Comcast Begins Rollout of Extreme 50 Mbps High-Speed Internet Service

Plans to Reach More Than 10 Major Markets and Nearly 10 Million Homes and Businesses in the Next Several Months

Two New, Faster Speed Tiers Introduced and Speeds Doubled for Most Existing Customers

Comcast, the nation’s leading provider of entertainment, information and communications products and services, today announced it is making the leap from broadband to wideband with the launch of next-generation DOCSIS 3.0. With wideband, Comcast will introduce a brand new echelon of Internet speed tiers, which will redefine the customer experience online and create a platform for Internet innovation in the years ahead.

In the next few weeks, Comcast’s new services will be available to millions of residential homes and businesses in parts of New England, including the Boston Metropolitan region and Southern New Hampshire, as well as areas of Philadelphia and New Jersey. These services also will be available in the Twin Cities where wideband was launched earlier this year. Comcast plans to continue to roll out wideband across its footprint and expects to reach more than 10 major markets and pass nearly 10 million homes and businesses in the next several months.

With wideband, Comcast will offer among the fastest speeds available today, including the Extreme 50 tier at up to 50 Mbps. It also will enable Comcast to double speeds for the majority of existing high-speed Internet customers at no additional cost.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Selects Qwest to Connect Nationwide Health Care System with Voice and Data Services

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has selected Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE: Q) as its contractor for the delivery of voice and data services valued at approximately $60 million to connect the VA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., and nearly 1,300 hospitals, regional offices and other facilities across the nation.

“Caring for the men and women who have defended our nation in the armed services is among the federal government’s most important missions,” said Diana Gowen, senior vice president and general manager of Qwest Government Services in Arlington, Va. “The VA has taken advantage of emerging technologies resulting in tremendous advances in medical treatment and the delivery of remote services, such as telemedicine. Qwest is proud to use our state-of-the-art, secure and converged network to support the VA’s vision of providing veterans the world-class benefits and services they have earned.”

Qwest is providing VA with voice and voice-related services and wide-area network (WAN) data services. Qwest will deliver the services under the federal Networx Universal contract, which is part of Networx, the largest government communications procurement program in the world.

Also, the VA is permitted to order additional voice and data services from Qwest that could increase the value of the 10-year agreement.

Leading Payroll Company Counting on LifeLock Identity Theft Protection

LifeLock Partners with AmCheck to Bring Premier Identity Protection Services to a Half Million People

Nothing puts a damper on a pay-day celebration like finding out that the dollars on your pay stub have been stolen, along with your identity. Although tiny in size, your pay stub can be pretty valuable in the hands of a criminal. Personal information printed on your check, such as your full name, address and Social Security Number, are key pieces that a thief needs to steal your identity.

Customers and employees of Phoenix-based AmCheck, a leading payroll processing company, can now take advantage of an identity theft protection offering as a result of a partnership announced today between the company and LifeLock®. With more than 1,500 clients that service more than 200,000 employees, AmCheck has added LifeLock’s services to its list of human resource benefits, giving clients and employees the opportunity to take advantage of LifeLock’s proactive identity theft protection package at a discounted rate.

“Identity theft criminals will take advantage of any avenue they can find to take over a person’s identity,” says LifeLock CEO Todd Davis. “A few weeks ago I was in the park with my family and found a piece of paper on the ground. It was someone’s pay stub that included all the information I would have needed to cause great harm to that individual. Though it may have been in trash or just lost to the wind, this important information was lost for anyone to use. It’s because this simple mistake could have cost someone dearly, that we stress the importance of placing layers of protection. This should be a tremendous partnership to spread that vital message.”

Clearspring Acquires AddThis to Create the World’s Largest Sharing Service for the Web

Company’s Reach Now Comparable to 7th Largest Web Property

Clearspring Technologies, the leading widget network connecting publishers and advertisers to audiences on the social Web, today announced the acquisition of AddThis, the No. 1 bookmarking and content sharing service on the Internet. Together, Clearspring and AddThis will serve over 20 billion views per month and reach more than 200 million unique visitors, creating the most widely used set of content sharing services on the Web.

Both companies achieved market leadership by delivering distinct content sharing products – AddThis providing the market’s most widely used tool for bookmarking and sharing Web pages, and Clearspring as the company that introduced the concept of point-and-click tools enabling users to easily move content between Web sites. Together the companies will offer the most comprehensive set of sharing tools available – becoming the de facto universal content sharing platform for Web publishers and end users. The collective footprint of the combined entity will reach a worldwide audience comparable to the 7th largest Web property.

“The Internet is becoming the backbone for digital communications – an essential part of our everyday lives,” said Ted Leonsis, chairman of the board at Clearspring. “With the acquisition of AddThis, Clearspring is now at the forefront of that evolution, connecting digital content publishers and consumers via a single set of universally recognizable tools that enable people to easily communicate with content.”

