(WABI-TV)

A Bradford, Maine couple blames FairPoint Communications for setting the stage for a recent fire in their home caused when a poorly repaired utility pole exposed low hanging wires eventually making contact with a passing truck, which created an energy surge igniting an electrical fire in their home.

“I thought we got hit by lightning. Everything started popping in the house,” Joseph Nunez told WABI-TV. “So, then I go upstairs, we have a ton of books upstairs, everything is in flames. We had perfect kindling for a fire. We have clothes and a library up there.”

The State Fire Marshal blamed an electrical malfunction, most likely caused by the fallen power lines formerly attached to FairPoint’s pole.

The utility has since replaced the pole, but Nunez believes the root cause of the fire was insufficient repairs done to the pole after an earlier storm.

“Three months ago after a wind storm they never put it up right,” Nunez said. “They put that band-aid of a little pole over there with some straps.”

A FairPoint spokesman said they can’t confirm if the pole in question had ever been damaged or repaired, but they’re looking into it.

The local fire department arrived early enough to prevent the fire from causing extensive damage to the Nunez home, built in 1850.

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WABI-TV in Bangor reports on the domino effect: a poorly maintained utility pole provides for low hanging wires, a truck makes contact with those wires, the resulting voltage spike ignites a fire in a couple’s home.  (1 minute)

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Wall Street Journal: Top execs of some media behemoths are shifting their public stances toward Netflix Inc. of late. They’re now trying to persuade investors that the video streaming service will expand their business rather than destroy it. (4 minutes)

You are forgiven if you are confused about the love-hate relationship the cable industry has with online video streamers like Netflix — one that the Wall Street Journal likens to manic bipolar episodes.  Weeks after blaming Netflix for getting video programming too cheaply and threatening cable subscriptions, cable industry executives were hugs and kisses about online video at the recent Cable Show in Chicago.

“The reason why there’s interest in these Internet video providers that is that they’re deploying technology that’s making the experience better for consumers,” Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt said in an interview with MarketWatch during the National Cable & Telecommunications Association’s annual Cable Show last week.

“There’s nothing about [cable companies] that stops us from doing that. So I would say … we as an industry just need to pay attention and give consumers what they want. Then there’s no room for these other guys. I don’t mean to say that in a negative way, but it’s true.”

Britt

Of course, this is the same man that has earplugs firmly implanted to help resist another rejection of his Internet pricing schemes that Time Warner Cable customers loathed in 2009.  Britt’s desire to give “consumers what they want” just doesn’t play in this part of town while the cable company is installing software to measure and potentially meter broadband usage.

What is different in the online video spectrum is consumers have choices.  They can adopt Time Warner Cable’s glacially-slow rollout of its TV Everywhere concept, watch Hulu, use Netflix, or simply steal content providers don’t want them to watch.  For customers of Time Warner Cable facing competition from AT&T, there is potentially nowhere to run to avoid an Internet Overcharging scheme which could bring the online viewing party to a rapid conclusion when your viewing allowance is used up.

Britt says he is struggling with rights holders to provide more accessibility to online video streaming of popular shows.  He’s also thinking about how many restrictions to slap on subscribers.

MarketWatch talked with Britt and found him dealing with nagging questions about how many devices each user account should be authorized to use for viewing. “Should it be three, should it be 10? If I make [that number] too small, you’re not going to be happy as a customer,” Britt philosophized. “If I make it too big, you’re going to give the password to all of your friends, and they won’t have to buy a subscription to begin with.”

Hulu has received an unsolicited, and still private offer to buy the company lock, stock, and barrel — disengaging some of America’s largest television networks from the online streaming business Hulu represents.

With an offer in hand, Hulu’s owners News Corp., Walt Disney, and Comcast/NBC have decided to hire investment bankers to solicit any competing offers for the service.  Yahoo! may be one of the companies interested.

Hulu has always represented an irritation for program buyers — notably cable networks and television stations — that purchase programming to rerun on cable networks and television stations.  Because Hulu gives away most of its content for free, these buyers argue it devalues the programming they are buying.

In short, if everyone has already been able to watch 30 Rock several times online, for free, why pay top dollar to buy the series to show on a local television station?

The problem is even worse from the perspective of cable, phone, and satellite companies in the business of selling video packages to customers.  As soon as viewers discover they can watch all of their favorite shows online, again for free, why buy the cable TV or satellite package?

The Los Angeles Times reports Hulu may have some bad news in store for cord cutters: it may implement its own “authentication” system that would only allow instant access to those with a verified subscription to a pay television package.  All others would need to wait just over a week before they can watch popular shows during a limited viewing window.

For many analysts, that will slash the service’s net worth to a would-be buyer.  So would the inability of the new owners to win long-term contracts for the rights to keep popular series and shows on Hulu for the indefinite future.  In the case of Comcast/NBC, it’s a classic case of being torn between bringing your programming to more viewers and eroding away your company’s own cable subscriber base.

