CenturyLink declares quarterly dividend; social media, search giants oppose California privacy rules

Wireline news from across the Web:

@FierceTelecom RT @FTTHCouncil: The council's St. Louis workshop on June 8 will feature Cindy Cash, president of Kansas City's Chamber of Commerce, on Google's FTTH project. Agenda | Follow @FierceTelecom

> CenturyLink's board of directors voted to declare a quarterly cash dividend of $.725 a share, payable on June 16, 2011. Release

> Versatel's stock took a dive after KKR & Co. announced that it would make cash offer giving the German phone and Internet company's stock a value of at least €295 million ($420 million). Article

> Telco Systems has released a new Lifecycle Support Program that will provide support for its Ethernet solutions as well as support for specific technologies, protocols and standards. Release

> HP's new CEO Leo Apotheker has come under fire as he tries to turn his company's revenue fortunes around. Article

> Empirix's new Unified Communications Assurance Platform, which consists of a Session Border Controller (SBC) testing service and OneSight VQInspector 2, is now available. Release

> Overture Networks' ISG 400, a modular GigE edge platform enabling 1-1Gbps Carrier Ethernet across existing TDM or Ethernet networks, has begun commercial shipment to customers. Release

And finally ... Facebook, Google, Twitter and Skype have joined forces to fight a new privacy bill in California that would require users' permission to display personal information including home addresses and phone numbers. Article