T-Mobile US Inc. , the RCA-The Competitive Carriers Association and Free Press are among the entities forming the Alliance for Broadband Competition, a group that's come out against Verizon Wireless 's proposed purchase of Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum from four major MSOs. They're holding a conference Monday afternoon to outline the group's agenda, but initial reports indicate that it will try to block the deal or urge the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to impose tough conditions. (See Sparks Start to Fly in VZ Wireless-MSO Deal and FCC Lengthens Review of Verizon's Spectrum Deal .)

Foxconn Electronics Inc. Chairman Terry Gou has apparently let out that the Chinese manufacturing giant is preparing its facilities for Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL)'s long-rumored HDTV set. Gou didn't indicate when production would begin or what sort of launch date Apple has in mind for the device, but did note at a news conference in Shanghai that Foxconn's factory joint venture with Sharp Electronics Corp. in Japan is one of the steps being made in preparation, according to the China Daily. (See Who Will Land the Apple Television? and Jobs Bio Confirms Apple Television Plan .)

AT&T has temporarily halted orders on a $99 hardware kit that effectively turns Xbox 360 game consoles into an IPTV receiver that supports the telco's U-Verse TV service, noting on its site that it's making modifications to "improve and enhance this functionality." AT&T hasn't detailed what improvements it has in mind or said when orders would resume, but Multichannel News reports that AT&T stopped offering the kit last October. Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX), by the way, is upset that U-verse on the game console is exempt from AT&T's monthly bandwidth caps. (See Netflix Cranks Up the Net Neutrality Heat and Xbox 360 Joins the U-verse Lineup .)

U.S. broadcasters have yet to file a lawsuit against Auto Hop, a new feature from Dish Network LLC (Nasdaq: DISH) that lets users of its new Hopper DVR automatically skip commercials in TV shows recorded during the primetime period, but it's clear that the networks aren't wild about the idea, either. "I think this is an attack on our ecosystem," NBC Broadcasting Chairman Ted Harbert said as the network discussed its upcoming primetime schedule. (See Dish Sticks It to the Broadcasters .)

Jeff Binder, the former CEO of Broadbus Technologies (now part of Motorola Mobility LLC ) and a general partner at Genovation Capital LLC , has joined the board of This Technology LLC , a startup that makes dynamic ad insertion software for video-on-demand, TV Everywhere and IPTV services and applications. Binder joins existing directors Jim Ramo and Scott Gallin. (See Startup Seeks Open-Source VoD Ad-Vantage, Cable Vets Launch VC Firm and Motorola Scoops Up Broadbus.)

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Light Reading Cable