February 21 - 1:05pm EST   Though typically associated with cellphones, Motorola has announced its very first collection of modems based on the DOCSIS 3.0 standard, which has yet to deploy in any wide fashion in North America but can dramatically increase the possible bandwidth of cable Internet connections. Aimed at the average consumer is the SURFboard SB6120, which permits as much as 160Mbps in standard DOCSIS mode, or 195Mbps under Euro-DOCSIS; because of its internal design, this works without the need for hybrid support by cable operators. [full story]

February 6 - 5:00pm EST   A company in the Canadian province of Quebec will soon match Verizon in deploying some of the fastest consumer Internet access in North America, according to reports. Cable supplier Videotron is preparing to debut two "Ultimate Speed Internet" plans, capable of downloads at 30 and 50Mbps, respectively. This is an upgrade on the company's current top tier of 20Mbps, and takes advantage of pre-DOCSIS 3.0 technology. The plans will cost $65 and $80 CAD per month. [full story]