BEIJING, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-Asia/ — Baidu, Inc. (Nasdaq: BIDU), the leading Chinese language Internet search provider, today announced that Baidu and Providence Equity Partners (“Providence”) have signed an agreement pursuant to which Providence will invest$50 million in Baidu’s new online video company to develop an advertising supported online video business providing premium licensed content in China. Baidu will continue to maintain majority ownership in the company. The new online video company has registered http://www.qiyi.com as its domain name.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081103/BAIDULOGO )

“The online video market has great potential for growth in China,” said Mr. Robin Li, Chief Executive Officer of Baidu, Inc. “Providence is our ideal partner in this space as it has rich experience in investing in and managing businesses that distribute licensed content online. With Baidu’s strong ability to drive traffic and offer innovative products that suit user needs, we are very excited about the future prospects of this new company.”

“We are very pleased to partner with Baidu and are confident that this new venture will become an industry leader,” saidJonathan Nelson, Chief Executive Officer of Providence. “As the world’s largest Chinese language internet search company and also the dominant video search engine in China, Baidu has unmatched competitive advantages in its user base and traffic. The new venture will provide users with a first-class viewing experience, and will work with regulators to ensure the lawful distribution of professionally produced media and entertainment content on the internet.”

About Baidu

Baidu, Inc. is the leading Chinese language Internet search provider. As a technology-based media company, Baidu aims to provide the best way for people to find information. In addition to serving individual Internet search users, Baidu provides an effective platform for businesses to reach potential customers. Baidu’s ADSs, each of which represents one Class A ordinary share, are currently trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “BIDU.”

About Providence Equity Partners

Providence Equity Partners is the leading global private equity firm specializing in equity investments in media, entertainment, communications and information services companies around the world. The principals of Providencemanage funds with over $22 billion in equity commitments and have invested in more than 100 companies operating in over 20 countries since the firm’s inception in 1989. Significant existing and prior investments include Bresnan Broadband Holdings, Casema, Com Hem, Digiturk, Education Management Corporation, eircom, Hulu, Idea Cellular, Kabel Deutschland, NexTag, Ono, PanAmSat, ProSiebenSat.1, Recoletos, TDC, Univision, VoiceStream Wireless, Warner Music Group, Western Wireless and Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network. Providence is headquartered in Providence, RI(USA) and has offices in New York, London, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and New Delhi. Visit http://www.provequity.com for more information.

Akamai announced last night a return to double digit revenue growth of 12% and a 1% uptick to earnings. The numbers significantly beating street estimates and managements guidance.

Despite a challenging economy Akamai continues to show strong growth in all segments of its market including Media and Entertainment which skeptics had predicted severe discounting from competitors would upset the Akamai Apple cart.

CEO Paul Sagan once again has demonstrated that a balanced CDN service portfolio of data distribution, media and entertainment and web acceleration services are the key to success in this space.

With the potential growth in HD video clips and subscription based IPTV content in continued demand by consumers as well as the growth in cloud computing, Akamai is in a great position to take advantage of these macro economic trends.

SenditCertified.com, a secure communications and collaboration platform, today issued the following statement regarding the Google-China standoff, warning corporate IT leaders to tighten their Internet security and privacy protocols. According to Stephen Errico, CTO of SenditCertified, enterprises are more vulnerable today to acts of cyberterrorism and malicious hacking than ever before.

“Google operates on a cloud computing and SaaS model, which is receiving enterprise attention for purported cost-effectiveness and user ease, but IT must heed the warnings revealed by the Google China incident. The dual issues of security and privacy have not been addressed thoroughly, although we applaud Google for doing something few companies have done: publicly admit a data breach. Any U.S. business that considers its intellectual property as its chief asset should be watching this situation closely and be gravely concerned. This is a wake-up call to recognize that enterprise data is subject to attack, and no data is private — unless a stringent cybersecurity protocol is deployed enterprise by enterprise, file by file, and e-mail by e-mail. As this Google confrontation illustrates, the most-pressing security concerns include hacking, illegal monitoring and network attacks. These can be conducted by anyone, including foreign governments, malicious hackers or malcontent former employees. Beyond loss of private IP, these security issues can erode customer trust, create a public relations debacle, and violate Governance, Risk and Compliance protocols. The only solution is to deploy a fully certified communication platform for secure message and file exchange.”

