Five of the nation’s largest cable companies — Comcast Corp., Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable — are creating a seamless national WiFi network to enable cable broadband subscribers to stream data or access the Internet through smart phones, tablets or laptop computers, the companies said Monday. The initial network consists of 50,000 WiFi hot spots, most of them currently in the Philadelphia-to-New York corridor. [INQUIRER]

Read about why these companies are banding together in this report from Marketplace Tech.

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an email subscription for our weekly Comcast roundup or other news updates.

• Cable companies offer free Wi-Fi — what’s the catch?
• TV Everywhere’s Counting Problem [All Things Digital] — “Witness Comcast’s announcement yesterday, made at the cable industry’s annual convention in Boston, that it has been working with Nielsen on a plan to count viewers when they watched video on an iPad*, using Comcast’s Xfinity app. For various technical reasons, this is much harder than you’d think, and the two companies have already been beavering away at this for 18 months.”
• Extra lane: how Comcast assures that Xfinity TV on Xbox 360 works well [Ars Technica]
• New Comcast services threaten wireless text and data revenue [Cnet]
• Comcast CEO Roberts not attending The Cable Show [FierceCable]

• The Cable Show 2012: Verizon, Comcast Unveil ‘viewdini’ Mobile Search Product Signs on XFinity [Multichannel News]
• Comcast service would connect home phone line to smartphones [LA Times]
• Cable firms warn against heavy government oversight of Web [LA Times]
• Comcast Asks FCC to Revoke Boston’s New License to Reregulate Rates FCC’s Media Bureau had recertified the city in April [Broadcasting & Cable]
• Cable Show 2012: Comcast To Take X1 Guide To Some Existing Set-Tops, Too CTO Werner Says MSO to Deploy Cloud-Based Interface to RNG 150 Boxes [Multichannel News]
• Comcast: An Impressive 9-Month Run Has Sent The Stock Up To Very High Levels [Seeking Alpha]
• Comcast Ventures Join $12M Round for BodyMedia [Citybizlist]
• Comcast Spotlight Forms Advanced-Ad Unit, Teams With SMGx ‘CM 360′ to Focus on Targeting, Interactivity and Measurement [Multichannel News]
• Adobe Names Three New Members to Its Board of Directors [Business Wire] — Including Amy Banse, the managing director and head of funds for Comcast Ventures.
• Fake Comcast workers flee after home invasion [Houston Chronicle]

Ted Bockius is the new Chief Marketing Officer for Center City-based business analytics firm RJMetrics.

Another in the Entrance Exam series, which asks new members to the Philadelphia technology community why they came and what they’ve learned.

The head of online marketing for big boy U.S. Bank has left San Francisco and last week started a chief marketing role for hungry Center City business analytics startup RJMetrics. Meet Ted Bockius.

A marketing hire is a marketing hire in an industry focused on gobbling up engineering talent, but RJMetrics co-founder and CEO Bob Moore, who is fixated on growing a technology business in Philadelphia, says we shouldn’t underestimate snatching up an established corporate web executive from the West Coast — even if he has some roots here, having grown up in Newark, Del. and considering his sister is Carolyn Jackson, the CEO of St. Christopher’s Children’s Hospital. (Just to be clear, though Bockius says he’s unrelated to the namesake in law firm Morgan Lewis & Bockius)

Bockius, who did his undergraduate work at the University Delaware and has an MBA from New York University, has moved a few blocks away from the Philadelphia Building, where RJMetrics holds court at 13th and Walnut. RJMetrics, who is now at 18 staff, with four more starting next month, said Moore, adding that this time last year they were at five.

Bockius, 45, also ran online marketing for DivX, before and after its 2006 IPO, and, for six years, was a marketing principal for NYC-based Insight Venture Partners, where he first met Moore and RJMetrics cofounder Jake Stein.

“I wanted to work with the RJMetrics founders Bob and Jake and had several other opportunities with later stage software and Internet companies in larger tech markets of San Francisco and New York that I was also considering,” said Bockius. “I bet on RJMetrics and Philadelphia and my ability to help grow the company and the Philadelphia tech scene and have been very happy with my decision.”

Below, Bockius talks to Technically Philly about his decision to come to Philadelphia and his goals at RJMetrics.

Edited for length and clarity.

Why was RJMetrics the right choice for you?

RJMetrics was the right choice for me because I knew the company’s founders Bob Moore and Jake Stein and had a lot of confidence in both their business ability and the culture and team they would put in place and I’ve been right, the company is an exceptional place to work.

How does Philadelphia factor into the decision?

I made a long term commitment to RJMetrics, so I was less concerned with the tech scene than the specific company.  However, Philadelphia is building the startup scene that Boston and New York have, and there are plenty of opportunities here and great universities to recruit talent from.

