With the expiration of a ban on new members, the small town of Vineyard is now considering joining UTOPIA. The city is considering becoming a pledging member meaning that they will promise tax money to cover the debt service should it not be covered by revenues from subscribers. Becoming a… Continue reading
In a rash of related stories, it appears that a mixture of telco consolidation and lawsuits against VoIP providers is going to lead to fewer choices for broadband and phone service. Earthlink has been bleeding money for some time since dial-up subscribers have been fleeing in droves and it doesn't… Continue reading
Expect your TV bill to jump a few bucks by the end of the year. Citing the "new" CableCARD requirement from the FCC, the cable companies are claiming increased costs from supporting the 11-year-old standard first proposed under the Telecommunications Act of 1996. While most brand new TVs and other… Continue reading
Yesterday's Davis County Clipper ran an article about UTOPIA's installation delays, plugging FreeUTOPIA in the process. Where does the blame lie for slow installations? Look no further than the Rural Utility Service. Though the RUS approved a loan to UTOPIA for rural broadband development last fall, paperwork has kept the… Continue reading
I usually find it amusing when so-called "experts" tell us something that's really pretty obvious. In this case, they're criticizing the FCC's pathetic excuse for broadband stats. What are they telling us that we didn't already know? That stats by ZIP code are way too broad and don't paint an… Continue reading
Here's a pair of head-shakers for you. Verizon is starting to test a service where mis-typed domain names will instead present search results, much like Verisign's SiteFinder service that caused angry mobs to all but go to the company's offices with torches and pitchforks. The service works at the DNS… Continue reading
The National Association of Governors warned Congress that making the current ban on taxing Internet access permanent is a Bad Thing(TM). Their contention is that keeping it temporary gives the government a nice big stick to carry around in case any ISPs start acting up. I can certainly see that… Continue reading
In a move that sounded a lot like a collective "not my job, not my problem," the FTC decided to downplay network neutrality concerns and get itself onto solid, er, neutral ground. In a recently released report, the FTC chose to take no position on network neutrality and downplayed it… Continue reading
Despite a few concessions calling for compensation for missed/late appointments, limiting service contracts to one year and requiring some deployment to poorer neighborhoods, Illinois pretty much handed the telecom industry a license to cherry-pick service areas with little in return. This bill, more-or-less purchased outright by AT&T, is the latest… Continue reading
In comments at a recent telecom conference, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin emphasized the importance of universal access to broadband connections as well as the role of "dumb networks" in ensuring network neutrality. "Dumb networks" are a lot like the wholesale fiber networks offered by UTOPIA or iProvo where retail and… Continue reading