WASHINGTON — Today, the Federal Communications Commission launched an initiative on the future of media and the information needs of communities in the digital age. This initiative will examine the changes underway in the media marketplace, analyze the full range of future technologies and services that will provide communities with news and information in the digital age, and, as appropriate, make policy recommendations to the FCC, other government entities, and other parties.

“We are at a critical juncture in the evolution of American media,” said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. “Rapid technological change in the media marketplace has created opportunities for tremendous innovation. It has also caused financial turmoil for traditional media, calling into question whether these media outlets will continue to play their historic role in providing local communities with essential news and civic information. With this crucial initiative, the FCC commits to fully understanding the fundamental changes underway in the media marketplace and examining what impact such changes may have for Commission policies, while vigorously protecting the First Amendment.”

The Commission issued a Public Notice posing preliminary questions that the FCC will consider as it prepares a report on the future of media in the digital age later in 2010. Initial topics under consideration include: the state of TV, radio, newspaper, and Internet news and information services; the effectiveness and nature of public interest obligations in a digital era; the role of public media and private sector foundations; and many others. The initiative will not include any effort to control the editorial content of any type of media.

The FCC also launched a preliminary Web site that will serve as an arena for public discussion on the future of media and any public policy recommendations. At launch, the Web site includes a forum for citizens and experts to weigh in on key questions, and an area for consumers to describe the health of, or problems with, media in their communities.

The public can participate in the proceeding via the traditional comment filing system, as well as the Future of Media Web site, www.FCC.gov/FutureofMedia. All comments will be deemed part of the official record. The Commission will conduct interviews, review existing studies and hearing records, and may hold public workshops or hearings to elicit feedback and participation.

Washington, D.C.: The Federal Communications Commission today took an important step toward promoting competition and innovation in the video distribution market by establishing a process for considering, on a case-by-case basis, complaints about the availability of terrestrially delivered, cable- affiliated programming, addressing what is commonly referred to as the “terrestrial loophole.” These new rules allow DBS providers, telcos and other competitors to obtain more of the “must have” programming they need to offer viable alternative video packages to consumers and an opportunity to file complaints if the programming is withheld. The Order promotes competition, fosters innovation and empowers consumers, all while creating a fair process for the Commission to handle pending and new claims in a speedy and just manner.

The Order concludes the Commission has authority under Section 628(b) of the Communications Act to take action if a cable operator engages in unfair acts with respect to terrestrially delivered, cable- affiliated programming that significantly hinder a multichannel video programming distributor from providing satellite cable programming to consumers. The Commission adopts a rebuttable presumption that an unfair act involving a terrestrially delivered, cable-affiliated regional sports network has the purpose or effect set forth in Section 628(b). The Order adopts rules permitting complainants to pursue program access claims similar to the claims they may pursue involving satellite-delivered, cable-affiliated programming. Because the claims involving terrestrial programming require an additional factual inquiry regarding whether the unfair act significantly hinders the complainant from providing satellite cable programming to consumers, additional time will be given to present rebuttal information.

The Commission has before it a number of specific complaints alleging that cable operators have significantly hindered competition by withholding from their rivals terrestrially delivered regional sports networks. The Order does not decide those complaints but describes how they can be handled going forward. It provides that complainants may continue to pursue their complaints as filed. If, instead, a complainant wants a currently pending complaint to be considered under the new rules, it may submit a supplemental filing alleging that the defendant has engaged in an unfair act after the effective date of the rules. The Order also establishes procedures for the Commission’s consideration of requests for a temporary standstill of the price, terms, and other conditions of an existing programming contract by a program access complainant seeking renewal of such a contract.

Action by the Commission January 20, 2010, by Report and Order (FCC 10-17). Chairman Genachowski; Commissioners Copps, Clyburn, and Baker issuing separate statements. Commissioner McDowell dissenting and issuing a statement. MB Docket No. 07-198.

In May of 2005 Google launched with much fanfare it’s Web Accelerator tool. This software was a browser add-on that made web pages load more quickly. Three years later the company quietly discontinued the project.

The software/service initially ran into some problems with demand, with Google needing to take steps to stop the downloading of the project after exceeding their maximum capacity. Several weeks later it ran into a stream of privacy issues and some serious security flaws, which were subsequently fixed.

The company announced at the time, that ”Google Web Accelerator was a great experiment which provided us with a lot of material for developing future products to serve our users. We’ll continue to look for new ways to improve the search experience and to connect people to the information they want.”

