Verge is reporting that Roku and Time Warner have announced that the cable company’s app—which offers up more than 300 channels of live TV—is coming to the little purple puck. That essentially turns the $50 streaming device into a full-on cable box. More »
If there’s one (of many things) customers don’t like seeing on their monthly statement, it’s a frivolous charge. It’s not surprising that when Time Warner started sending out notifications alerting customers to a monthly $3.95 modem rental fee, the results were less than enthusiastic. Now the company is being hit with a class action lawsuit in New York and New Jersey.
The basis for the lawsuit is the claim that Time Warner failed to follow its own policy, which states that customers will be given a 30-day notice before prices are increased. The fee went into effect back on October 15, however, netting the company approximately $40 million per month. The company plans to use the additional revenue for infrastructure and service improvements.
Customers were given the option to buy their own modemn as a way to avoid the monthly rental fee. There’s a catch, however; only devices that Time Warner approves can be used, with every option costing more than it would to rent a modem. The lawsuit alleges that customers who don’t want to buy a more expensive option are being forced to pay a monthly fee on old, outdated equipment.
Said Steven Wittels, one of the lawyers involved, “It’s just a scam to increase revenue.” Meanwhile, lawyer Richard Roth says, “You can’t do this to the little guy.” According to Roth, the addition of the fee was not only a breaking of contract, but also consumer fraud. The lawsuit requests that the fee be blocked in both states.
[via ars technica]
Time Warner hit with class action suit over $4 fee is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Pervasively unreliable Time Warner Cable surprised its New York customers with a postcard in the mail declaring they’ll have to pay $4 to rent the cable modem you need for its piss poor internet service. And now TWC is being sued for the stunt. More »
A few months ago, Google introduced its own unique fiber optic TV and internet service by launching it exclusively in Kansas City, MO and Kansas City, KS. However, the company didn’t just pick the two cities at random. Google was given a number of incentives by both cities, and now AT&T and Time Warner are coming forward and demanding that they receive the same incentives as well in the Kansas City area.
Google was allowed to skirt different regulations and be provided with special privileges such as discounted services, free fiber and access to government employees in government buildings. However, AT&T and Time Warner are looking to get that same deal with their respective services as well. It’s said that the two companies are negotiating with Kansas City officials for an agreement that would grant the two companies the same benefits Google received.
A Time Warner spokesman said that the incentives Google received put them “at a competitive advantage compared with not just us but also the other competitors in the field.” The spokesman also stated, “We’re happy to compete with Google, but we’d just like an even playing field.” We see where they’re coming from, and we think their request for the same benefits as Google is certainly reasonable.
In exchange for the benefits, the two cities are requesting that the AT&T and Time Warner improve their community services to be on par with Google. While AT&T has not announced its progress, Time Warner has apparently already made a deal with Kansas City, MO. It’s said that Time Warner has improved its service’s speed and performance in the area, and will be getting discounts and benefits from the local government.
[via Wall Street Journal]
AT&T and Time Warner want Google Fiber Kansas City deal too is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
It seems that over the weekend, subscribers of Time Warner’s ISP service have been faced with Xbox Live connectivity issues, where some gamers claim that the outage is already in its second day, leaving them with a Xbox Live-less weekend. Come to think of it, that is not an entirely bad thing at all, considering how one could have spent that time connecting with people in the real world, you know – the flesh and blood kind of variety.
Good thing Microsoft did step forward to say that they are already aware of the situation, and claimed that this particular outage affected only a “subset” of users in multiple states. No idea on whether the outage itself applies to specific services such as ADSL or cable, or is it a random scourge among users.
The latest service update reads, “If you’re having issues connecting to Xbox LIVE and are using the Time Warner ISP, thank you for being patient and sticking with us while we work out the problem. Rest assured we are still working hard alongside Time Warner to fix it as quickly as we can. We will continue to update you as new information becomes available.” Go on then, make as much as possible of whatever there is left of the weekend instead of mourning over a weekend without Xbox Live.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Xbox LIVE down, Skyrim Hearthfire release to blame?, 2012 Xbox LIVE Update Public Beta looks for more testers,
If Apple TV is anything like the a la carte channels as apps dream we’ve hoped for, it could be amazing. But according to comments from Time Warner Cable president and COO Rob Marcus we might never be liberated from our cable providers. More »
When it first landed on the Kindle Fire, HBO Go for Android tablets seemed like a dead cert. And, sure enough, it wasn’t long before the service found its way on to slates with version 4.x, with one minor exclusion — those running Jelly Bean. Well, version 1.7.1 puts that all in the past, and now means the full gamut of Android users (unless you never made it past Donut) can join in the fun. Reading this on your Nexus 7? Make haste toward the source link for the download.
HBO Go 1.71 update adds support for Jelly Bean devices originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Sep 2012 13:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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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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The executives at Verizon are likely jumping for joy today, as the FCC has approved the company’s planned spectrum acquisition. Verizon will be purchasing spectrum licenses from SprectrumCo, which is a joint venture between a number of big cable companies, including Comcast and Time Warner. It’s paying a lot of money for access to that AWS spectrum as well, as the total price comes in at a whopping $3.9 billion.
Naturally, Verizon plans to use this freshly-acquired spectrum to expand its 4G services, but now that it has acquired the spectrum it wanted, it will be licensing out its lower A and B block spectrum to other companies. One of the companies that will licensing spectrum from Verizon is T-Mobile, which plans a roll out of 4G LTE for early 2013. In a statement, it was pretty easy to tell that Verizon president and CEO Dan Mead was eager to begin utilizing this new spectrum. “This purchase represents a milestone in the industry and we appreciate the FCC’s diligent work to review and approve the transaction,” he said. “We will work aggressively to ensure that we put this previously unused spectrum to use quickly to benefit customers.”
We’ve known about Verizon’s plan to buy up this unused spectrum since December, when it first noted it was interested in striking the deal. Given the number of companies involved the deal and the amount of money changing hands, the FCC had to become involved to make sure everything checked out. The FCC obviously doesn’t have the problem with the deal, announcing that Verizon has the green light to go ahead with the purchase today.
So, not only does this deal help Verizon greatly, but it will also help out other carriers and their customers. Verizon’s 4G LTE network already covers 75% of the United States, but with this new sale, Verizon will be able to give that a boost. Here’s hoping that Verizon begins its roll out as quickly as Mead’s comments suggest. Stay tuned, folks.
[via Android Community]
FCC approves Verizon’s $3.9 billion spectrum purchase is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
A standalone HBO Go service is the holy grail for cordcutters. It means liberation from cable forever. It’s never going to happen. Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes just told his investors in no uncertain terms that cordcutters don’t exist, and that forcing people to pay for cable to get HBO will work. Sadly, he’s probably right. More »
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