Broadcasters and cable operators haven't been seeing eye to eye about the cable industry's TV Everywhere initiative, which will offer online users Internet video as a free supplement to their cable subscription. The debate so far is over compensation -- with some eager to impose unskippable ads on consumers, and other even hoping to charge for the added functionality. Comcast for one says they're going to leave the decision over what kind of ads the system imposes on consumers in the hands of broadcasters:Of course should Comcast's deal with NBC go through, they will effectively be broadcasters, which means they should probably have an idea of what kind of ad model they'd like to see the broadband video service employ -- right? The entire idea of TV Everywhere was to keep customers from cutting the cord. However, if TV Everywhere is a clunky, unskippable ad-laden mess with limited selection and bickering content and delivery partners -- the initiative could have the opposite effect of the one intended.

United Airlines has started in flight Wi-Fi service on flights between New York and California, according to the Chicago Tribune. Sort of. United's upgraded just one of thirteen Boeing 757's that will be equipped with Wi-Fi by mid-November. Like Delta American Airlines and Virgin, United is using Aircell's "Gogo" in-flight broadband service. Gogo costs $7.95 for smart phone access on flights of any length, $9.95 for regular access on flights of three hours or less, and $12.95 on flights of more than three hours. The Gogo service involves 92 EVDO cell sites aimed ever upward, designed to provide 2Mbps+ connectivity to each Gogo enabled plane that passes overhead. VoIP is banned, though VPN connectivity works.

Wireless carriers have recently started subsidizing netbooks in much the same way they've subsidized smart phones -- assuming users are willing to sign long term contracts. Terrestrial operators are now getting into the act as well, with Verizon recently announcing a promotion that gives users a free Compaq Mini Netbook if they sign up for DSL. Qwest has now jumped on that bandwagon as well, their website now advertising that users who sign up for 7Mbps "fiber optic Internet" (Qwest code for DSL) get a Dell Mini Netbook for the subsidized price of $199. To get the discount, you of course need to sign a two year contract.

As it stands, Verizon only offers customers a unified bill if they add wireless phone service on to their broadband bundle -- but that may change soon. "More and more customers are asking for that," Verizon Wireless Chief Executive Officer Lowell McAdam said in a recent interview. "A year from now, we’d be describing a very different set of applications and use cases for the phone and bundling and buying buckets of minutes for different devices," says the CEO. As for rumors of an LTE-powered device by Apple, McAdam now says "There’s a very good possibility" of such a union.

Verizon this week unveiled a new deal for NFL fans out of range of Verizon FiOS. Verizon's giving new customers who sign up for select DirecTV bundles NFL Sunday Ticket free for a year. To get the deal, customers need to sign up for Verizon's Freedom Essentials calling plan, DirecTV's "Plus HD DVR" service, and Verizon 3Mbps or 7Mbps DSL service for $120 per month. Customers can also get the same bundle if they substitute DirecTV's per month standard def "Plus DVR" package, paying $110.