Rolling the clock forward to Nov 2009 when Google announces the new SPDY protocol which is at its core an application-layer protocol for transporting content over the web. SPDY  is designed specifically for minimizing latency through features such as multiplexed streams, request prioritization and HTTP header compression. Something that will be essential for cloud and network based computing environments.

The new software is potentially going to be rolled into the new Chrome OS,  whilst this project, on the surface,  judging from external facing blogs, doesn’t seem to have gotten much traction as a standalone piece of software, it does bring up the potential for Google to use their proprietary SPDY technology and Chrome to secure its technological advantage over Microsoft and other vendors for years to come.

However is SPDY just the second leg to a three legged stool ? and could Web Accelerator be revived in the new Chrome OS operating system, this would be a potentially major change in the Internet landscape putting extreme pressure not only on Microsoft but the CDN players like Akamai and Limelight as well.

Only time will tell the answer …. check back here in a years time

RSA Conference:

News Facts

• RSA^® Conference (www.rsaconference.com), the world’s leading information security conferences and expositions, today announced that Robert Mueller, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, will deliver a keynote address at RSA Conference 2010.
• Mueller’s presentation will take place on Thursday, March 4, 2010.
• Mueller’s keynote will detail cyber threats through the years – from criminal threats like computer intrusions and identity theft to the use of the Internet by extremists and hostile foreign powers.
• The Director will also highlight the changing role of the FBI in addressing cybercrime, both in terms of our economic security and our national security, while focusing on the importance of public and private sector partnerships in identifying, preventing and investigating these threats.
• This year’s RSA Conference takes place from March 1-5, 2010, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
• Information on registering for RSA Conference 2010 can be found at: http://www.rsaconference.com. Press can register to attend by going to:http://www.rsaconference.com/2010/usa/for-press.htm.

About Robert S. Mueller, III

After graduating with a law degree in 1973 from the University of Virginia, Robert Mueller worked as a litigator in San Francisco until 1976, then served for 12 years in United States Attorney’s Offices – first in San Francisco and then in Boston where he was an Assistant United States Attorney.

After serving as Partner at the Boston law firm of Hill and Barlow, Mueller worked as an assistant to Attorney General Richard L. Thornburgh and was later elected Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 1991.

In 1993, Mueller became Partner at Boston’s Hale and Dorr before returning to public service in 1995 as Senior Litigator in the Homicide Section of the District of Columbia United States Attorney’s Office. In 1998, Mueller was named United States Attorney in San Francisco. In 2001, he was nominated by President George W. Bush and became the sixth Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation on September 4 of that year – just one week prior to the attacks of September 11, 2001.

More information about Director Mueller can be found here: http://www.fbi.gov/libref/directors/directmain.htm

Quote attributable to Robert Mueller, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation:

“Responsible for 85 percent of the nation’s critical infrastructure, the private sector is essential in protecting our nation from and responding to cyber attacks. The sharing of information between government, private industry and the public increases our effectiveness in preventing cybercrime. Whenever companies or institutions inform us of a potential breach, the FBI has the chance to gather, analyze and share critical intelligence. Working together as a unified front, we can accelerate our ability to thwart the activities of cyber criminals.”

Quote attributable to Sandra Toms LaPedis, Area Vice President and General Manager of RSA Conference:

“As information security moves beyond the confines of research labs and IT departments and into the lives of all Americans, it becomes even more essential to arm our attendees with guidance from influential government officials. The addition of Director Mueller to our keynote lineup gives us first-hand insight into how the threats of the past can shape our understanding of the cyber attacks of the future.”

About RSA Conference

RSA Conference helps drive the global information security agenda with annual events in the U.S., Europe and Japan. Throughout its 19-year history, RSA Conference consistently attracts the best in the field, creating opportunities to learn about information security’s most important issues through face-to-face and online interactions with peers, luminaries and emerging and established companies. More information on events, online programming and the most up-to-date news pertaining to the information security industry can be found at www.rsaconference.com.

RSA and the RSA Conference logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of RSA Security Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other marks are trademarks of their respective companies.

-Reliance Globalcom, a leading global provider of managed network and communication services for multinational enterprises, carriers and consumers, today announced the launch of Clearview International LLC’s Texas Fiber Web—a fiber-connected network of Clearview’s Information Technology Gateways. Reliance Globalcom’s presence in Clearview’s data centers, including its newest center in Waco, establishes a critical path for transferring valuable data and applications among major Texas cities including Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio.

