As part of the last Government Competition and Privatization Subcommittee, proposed legislation regarding UTOPIA has been handed out. Needless to say, it's a Qwest dream come true designed to unduly restrict UTOPIA from expanding beyond the current membership. Since it's not available online yet, I'll transcribe it with some of… Continue reading
Another meeting, another liveblogging. It looks like this meeting will likely be starting late; Rep. Frank appears to be the only one here so far. Keep obsessively hitting those refresh buttons, folks. 1:46PM The meeting is over. I'll have a summary up later today. 1:45PM The next meeting is tentatively… Continue reading
After what seems like an eternity of telcos and cablecos not understanding that we like to send as well as receive data at blazing speeds, Verizon decided to launch a 20Mbps symmetrical connection for home users. The real shocker? The price tag, a paltry $65 a month, shockingly low for… Continue reading
February 17, 2009 might be known as the day the airwaves died, at least for people unprepared for the switch to digital TV. Britain has already leaded ahead in this respect with the first analog signal going down for a dirt nap last Tuesday. Now Best Buy starts blazing a… Continue reading
It broke earlier this week that a reporter from the Associated Press had confirmed what we all knew, that Comcast has been blocking people from seeding torrent files. How do they do it? By illegally impersonating your computer to reset the connection, that's how. It's the same method used in… Continue reading
Just a reminder that the Government Competition and Privatization Subcommittee will be meeting this Thursday, October 25, at 9AM to discuss possible legislation in the upcoming session of the legislature. Proposals include creating a standing commission to oversee potential government competition with private entities, up the reporting requirements for local… Continue reading
As I've said before, it's sometimes a Good Thing™ to let news age for a bit before writing about it. Not only does it let the story develop a bit more fully, but you also get a much better idea of the big picture. Take for example the plans that… Continue reading
I'm thinking I might need to change my home phone provider in the not too distant future. Following up on the expensive litigation brought by Sprint and Verizon, Vonage now has to go to court to defend itself against AT&T for alleged patent infringement. It's too early to tell if… Continue reading
With how ugly the fight for the 700MHz auction has gotten, the FCC has decided to delay the auction by eight days. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin also announced that there will be a limit of $10B on bidding, a move designed to keep big companies from outspending all of their… Continue reading
Seems like Comcast is bumping up rates all over the nation. Chicago, Houston, Seattle, San Francisco and Lancaster, PA have all seen big bumps in pricing from 6.9% to as high as 12.5%. This is on top of a 4.1% increase foisted upon us in January. The company is blaming… Continue reading