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Bloomberg News reports on rumors Yahoo!, Google, and Amazon may be interested in acquiring Hulu.  (5 minutes)

9 to 5 Mac shows off a mock image of what the newest iPhone 5 will probably look like. Pay close attention to the rounded edges and bezel. (click to enlarge)

Apple’s wildly popular iPhone series gets an upgrade in September as the Cupertino, Calif., company prepares to unveil iPhone 5.  Although the new model is not expected to support 4G/LTE networks, significant upgrades are in the works for the next series of phones:

• iPhone 5 will use Apple’s new iOS 5, which means improved messaging and photo sharing;
• An improved 8-megapixel camera, up from the current 5-megapixel one that got mixed reviews on iPhone 4;
• The introduction of the A5 processor, currently used in iPad 2, to provide more power for apps and features;
• An edge-to-edge screen and rounded glass.

The iPhone currently accounts for half of Apple’s revenue and has almost an 18% share of the smartphone market and dropping.

To counter Google’s increasing share of the smartphone market with its Android operating system, Apple also promises to deliver a stripped-down, less powerful budget-priced iPhone series for the developing world.  While prices have not been announced, the new budget phone is likely to be priced at least $100-200 less than western models.

With iPhone 5 also expected to include built-in support for either GSM or CDMA networks, Apple’s newest phone could be released simultaneously by both AT&T and Verizon.

Whether customers will be able to take their phones activated on one carrier to another is another matter, as is whether Sprint, T-Mobile, and smaller carriers will be allowed to sell it.

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Even without support for 4G/LTE, iPhone 5 is still likely to generate considerable enthusiasm, especially among would-be Verizon customers waiting for the next version of the phone.  But by then, unlimited data plans will be a dream.  Bloomberg News and WFXT-TV in Boston discuss iPhone 5’s release, and a clip from CNBC’s ‘The Titans’ explains the marketing genius of Apple and its iPhone product line.  (2 minutes)

Billboards sprinkled across Ft. Wayne, Ind., telling residents, “Frontier is pulling the plug on FiOS — Switch to Xfinity,” has infuriated Frontier Communications, who says it will continue to provide FiOS service in the area, at least for broadband, indefinitely.  Now the independent phone company has sent a “cease and desist” letter to Comcast officials demanding the billboards come down.

Frontier spokesman Matt Kelley accused Comcast of spreading false rumors in an effort to drum up business.

“Frontier is not planning on pulling the plug,” Kelly told WANE-TV. “We are going to continue providing FiOS service in Allen County and we have no plans to remove it.”

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WANE-TV in Ft. Wayne led its newscast with the dispute between Frontier Communications and Comcast over fiber optic television.  Is the plug really being pulled? (Loud Volume Alert!) (3 minutes)

But Comcast officials note Frontier has been pushing existing customers hard to switch to satellite television service, and Frontier earlier announced dramatic rate increases for its fiber cable television service — rates much higher than other competitors.

Comcast issued a statement about the dispute:

“Comcast continues to invest in these markets, while Frontier has taken a number of steps to discourage new customers from signing up for its service and encourage current customers to seek alternative services from satellite. We are using these ads to make consumers aware of our Xfinity TV service as a better choice for consumers.”

HissyFitWatch: Oooh... Comcast!

From our own Stop the Cap! investigation, both companies are partly correct.

We called Frontier this afternoon posing as a new FiOS customer in Ft. Wayne trying to sign up for television service.  The only option available, we were told, was satellite television service.  While Frontier was happy to sign us up for telephone and fiber broadband, the company representative told us she could not take our order for FiOS TV because, “it’s not available in your area.”

But Comcast’s claims about FiOS lack the very important detail that FiOS broadband and phone service will be offered by Frontier without any interruption — only television service appears to be at issue, and remains available to current customers.

We heard from several Ft. Wayne customers who are unhappy with Frontier’s handling of FiOS.

“While Comcast is being clever, the fact is Frontier wants TV customers to switch to satellite, which is simply a stupid idea,” says our reader Kevin.  “Why would I want a satellite dish when I have fiber.”

Lee, another Frontier customer, believes the company broke its promise of no rate increases after buying out Verizon’s local operations.

“They promptly raised the TV rate by around $30, and if you are a new FiOS customer, expect to pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars for installation,” he says.

Last week, Frontier’s deadline for Comcast to pull down the billboards passed, but as of today those billboards are still on full display.  Comcast’s response to Frontier?

“We received their letter.”

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WANE-TV in Ft. Wayne updates viewers.  Frontier’s unilateral deadline for Comcast to pull down their billboards came and went.  The billboards are still there.  Now what? (2 minutes)