08/06, 5:50pm
Comcast DOC 3 Ahead Sched
Comcast today revealed that the rollout of its much faster DOCSIS 3.0 cable Internet service is significantly ahead of its original timetable. The provider told BBR that while it had originally predicted covering 65 percent of its subscribers with the added speed by the end of this year, it now expects to reach 80 percent in the same timeframe. The next area to get a DOCSIS 3.0 upgrade should be made public in weeks, the company said.
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06/29, 4:15pm
Court reject RS-DVR appeal
The US Supreme Court today rejected an appeal by film studios and television networks of a New York court ruling that would allow a new type of digital video recorder service from Cablevision. A report says the justices refused to review a ruling made by a US Court of Appeals in New York that said Cablevision's proposed service would not directly infringe the copyrights of the media companies that produce the recorded movie and TV programs. No reason for the rejection was given.
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05/06, 8:55am
Virgin 200Mbps in UK
Virgin Media on Wednesday began an Ashford, UK trial of what it says is the fastest cable-based Internet service on Earth. Using a high-end implementation of the DOCSIS 3 cable modem standard, the carrier says it's offering 200Mbps downloads to 100 testers; the speed is faster than 160Mbps Japanese service and twice as fast as the 101Mbps Optimum Online service in the US. The bandwidth is said sustainably high enough that Virgin is testing streaming 3D and HD video online.
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05/02, 10:40am
Verizon Free Wi-Fi Leak
Verizon in a new leak believed close to offering free Wi-Fi access of its own. While talks are described as "fluid," the Wall Street Journal says the cellular carrier will echo AT&T's efforts and team up with hotspot provider Boingo to give Wi-Fi service at airports, coffee shops and other locations for those who use Verizon's DSL or FiOS landline connections. It's not yet certain whether this would extend to everywhere Boingo provides service in the US or just locations that are served by Verizon as well.
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04/28, 9:45am
101Mbps Optimum Online Ult
Cablevision on Tuesday claimed the title of the fastest cable Internet provider in the US by launching Optimum Online Ultra. By using the newer multi-channel DOCSIS 3.0 standard, the carrier promises a peak of 101Mbps downstream and a still-fast 15Mbps upstream. The service is theoretically twice as fast as Comcast's 50Mbps service and won't have a bandwidth cap, permitting as much use of the service as customers like. An HD video can download in roughly 10 minutes on the network, while a batch of 750 photos can upload in the space of a minute.
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03/12, 3:50pm
Cablevision analog TV stop
Cablevision, a New York-based cable TV service provider, announced on Thursday it will no longer offer analog television cable service in 2010 and only offer digital services. Only about 155,000 of Cablevision's 3.1 million customers, a mere 5 percent, subscribe to the company's basic analog service and they will continue to receive the service, though no new clients will be added. The company already offers exclusively digital packages to its customers in the Bronx and Brooklyn.
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01/30, 5:15pm
Comcast hotspot tests
Internet provider Comcast is performing Wi-Fi hot spot trials near NJ Transit rail stations in the state to grant subscribers access to the Internet on their mobile devices, according to a Friday DSLReports post. The service in these Wi-Fi Hot Zones requires subscribers to sign in using their existing Comcast.net usernames and passwords. The company has confirmed the trials, saying it is gauging user interest and may offer it as an added-value service to its high-speed Internet customers.
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10/24, 4:50pm
Verizon settles VM lawsuit
A lawsuit filed by Klausner Technologies regarding visual voicemail technology was filed against a number of wireless providers earlier this summer, and one of those companies, Verizon Wireless, has decided to settle it out of court, according to a Friday report. Klausner reportedly granted Verizon Wireless and its subsidiary, Vodafone Group, a patent license, allowing it to use the voice message alerts. The exact terms of the agreement were not disclosed, though the deal was closed on Thursday.
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08/26, 3:20pm
Klausner Sues VZW and Goog
Klausner Technologies today grew the scope of its licensing claims by suing multiple other companies it believes are treading on its patents for a visual voicemail system. The company claims that software developed by Google, LG, Verizon and six other firms are violating patents from 1992 onwards for a system that permits listening to voicemail out of order through a graphical interface.
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08/04, 2:20pm
Cablevision DVR Ruling
A Second Circuit of New York appeals court today ruled that Cablevision could go ahead with launching a remote digital video recorder system that potentially changes the approach to offering movie and TV content online. The decision finds that the cable provider isn't infringing on video producers' copyrights by offering a service known as Remote Storage Digital Video Recorder, or RS-DVR, that would let users record shows but store them off-site on servers hosted by Cablevision.
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03/20, 3:20pm
Verizon 700MHz Wins
Verizon was the winner of the nationwide license for the crucial 700MHz wireless auction as well as most regional licenses, the FCC has revealed. An initial list of winners shows the telecoms giant to have successfully won both the national license as well as 11 out of 12 of the local licenses available for the "C" block that is likely to be used for wireless data. The licenses supply the company with coverage across all of the US and would allow it to launch any future service with few gaps in its network. Only AT&T Mobility has managed to win a major regional "C" block bid for coverage in the Mississippi Valley, according to government documents.
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