Deals Of The Day 07/16/12

Late last week, AT&T and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers agreed on a one-year contract extension covering nearly 7,000 core wireline employees. Most of the IBEW employees covered under the contract are members of IBEW Local 21 and are in Illinois and northwestern Indiana; the rest are spread across the country…Sweden’s Millicom International Cellular S.A. inked a binding agreement to acquire 100 percent of Cablevisión Paraguay for $150 million, and the sale could close by year’s end…Bluetooth Smart and ZigBee are looking into entering several new and emerging markets that require low-power wireless connections and interoperability with other devices. Key battlegrounds include connected-home devices  and wireless sensors (i.e., for medical, health, sports and home automation). Both technologies are expected to see rapid growth starting next year, with Bluetooth Smart-enabled device shipments reaching more than 1 billion annual shipments by 2016, far exceeding those for ZigBee…Kansas-based United Wireless expanded its roaming capabilities by working with Transaction Network Services, which offers a range of roaming solutions to help carriers expand coverage and maximize revenues. TNS says it operates the largest, independent SS7 network in North America, providing network, database and next-gen services to more than 1,100 global telecom companies.