July 1 - 4:15pm EDT   While today, July 1st, was the agreed-upon deadline between cable operators and consumer electronics companies to support the new Tru2Way interactive digital cable standard, it's now learned today that none of the cable operators will meet or come close to this date. The new standard is due to replace CableCARD, and does not require a standalone set-top box, instead being integrated into devices such as TVs, DVD or Blu-ray players from existing electronics manufacturers. While cable companies such as Comcast, Time Warner and Cox Communications will not have the necessary support for the interactive service, execs from Samsung and Panasonic said good-faith effort has ... [full story]

June 29 - 3:35pm EDT   Comcast on Monday marked the launch of its own 4G Internet access in the form of High-Speed 2go [currently a sign-in page]. The service depends on Clearwire's WiMAX network and supplies peak real-world speeds of about 4Mbps downstream anywhere within the coverage range. Like service from Clearwire or Sprint, it's not locked to a particular location and can be had either for mobile use or else as a fixed install at home. [full story]

June 24 - 11:45am EDT   Cable providers Comcast and Time Warner today launched a new initiative to help accommodate online video with their traditional TV businesses. Called alternately On Demand Online (by Comcast) and TV Everywhere (by Time Warner), the pact will see both develop a non-exclusive system that grants web-based, streaming access to TV shows and movies for a given network as long as the customer already pays for a subscription with access to that channel or show. An authentication system will verify permission, but customers won't need to use an Internet connection from their TV provider to access those shows. [full story]

June 22 - 2:20pm EDT   Fresh from a win against EchoStar, TiVo is set to tie directly into pay-per-view systems as well as Time Warner's cable network, according to two sources. The DVR producer is said by Bloomberg to be talking with more than one pay-per-view provider to either allow its recording directly or else to license out the technology for third-party hardware or software. Details are vague, but it would be separate from online-only support for Amazon VOD, Netflix and other services. [full story]

June 22 - 10:30am EDT   Verizon today ramped up FiOS with speed upgrades for all its regular tiers as well as the addition of a new middle tier. A new 35Mbps plan offers a balance between more typical speeds and the 50Mbps maximum tier; it also has the same 20Mbps upload speeds as the previous symmetric 20/20 tier and the 50Mbps service; the speed would let it upload an hour-long 720p HDTV show in 20 minutes. The carrier doesn't say how much this version of its fiber optic service would cost but says it's only available in bundles with TV or phone service. [full story]

June 11 - 4:10pm EDT   Internet provider Qwest is planning to fight off faster cable and fiber optic access with an ultra high-speed option of its own, an insider says. A source within Qwest tells BBR the company is rolling out a VDSL2 infrastructure that resembles fiber-to-the-node and would more than double existing speeds. Downstream bandwidth would be twice as fast at 40Mbps, but upload speed would jump from 896Kbps to 20Mbps on the best possible plan. [full story]

June 9 - 5:05pm EDT   An angry Comcast Internet subscriber has written a complaint (caution: may not be safe for work) that alleges the provider is intercepting his DNS requests to other, non-Comcast DNS servers and redirecting them to its own. The author says Comcast takes UDP traffic bound for port 53 on any server and redirects it to their own, making it nearly impossible for users to use different DNS servers, including their own. [full story]

June 9 - 1:45pm EDT   Comcast today expanded its DOCSIS 3.0-based cable modem service to Washington, D.C. with a price cut to match. The US capital has the same 50Mbps peak downloads and 10Mbps peak uploads as other areas but has had the price of the service drop substantially, down $40 to $100 per month. It's not specified whether the cut applies just to the Washington area or if other regions also receive the price cut today, though a leak regarding the cut said it would apply broadly on June 20th. [full story]

June 2 - 3:35pm EDT   Comcast is about to launch a major price cut on its fastest Internet access, a leak indicated on Tuesday. Normally $140 per month, it's reported by a source for BBR to be dropping to $100 and will likely do so sometime after June 20th. The cost would apply to those who already have at least one other Comcast service, though Internet-only service would still drop to $116 per month at the same time. [full story]

May 28 - 3:05pm EDT   Comcast may be on the verge of upgrading its DOCSIS 3.0 cable Internet access to 100Mbps, a rumor says. Currently capped at 50Mbps downstream, the service is said to be getting as much as 40Mbps to 50Mbps more bandwidth "any day now." The source for the Inquirer doesn't say whether existing 20Mbps upload speeds would also get an upgrade or whether the 250GB cap and prices would change from the $140 pre-tax per month for the faster service. [full story]

April 28 - 9:45am EDT   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. [full story]

April 20 - 10:25am EDT   Adobe has devised a new version of its Flash animation standard which should allow TVs and other electronics to stream content directly, according to an announcement. Called the Flash Platform for the Digital Home, the technology is now being licensed to OEMs and should ship in products scheduled for the second half of 2009. Some companies which have agreed to support the platform include Broadcom, Comcast, Disney, Intel, Netflix, Atlantic Records and the New York Times. [full story]

April 8 - 7:55pm EDT   Comcast is set to launch an "enhanced cordless phone" that will offer e-mail, voice-mail, basic web access and a universal address book, according to Cable Digital News. The advanced functionality will be provided in conjunction with the company's VoIP services, using a new Docsis/PacketCable-powered multimedia terminal adapter (E-MTA) to provide the IP-based digital interface to compatible handsets. [full story]

March 27 - 8:50am EDT   i.TV has launched version 1.4 of its TV and movie guide for the iPhone and iPod touch. The update provides AT&T U-verse listings for all coverage areas, and more support for Comcast customers, including video-on-demand information and other material. Stability and speed improvements have also been made; the latter cut the start-up time for the app roughly in half, and double active running speed. [full story]

March 25 - 4:15pm EDT   Following today's earlier news of AT&T issuing notices to subscribers on behalf of the Recording Industry Association of America who are allegedly involved in illegal file sharing, Comcast and Cox have announced they too are informing Internet users of any potential illegal activities. At the same Leadership Music Digital Summit where AT&T broke its news, Comcast senior VP Joe Waz said the provider has issued two million notices to its clients. Sources at the event said provider Cox is also actively partnering with RIAA on informing and discouraging its customers of their illegal activities. [full story]