Happy new year

A hearty new year greeting to all mega-uber value readers everywhere. I feel sure 2007 is going to be even more interesting than 2006, both personally and from the standpoint of this beloved industry of ours. I was in a self-imposed internet hiatus over the holidays, and so have had limited newsflow and much to catch up on. However, I haven't had to read much to determine that the first annual EuroTelcoblog Golden Scrooge award goes to the brilliant team at AT&T for an excellent game of semantic chess with the FCC. It's interesting in reading articles on the subject, such as this one from the WSJ, that a number of journalists are inclined to think this somehow represents a setback for AT&T - curious given that the journalist herself notes that exemptions were given to U-verse and Cingular (i.e., the only parts of AT&T's consumer business that really matter for the future). I am reminded of the Braer Rabbit and the Briar Patch story my grandfather told me as a child (I'm sure folks in San Antonio are familiar with this one). Rather than disappointment at the outcome, I have it on authority that Mr. Whitacre did this little dance upon receiving the news - okay not really, but I am a firm believer that an absurd situation merits a surreal response.