In a move stunning only in its audacity, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) has demanded that the FCC be gutted and almost all cable regulation be done away with. Among the things they want killed are network neutrality, must-carry rules (which require a basic package) and a la… Continue reading
A new survey of customer satisfaction by the American Consumer Satisfaction Index shows that while satellite providers top the list for TV service, the industry as a whole stinks. Cable and satellite providers scored the lowest amongst all industries covered by the ACSI including incumbent phone companies. (There isn't much… Continue reading
Prepare to have less choice for local phone service. Thanks to FCC rules, incumbent carrier are not required to share their new fiber networks with competitors the same way they shared their copper networks. Considering that upgrading to Verizon's FIOS is a one-way street (no going back to copper for… Continue reading
In two related news stories, cable companies are clamping down further on network control by skirting around the requirements to support CableCARD and force DVR owners to watch ads. In testimony before congress, TiVo has alleged that cable companies are starting to use protocols and signaling that's incompatible with the… Continue reading
Want to keep that special triple-play pricing in effect for longer? Just hope you don't want to cancel anytime soon. Comcast has started trying to sucker you into a 2-year contract for the service to lock in the rate with a $150 early termination fee if you cancel OR DOWNGRADE… Continue reading
It's earnings report season, and it looks like the short-term thinking of investors has been ruling the day with telcos. Verizon has watched earnings tumble as they make significant investments in their FIOS system while Qwest tripled their profits by building a whole lot of nothing and cutting retirement benefits…. Continue reading
Comcast recently posted an 80% increase in quarterly revenue on strong growth of triple-play services and reduced customer churn. This might also have something to do with jacking up my basic digital TV service by about $6 a month. The article also makes no mention of the bad PR they've… Continue reading
According to a survey by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the US has a laggard rate of broadband adoption, we pay too much for it, and we're giving up a ton of economic benefits by not having it. From a high of #4 in 2001, we've dropped to… Continue reading
They've just posted a heap of criticism for the iProvo project and don't mind taking a few swipes at UTOPIA either. Most of this diatribe is little more than declaring things to be fact with zero citation and I've been taking them to task on it. Why don't you go… Continue reading
About once every month or two, The Heartland Institute releases yet another paper lambasting municipal telecommunications networks. This month proves no different with more claims that municipal broadband efforts are financial black holes and renewing the call for market-based solutions. The problems with these reports lies in their blatant manipulation… Continue reading