Hasta La Gadget!

In light of Hurricane Sandy and other recent natural disasters, the FCC is considering having carriers provide information on how well their networks performed in a disaster. The requirement would only concern major natural disasters, and will provide consumers with relevant information, such as how their carrier performed compared with other carriers. The issue is one of several slated for discussion during several hearings the FCC has scheduled throughout 2013.

The Federal Communications Commission has several hearings set to take place throughout next year concerning national disasters, the latest of which was Hurricane Sandy. The series will kick off in New York, and will then take place in various locations across the nation. In addition to talk about having carriers report on their performance, the agency will also discuss disaster preparation for carriers, service provider cooperation, how to speed up recovery, and better backup power systems.

Several carriers and cable providers experienced outages during Hurricane Sandy, including T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, and Time Warner. The agency noted that several companies shared their resources, including cellular sites, during the process, and questioned how such sharing can be better facilitated in the future. Another major focus of the hearings will be backup power, which is an integral part of keeping systems up and functioning.

Said the FCC, “Users of communications services appear to lack information about the performance of the services they pay for … Would it help consumers to know the performance and reliability of the companies’ service or devices as compared to competitors during past emergencies?” The agency’s chairman said the disasters in recent history have prompted a need for “ideas and actions to ensure the resilience of communications networks.”

[via PC World]

FCC considers making carriers report their disaster performance quality is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Anyone familiar with the unglamorous circumstances of Elvis Presley’s passing might agree he needed a little more fiber in his diet. That would’ve been the case if ‘the King’ was of this generation, as the state he called home is pretty well wired these days, and even more so now EarthLink has completed its “Eastern Tennessee Broadband Project.” Over 500 miles of fiber optics have been installed in “underserved areas,” offering up to 10 Gbps speeds to businesses and institutions, with some ‘last mile’ providers already claiming their stake. Bon appétit, Tennessee.

[Image credit: Royce DeGrie / Getty Images]

Continue reading EarthLink completes fiber broadband rollout in Eastern Tennessee

Filed under: Networking, Internet

EarthLink completes fiber broadband rollout in Eastern Tennessee originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Nov 2012 08:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gogo, provider of the wonderful convenience known as in-flight wireless Internet, has launched ATG-4, its latest connectivity technology. The service will roll out to Delta Airlines, US Airways, and Virgin America. The new service will allow more fliers to access the web while offering a more stable browsing experience than previously offered.

ATG-4 provides speeds up to 9.8mbps, which, according to the announcement, is three times the speed of the previous offering of 3.1mbps. Adding to the mix are directional antennas, dual modems in the aircraft, and the use of EVDO Rev. B. The service is expected to be available on American Airlines as well in 2013.

Gogo’s President and CEO Michael Small offered this statement. “This significant step in Gogo’s technology roadmap allows us to better address the demand for in-air connectivity services. We continue to find ways to implement new technologies that bring more bandwidth to the aero market … ATG-4 planes will have improved that service today – especially on transcontinental routes.”

The company plans to roll out ATG-4 on hundreds of planes by the end of next year. Says Gogo, installation is typically an overnight process, and includes the additional of one antenna on each side of the plane, as well as a modem and the latest version of the software. Over 150 of the company’s cell towers have already been upgraded to support ATG-4.

Gogo launches ATG-4 in-air connectivity is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

AT&T will pump $14bn into 4G and wireline expansion over the next three years, the carrier has announced, in an attempt to blanket 300m people with LTE by the end of 2014. The frantic deployment will see the lion’s share – $8bn – spent on wireless, with $6bn on wireline initiatives, and has been dubbed Project Velocity IP (VIP); AT&T will also increasingly look to get consumers and businesses wanting broadband connections online via 4G when wired hook-ups are impractical.

So far, AT&T’s goal has been to get 250m people covered by LTE service by the end of next year. This new target extends that by a further 50m over 12 months; when it comes to the 22 states AT&T has wireline service, the carrier says it plans to cover 99-percent of customer locations.

Internet connections, meanwhile, will get faster than before, with Project VIP targeting up to 75Mbps U-verse rates and up to 45Mbps U-vers IPSDLAM rates. AT&T will also invest in wirelessly-connected cars, delivering real-time traffic updates and entertainment to drivers, as well as feeding vehicle diagnostics back to manufacturers.

Part of AT&T’s VIP push will include adopting new technologies, including smaller cellphone base stations. These “small cell” installations will also be accompanied by new macro cells and additional distributed antenna systems, something AT&T promises will increase speed and stability for wireless users.

AT&T throws $14bn at Project VIP to boost LTE and U-verse is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

LTE has gone live in the UK, with EE opening up its 4G doors to subscribers hoping for a little extra boost in their smartphone or mobile hotspot. The launch – which has hardly left rival UK carriers happy, waiting as they are for more spectrum before they stage their own LTE deployment in mid-2013 – sees smartphone plans from £36 per month with a device, while EE is also offering fiber broadband for homes and businesses.

That fiber option promises up to 76 Mb/sec, with plans starting from £25 per month. There’s also the promise of a £5 monthly discount if you’re also an LTE subscriber, while EE also offers a regular (i.e. non-fiber) broadband package priced from £5 per month, for those with more humble speed needs.

All of EE’s mobile plans come with unlimited calls and messaging, though some LTE-hopefuls were disappointed by the data limits the carrier had opted for. £36 gets you a mere 500MB, while bundles up to 8GB are available; EE says it has made for better value by throwing in numerous extras, such as free movie rentals and cloud backup for devices.

EE Film isn’t just for EE subscribers, either; the app is available for subscribers of other networks, too. It’s currently to be found in the Google Play store, though is also promised for iOS at some point in time. More information here.

EE lights up 4G LTE and fiber in UK is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.