There is a ton of news about increasing breadth, speed and availability of broadband that will enable video streaming/downloading. Instead of creating multiple threads, I am creating this one to track this progress.

Mods: Please feel free to "sticky"!

While 100Mbps just became the high broadband watermark here in the States, Virgin Media in the UK is already testing 200Mbps DOCSIS 3.0 cable connectivity, according to the Financial Times and the Guardian. But do you need it? Can servers provide it? Can Virgin deliver the 50Mbps speeds they're promising now? Who cares, it's fast, says Virgin CEO Neil Berkett. "Two years ago, when we were testing 50Mbps, you would have asked what that was needed for," Berkett says, after suggesting that 3D video conferencing could make such connections useful. "In two years’ time, where people are now asking about how many people are taking up 50Mbps, they will be asking what is the take-up of 200Mbps."

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Virgin-Media-Testing-200Mbps-Cable-102296

Telecompetitor directs our attention to the fact that Smithville Telephone, an Ellettsville, Indiana based independent telco, will soon offer 100Mbps fiber service in Indiana. Or at least their press release suggests as much. According to the telco, the company has completed the first leg of a $90 million FTTH project to overbuild their older network. No price is given for a 100Mbps tier, which would be quite a leap for a carrier who's website says that previously fastest speeds topped out at 3Mbps. Smithville telephone says that half of its residential customers will be using the new fiber network within the next twelve months.
v

People are becoming smarter and more aware of anti-competitive action by local ISPs. Great news for increased bandwidth and the complete obliteration of caps.

bill that would have seriously hampered local community fiber to the home deployments has been sent to a study committee, according to the Greensboro News Record. The bill, which was heavily lobbied for (and likely co-written) by Time Warner Cable lobbyists, took specific aim at municipal broadband deployments in the State that offer symmetrical fiber at speeds up to 100Mbps. The bill probably won't see seriously legislative action for at least a year, according to the News Record.


"This thing needs to be studied, it needs to be discussed," co-sponsor Ty Harrell tells the Record. Hansell, a North Carolina Democrat, has made it fairly clear through comments to the press that he wasn't fully versed in the technical specifics of his own bill, which would have banned North Carolina cities from taking advantage of broadband stimulus funds, while hog tying them with restrictions not imposed upon regional incumbents.

While that helps protect Time Warner Cable revenues, it doesn't do much for State residents, local businesses, local health care infrastructure, local government operations, or the large corporations that support greater broadband penetration. Companies such as Google, Alcatel Lucent and Intel came out against the measure earlier this week, arguing it harmed both the private and public sectors.

According to Indyweek, lobbyists pushing the bill had opposed further study -- after a contentious and public debate of facts led to the failure of a similar bill back in 2007. Opposition to this latest bill was fueled in part by backlash to Time Warner Cable's metered billing attempt -- which helped galvanize an already annoyed public into a public show of opposition at this morning's scheduled vote.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/North-Carolina-Broadband-Bill-Shelved-102300

:)
UTOPIA, the largest municipal fiber to the home deployment anywhere, has announced that the operation is now offering "the first symmetrical, non-shared 100 Mbps fiber-optic Internet connection in the United States." Technically that's not true, since Wilson, North Carolina has been offering unshared 100Mbps symmetrical service since last summer, and Lafayette, Louisiana offers 100Mbps symmetrical connectivity between users of their fiber to the home service. Still, the price is nice: the tier is being offered through a company called FuzzCore for $147.00 a month.

Comcast is on a quest to have 65% of their footprint upgraded with faster DOCSIS 3.0 speeds by the end of this year, and 100% deployment by the end of 2010. Continuing toward that goal, the carrier today announced they have expanded the faster speeds into Harrisburg and other portions of Central Pennsylvania (parts of Dauphin, Cumberland, Lebanon and Centre counties). Upgraded DOCSIS 3.0 Comcast markets see the company's $42.95 "Performance" tier doubled to 12Mbps/2Mbps, while their $52.95 "Performance Plus" tier jumps from 8Mbps/2Mbps to 16Mbps/2Mbps. Upgraded markets also see two new tiers that require new DOCSIS 3.0 modems: $62.95 "Ultra" 22Mbps/5Mbps and $139.95 "Extreme 50" 50Mbps/10Mbps.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-DOC-30-Hits-Harrisburg-102375

AT&T said it recently conducted an optical-fiber transmission capacity test over a simulated 580-kilometer link that produced total bandwidth of 32 Terabits per second.

