It looks like Wednesday’s internet slowdown in parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia may have been the result of sabotage, rather than the sort of accident that usually knocks out submarine cables. Read more »
The cable industry has tweaked its justification for capping broadband, but a report from the Open Technology Institute is having none of it. Read more »
Comcast’s purchase of the 49 percent of NBCUniversal that it didn’t already own was expected to take several years, but the cable provider said Tuesday it has bought the rest of the company for $16.7 billion. Read more at paidContent »
For the first time ever, the number of U.S. households paying for TV service will go down. The news comes as a tipping point in consumers’ struggles to break away from a TV industry that forces them to buy bundles of channels. Read more at paidContent »
Time Warner already offers a network of 50,000 hotspots through its work with the CableWiFi consortium, but its Wi-Fi network, which it offers free to broadband customers, is about to get a lot bigger with the help of WeFi. Read more »
There are more than 80 million broadband subscribers in the US, a sign that the market is getting saturated. It is not a surprise that the growth of new broadband subscribers has started to slow. So far this year, we have seen 200,000 fewer new additions. Read more »
AT&T is going all-in on IP – the Internet Protocol, and cutting the cord with its past. Instead, it will push newer, faster broadband via a hybrid of fiber-and-copper technologies. And what that means is end of the line for classic DSL. Nothing wrong with it. Read more »
The Justice Department is giving Verizon clearance to close its $3.9 billion acquisition of the cable companies’ 4G airwaves. While it is imposing conditions on their joint-marketing agreements — basically non-compete pacts — to resell each others wireline and wireless services, the concessions are relatively minor. Read more »
Apple is talking to some of the biggest U.S. cable providers, but no deals are in place, according to the WSJ. Apple has an uphill battle ahead in order to catch up with Microsoft, who’s been able to woo cable companies to its own set-top box. Read more »
After more than a week of public squabbling and dark channels, DirecTV and Viacom have a new licensing deal that restores all 26 of the channels — and leaves open the possibility that premium channel Epix will show up on the satellite operator. Read more at paidContent »
In a surprise move, the National Cable and Telecommunication Association used the results of today’s FCC report on broadband quality to congratulate cable … and to acuse Google and Netflix of slowing down the user experience. Here’s what’s behind its crazy claims. Read more »
Regulators should view Verizon planned pact with cable as a merger, not as a joint venture, argues the Consumer Federation of America. Seen in that light, the CFA said, the government will have little choice but to reject Verizon’s acquisition of the cable operators’ 4G spectrum. Read more »
For the first time in the digital age one U.S. network has complete rights across platforms. ESPN will live stream 800 hours+ on broadband network ESPN3, plus ESPN and ESPN2 via Watch ESPN, And it’s only for subscribers. Tennis Everywhere, as long as someone pays. Read more at paidContent »
Cable continues to crush telcos when it comes to stealing broadband customers, according to data out from the Leichtman Research Group. The analyst firm noted that the U.S. market added 1.3 million new subscribers for a total of nearly 80 million subscriptions. Read more »
Arris and Kabel Deutschland, Germany’s largest cable service provider, have managed to field test cable equipment that delivers fiber-like speeds of 4.7 gigabits per second. While those speeds aren’t for the real world, it shows that cable can hold its ground with fiber. Read more »
The adoption of tablets, social media and new interfaces and the changing nature of the TV itself mean the digital living room will continue on its path of rapid change, thanks to new ways of creating, viewing, bundling, distributing and selling content. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
A survey of the top 10 publicly traded cable, satellite and telco TV services providers reveals video subscriber growth of only around 494,000 in the first quarter. First-quarter subscriber growth among these companies was over 900,000 just four years ago. Read more at paidContent »
Belying several earlier research studies, which said growth of U.S. multi-channel subscriptions has slowed significantly but not stopped, Nielsen’s latest “Cross-Platform Report” says the number of U.S. homes paying a multi-channel provider for TV services last year actually declined by 1.5 million, or about 1.5 percent. Read more at paidContent »
With initiatives like TV Everywhere and broadband usage caps, is the cable industry biting the hands of the streaming video companies that are driving its most vibrant prospect for growth? Why the cable industry might consider enabling Netflix and YouTube, not hindering them. Read more at paidContent »
The U.S. is falling in the quality of broadband its ISPs are offering, although in the fourth quarter of 2011 that drop in speeds was seen by several other counties, with overall broadband speeds falling to a global average 2.3 Mbps from the previous quarter. Read more »
NimbleTV, a New York start-up, is looking to make good on the promise of TV Everywhere by offering an online TV platform that allows a customer of a paid TV subscription plan to get their content streamed to them wherever they are. Read more »