What (if anything) did you know/think about the Philadelphia technology community before the gig or coming here?

I followed RJMetrics founder Bob Moore on Twitter and he is a big proponent of the Philadelphia tech scene. I knew of GSI Commerce and First Round Capital and was introduced to one of the founders of Invite Media by a mutual professional acquaintance. I knew that Philadelphia has had some big technology successes over the years

What is your first new (unexpected) reaction to Philly and its tech scene?

Bob Moore, Jake Stein and I all worked together at the New York internet and software venture capital firm Insight Venture Partners. I ran into another former colleague from Insight, Thomas Charlton, who is a serial software CEO, crossing Broad Street. Thomas has led several Philadelphia software companies.  There is a lot of tech talent in Philadelphia at the same time, like in other cities it is a small network.

If your former colleagues ask you about Philly, how will you describe it?

Great cost of living, quality of life and beaches and other great cities are an easy drive away.

What were you last doing? Where were you doing it?

Recently I ran online marketing for one of the country’s largest banks and separately I ran social media and communications for a global technology and consulting company.

What will be your mark of success while at RJMetrics in your first year?

I work with a team to make sure our internet retail, flash sale, daily deal, Web and subscription business customers have a great experience and get great value from our software as a service. I will also help dramatically grow our business.

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an email subscription for our weekly Comcast roundup or other news updates.

• Comcast’s NBC Bets on Comedies to Boost Last Place Schedule [Bloomberg]
• Comcast’s Non-Denial Denial On Traffic Prioritization And Net Neutrality [TechCrunch]
• Comcast fires back over Xfinity TV on Xbox 360, says no way, no how it’s violating net neutrality[Engadget]
• Comcast Launching Skype Video Calling for $9.95 a Month [PCmag]
• Shots fired: NBC Sports Net shoots back at ESPN’s Skipper [NBC Sports] — “The simmering rivalry between ESPN and the new NBC Sports Network is flaring up a bit.”

• Upfronts 2012: NBC’s Harbert calls for better measurement tools [LA Times: Company Town]
• NBC’s channels to broadcast Olympics [inquirer]
• Comcast Entertainment Studios Names Mayer VP of Development Will be tasked with developing new series for the studio [Broadcasting & Cable]
• Comcast, Aramark also have visions of Olympic glory [Philadelphia Inquirer]
• Comcast Brings Family and Friends Closer Together with the Launch of Skype on Xfinity [Business wire] — press release
• Why the Street Should Love Comcast’s Earnings [msnbc]
• Comcast denies favoring Xfinity video content [Cnet]
• Comcast CTO: VOD To Xbox Goes Over A Dedicated IP Path [Multichannel News] — “Rebutting accusations that Comcast is violating the FCC’s network neutrality rules, chief technology officer Tony Werner said the MSO is sending VOD to Xbox 360 consoles over a separate, additional segment of IP bandwidth but isn’t “prioritizing” that over Internet traffic.”
• Day lets Comcast employees give back, by the thousands [Salt Lake Tribune] — Comcast Cares Day
• Comcast, iRobot and Google Support STEM Programs in Massachusetts Public Schools Through Science from Scientists [Exec]
• City Year Names Arthur R. Block of Comcast Corporation the 2012 Idealist of the Year [citybiz Philadelphia]
• Comcast awards $92,000 in scholarships to New Jersey high school [PR Newswire]

Mashable covers DreamIt graduate ElectNext, the OKCupid for political candidates (which recently hired a Code for America fellow):

The idea is simple: First, users are asked to pick three issues that are most important to them. Choices include immigration, abortion, foreign policy and nine other categories. Next, users have to answer at least 10 additional questions to find their political matches — the more questions answered, the more accurate the results.

MORE

Lavar Burton, at left, with his Uber driver last weekend.

In celebration of Lavar Burton, of Reading Rainbow fame, using Uber locally last weekend, the on-demand car service that has soft launched in Philly is sharing a discount code with Technically Philly readers.

• Use the code “UberRainbow” and get $26 towards 1 ride you take from Friday through Sunday at 5pm in Philly.
• When using the Uber mobile app or the SMS tool, use the code and summon a driver.

More from the Uber blog here.

The deal is a $18,000 one-year contract and is scheduled for an initial release by Labor Day.

Why choose a NYC shop for a Philadelphia project? Two reasons, says city 311 project manager Tim Wisniewski: PublicStuff, which has a client list of more than 110 smaller cities, “provides the most intuitive user experience of all the apps we tested” and no Philadelphia firm applied.

“The company was chosen through a competitive process by a working group comprised of representatives from the Office of Innovation and Technology, 311 and the Managing Director’s Office,” said a city press release, noting that four proposals were originally received. Typically, all city contract work must be posted online, though if no local firm applied, a hole in communication between the city and a technology community may be gaping.