According to AT&T, the results exceeded the bandwidth capacity of the previous record-setting test by 25% and over more than twice the distance.

The telco worked with network-equipment provider NEC and fiber-optic cabling supplier Corning on the test. The researchers transmitted data at 114 Gigabits per second over 320 separate optical channels on a single optically amplified link.

"IP traffic on the AT&T network is growing at about 45% year over year, so groundbreaking research efforts like this are critical to our ongoing efforts to stay ahead of our customers' rapidly evolving and expanding needs," Peter Magill, AT&T Labs executive director of optical systems research, said in a statement.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/232010-AT_T_Tests_32_Terabit_Link.php

Back in 2007 we noted how Mediacom was taking a "back seat" approach to installing DOCSIS 3.0 technology, given the carrier wasn't facing significant competitive pressure. Apparently the time has come to begin the upgrade, Mediacom's John Pascarelli telling analysts and investors on the company's earnings conference call that the company would be bringing DOCSIS 3.0 to half the homes they serve by the end of 2009. Pascarelli says the carrier is testing 100Mbps connectivity in a few employee homes, but wouldn't say if they plan to offer a 100Mbps tier, or which markets will be the first to get the upgrade.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Mediacom-Details-DOCSIS-30-Plans-102387

.Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) found that the twenty largest cable and telephone providers in the US – representing about 94% of the market – acquired over 1.6 million net additional high-speed Internet subscribers in the first quarter of 2009. These top broadband providers now account for nearly 69.3 million subscribers – with cable companies having 37.7 million broadband subscribers, and telephone companies having about 31.5 million subscribers.

Other broadband findings for the quarter include:


The top cable companies added over 835,000 subscribers, representing 52% of the net broadband additions for the quarter versus the top telephone companies

Overall, broadband additions in 1Q 2009 amounted to 73% of those in 1Q 2008 – with cable having 70% as many additions as a year ago, and Telcos 77%

The top cable broadband providers have a 55% share of the overall market, with a 6.2 million subscriber advantage over the top telephone companies

Comcast says it is launching Docsis 3.0 in Pittsburgh and parts of West Virginia, Ohio and Maryland.

The wideband service will double online speeds for most residential subscribers at no additional cost. That will mean 12 Mbps downstream and 2 Mbps upstream, and 16 Mbps and 2 Mbps, respectively, for its two current levels of service.

In addition, the company is adding two new tiers, Ultra, with 22 Mbps downstream and 5 Mbps upstream for $62.95 a month, and Extreme 50, with 50 Mbps downstream and 10 Mbps upstream for $139.95 a month.

There will also be new business class tiers.

The announcement comes a day after an Obama administration official talked about the importance of boosting broadband speeds to catch up with other countries and pave the way for new applications like telemedicine.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/232590-Comcast_Introducing_Docsis_3_0_in_Pittsburgh_Parts_of_Three_ Other_States.php

Crawford did make it clear that the administraion feels universal acccess to broadband is critical to the nation's economic success, and could be crucial to the future of journalism.

"I can assure you that the administration at the highest levels really is interested in broadband and cares about the national broadband plan and wants to engage." She urged her audience to weigh in at the FCC by June 8, the comment date for the broadband rollout plan the FCC must come up with by next February per the president's economic stimulus package.

"Broadband is the new essential infrastructure," she told the crowd. "It is true that access to broadband does not guarantee economic success. But lack of access to broadband will guarantee economic stagnation and decline."

She said that how high-speed broadband is defined will depend on what application is being used, but said that for a clinic, for example, 100 mbps is necessary and 1 gig preferable, and that some businesses would need higher speeds than others.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/talkback/232506-President_Obama_Focused_On_Broadband.php#55165

This seems logical and a great way to keep expanding broadband at a reasonable cost!

