FCC measures US wireline advertised broadband speeds, fiber dominates cable and DSL

Ever wonder if the speeds your ISP advertises are actually what you’re getting while reloading Engadget all day? The FCC did, and decided to team up with 13 major broadband providers in the US to test how they performed from February to June of this year. Notably, during peak hours the average continuous download speeds of fiber connections were 14 percent faster than advertised, while cable and DSL were slower than claimed by 8 and 18 percent, respectively. Upload speeds also varied, with DSL again dipping the lowest at 95-percent of what’s advertised — might be time to ask your phone-based ISP for a partial refund, no? In addition to sustained speeds, the FCC analyzed consumer connections’ latency and the effect of ISP speed boost tech on activities like VoIP, gaming, and video streaming.

In concluding its research, the Commission noted that it should be easy to get tools in users’ hands for keeping better tabs on ISP-provided services, without needing to contact customer frustrations relations. The study is chock full of even more graphs and stats, which you’ll find by hitting that source link below. Now, if only we could get those speeds on par with our friends across the Atlantic.

Continue reading FCC measures US wireline advertised broadband speeds, fiber dominates cable and DSL

FCC measures US wireline advertised broadband speeds, fiber dominates cable and DSL originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 07:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Boingo announces streamlined WiFi data plans with support for any two devices

Boingo’s WiFi plans may come in handy for frequent travelers, but they haven’t exactly been the most straightforward — especially if you’re using multiple devices. The company’s gone some way towards simplifying things today, however, announcing that it’s revised its unlimited WiFi data plans so that you can now use any two WiFi-enabled devices (as opposed to just two laptops) as part of the basic plan, and up to five more for an additional five bucks apiece. Unfortunately, none of those changes extend to the company’s recent partnership with GoGo for in-flight internet access, which you still have to cough up the full price for.

Continue reading Boingo announces streamlined WiFi data plans with support for any two devices

Boingo announces streamlined WiFi data plans with support for any two devices originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Aug 2011 21:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Murder by Facebook

Six months after the murder of 19-year old student Jason Rodriguez, Orlando police have finally arrested a suspect. Six months. That’s how long it took to untangle the digital detritus of one of the most twisted internet-enabled crimes in memory. More »

Xcom Global’s Euro SIM solves your European data conundrum: $13 per day, works in 40 countries

Say it with us: Hallelujah! It’s a problem that BMW European Delivery owners (not to mention gap-year backpackers and generic business travelers) have had for eons, and while the EU seems to have the whole “one currency” thing under control, the lack of a “one data plan” has continued to break the backs of connected travelers. No more. Xcom Global — the company that revolutionized the art of staying connected abroad — has just done the same thing for those planning their next Eurotrip. The newly-launched Euro SIM enables US-based jetsetters to rent a single device that’ll provide unlimited data access in a staggering 40 nations across the pond. Everywhere from Iceland to San Marino is covered, including 20 extra countries that weren’t covered even last week. Folks can pick up a MiFi for $14.95 per day (and yeah, that covers all 40 countries!) or a USB WWAN model for $12.95 a day, and if you happen to scoot over to a locale in Europe that isn’t covered, you’ll still be able to get online at a cost of one cent per KB. Hit the source link to find out more, and ping your best friend’s travel agent to set those long-backburnered plans in motion.

Continue reading Xcom Global’s Euro SIM solves your European data conundrum: $13 per day, works in 40 countries

Xcom Global’s Euro SIM solves your European data conundrum: $13 per day, works in 40 countries originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Fiber puts boots on the ground, begins detail engineering in Kansas Cities

We’ve come a long way since Google first started taking about launching a fiber-based ISP — from beta tests, to hopeful communities, to Topeka fools day, to selecting not one, but two Kansas Cities. Now, it’s “boots on the ground,” time according to the Google Fiber blog: detail engineering starts now. In the coming weeks, Kansas City residents (presumably on both sides of the Kansas / Missouri border) can expect to see El Goog’s engineers measuring phone poles, gathering geographical data, and asking hard-hitting questions, like “What is your address?” All this footwork will help Google get a head start on building that sweet, ultra-high-speed gigabit network. Not the most glamorous bit of Google magic we’ve ever seen, but it’s still exciting to hear that preliminary work has begun. Of course, it would be even more exciting if this were coming where we lived.

