Vodafone considers acquiring Italy's FastWeb; Windstream to hold Q2 earnings call on Aug. 8

Wireline news across the web:

@FierceTelecom RT @BROADBANDforAMERICA: US consumers are voluntarily migrating to higher speed plans; @akamai has shown massive growth of US broadband speeds in recent years. | Follow @FierceTelecom

> Vodafone is considering making a bid on Italy's FastWeb as a way to expand its wireline portfolio. Article

> Windstream will hold a conference call at 7:30 a.m. CDT on Aug. 8 to review its second-quarter earnings results. Release

Cable News

> CableLabs qualified devices from six vendors for version 1.0 of the DOCSIS provisioning of EPON (DPoE) specifications, enabling cable operators to deploy EPON equipment and be assured of interoperability. Article

> A glitch in Comcast's equipment that receives HD signals from broadcasters and transmits them to customers caused high-definition viewers in Chicago to miss part of the Chicago Blackhawks-Boston Bruins Stanley Cup finals game Saturday night. Article

IPTV News

> Jeff Weber, president of content and advertising sales at AT&T, is moving to a new position within the company. Article

Online Video News

> Netflix will get about 300 hours of original programming from DreamWorks Animation under a new agreement the two companies announced Monday. Article

And finally … The taxes the U.S. government has placed on VoIP services are similar to the punitive tax rates applied to traditional and mobile services. Article