The FCC reminds ISPs they can’t mess with broadband without telling the consumer
Attention, ISPs who have vague terms of service or promise one thing and then fail to deliver: The FCC is keeping an eye on you.
Attention, ISPs who have vague terms of service or promise one thing and then fail to deliver: The FCC is keeping an eye on you.
Bandwidth caps are a bad idea, but a story from earlier this month shows how our love of connected devices and the increasing prevalence of caps could lead to consumer angst.
The New York Times may not get network neutrality, but it certainly sees the dangers of consolidating the nation’s largest and third largest broadband providers. The venerable paper came out against the proposed merger of Time Warner Cable and Comcast in an editorial Tuesday that argued, “By buying Time Warner Cable, Comcast would become a gatekeeper over what consumers watch, read and listen to. The company would have more power to compel Internet content companies…to pay Comcast for better access to its broadband network.” We agree. This merger is all about broadband and it’s a problem.
It’s getting hard out there for broadband consumers. If Comcast buys Time Warner Cable, four out of five U.S. broadband subscribers will have a data cap.
If Comcast buys Time Warner Cable many more Americans will find themselves with a broadband cap. We take a look at how many might join the capped majority if the deal goes through.
February 2014 will mark a turning point for the internet thanks to a historic peering agreement and the FCC capitulating on net neutrality. Let’s let Verizon’s CEO share what the future internet will be.
EE has enjoyed a de facto monopoly on 4G in the UK since last year, but Vodafone looks set to offer higher data caps and attractive extras when it joins the party later this month.
An article in Wired argues that Google is violating network neutrality laws, but the bigger issue here is about how we adjust our rules and regulations when we have gigabit speeds, and are trying to encourage innovation.
As ISPs continue to explore new ways to charge customers, many are embracing the idea of pricing based on data consumption. But the lack of pricing transparency and sheer number of variables make it too consumer unfriendly.
The FCC chairman is concerned about data caps, but that may not mean he’s ready to take any action. At an event in Silicon Valley last night the chairman of the regulatory agency said he viewed anything that would depress broadband usage as a concern.