Fast Cash for Students - Break.com Pays For Your Original College Videos

College Students to Receive $800 for Videos Featured on Break.com Home Page

Break Media, the Internet’s leading entertainment community for men, is offering college students a simple way to make money in these difficult economic times. All students need do is upload their best original college videos to Break.com -- those students whose videos are featured on the Break.com home page receive an impressive $800. With higher tuition, gas prices and increasing inflation affecting the everyday life of a student, Break.com wants to provide much needed support for students struggling to make ends meet. On top of the cash, college students will also get the cache of being featured on one of the most trafficked video sites in the world and have their videos seen by millions of people each month.

Break.com will continue to pay non-college students $400, already one of the highest cash rewards for content, for original videos on the homepage as well. To date, Break.com has paid over $1,000,000 to users for their original videos.

Bridgevine and Verizon Sign Agreement on FiOS Services

Bridgevine Offers Consumers Both Fiber Optic TV and High Speed Internet

VERO BEACH, Fla. & ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bridgevine Inc., the trusted source for consumers to compare and shop for cable TV, fiber optic TV, high speed Internet and other home services, announced the company will now offer to consumers the Verizon FiOS TV and FiOS high speed Internet services.

“These fiber optic TV and high speed internet services are a proven hit with consumers and we’re proud to add them to our suite of offerings,” states Bridgevine’s President and CEO Vinny Olmstead. “We offer three Verizon FiOS TV plans. FiOS Local that includes all local channels. FiOS Premier with more than 200 channels including music and the ability to add premium movie channels and FiOS TV La Connexion, which has 140 channels including 35 English, 25 Spanish-language and additional music channels.”

Verizon FiOS Internet is a broadband service designed to provide Internet access with the fastest download speeds currently available — up to 50 megabits per second. The package includes a suite of services with access to newsgroups, nine email accounts and 10 MB of personal web storage. FiOS is an alternative to DSL and cable, provided on a state-of-the-art fiber-optic network. These services are available directly from the Bridgevine.com website or from Bridgevine’s shopping platform, dslnational.com.

Bridgevine’s consumer-facing website, Bridgevine.com, addresses the often daunting task of shopping for services in a marketplace where constantly changing prices, promotions and package offerings can leave consumers unsure if they are getting the best deal, or even the service that best meets their need. Unlike other “comparison” shopping sites, the Bridgevine experience is differentiated by a unified shopping cart, real-time pricing, order status and scheduling to deliver the best customer experience in the industry. Bridgevine’s deep integration with leading service providers enables the company to deliver the most accurate information on services, pricing and special promotions, adding even more value to the bundled services shopping experience.

About Bridgevine

Founded in 2003, Bridgevine, Inc. is headquartered in Vero Beach, FL with an office in Atlanta, GA. The company’s consumer-facing website, Bridgevine.com, is a trusted source for consumers to compare and shop for the services that shape their lives. From communications to entertainment to security, Bridgevine.com lets consumers choose individual services that are best for them, or create personalized bundles from trusted providers resulting in saved time and money. Unlike other “comparison” shopping websites, Bridgevine’s powerful technology offers a unified shopping cart, real-time pricing, order status and scheduling to deliver the best customer experience in the industry. Bridgevine’s deep integration with leading service providers from across the country — including Comcast, AT&T, D-Link, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, DIRECTV, RealNetworks, Panasonic, GameFly and more — enables Bridgevine to deliver the most accurate information on services, pricing and special promotions, adding even more value to the bundled services shopping experience. The company’s proprietary ecommerce platform is licensed by leading retailers, websites and Fortune 500 companies, making it possible for them to monetize online, call center and in-store traffic. Bridgevine was ranked 57 on the prestigious 2007 Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies. For more information, please visit www.bridgevine.com.

Bridgevine, Inc., Vero Beach
Mark Ballard, 772-539-0618
mark.ballard@bridgevine.com

AT&T Ready for Tropical Storm Hanna in South Carolina

Provider Offers Tropical Storm Communications Tips for Residents and Small Businesses

As residents and businesses across the Southeast begin to recover from the impact of Hurricane Gustav, AT&T Inc. is also taking steps to prepare equipment and facilities for a potential strike by Tropical Storm Hanna.

Despite the extensive commercial power outages caused by Hurricane Gustav, AT&T's network continues to perform well because of extensive pre-storm preparation. The company has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to create and maintain its Network Disaster Recovery capabilities.

A critical element of AT&T's efforts to maximize network reliability is the company's ability to swiftly respond when disaster strikes. This is made possible by AT&T's pre-season and pre-storm preparation which includes: ongoing readiness drills, topping off fuel at generators positioned at cell sites and switching centers, testing high-capacity backup batteries, adding capacity to the wireless network, and staging additional emergency response equipment in strategic locations.