Broadband deployment has been equated with the creation of the Interstate highway system back in the 1950s.

If some powerful legislators have their way, the connection will be more than metaphorical.

Rep. Anna Eshoo has introduced the Broadband Conduit Deployment Act, which would require new federal highway projects to include broadband conduits for fiber optic communications.

Eshoo called it a "simple, commonsense proposal," a sentiment that appeared to be shared by the leading Democrats overseeing communications. Bill backers include House Energy & Commerce Committee chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Communications Subcommittee chairman Rick Boucher (D-Va.), and Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.).

The "one ditch" theory of combining infrastructure upgrades has been pushed by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who is working on a similar bill in the Senate.

Klobuchar is a member of the Environmental Public Works Committee working on the transportation bill and has been working with Senator Mark Warner of Virginia on the issue of putting down broadband lines as the roads are being dug up.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/232636-If_Legislators_Have_Their_Way_Broadband_Will_Be_A_Highway.ph p

Perhaps to offset the fact that they just announced they'll be selling a huge swath of rural customers they couldn't be bothered to upgrade, Verizon announced this morning that they've continued to expand availability of their 7Mbps DSL service. According to the telco, by July, 9.7 million households in parts of 21 states and the District of Columbia will be able to order the faster DSL service -- quite a jump from the 400,000 or so users who could get the tier when our users were the first to spot it back in December of 2007. New users who sign a two-year contract pay get 7.1 Mbps/384 Kbps 768kbps (Verizon's press release is wrong) for $37.99 per month (plus the usual fees and unfees).

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Verizon-Expands-7Mbps-DSL-Availability-102524

An insider at Comcast tells us the company will soon be dropping the price on their rather pricey 50Mbps/10Mps tier, which currently costs $139.95 a month. Additional documentation obtained by Broadband Reports seemingly confirm the price cuts -- at least in California. The documents suggest that starting in the June 20 billing cycle, Comcast will be dropping the price of the tier from $139.95 to $99.95 if bundled with TV service and/or Comcast Digital Voice service, while dropping the price to $115.95 for the standalone 50Mbps service.

We asked Comcast for comment and were told they have nothing to announce at this time. One source insisted that the prices would be official as of midnight last night, though as of this morning the Comcast website makes no reference to the new prices. In addition to the new 50Mbps pricing, indications are there should be a handful of small (as in less than a dollar) pricing reductions to a number of converter, cableCARD and service downgrade fees.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-50Mbps-To-See-Price-Cut-102729

President Obama said Friday that the government was going to start treating the nation's digital infrastructure, broadband networks and computers as strategic national assets that should be "open and free."

His remarks came in announcing the release of a report on the state of the nation's cyber security, which he indicated needed to be beefed up in numerous ways (he admitted that his own campaign Web efforts had been hacked).

The president pledged to protect privacy and economic security, and even gave a shout-out to network neutrality, saying, "Indeed, I remain firmly committed to net neutrality so we can keep the Internet as it should be--open and free."

http://www.multichannel.com/article/277431-President_Committed_To_Network_Neutrality.php

The Broadband Forum today announced its latest broadband and IPTV statistics. The report, prepared by Point Topic, indicates that broadband grew by 16.6 million lines globally in the last quarter alone, with more than 3 million being added across North America, while IPTV continues to expand strongly.

Broadband lines in the world now top 429.2 million, and the last quarter shows growth slightly higher than the previous three-month period. Twenty countries grew by 10 percent or more in that time. The biggest growth in the top 20 came from India at 13.4 percent, while the other large gainers were Ukraine (15.2 percent), Egypt (10.6 percent) and Mexico (10.3 percent). Of the total figure, North America grew 3.87 percent to more than 93.5 millio

http://cable360.net/ct/news/thewire/Report-3-Million-New-North-American-Broadband-Subs-in-Q109_36164.html

High speed or broadband doesn't mean the same thing everywhere. In India for example, Tata Indicom defines Broadband as 384Kbps to 512 Kbps connection. About the same for egypt (google it for a DSL Report link).

