Data Caps, LTE Preparation, Hijacked Searches and iPod Streaming? - 11.08.11: According to leaked information T-Mobile has plans to impose usage caps on their customers which will impose further charges. Until now the company has simply throttled those customers who use more than their monthly broadband limit. As of August 13 customers can expect 10 cents per MB...


Some Internet Providers only Giving 80% of Advertised Speed - 04.08.11: The FCC has released figures which show that some Internet service providers are delivering speeds which are only 80% of those they advertise. During peak times the result can be even worse than this. The FCC hired research company SamKows who asked 9,000 volunteers to to monitor the d...


Superfast Broadband Development Still Going Slow - 28.07.11: It has been announced this week by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack that rural telecommunications companies are to receive almost $192 million in loans to develop broadband projects for rural areas in eight states. The loans are coming from The Department of Agriculture's Telecommunic...


4% of People use the Internet for TV - 21.07.11: A study by research company SNL Kagan has indicated that around 4% of US households will have substituted Internet video for their cable, satellite or telco TV services by the end of the year. This represent 4.5 million homes, which is 2 million more than the figures from 2010. They al...


Internet Providers Feature Heavily in "Most Hated Companies" List - 14.07.11: A list of the 19 most hated US companies has been compiled by The Atlantic with information from the American Customer Satisfaction survey. Among the banks, power companies and airlines, telecoms companies feature heavily. In fact Time Warner Cable came in third, while Comcast reached ...


Can the Speed and Reach Promises of High Speed Internet Providers be Fulfilled? - 07.07.11: A study carried out by the Columbia Institute for Tele-information has discovered that US service providers still have a long way to go before they have realized their ambitious plans. The report states that if AT&T and Verizon were to reach their goals for broadband, at least 50 milli...


Providers Working Harder on LTE and Mobile Wireless Broadband over Fiber Optic Internet? - 30.06.11: A study released this week by VIOP provider BroadSoft Inc. has found that 42% of all global mobile network operators are currently trialling or deploying an LTE network. In addition another 34% have plans to do so in the future. One third of those questioned said that they expect hands...


AT&T's Focus Seems to be Wireless Broadband - 23.06.11: Despite the AT&T protestations that their merger with T-Mobile would result in job creation it seems to already be having the opposite effect. The Wall Street Journal has this week pointed out that even though the deal is not due to be closed until March of next year, some T-Mobile ind...


Comcast Show Off 1GB and 100Mbps Services! Not that you can buy them ... - 16.06.11: Despite caps being put on data usage by providers, the companies involved are still showing that they can offer faster services. Comcast is due to demonstrate a 1Gb service this week at the Cable Trade Show. In addition they will show a service which has upload and download speeds of 1...


Providers running amok. Ex-Regulators taking job offers with them? - 09.06.11: AT&T are to be forced to refund $1 billion in incorrectly collected taxes. It has been found that the company violated the Internet Tax Freedom Act, which bans taxing Internet access by collecting taxes on smartphone plans, laptop connection cards and other prepay data devices which he...


Are Internet Providers Looking to Improve or just Merge? - 02.06.11: As part of their condition of their merger with NBC, Comcast has started to offer the $10 broadband packages as it was required to do. The packages need to be offered to any household with an income of less than $20,000 a year. The Internet Essentials package will be available from thi...


US Government "National Broadband Plan" Failing Half of American Households - 26.05.11: A new study has indicated that almost half of all US households do not meet the broadband goals as set out by the National Broadband Plan. The study from Connected Nation is based on a tool known as The Broadband Readiness Index which assesses the infrastructure for the entire US. The ...


Sprint are Top, AT&T voted Bottom - 19.05.11: The American Customer satisfaction Index has been released this week and the results show that Sprint are now at the top of the rankings for wireless service, just in front of Verizon. However AT&T will not be impressed with their ranking. Both AT&T and T-Mobile have seen a decline in ...


