Google Contemplates 1,100 Communities for Fiber Optic Internet: [16th Dec 2010]

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 their expectations and they have 1,100 communities to choose from. In a statement Google have said that they want to ensure they have made the right choice and hope to make an announcement in early 2011. Google will be using the chosen city or cities to test and study broadband and congestion and how it affects service delivery.


The FCC has announced it will holding an auction of sixteen licenses in the 700MHz spectrum. The auction will be held on the 19th July and it is expected that the amount raised should be at least $1.42 million. The spectrum in this range has been auctioned before but failed to sell or the sale fell through. 14 of the blocks are in the 704 - 710 and 734 - 740MHz range and just two are in the 2 - 6MHz range. These ranges are known as the B Block and the A Block respectively.


The FCC will be voting on net neutrality rules on the 21st December, but concern is being expressed that the public is unclear about what the new rules will be. There have been calls for the rules to be leaked and one commissioner from the FCC agrees. Meredith Attwell Baker has said that the agency needs to be transparent and inclusive and should put out a copy of the draft rules for public comment. She points out that the chairman did promise to be more open and transparent. AT&T have been meeting with the FCC regarding the plans, but it is unclear exactly what has been agreed.


One draft of the new FCC net neutrality rules has been seen by Senator Al Franken who has indicated that they are likely to make things worse. It is thought that the draft showed that usage based pricing will be allowed. Franken has commented that the rules may send signs to the industry that closing off the Internet was not prohibited. He believes that this could lead to discriminatory conduct on the Internet.


Time Warner Cable is to send their users a mail-shot which will inform readers that they can expect a number of price rises in the coming months. The mail will also point out all of the achievements the company has had in the past year to sweeten the blow. A spokesman from Time Warner Cable has said that the price increases reflect higher programming costs and improvements to service. He points out that further investments have been made. Installer visits are to rise by 50% and the general cost of getting cable is to rise by around 5%. DVR users can expect a $1 rise.


Sprint has released a statement this week which makes it clear they have no desire to buy out Clearwire, but had struck a deal with the company to allow them to reduce their voting rights to less than 50% without affecting their investment. This lessens the financial risk Clearwire would have if they default on their debt. Clearwire has taken on $1.33 billion in extra debt to finance their deployment of their Mobile WiMax network. Sprint have also announced that they will be upgrading their network which is thought to involve a migration to LTE.


It has emerged that Comcast has been carrying out tests on a new set top box which integrate Internet and video. There is no date set for release. The box will be the first time Comcast has integrated these services, but it is thought that full Internet browsing will not be supported. The set top box will place Comcast in a more competitive position compared to Verizon and AT&T who already have similar services.