While those speed are better than 56k they wouldn't really be consider High Speed in country with better infrastructure like the USA, Canada or Japan.

And in the matter that is of interest to the member of AVS those low speed connection would be barely usable for media application.

The latest data from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project indicates that broadband adoption continues to surge despite the troubled economy and higher prices, as broadband becomes less of a luxury and more of a necessary utility. According to the outfit's findings, 63% of adult Americans had broadband as of April 2009, a number that's up from 55% in May 2008. Growth particularly surged among older, rural and low income Americans, though it slowed among African Americans.

The average bill total jumps to $44.70 for users with access to just one provider (Pew says that's 21% of Americans). In markets where consumers have more than one provider (69% of all Americans), the average price for a broadband connection was $38.30. In markets that see four or more competitors (an honor bestowed on just 17% of consumers), the average price of a connection drops to $32.10.

In other words, consumers in single-carrier markets pay $536 yearly on average, while consumers in competitive markets pay $385. Duopoly and monopoly markets give carriers the luxury of engaging in non-price competition.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Higher-Prices-Recession-Cant-Stop-Broadband-Growth-102988

Last week New York Representative Eric Massa introduced a bill aimed at stopping ISPs from nickel and diming consumers with steep overage charges. AT&T reacted swiftly -- claiming their metered billing trials in Reno and Beaumont are about being fair to grandmothers, and have absolutely nothing to do with protecting U-Verse TV revenues from Internet video. Amusingly enough, Stop The Cap got input from a number of actual grandmothers, who say they don't really appreciate AT&T's help. "We grandmothers know a ripoff when we see one," says one poster. "I’m insulted AT&T thinks grandmothers like myself would be dumb enough to fall for their scams," says another. "Now grandfathers might be something else, which is why I pay the bills in this house," she says.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Grandmas-Tell-ATT-We-Dont-Want-Metered-Billing-Either-103080

Prompted by Time Warner Cable's botched attempt to force low caps and metered billing on its customers, Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) today unveiled the "Broadband Internet Fairness Act" (HR 2902), legislation aimed at protecting consumers from unreasonable broadband overage charges. Massa, prompted by consumer complaints, stepped up during the Time Warner Cable kerfuffle to call the effort an "outrageous, job killing initiative."

Massa today unveiled the legislation with help from consumer advocacy firm Free Press and Phillip Dampier, the Broadband Reports user who went on to create the Stop The Cap blog to protest unreasonable billing models by broadband carriers. In a statement, Free Press lauded Dampier's involvement and Massa's reaction as "inspiring example of grassroots activism."

"Cable providers want to stifle the internet so they can rake in advertiser dollars by keeping consumers from watching video on the Internet," says Massa. "But so long as Americans can't choose which cable channels they want to pay for, I don't think cable operators should be able to determine consumers' monthly internet usage," he says. "Additionally, charging based on a bandwidth usage is a flawed model when the cost of usage is totally out of line with the price." In Time Warner Cable's case, up to 2,000% over cost, in fact.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/102996

As Julius Genachowski was preparing to be sworn in Monday as FCC chairman, the commission announced it had cleared the decks for Thursday's public meeting, Genachowski's first as chairman, to focus on the national broadband plan.

Initially the meeting was to also have included decisions authorizing spectrum for a medical information network, permitting AM stations to rebroadcast on FM translators and expanding use of spectrum in upper bandwidths.

But in a notice, the FCC announced the commission had already voted to approve those.

That leaves the status report for a national broadband plan, which the FCC has been charged by Congress and the administration with drafting by February of next year.

