Google Selects Kansas City for 1GB Fiber to the Home Test: [31st Mar 2011]

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 their fiber project. Kansas City can expect to see the project get started straight away and the first users will have better broadband by 2012. Google have said that their choice was influenced by the ability to build a relationship with local government and community organizations. Google have also reiterated that they have no intention of becoming an ISP and this is about testing their technology.


It has been alleged that Verizon has overcharged 133,000 customers in Florida, Texas and California after the wrong instructions were entered into a computer. Each customer was charged a late fee of $7 or 1.5% of their bill which resulted in huge profits for Verizon. The company has said that those affected will be refunded by April, although there has been no mention of interest. However it has been pointed out that if the regulator had discovered the mistake and insisted on refunds, interest would have to be paid. This is not the first time that Verizon has made a billing error. They recently settled with the FCC for $25 million to pay back customers for a data fee for data not used. However this amount was unlikely to be for the whole bill.


The AT&T deal to buy T-Mobile is being looked at by the NY Attorney General's office as there are fears it could result in increased prices for consumers. The $39 billion deal would make AT&T the top carrier in the US and has caused a number of high profile people to voice their concerns. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has commented that they will review the merger and for being anti-competitive. He points out that cell phone usage is no longer a luxury in the US and it is not the right time for the prices to rise in this sector. It has also been pointed out that some states have fewer options for their carrier and would be even harder hit by a merger. He says he will be looking closely at the arguments for and against the merger. AT&T have claimed that the merger will result in an expending network and improve broadband services.


Time Warner Cable has been asked by a judge to reveal those who are making illegal downloads via their network. The district court judge has said that Time Warner's argument that the process would be costly and time consuming was not adequate and that they must comply with subpoenas which have been issued. Two subpoenas have been issued which will identify around 250 users.


A Time Warner Cable subscriber has been more than a little shocked by the size of his bill last month. Lt. Daniel DeVirgillio has been charged $16,409,107 after ordering the March Madness package. He was then forced to spend 40 minutes on the phone to the company to sort it out after it was discovered the company had even tried to bill the man's credit card for the full amount. TWC have said the problem was down to human error.


Students at a Boston college have been told that using a wireless router is the same as copyright infringement. It has been suggested that students with a router in their room may be leaving the way open for others to use the equipment for downloading illegally. While the report which is given to students suggests that things like file sharing and sending around songs via email would be infringing copyright, it has been pointed out that simply having a router is not akin to being involved in illegal activity.