Sep 05
The FCC is planning to test mobile broadband speeds across the entire US from September 21st, in order to provide consumers with detailed information and “spur competition among service providers.” More »
Sep 04
Just like the FCC is looking to the public to help define modern broadband, it’s similarly planning to arm citizens with more accurate information of mobile broadband speeds. The initiative is promoted as a natural extension of the Measuring Broadband America report, an annual publication of the FCC that currently only applies to wireline services. While still in the planning stages, the agency has already secured cooperation from CTIA and the major carriers. Come September 21st, the FCC will hold an open meeting to discuss the most appropriate methods for gathering and analyzing the data. It’ll likely be a rather dry affair, but if you’re really keen on attending, you’ll find the complete details after the break.
Continue reading FCC to begin testing and reporting mobile broadband performance
Filed under: Wireless, Internet, Mobile
FCC to begin testing and reporting mobile broadband performance originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 01:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Aug 29
Time Warner Cable expanding fiber broadband coverage in NYC, only businesses to benefit
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Google, we’re not in Kansas anymore, we’re in New York, where Time Warner Cable is planning to drop $25 million on expanding its (up to) 1Gbps fiber broadband infrastructure. Specifically, the additional network is hitting neglected areas in Brooklyn and Manhattan, but it’s not for general consumption — it’s strictly for businesses. Don’t feel too disheartened though — you might not be getting a slice of this particular fiber pie, but it’s all you can eat, all the time at the free WiFi buffet.
Filed under: Networking
Time Warner Cable expanding fiber broadband coverage in NYC, only businesses to benefit originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Aug 23
FCC wants to know if it’s too modest about broadband, gives chance to fight caps and slow speeds
Posted in: Today's Chili 
A common complaint with the FCC’s National Broadband Plan is its conservative definition of the broadband in question: many would argue that the 4Mbps baseline is an anachronism in an era of 4G, FiOS and Google Fiber. If you’ve ever wanted the FCC to up the ante, now’s your chance. The regulator wants comments on its definitions of fixed and mobile broadband to gauge whether real-world trends like multi-user streaming video should lead to raised expectations for internet providers. Ever been burnt by a too-low bandwidth cap? It’s open season on that area as well, with the FCC asking if it should define a minimum acceptable cap and possibly call for better limits than we see today. We just share GigaOM‘s wish that we could ask if every cap is even necessary, although the Department of Justice might be answering that for us. Americans have up until September 20th to make their voices heard, so get cracking if you’d like to set a higher bar.
Filed under: Cellphones, Networking, Internet
FCC wants to know if it’s too modest about broadband, gives chance to fight caps and slow speeds originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Aug 2012 00:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Aug 23
The FCC has been providing regular updates on the progress of broadband rollout in the United States for some time now, but it’s gone a bit further with for its latest Broadband Progress Report. It’s now also released in a new web-based interactive map that that lets you zoom in on broadband availability county-by-county to get a better picture of all that data, with details on things like population, income and access to different types of broadband provided for each area. In case you missed it, the report itself found that 19 million Americans lack access to any sort of fixed broadband service, and that a further 100 million haven’t subscribed to a broadband service even in areas where it is available. You can find an embedded version of the map after the break, or a larger version at the source link below.
Continue reading FCC releases interactive map for latest Broadband Progress Report
Filed under: Networking, Internet
FCC releases interactive map for latest Broadband Progress Report originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 20:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Aug 23
Stereotype-embracing ISP Plusnet has added a new tier of fibre-optic broadband, offering speeds up to 76Mb/s. The revamped Extra Fibre package now offers upload speeds of up to 19.5 Mb/s, with a 250GB monthly usage allowance, matching those offered by parent company BT. Of course, those of us who can’t even get ADSL2 will just have to watch on, with jealousy in our eyes.