Google Fiber puts boots on the ground, begins detail engineering in Kansas Cities originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jul 2011 02:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gig. U hopes to bring Gigabit networks and straight cash, homey, to university communities

Familiar with Johnny Appleseed? He who traipsed ’round the country with a sack ‘o seeds on his shoulder, planting trees hither and yon leaving apple orchards blooming in his wake? Gig. U is similar, only it’s a project that aims to plant Gigabit networks in 29 collegiate communities to facilitate research, attract start-ups, and stimulate local economies. The plan is just getting underway, and the schools in question — including Virginia Tech, the University of Hawaii, and the University of Alaska — are asking private telcos and companies to help make their high-speed dreams a reality. In addition to benefiting the immediate areas, Gig. U sees these swift new networks functioning as hubs in a faster nationwide broadband system. The colleges claim that construction of these new information superhighways won’t start for several years, so it’ll be some time before they can help elevate us from our current state of broadband mediocrity. Chop, chop, guys.

Gig. U hopes to bring Gigabit networks and straight cash, homey, to university communities originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 23:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Biggest Lie the Internet Ever Told: Free Everything, All the Time

Since you clicked your first link, you were promised one thing about the internet: you may have to pay a cover charge, but once you’re in, everything’s free. Except that suddenly doesn’t seem as true anymore. You know what? Good. More »

Akamai sees internet speeds climb, Asia still dominates broadband arms race

Average Broadband Speeds

Akamai’s annual State of the Internet report is loaded with all sorts of interesting, if not terribly surprising, tidbits about both broad and narrowband connections around the globe. The big news? The world-wide average connection speed has jumped 23-percent from last year, to 2.1Mbps. Speeds in the good ol’ US-of-A were up 15-percent for an average of 5.3Mbps, though we still languish in 14th place on the list of fastest countries. As expected, Asia continues to dominate the speed race, with 61 cities in Japan alone making the top 100 list. If you want the fastest connections the States have to offer you’ll have to head for San Jose or Riverside in CA or the home of the Wu (that’s Staten Island for those of you not in the know), which all tied with an average 7.8Mbps connection. Check out the PR after the break and click the more coverage link to download some charts.

Continue reading Akamai sees internet speeds climb, Asia still dominates broadband arms race

Akamai sees internet speeds climb, Asia still dominates broadband arms race originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jul 2011 21:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netswipe turns your webcam into a credit card reader, brings POS payments to the desktop


Credit card fraud costs the banking industry billions of dollars every year, and with companies yet to find an entirely secure system for processing payments online, there’s no end in sight for unauthorized transactions. Jumio hopes to bring both security and convenience to the world of online payments, however, with its webcam-based Netswipe secure card reader solution. The system replicates the point of sale (POS) transactions you experience when making in-store purchases, prompting cardholders to scan the front on their credit card, then enter their CVV code using a tamperproof mouse-controlled interface. We’re not sure how the software is able to distinguish a physical credit card from, say, a photocopy of a card, but it certainly sounds more secure than the standard input form we use today. It also reduces card number theft from insecure forms and website spoofing, by verifying details through a live video stream. Jump past the break for the full press release, along with video overviews of Netswipe and Jumio, which recently secured $6.5 million in initial funding and is backed by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin.

Continue reading Netswipe turns your webcam into a credit card reader, brings POS payments to the desktop

Netswipe turns your webcam into a credit card reader, brings POS payments to the desktop originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jul 2011 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Virgin Media testing 1.5Gbps internet for lucky Londonites

Virgin Media

Jealous of Comcast customers with their 105Mbps cable hook ups or those lucky residents of the Kansas cities relishing in Google’s 1Gbps service? Well add Londonites to the list of people that drive you to indulging in one of the seven deadly sins. Virgin Media has finally started testing its DOCSIS2-powered 1.5Gbps network in the heart of merry ol’ England. Right now it’s being enjoyed by a group of test sites around Old Street that also get a 150Mbps upload connection. Virgin claims it’s the fastest broadband in the world, which may be true if you’re not counting lab experiments. The really good news is that it’s based on the same tech already delivering 100Mbps to residents across the country so, if the trial goes well, it should be trivial to deliver these mind numbing speeds to the rest of its customers. PR after the break.

Continue reading Virgin Media testing 1.5Gbps internet for lucky Londonites

Virgin Media testing 1.5Gbps internet for lucky Londonites originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jul 2011 18:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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