Inventive, Offensive & Apprehensive - this week in broadband - 12.05.11: A new browser app developed by Georgia Tech could allow users to make better use of their broadband connection. It could also ensure that providers are keeping to their speed promises. The Kermit app which was unveiled this week could help users to check whether their broadband is bein...


Most So-Called Unlimited Services are Capped - 05.05.11: A study carried out at multichannel News has found that 56% of all of the US is under a broadband capping system of some description. With AT&T announcing their capping system this week and the fact that they have a huge proportion of customers in the US, the numbers have just increase...


Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Apple Collecting Customer Data - 29.04.11: Letters have been sent to Congress this week by wireless carriers defending the way they collect and store location data. The providers argue that they use the information to keep their network working correctly and to provide location based services. They point out that they do no sel...


AT&T Buys, Comcast Says it Tries and Verizon Shows Highs - 25.04.11: AT&T have this week submitted a 100 page justification of their deal to acquire T-Mobile to the FCC. The document insists that the deal is extraordinary and that it will not reduce competition. It also hints that T-Mobile is not very important in the industry saying that T-Mobile made ...


Obama promises 98% of US residents to have next generation mobile broadband access in 5 years - 14.04.11: Despite major spending cuts in other areas, the Obama administration has insisted it will continue the roll-out of broadband aggressively. In an address at George Washington University the President said that the government will not sacrifice core investments which are needed to create...


Google fiber to the home experiment to cover 500,000 users with speeds of 1GB by 2012 - 07.04.11: Despite the good news that Kansas City will be the test location for the new Google fiber to the home experiment, Google has made it very clear that there will be only a few new jobs created as a result. The network is expected to cover between 50,000 and 500,000 users giving them spee...


Google Selects Kansas City for 1GB Fiber to the Home Test - 31.03.11: Google has chosen Kansas city as the first to take advantage of their 1GB fiber to the home test. They have pointed out that this is simply the start of their project and that more cities will be chosen at a later date. More than 10000 cities had applied to be the testing ground for th...


Comcast Keen to Avoid 'Worst Company in America' Award - 24.03.11: Comcast has been urging its employees to do their bit to avoid the company being voted as "the worst company in America" in this years Consumerist poll. Comcast won the coveted award last year and does not want a repeat. They are therefore asking employees to stuff online ballot boxes ...


FCC to Approve Qwest Communications and CenturyLink Merger - 17.03.11: The FCC are thought to be close to approving a merger between Qwest Communications International Inc and CenturyLink Inc. The merger has been given a list of conditions which have to be met to ensure approval, however these are limited and are mostly voluntary. These include offering a...


Is the Fiber Optic Internet Revolution a Waste of Time? - 10.03.11: Despite the fact that wi-fi is 30% slower than fixed broadband, it seems that most people are happy to trade the speed for the convenience. A study by Epitro has tested 14,000 connections across Europe and in the US and found the speed difference. The company said they were surprised t...


Do Cable Customers Get Better Broadband than Telecoms Subscribers? - 03.03.11: Research from the Leichtman Research group has shown that cable companies in the US are offering their customers a better broadband speed than their telecoms competitors and that they also control more of the market. The top cable companies gained 68% of those who entered the broadband...


Large ISP Corporations trying to block Rural Communities Building their own Fiber Optic Networks? - 24.02.11: Despite being unable to get Internet providers to upgrade their service to fiber, some rural communities are being forced to give up efforts to build their own networks. Some of these community networks offer better speeds than companies such as AT&T, Time Warner Cable and Centurylink ...


US Average Downstream Speed up 71% Thanks to Comcast and Verizon Upgrades - 17.02.11: The latest data from Instat has shown that the average broadband connection in the US is now 9.54 Mbps. This compares to 3.8Mbps is 2007 and 7.12Mbps in 2009. Despite this increase in performance, the cost of subscribing to these connections increased by just 4% between 2009 and 2010; ...


Obama Promises High Speed Broadband ... FCC Says 'Stop Blocking It' - 10.02.11: President Obama has set a goal of rolling out high speed broadband to 98% of the US within the next five years. The plan which will detail exactly how this will be achieved will be released later this week. He believes that it will allow rural communities to compete globally and will a...