City representatives are quick to point out that PublicStuff has local roots: it was incubated by GoodCompany Ventures and received early funding from First Round Capital. Additionally, PublicStuff founder Lily Liu says her firm is opening a small satellite office in Philadelphia before the end of the year — which may come after the initial deadline and, she says, is partly in relation to its FRC investment. (The firm has 15 staff and no other satellite offices to date, says Liu.)

“In addition, they will allow us to reach the highest number of residents by being as cross-platform as it gets – users can submit requests on an iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone, through mobile web, Facebook and Twitter,” added Wisniewski.

(You may remember Wisniewski, dubbed “the Developer in Black” for his dark wardrobe, from his many hobbyist hacker projects, but earlier this year, he took a role with the city’s 311 office).

In 2009, the City of Boston set off the local 311 app craze, followed by a Council-based one in Los Angeles. Neither seems to have transformed city governance. Locally, a similar iPhone-only tool from freshman Councilman Bobby Henon — though it direct complaints through his staff before 311 — has already shipped.

One big difference will be the potential availability of a scalable data tool to allow for other development.

“With Mayor Nutter’s recent executive order on open data, the ability for our app to offer easy access to 311 data was a high priority in selecting a vendor,” said Wisniewski. “PublicStuff provides an API that conforms to the Open311 standard, allowing other developers to build apps that plug into our system and retrieve real-time data.”

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an email subscription for our weekly Comcast roundup or other news updates.

• Comcast to Sell ‘Substantial’ Equity Stake in A&E [Bloomberg] — “Comcast’s NBC Universal entertainment business exercised an option to sell a “substantial” portion of its equity in A&E Television Networks, owner of the Lifetime and History cable channels. “
• Senator Al Franken questions Comcast on Xbox 360 [TG Daily] — “Comedian-turned-Senator Al Franken wants the FCC to look into the way Comcast is offering streaming video on the Xbox 360.”
• Comcast offers ESPN via iPhone, iPad [Inquirer] — “Comcast Corp. made available to its cable-TV subscribers the WatchESPN service for iPhone and iPad devices, part of the TV Everywhere initiative.”
• 7 ways Comcast is killing the cable killers [Gigaom]

• Comcast customers lose access to e-mails; company investigating cause [Newark Star Ledger] — “Comcast e-mail customers throughout the nation have unable to use their e-mail service for hours this afternoon and this evening because of an unknown technical glitch, triggering a deluge of complaints on a customer service forum.”
• NBCU Plans $190 Million In NYC Upgrades Programmer to Renovate 30 Rock, Other Installations over Next Two Years [Multichannel News]
• Comcast’s first-quarter earnings rise 30 percent on Super Bowl advertising, more broadband [Washington Post] — “Comcast Corp., the country’s largest cable company, reported a 30 percent profit increase in the first quarter, beating expectations on the strength of Super Bowl advertising and its popular broadband service.”
• Subscriber data from Internet service providers [Associated Press] — “Comcast Corp. says it added 439,000 Internet subscribers to end with 18.6 million. That was the best quarterly result in four years.”
• Fans file class-action suit against Flyers [Chicago Tribune]
• Comcast lands a sweet Metro Ethernet deal with Sarris Candies [CED] — “Comcast continues to rack up customer wins for its Metro Ethernet service, with the latest addition being Pennsylvania-based Sarris Candies.”

Huntingdon Valley-based email marketing company AWeber Communications aimed to put on display its 40 person development team during the second annual Philly Tech Week presented by AT&T.

As a member of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Aweber staff took root in a Chamber conference room on South Broad Street to host two conversations on its work, followed by a Happy Hour at Center Ciy microbrewery Nodding Head. Fortunately, the firm filmed both presentations.

[Full Disclosure: Aweber was also a Philly Tech Week sponsor.]

First, above, marketing manager Nick Moore talks to 20 attendees about how AWeber has focused on ‘return on integration,’ or funding its application development. Next, below, Ethan McCreadie and Philip Cristiano discuss with 35 attendees AWeber’s use of Japanese project management system Kanban.

Launched in November from DreamIt Ventures co-founder Steve Welch, news from KinderTown, the curated app store within the app store for kids, hits TechCrunch news:

KinderTown, the startup behind the educational iOS app store for parents (and honestly, a personal fav) is expanding its focus today. According to feedback from its users, the number one complaint was that KinderTown wasn’t available for older children. Now that changes, as the service will bump up its supported age range from 3-6 to include children ages 7 and 8 as well. To kick off the launch, 125 new apps aimed at older children have been added to service, and more will be added every week.

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