The Best Visual Display and One of the Safest Ways for Kids to Search the Internet

With school back in session and families gearing up for the nightly homework grind, Ask.com announces the upgrade and expansion of its popular children's and tweens' search engine, Ask Kids (www.askkids.com). Built with Ask.com's proprietary search technology, Ask Kids delivers a search experience unlike anything for kids on the Internet today -- including more relevant, kid-friendly search results presented in the most graphically vivid display of any major search engine. The Ask Kids launch advances Ask.com's strategy of using its core search technology to fuel vertical search properties such as RushmoreDrive.com, the search engine for the Black community, launched in April 2008.

Studies prove that visual learning improves children's comprehension, retention, critical thinking, and organization.* Additionally, children are better at "mousing" than typing. Ask Kids was built with this in mind, and organizes search results in a graphically vivid three-panel display that includes SmartAnswers and related images, current events, videos and encyclopedia results. For example, a child who enters the query "George Washington" will see options to narrow their results with "Facts on George Washington," along with options to expand their results to learn about the "Declaration of Independence," "American Revolution," and "Mount Vernon."

Verizon FiOS TV Broadens Multicultural Content With 14 New In-Language Channels From World TV

New Content Includes Leading Channels for Arabic, Portuguese and Russian Audiences, Among Others

As part of Verizon's continual expansion of its FiOS TV channel lineup, the company announced Monday (Aug. 25) that it has started adding 14 new multicultural channels from World TV. The channels, broadcast in eight different languages, offer a diverse mix of programming to FiOS TV subscribers.

"This new programming from around the world is part of what makes FiOS TV the ultimate home-entertainment experience," said Terry Denson, vice president -- FiOS TV content and programming. "It also helps to expand our multicultural channel lineup, making FiOS TV an outlet for emerging and independent networks to showcase their diverse content."

The 14 new channels come from World TV, a division of content management and delivery company GlobeCast, which previously signed a distribution deal with Verizon for top-tier international channels.

BRIDGEVINE RANKS ON INC 500 LIST FOR SECOND YEAR BY SIMPLIFYING SHOPPING FOR HIGH SPEED INTERNET AND CABLE TV BUNDLES

COMPANY RANKED NO. 182 ON THE 2008 LIST OF FASTEST GROWING COMPANIES

VERO BEACH, Florida, and ATLANTA, Georgia— August 20, 2008 — Bridgevine, Inc., the trusted source for consumers to compare and shop for cable TV, high speed internet and other digital home services, announced the company was recently ranked No. 182 on the 2008 Inc 500 list of the fastest growing private companies.

The digital services market is so fragmented with deals and packages that consumers are baffled. Bridgevine's web site allows shoppers to choose the best values from online video rental and high speed internet to cable TV, moving services or home security. “A listing on the Inc. 500 for the second straight year demonstrates how consumers realize the value our service provides them,” states Bridgevine’s President and CEO Vinny Olmstead. “Our remarkable growth is the result of a strong team, solid technology and listening and responding to consumer needs and wants.”

Bridgevine’s CFO Rob Hamilton goes on to state, “Our Company will continue raising the bar higher to deliver the best service possible, for the millions of consumers with unique needs. We are very proud of this Inc. 500 honor and we look forward to building upon it again next year.

Bridgevine’s consumer-facing website, Bridgevine.com, addresses the often daunting task of shopping for services in a marketplace where constantly changing prices, promotions and package offerings can leave consumers unsure if they are getting the best deal, or even the service that best meets their need. Unlike other “comparison” shopping sites, the Bridgevine experience is differentiated by a unified shopping cart, real-time pricing, order status and scheduling to deliver the best customer experience in the industry. Bridgevine’s deep integration with leading service providers enables the company to deliver the most accurate information on services, pricing and special promotions, adding even more value to the bundled services shopping experience.

About Bridgevine
Founded in 2003, Bridgevine, Inc. is headquartered in Vero Beach, FL with an office in Atlanta, GA. The company’s consumer-facing website, Bridgevine.com, is a trusted source for consumers to compare and shop for the services that shape their lives. From communications to entertainment to security, Bridgevine.com lets consumers choose individual services that are best for them, or create personalized bundles from trusted providers resulting in saved time and money. Unlike other “comparison” shopping websites, Bridgevine’s powerful technology offers a unified shopping cart, real-time pricing, order status and scheduling to deliver the best customer experience in the industry. Bridgevine’s deep integration with leading service providers from across the country — including Comcast, AT&T, D-Link, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, DIRECTV, RealNetworks, Panasonic, GameFly and more — enables Bridgevine to deliver the most accurate information on services, pricing and special promotions, adding even more value to the bundled services shopping experience. The company’s proprietary ecommerce platform is licensed by leading retailers, websites and Fortune 500 companies, making it possible for them to monetize online, call center and in-store traffic. Bridgevine was ranked 57 on the prestigious 2007 Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies. For more information, please visit www.bridgevine.com.