Continue reading Plusnet pushes its UK-fibre-optic broadband to 76Mb/s
Filed under: Internet
Plusnet pushes its UK-fibre-optic broadband to 76Mb/s originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 06:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Aug 16
Dish Network’s nationwide satellite broadband service could be ready to launch soon
Posted in: Today's Chili 
While the various strands of Dish Network’s “Seinfeld strategy” have yet to come together officially, Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal are reporting it could be ready launch satellite-based high speed data services nationally as soon as September or October. This would be separate from the service based on ViaSat’s Exede that’s available in some areas, and Bloomberg‘s sources say it could accommodate up to 2 million customers right away through a satellite Echostar launched in June, although more satellites may be needed to add more customers. Other than hooking up data connections for customers in rural areas, it would let Dish compete directly with data / TV bundles offered by wired pay-TV providers. Of course, this is all dependent on a favorable ruling by the FCC on its technology — you can just ask LightSquared what happens if that doesn’t work out.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet
Dish Network’s nationwide satellite broadband service could be ready to launch soon originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 03:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Aug 16
People living in the sticks, rejoice! Bloomberg is reporting that Dish Network is planning to roll out a nationwide satellite broadband internet service —and promises speeds of between 5 and 15 megabits per second. More »
Aug 14
Phone companies see loss of broadband subscribers for first time in Q2, cable continues to gain
Posted in: Today's Chili 
It wasn’t all that long ago that the phone company was the source for internet access, first with traditional dial-up and later with DSL. That quickly began to change as cable companies started offering their own alternative, though, and the AP is now reporting that the second quarter of this year saw something of a milestone. According to its tally, the eight largest phone companies in the US lost a collective 70,000 broadband subscribers in Q2 (DSL or otherwise), while the four biggest cable companies continued to grow with 290,000 new subscribers. As it notes, AT&T is the main culprit for that overall decline, with it losing 96,000 broadband subscribers while the other phone companies all saw modest growth. It also notes that second quarter is a generally weak one for all broadband providers, what with college students cancelling their subscriptions before heading home — but, then again, this is the first time that the phone companies haven’t seen at least some growth during the period. Of course, this is also just home broadband we’re talking about — mobile broadband is another matter altogether.
Filed under: Internet
Phone companies see loss of broadband subscribers for first time in Q2, cable continues to gain originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Aug 2012 19:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Aug 08
Akamai: peak internet speeds jumped 25 percent year-to-year in Q1, Germany tops the mobile world
Posted in: Today's Chili 
If you thought world internet access speeds were facing a large-scale slowdown, you can stop fretting for now. Data from Akamai suggests that average speeds were just 2.6Mbps, but that was a healthy 14 percent improvement over the fall and a noticeable 25 percent better than early 2011. Average peak internet connection speeds surged just as much in the first quarter of this year: at 13.5Mbps, the average maximum was a 10 percent season-to-season boost and that same 25 percent versus a year before. The leaders remain Asian territories with that ideal mix of dense populations and high technology, culminating in Hong Kong’s blazing 49.3Mbps typical downlink. Akamai attributes much of the growth in peak speeds to an explosion in “high broadband” connections, where 10Mbps is the minimum — countries like Denmark, Finland, South Korea, Switzerland and the US roughly doubled their adoption of extra-fast access in the past year.
Before cheering too loudly, we’d point out that mobile speeds are still trudging along despite HSPA+ and LTE making their presences felt. The most consistent speed came from an unnamed German carrier, which neared 6Mbps; the best regular American rate was 2.5Mbps, which underscores how far even some of the most developed countries have to go. There’s also a clear gap in regular landline broadband quality if we go by the US’ own National Broadband Plan standards. Just 60 percent of US broadband is over the 4Mbps mark, putting the US at 14th in the global ranks. We’re hoping that projects like Google Fiber can raise expectations for everyone, but you can hit the source shortly to get Akamai’s full study.
Filed under: Wireless, Networking, Internet
Akamai: peak internet speeds jumped 25 percent year-to-year in Q1, Germany tops the mobile world originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Aug 2012 00:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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