A new study predicts $200 bills for the pay-TV portion of your cable bill by 2020. Here’s how the cable companies are using both a carrot and a stick to keep pay TV necessary in an IP age. Can government or consumers stop them? Read more »
Wednesday’s Senate hearing on Verizon’s spectrum deal with the cable operators certainly isn’t going to be a love fest. Verizon and Comcast will square off not only against its toughest critics – The Free Press and the RCA – but the unions as well. Read more »
While cable operators and networks continue to downplay the effect of cord cutting, in Deloitte’s State of the Media Democracy survey, the firm reports that 9 percent of respondents have already canceled their cable subscriptions, with another 11 percent saying they are considering doing so. Read more »
Lots of people may be on vacation right now, but Kickstarter isn’t. The crowdfunding site has some great new Apple-related accessories that could be just what the doctor ordered if you’re flush with post-Christmas cash or a guilty indulgence if shopping cleaned you out. Read more »
Verizon has offered three cable companies a total of $3.6 billion for spectrum that Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks were planning to use for their own mobile play, and it’s unlikely that the Federal Communications Commission will do anything to stop it. Read more »
I live in a constant nightmare of wrangling cables. Any time someone suggests a solution that might cut down on the number of cables I have to deal with on any given day, I’m all ears. That’s the case with Innergie’s new Magic Cable Duo and Trio. Read more »
The FCC’s plan to take the funding program that provides telephone service to rural areas and upgrade it for the 21st century will soon become law, as universal service fund reform hits the Federal Register. Here’s what the plan means for consumers, telcos and innovation. Read more »
Almost a third of U.S. households don’t subscribe to broadband, and it’s driving the government nuts. According to an report out today 71 percent of Americans are online, and the rest don’t want it or find it too expensive. And yes, 3 percent can’t get it. Read more »
When it comes to broadband, gigabit per second speeds are all the rage. Large broadband providers in the US have started showing off their gigabit efforts But what is this speed good for? Kevin Lo, Google’s fiber access program chief says “new things.” Read more »
Apple snuck in another new product Tuesday, and it isn’t nearly as flashy as anything else it unveiled. The new Apple iPhone Micro USB Adapter allows for charging and syncing via micro USB, but it’s EU only. Why not let North America in on the deal? Read more »
In the fight for new subscribers, cable companies are winning on broadband and telcos are winning over TV viewers. But while telcos are taking IPTV subs, they are losing the overall war on digital voice and broadband — so their TV victory may be a Pyrrhic one. Read more »
Is broadband one step in the economic value chain or the only step? ISPs have decided it’s the only value and want to charge based on usage. A better model might recognize it is just one element and rethink how it’s offered. Read more »
Google rocked the mobile world on Monday, August 15, with the news that it will buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, marking a 63-percent premium for the handset manufacturer. It’s a move that ushers Google into the exclusive club of companies that control both the hardware and software elements of their smartphone offerings, and it will enable Google to design handsets that are more closely integrated with Android. However, the deal doesn’t come without its risks, and it remains to be seen just how it will affect other handset makers, competition from Microsoft and the crucial patent issues currently surrounding Google. Companies mentioned in this report include Apple, Research In Motion and Samsung. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Google’s planned buy of Motorola Mobility is about the patents and the war of mutual destruction in the mobile space. We get that, but it’s also about TV and carriers and the convergence of broadband, data and action in ways that change our lives. Read more »
Does your Cablevision Internet connection feel a little slow in the evening hours? Turns out you are not alone: The FCC’s new broadband report shows that Cablevision delivers less than 60 percent of its advertised speed during peak hours. Most other ISPs fared significantly better. Read more »
Comcast will show off a 1 gigabit per second connection on Thursday at The Cable Show in Chicago according to reports. An industry blog reports the nation’s top broadband provider would show off the gigabit connection and launch a symmetrical 100 Mbps speed tier. Read more »
Netflix execs may insist publicly that they’re no threat to cable, but there’s plenty of evidence that the company’s subscription service and pay TV offerings are squarely competing for the eye balls and subscription dollars of the very same audience. In other words: It’s on! Read more »
The cable business isn’t going to cede its share of the broadband market by waiting around for coaxial cable to become obsolete, and now cable providers won’t have to make an expensive transition to a fiber-to-the-home infrastructure to achieve gigabit networks. Read more »
Comcast updated its Xfinity app to include support for iPhone streaming. The update is a welcome one, but I wonder why the iPhone always gets treated like a second-class citizen when it comes to streaming video. It’s a case of providers missing the big (smaller) picture. Read more »
