smart phone running on a next-gen wireless broadband network.

The Consumer Reports National Research Center recently surveyed 51,700 readers in 23 cities to determine how satisfied users were with their cell phone service. Verizon Wireless took the top place for most satisfied customers, only beaten in a few locations by Alltel, which they'll be acquiring shortly.

Cablevision drops us a line to note the operator is adding four channels to their high definition TV lineup; a press release should be dropping later today announcing the addition of USA, SCI FI, CNBC and Bravo. "This takes us to 68 HD channels available to our iO TV digital cable customers, without any additional equipment or "extreme" programming fees," spokesman Jim Maiella tells us. Some filings indicate that Golf HD is also on the way.

With the XOHM/Clearwire deal finalized, news is coming fast from the carrier, who most recently noted that they'd be using the "CLEAR" brand for their new mobile WiMax service, and deployment could be slowed due to tight credit markets. Company CEO Ben Wolff is making the media rounds, saying in a conference call that the carrier won't rule out using LTE technology, if that's what is required to survive. "In the future, our network vendors will be able to deliver to us equipment that runs both mobile WiMax and LTE," says the CEO. "If LTE truly becomes a global standard, as WiMax has, Clearwire will be well positioned to provide LTE."

A total of 55 companies and non-profit organizations, including industry giants like Verizon as well as consumer advocacy outfits like Free Press, have joined together to sign a "call to action for a national broadband strategy." According to the latest OECD data, the United States ranks fifteenth in broadband penetration and twenty-first in price paid per megabit, in large part thanks to no national broadband plan. Group members are meeting in DC today in the hopes of changing that, though at the moment their goals remain rather broad, and are clearly aimed at just getting everyone to the table (incessant squabbling comes later): story continues..

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) website, the group this morning will challenge the constitutionality of a recently passed federal law aimed at granting immunity to telecommunications companies participating in illegal domestic surveillance. At a hearing this morning in San Francisco, the EFF will argue that the FISA Amendments Act (FAA) "improperly attempts to take away Americans' claims arising out of the First and Fourth Amendments, violates the federal government's separation of powers as established in the Constitution, and robs innocent telecom customers of their rights without due process of law."

• Forum Says Femtocells to Boost Cellular Capacity Ten-fold [pcworld.com]
• Incumbent telcos losing grip on EU broadband [zdnet.co.uk]
• Virgin's 50Mb broadband arriving Dec 15? [techradar.com]
• Study spanks Adobe Flash for abuses of power [sectheory.com]
• Behind Sprint's Sharp Fall [businessweek.com]
• Apple swings DMCA at Hackintosh maker [theregister.co.uk]
• Vermont communities get broadband grants [rutlandherald.com]
• Windows internet share drops below 90 per cent [theregister.co.uk]
• Meraki releases Wi-Fi Wall Plug for apartment buildings and hotels, updates solar mesh node [muniwireless.com]
• Change of directors at Phorm [theregister.co.uk]
• FCC's Martin Still Mulling Whether to Revive Cable Leased Access Rules [multichannel.com]
• Houston, we have a problem - with your WiFi plan [muniwireless.com]
• Two More N.Y. Communities Approve FiOS Franchises [multichannel.com]

• Massachusetts Forward-Looking Law Protects Customers' Personal Data [multichannel.com]
• Clearwire’s 100-day agenda: Devices, VoIP and roaming [muniwireless.com]
• MediaFLO Gearing Up For DTV Push [multichannel.com]
• Verizon Completes FiOS Buildout to 27,000 Aimco Apartments [convergedigest.com]
• Narrowing gap between best & worst performing European countries [publictechnology.net]
• SoCs to bring femtocell costs down [eetimes.com]
• CED's Broadband 50: The Biggest Deals In Cable [cedmagazine.com]
• Qualcomm Loses Bid to Overturn Broadcom Patent Ruling [bloomberg.com]
• BitTorrent at War With VoIP? Hardly [gigaom.com]
• Google Is No Longer Silicon Valley's Legal Defender [techdirt.com]

Verizon has been offloading less profitable rural and smaller markets, most recently selling all Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont DSL and landline networks to Fairpoint. But before that, Verizon offloaded their Hawaii networks to a group to the Carlyle Group, who bought the network for $1.6 billion and created a new carrier named Hawaii Telecom to run it.

Sure, Clearwire and Sprint only just crossed the t's and dotted the i's on their shiny new mobile WiMax joint venture, but it's never too soon to announce (or just hint at) delays! According to Clearwire CEO Benjamin Wolff, the company may have to slow the deployment speed of the new network if credit markets don't improve. Clearwire has told anyone who'll listen they hope to reach 140 million users by 2010. But the company needs an additional $2 billion to $2.3 billion to build the network, and Clearwire's saying tight credit could push some markets scheduled for a 2009 launch into 2010. As an aside, the company says they'll be scrapping the XOHM name and calling the new service just "CLEAR."