“Reliance Globalcom’s network enabled us to deploy a better disaster recovery network to support our clients”

Reliance Globalcom’s Ethernet assets improve disaster recovery for data transfer among Clearview’s Texas markets. This is especially important to clients along the Texas Gulf Coast where hurricanes are a seasonal reality, as well as clients in States surrounding Texas whose operations are in “Tornado Alley.”

Clearview’s Information Technology Gateways don’t compromise when it comes to network speeds, reliability and state-of-the-art infrastructure. “Reliance Globalcom’s network enabled us to deploy a better disaster recovery network to support our clients,” said Jay Looney, Clearview Managing Director. “A significant number of our clients are among the Fortune 500 and do a significant amount of their business online. To us and to them, this is mission-critical.”

Reliance Globalcom and Clearview are a critical component of many customers’ disaster recovery and business continuity solutions. Clearview data centers offer optimal conditions for power, space, connectivity, temperature controls and security. Key to Clearview’s new Waco data center is its central locality, which has it strategically positioned on a power grid separate from Texas’ major cities and protected from brownouts and blackouts. As the only data center with a direct fiber connection between Dallas and Waco, the Waco facility offers an excellent location for enterprises seeking a structurally sound site to store valuable information.

“The decision to join Clearview’s Texas data centers has been an effective way of bringing our global connectivity and service assurance to the oil and gas industry as well as some of the largest corporations in America,” said Ted Raffetto, President, Americas region, Reliance Globalcom. “Clearview’s philosophy of managed services mirrors ours. Like Reliance Globalcom, Clearview is founded on the guiding principles of exemplary client care, consultative expertise and failsafe connectivity.”

Clearview is a privately held company offering business risk management, consulting, managed services and enterprise hosting. The company provides a full range of co-location, managed services, back-up and disaster recovery services from its Information Technology Gateways.

About Reliance Globalcom

Reliance Globalcom, a division of Reliance Communications, spearheads the Global Telecom operations of India’s largest Integrated Telecom Service Provider. Reliance Globalcom brings together the synergies of Reliance Communications’ Global Business encompassing Enterprise Services, Capacity Sales, Managed Services and a highly successful bouquet of Retail products and services comprising of Global Voice, Internet Solutions and Value Added Services. The company serves over 2,100 enterprises, 200 carriers and 2.2 million retail customers in 163 countries across 6 continents.

Reliance Globalcom owns the world’s largest private undersea cable system spanning 65,000 Kilometers seamlessly integrated with Reliance Communications’ domestic optic fiber running over 190,000 Kilometers, providing a robust Global Service Delivery Platform connecting 40 key business markets in India, USA, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia Pacific region. With its recent acquisition of eWave World (now Reliance WiMAX World), a pioneer in the global WiMAX space, Reliance Globalcom has the capability to launch 4G services in over 50 countries. It has also acquired the Vanco Group (now Reliance Vanco Group), enabling the company to provide managed services to over 230 countries and territories across the globe. For further information, please visit www.relianceglobalcom.com.

About Reliance Communications

Reliance Communications Limited founded by the late Shri Dhirubhai H Ambani (1932-2002) is the flagship company of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group currently has a net worth in excess of Rs. 64,000 crore (US$ 13.6 billion), cash flows of Rs. 13,000 crore (US$ 2.8 billion), net profit of Rs. 8,400 crore (US$ 1.8 billion).

Reliance Communications is India’s foremost and truly integrated telecommunications service provider. The Company, with a customer base of over 90 million including over 2.5 million individual overseas retail customers, ranks among the Top 5 Telecom companies in the world by number of customers in a single country. Reliance Communications corporate clientele includes 2,100 Indian and multinational corporations, and over 800 global, regional and domestic carriers.

Reliance Communications has established a pan-India, next generation, integrated (wireless and wire line), convergent (voice, data and video) digital network that is capable of supporting best-of-class services spanning the entire communications value chain, covering over 24,000 towns and 600,000 villages. Reliance Communications owns and operates the world’s largest next generation IP enabled connectivity infrastructure, comprising over 190,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable systems in India, USA, Europe, Middle East and the Asia Pacific region.

