Silicon Valley

Embarq Corp. has revealed more details about its exploration of a program that tracked Internet subscribers' Web-surfing habits for advertising purposes, telling Congress that it performed the test on 26,000 customers in a Kansas town.

Building on an earlier response to Rep. John Dingell, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Embarq CEO Thomas Gerke wrote in a letter late Wednesday that his Overland Park, Kan.-based company chose Gardner, Kan., for its test because it was Embarq's smallest market and near qualified technicians.

A startup is betting that people are tired enough of their cable and satellite bills to take a look at an alternative pay TV system that combines a number of different technologies to deliver programming.

Silicon Valley-based Sezmi Corp. has revealed a system that amounts to a way for phone companies and local TV broadcasters to team up for an end run around satellite and cable. Technical trials are starting shortly, with full-blown commercial trials in some markets, yet unnamed, later this year.