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
I'm going on vacation to Italy by way of Washington, DC and will not be posting until I get back on the 17th. I'll have limited access to e-mail (read: none) and zero cell phone coverage, so I'll get back to you when I return. Ciao, everyone.
It passed the House. It passed the Senate. And on October 31, President Bush channeled his dad's words and said "no new taxes." After getting right down to the deadline, Internet access will remain tax-free for another seven years. Not all is good, however. VoIP services no longer have those… Continue reading
I was rather surprised to see the UTOPIA legislation get tabled at today's meeting. Given that this issue has consumed a significant amount of time at each meeting I've attended and has received a significant amount of public comment, I would think any proposals on the table would have been… Continue reading
It's time for another liveblogging! It's looking like the meeting is likely to start late… again. Maybe we could all chip in to buy the committee members some new watches. 😉 1:04PM It sounds like the tabled items are going to have minimal effect on UTOPIA or other muni broadband… Continue reading