As further evidence that we don't have a truly competitive marketplace comes a round of price increases on all kinds of telecommunications services. Verizon has decided to jack up rates a whopping 12% on FIOS TV before the dust has even settled on installations in most states. Cablevision, though they… Continue reading
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin seems to not be in the business of making friends lately. Despite talking tough on "a la carte" stations and cable conglomerates, he's failed to make much headway with fellow members of the commission or members of Congress. His goal? To treat cable operators like phone… Continue reading
Broadband is all the Washington rage these days. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has become something of a techie celebrity and there's a bunch of bills in Congress set to change the way we approach broadband. Here's a quick run-down of the big ones to keep an eye on.
Since launching the website, I've been using the Subscribe2 plugin to manage sending updates via e-mail to those of you not so big on RSS. Unfortunately, the plugin has been getting a bit buggy lately. For instance, yesterday it sent out three copies of the e-mail. (I get them too,… Continue reading
Last month, Ars Technica wondered aloud why it is that you can't get a CableCARD device very easily. After all, the FCC mandated that cable companies start supporting "digital cable-ready" television sets way back in July. Despite this, both of the major cable box manufacturers don't sell at retail, cable… Continue reading
Though it was more-or-less settled in speculation, Google has committed itself to spending at least $4.6B on a chunk of the valuable "C block" going up for auction this Janurary. Some prime motivators include a change in wholesaling rules by the FCC and Verizon dropping their lawsuit to halt open… Continue reading
Earthlink finally got over the hangover and decided that municipal WiFi just wasn't working out the way they had planned. The company decided to put it's muni WiFi operations on the chopping block for a cool $40M (provided, of course, that there's an interested buyer). AT&T is also backing off… Continue reading
Verizon shook the industry with a move to 20Mbps synchronous connections. UTOPIA rocked it further by allowing providers to ramp up to 50Mbps. Now the entire cable industry has gone nuts trying to ramp up speeds in short order during Q4. Insight Communications and Cox Communications have each decided to… Continue reading
Cable companies are testing 100Mbps cable modems, an Aussie PhD claims to have found a way to make DSL ramp up to 250Mbps within 3 years and Verizon is trying out some 400Mbps connections on its FIOS service. Big numbers, but the Internet backbone probably can't handle it. A recent… Continue reading
Before I left town for a jaunt to DC, Venice and Florence, I had a few questions posed to me by Rep. Steve Urquhart of St. George on my summary of the November 7 subcommittee hearing. It seems he has some concerns over the financial viability of the project and… Continue reading