32% of Americans Tapping in to their Neighbours Unlocked Wifi? - 03.02.11: A recent poll conducted by Wakefield Research has discovered that 32% of Americans admit to tapping into a wi-fi network which is not theirs. This is an increase from the 18% from a 2008 poll. 40% also said that they wold be more likely to trust someone with their house key than with t...


National Wireless Initiative Annouced in President Obama's State of the Union Speech - 27.01.11: President Obama has delivered his State of the Union speech this week and outlined how technology will be used to make the US more competitive. The National Wireless Initiative was announced. This is aimed at encouraging network providers to deploy high speed networks to 98% of the US ...


Verizon Offering Money Back to Subscribers when iPhone4 Released - 20.01.11: Verizon is offering people who recently purchased a phone a $200 rebate if they switch to the Verizon iPhone when it is released. They say that many customers may have wanted to buy an iPhone but couldn't because they did not know when it would be released. Now that the date has been s...


Broadband Speed to Rise whilst Broadband Subscriber Numbers to Slow - 13.01.11: Recent statistics from In-Stat have shown that the worldwide subscriber rate of broadband is likely to slow down over the next four years. The report shows that the number of consumers and businesses with broadband increased to 763 million in 2010, following 25% growth in both 2007 and...


Qualcomm set to buy WiFi specialist Atheros for $3.1 billion - 06.01.11: Qualcomm is set to buy WiFi specialist Atheros in a $3.1 billion deal. The transaction has been agreed by the boards of each company and should be complete by half way through this year. Qualcomm is hopeful that they will be able to expand the use of their products by making the purcha...


Qwest and CenturyLink Merger Going Ahead - 30.12.10: The planned merger between Qwest and CenturyLink has reached agreement after Washington state officials placed conditions on the deal. The companies have agreed to invest $80 million in broadband infrastructure over the next five years and will freeze rates on some business services fo...


Quarter of US Residents "Couldn't Live" Without Super Fast Broadband - 23.12.10: The FCC has passed new guidelines for broadband in a move which has been branded as being a two tier system. It is thought that Internet providers will be able to develop fast lines for services like video and slower ones for general services. Mobile phone carriers have been exempted f...


Google Contemplates 1,100 Communities for Fiber Optic Internet - 16.12.10: Google has announced this week that they need more time to decide which cities will get their super fast broadband service. The way that they select the city has not changed and the company has simply stated that they need more time to decide. The level of interest has been beyond thei...


Definition of "High Speed" Broadband Changed - 09.12.10: Latest data from the FCC suggests that 68% of US broadband connections are too slow at less than 3Mbps to technically qualify as a high speed service. The FCC recently changed the definition of broadband to minimum speeds of 4Mbps. 49% of connections are slower than 1Mbps. It is though...


Net Neutrality? Verizon, AT&T and Comcast Add Their Neutral Advice - 02.12.10: It has been reported by Bloomberg news that AT&T have met with the FCC more than any other provider regarding the changes to net neutrality rules. It is thought that the several meetings between AT&T's Jim Cicconi and the FCC could lead to undue influence being exerted by the provider....


Verizon FiOS Internet speed increased to 150Mbps - 25.11.10: Verizon is tripling the top download speeds of its FiOS Internet service to 150 Mbps. The new speed will cost around $200 a month depending on the length of the contract and if it is bundled with other services. The speed is faster than that offered by Cablevision and Comcast who are c...


Verizon and AT&T Against Signal Boosters - 18.11.10: CTIA - The Wireless Association has filed a complaint with the FCC over the use of signal boosters which improve network signals for people in areas with poor reception. The CTIA works on behalf of cellular service providers has asked for tighter regulation of the devices. Boosters hav...


As Fiber Optic Internet Booms, Why Are Some People Still Stuck With Dial-Up? - 11.11.10: A new survey published by the US Department of Commerce and the national Telecommunications and Information Administration has found that almost two thirds of American households now have broadband access. This is up from 51% in 2007. The survey of 54,000 households was carried out nea...

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