Broadband

An interview with XO Communications VP on New SIP Trunking Solution

Leslie Ferry — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:58:23 -0500

This week we caught up with Vince Margiotta from XO Communications
to learn more about their new Enterprise SIP Communications Solution
for Multi-Location Businesses. Vince talks about what makes this new
offering compelling to large companies in today’s market. He expands on
how it streamlines, simplifies and reduces costs to enable businesses
to better implement and manage their communications platforms. Please
click the link below to listen to the interview.

Google Plays Catch-Up in Japan With New TV Spots and Free WiFi

Kit Eaton — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 09:24:24 -0500

Google's offering free Wi-fi access in cafes--but not in the U.S. The company is busy wooing customer affections in another country: Japan, where it's losing the search engine battle.

FCC Starts Up Its Radio White Space System, New Wireless Tech En-Route

Kit Eaton — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 08:42:31 -0500

VoIP’s Success in 2009 and Beyond

Leslie Ferry — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:00:19 -0500

At this time of year we’re all evaluating the current year’s results and planning how best to move forward in 2010. Overall IP communications growth has been very positive.

Sezmi Lets You Ditch Cable and Go "Full Hulu"

Chris Dannen — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:58:47 -0500

A new standalone streaming TV service called Sezmi has launched a pilot program in LA, after announcing it had raised another $25 million in funding. So what is this thing?

The Powers or the People: GOP Rep. Tries to Delay FCC Vote on Who Owns the Web

Clay Dillow — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:31:01 -0400

With an FCC vote on net neutrality rules looming on Thursday, it would be a shame if partisan politics didn't come into play. But who will stand up to declare regulations barring Internet service providers from picking and choosing favorites "catastrophic?" Ah, thank you Texas Representative Joe Barton, we knew we could count on you.

People and Powers-That-Be Disagree on Broadband

Kit Eaton — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:54:47 -0400

Net neutrality: Like it or loathe it, you can't deny it's a hot topic at the moment.

ISPs to Add Mobile Broadband to Service Plans

Chris Dannen — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:22:49 -0400

Internet providers like Comcast and Time Warner are beginning to offer mobile 3G service as a bundle with home Internet, reports the New York Times. The goal: undercut wireless providers like Verizon and AT&T, who sell such services for around $60 a month.

Vote on the National Broadband Plan

Chris Dannen — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:55:30 -0400

On Friday, the FCC launched a new crowd-sourcing platform to try to generate some consensus on the direction of the agency's National Broadband Plan. Built by IdeaScale in the style of Digg and Reddit, popular voting-based social news sites, the new Broadband.gov presents users with a list of ideas to vote up or down. (Below, an Internet "splat-map" by jurvetson.)

Wireless Revenue to Overtake Wireline in 2014

Clay Dillow — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:59:21 -0400

Many would say the wireless era is already upon us, but soon it's going to be official. A study released today by research firm ATLANTIC-ACM shows that wireless revenues will overtake all wireline revenues by 2014.

As AT&T Struggles With 7.2mbps, Europe Rolls Out 21 mbps Mobile Broadband

Kit Eaton — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:31:40 -0400

AT&T is about to upgrade its cellphone network to 7.2 mega bits per second to support the tech in the new iPhone 3G S. But over in Portugal, where 7.2 mbps rates are already common, Vodafone's going for 21mbps.

Global Broadband Dongle Proves Verizon Is Merely After Your Cash

Kit Eaton — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:59:23 -0400

Verizon's just expanded its range of USB mobile broadband dongles--this new one is designed with the global traveler in mind. And while that may sound all nice and helpful, it's not necessarily. The annual fees tot up to $1,560.

WiGig is Another New Wi-Fi Standard, But At Least It's Fast

Kit Eaton — Fri, 08 May 2009 09:06:22 -0400

Gigabit speed Wi-fi--that's around ten times faster than current Wi-fi speeds--sounds all very groovy, and as everyone's file sizes rise while we all get used to HD video, faster Wi-fi is becoming a necessity. But the WiGig technology is just another new Wi-fi standard in waiting. Haven't we got enough already?

Cablevision vs. Verizon FiOS: The Battle for Fastest Internet Speeds Continues

Kit Eaton — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:12:11 -0400

Say what you like about the benefits of fiber-optic communications, and the future of home broadband: Cable hasn't given up the ghost just yet. Next month Cablevision will unveil its top-tier broadband service that speeds along at a truly blistering 101 Mbps.

Time Warner's Antics in Wilson, N.C. Give Another Reason to Snip the Cable

Kit Eaton — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 07:04:20 -0400

Ah, Time Warner Cable--friendly supplier of your choice of cable TV and broadband internet. Or, as residents in Wilson, North Carolina are finding out, not friendly at all: TWC is trying to close their community-based, cheap, and efficient cable/ISP service. Why? Because it can't compete.

Lenovo to Release 3G Netbook

Chris Dannen — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 03:05:42 -0400

A Lenovo netbook with a nine-inch screen is making its way through FCC approval as we speak, according to several blogs. And unless Lenovo is populating a seriously redundant product line, this one probably has a new trick up its sleeve: 3G wireless. Similar netbooks sans 3G, Lenovo's S9 and S10, were approved by the FCC last summer.

This Might Be Big: Verizon Fios Plans to Green Your Home with its Remote Control

Ariel Schwartz — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:54:48 -0400

The other day at the Green:Net 09 conference, I spoke to someone who predicted that home-energy management systems would never take off until we could easily have a remote control to automate home appliances.

How Do We Fix Crappy U.S. Broadband?

Chris Dannen — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 12:49:25 -0500

According to a recent study, broadband access in the U.S. has dropped to 19th place worldwide. The recent passage of the stimulus bill will provide about $7 billion to improve it. But why is U.S. broadband so crappy in the first place? And can government intervention improve it?

Which Senators Are Fighting Broadband Funding?

Chris Dannen — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:23:10 -0500

As the President's stimulus package approaches $1 trillion, the Senate is looking to cut the fat. In the senators' sights: about $6 billion in funding for expanded broadband access, much of it for wireless access in rural areas, among $90 billion of total cuts (as of Thursday night).

Depending on your political allegiances, here are the people to whom you can direct your letters of fury, or your calls of thanks, for trying to cut out Internet access as a priority in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

ESPN Scores With Broadband TV Network

Bill Barol — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:45:38 -0500

Damon Phillips
Vice President, ESPN360.com

ESPN
> Bristol, Connecticut

Damon Phillips, 36, joined ESPN a year ago to run its on-demand broadband sports channel. Previously, he founded SportsTVinsider.com, which let users create personalized sports viewing schedules.

The Six Tech Marvels We Had Better See In 2009

Chris Dannen — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 17:05:49 -0500

As 2008 comes to a close, here are the six tech marvels that are ready to explode into ubiquity. And after a year of almost-breakthroughs -- fast-but-spotty 3G; cheap-but-slow netbooks -- we deserve them. After all, this is the future, isn't it?

Free National Wi-Fi

So the U.S, is Now Top of Internet Class?

Christopher Parente — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:28:07 -0400

European researchers last month issued a report that portrayed the U.S. Internet infrastructure in a positive light. The study was commissioned by the World Economic Forum, and conducted by Insead, a business school near Paris. It ranked the United States fourth, behind just Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland.

This struck me as strange. Turns out the study uses an index of 68 variables, pulling in things like political system and regulatory environment to reach the ranking. Here's an article from John Markoff of the Times: