> Twelve Chinese cities, including Shanghai and Nanjing have been tabbed to pilot a trial of "three network convergence" of cross-platform services like IPTV, mobile TV and online broadcast. Here's the fun part: the General Administration of Press and Publication will regulate content and distribution of IPTV and mobile TV. Part of that regulation will no doubt cover Shanghai Media Group's deployment of mobile TV, IPTV and VoD. Story.
> Perhaps writing politically incorrectly, but in another part of China, the Tsai family, controllers of Taiwan Mobile Co. could end up buying $1 billion in cable TV operator Kbro from the Carlyle Group. "It's possible," said Taiwan Mobile Chairman Richard Tsai who obviously has learned a thing or two about doling out limited information from his North American counterparts. "We haven't finalized any alternative plan." Story.
> Closer to home, Cox Communications reports that it's getting "better usage than we get on video-on-demand" from the 10 percent of users that have access to the full suite of interactive TV applications. Story.
> If there really is strength in numbers, imposition of net neutrality rules seem pretty much assured. According to a story in Multichannel News, 150 groups, including the usual suspects like Free Press but some lesser stars like Pete Rescue and the Dr. Pepper Museum in Waco, Texas, have signed a letter to the FCC backing the plan to classify broadband under some Title II common carrier rules.
And finally... Competitively speaking, AT&T's U-Verse may have jumped ahead of cable with a service called My Multiview that lets customers choose up to 55 favorite channels, four of which they can watch on the screen at the same time. it's designed, no doubt, for multi-taskers. Story.