Lumos names Askowitz, O'Donnell to board; Tata launches global SIP connect service

Wireline news from across the web:

> Lumos Networks has appointed Lawrence J. Askowitz and Shawn F. O'Donnell to serve as independent members of the company's board of directors. Release

> Facebook will start operating as an ISP across rural areas in India, having acquired bandwidth from state-run operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) in 125 rural areas for three years. Telecompaper article (sub. req.)

> Tata Communications launched its Global SIP Connect service as a white-label platform for service providers. Release

> Telefonica SA is interested in purchasing AT&T pay-TV assets in Latin America, which could be valued at around $10 billion, reports Reuters. Reuters article

> A number of BT Openreach's customers are uncertain if they can use the telco's new fiber-to-the-cabinet product, which offers broadband speeds of up to 55/10 Mbps. ISP Review article

Cable News
> Executives for Time Warner Inc. and its HBO programming division met with officials for the FCC's Media and Wireline Competition Bureaus earlier this week, warning them that Charter's purchases of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks could threaten the deployment of over-the-top services. Article

> AT&T told the FCC that backers of the controversial AllVid video technology standard have no intention of maintaining carefully orchestrated agreements worked out between pay-TV operators and programmers as to which channels go where on user interface grids. Article

Wireless News
> Samsung suffered a symbolic loss in its ongoing patent fight with Apple, but the company is gaining some heavyweight allies as it hopes to take on the iPhone vendor in the U.S. Supreme Court. Article

> Verizon finally unveiled FreeBee Data, a sponsored data offering that allows content providers to pay for the delivery of their services to consumers. Article

And finally … AOL's new owner Verizon is considering a new brand for the company to reflect the new role the company has in the broader Internet landscape. TechnoBuffalo article