Overture Networks, the industry’s trusted Carrier Ethernet solutions provider, today announced the company surpassed major milestones in 2009 with a bookings increase of 69% and 45 additional customers for the year.

“We exceeded expectations for the year with remarkable growth in customer base and shipments, both of which helped significantly broaden our appeal as a leading Carrier Ethernet edge and aggregation supplier”

Overture surpassed company sales goals in every quarter of 2009, strengthening its position as a market leader in Carrier Ethernet solutions. The company is now a partner to more than 225 service providers and enterprise customers worldwide, which includes 10 of the top 15 US Carrier Ethernet service providers, such as Verizon and TW Telecom. The company saw a number of noteworthy customer wins during the year, including, NuVox and COLT.

“We exceeded expectations for the year with remarkable growth in customer base and shipments, both of which helped significantly broaden our appeal as a leading Carrier Ethernet edge and aggregation supplier,” said Jeff Reedy, CEO of Overture Networks. “The demand for Carrier Ethernet has continued to explode and Overture’s relentless focus on providing innovative, cost-effective solutions for business services and mobile backhaul has allowed us to prosper despite the weaker economy. I was particularly pleased by our first sales of the ISG 6000 for IP to Ethernet Interworking and our UTS 4000 Optical Ethernet solution for mobile backhaul.”

Overture Networks was recognized for several significant corporate achievements in 2009. Along with the acquisition of Ceterus Networks, Overture successfully launched its newest Carrier Ethernet platforms– the ISG 6000 Ethernet Aggregation System and the new UTS 4000 Optical Ethernet platform. Overture won numerous awards, including the InfoVision award for best access aggregation platform while also being recognized as a finalist for the American Business Awards’ best technology company.

Overture is continuing that momentum in 2010 as the company aims to increase staff by more than 20% over the next several months. With its success during the economic downturn, Overture will be looking to capitalize on prospective opportunities in business services and mobile backhaul solutions.

About Overture Networks

Overture Networks is the preferred Carrier Ethernet edge and aggregation partner to more than 225 service providers and enterprise customers worldwide, including 10 of the top 15 US Carrier Ethernet service providers. Its innovative solutions have proven to be integral to a service provider’s ability to fully leverage Carrier Ethernet to multiply service revenues and streamline operational costs. Headquartered in Research Triangle Park, NC, with a technology center in Richardson, TX, Overture Networks is relentlessly focused on providing solutions at the ever-expanding edge of the network. With its patent-protected, award-winning family of products for both business services and cell site backhaul, Overture Networks uniquely combines the packet-switched and circuit-switched worlds into a single architecture—at cost points that make it extremely attractive to offer Carrier Ethernet services to any size location—over optical fiber or copper transport. For more information, visit http://www.overturenetworks.com.

Washington, D.C. – Today the Federal Communications Commission adopted an Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking prohibiting the further distribution and sale of devices that operate in the 700 MHz frequency. This action helps complete an important component of the DTV Transition by clearing the 700 MHz band to enable the rollout of communications services for public safety and the deployment of next generation 4G wireless devices for consumers.

The order will primarily impact the use of wireless microphone systems that currently operate in the 700 MHz band. These unlicensed devices cannot continue to operate in this band because they may cause harmful interference to public safety entities and next generation consumers devices that will be utilizing the 700 MHz frequency. Thus, the Commission is making clear that no devices utilizing this frequency may be sold or distributed. In order to ensure that individuals and groups currently using unauthorized devices in this band have ample time to transition to appropriate frequencies, the FCC is providing a sunset period until June 12, 2010, one year from the DTV Transition.

The Commission is also unveiling an aggressive consumer outreach plan in order to assist consumers who have previously purchased wireless microphone systems and other related devices that utilized the 700 MHz band. Through the Commission’s website, www.fcc.gov/cgb/wirelessmicrophones, consumers can learn whether their wireless device is currently operating in the prohibited band and whether their devices may be retuned to operate on another band. Consumers may also call 1-800-CALL-FCC to ask questions regarding this transition.

The findings in the Order will be effective upon release of the item. Action by the Commission, January 14, 2010, by Order. Chairman Genachowski, Commissioners Copps, McDowell, Clyburn, and Baker. Chairman Genachowski issuing a statement. Docket No. WT 08-166.

News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322For additional information, contact Matthew Nodine at (202) 418-1646 or Matthew.Nodine @fcc.gov.