It is expected to be the top priority of the new chairman.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/307071-Genachowski_s_First_FCC_Public_Meeting_to_Focus_on_National_ Broadband_Plan.php

Broadband.gov has launched as the centerpiece of the government's effort to figure what to do to resolve our thoroughly mediocre showing when it comes to broadband speed, price and penetration. The website notes there's 226 days until the plan's finalized, and offers a timetable for the various workshoups, discussions and roundtables the government's conducting as the plan gets cemented.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/US-Government-Launches-New-Broadband-Website-103277

Last month we were the first to report on a slew of new Verizon pricing tiers, many of which came with faster speed -- but at a higher price. Sometimes broadband users report getting considerably less than their advertised speed -- but many customers in our Verizon FiOS forum say they're getting a little more from the tiers than advertised. Several customers say they've signed up for a 25Mbps/15Mbps tier, but are seeing closer to 25Mbps/25Mbps. Another user, who actually downgraded from Verizon's 50Mbps/20Mbps service to their 35Mbps/20Mbps tier -- tells us he's getting very close to a full symmetrical 35Mbps.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/New-FiOS-Speeds-A-Little-Faster-Than-Promised-103282

Demand for high bandwidth broadband will drive the number of worldwide households with the high-speed technology to more than 640 million by 2013, according to a report released Tuesday by Parks Associates.

The analyst firm said that the number of broadband households worldwide grew by over 18% in 2008 to exceed 400 million.


"Bandwidth will continue to be a focus as the operators re-architect their networks to deliver multiple services over the same infrastructure," said Parks Associates VP Kurt Scherf in a statement. "However, in such a competitive field, bandwidth alone is not enough to win subscribers. Blended applications, combining services such as online video and customer support, offer operators an opportunity to increase average revenue per user. In addition, innovative new services will help differentiate service providers, which can then compete on factors beyond pricing or raw bandwidth."

Parks Associates noted that the U.S. broadband market will receive a boost when the Obama Administration releases billions of dollars from its stimulus packages. In particular, rural areas will receive funding for broadband rollouts.

In the United States, broadband deployment continues to grow at a vigorous pace with some 3 million high-speed lines added in the first quarter of 2009, according to a recent report from the Broadband Forum, which noted also that more than 16 million broadband lines were added on a global basis during the same period.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/3G/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=218400829&subSection=News

Rogers today became the first cable provider in Canada to offer a full-spec DOCSIS 3.0 Internet service and rolled out a special new cable modem to match. The 50Mbps tier more than doubles the fastest service Rogers has had before and matches both the maximum speed of Comcast's service in the US as well as the pre-3.0 service offered by Videotron in Quebec. The company hasn't said how much service will cost or what bandwidth caps it will have, if any, but plans an initial rollout for mid-August in the greater Toronto area with other areas to come later.

http://www.electronista.com/articles/09/07/09/rogers.50mbps.and.802.11n/

Users in our Comcast TV forum indicate that both Comcast and Time Warner Cable have begun deploying new Motorola MPEG-4 set tops, the standard providing carriers with additional bandwidth providing room for new HD channels and VOD content. Mari Sibley over at the Motorola blog notes the new set tops come with an embedded DOCSIS 3.0 modem -- which will ultimately open up a new angle of TV interactivity. The new modem component obviously of more practical use for Comcast, who plans to have their whole footprint wired with the technology by the end of 2010. If you recall, one Motorola exec predicted the death of MPEG-2 settops by late 2009.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Cable-Begins-To-Embrace-MPEG4-103439

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, has introduced legislation that would boost broadband deployment via financial incentives like tax credits and create new government offices and panels to vet government investments in a variety of broadband programs.

The Connecting America Act creates a tax credit of limited duration--it is meant to stimulate investment over the next five years and put the emphasis on the private sector, rather than government, in getting broadband to remaining "unserved" areas.

The incentives would go to broadband providers and would be tied to minimum speeds of 50 megabits per second downstream for upgrades of existing service, or extension of service to unserved areas with at least 10 megabits downstream. The tax credit would be retroactive to a nine-month period ending with the date of the law's enactment.

The bill would also create an Office of National Broadband Strategy within the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) to provide technical assistance to anyone applying for funds under a variety of programs, including the $7.2 billion being handed out by NTIA and the Rural Utilities Service under the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) of the president's economic stimulus package.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/315209-Hutchison_Introduces_Legislation_to_Boost_Broadband_Deployme nt_Through_Tax_Credits_Other_Incentives.php

In Canada, both Cogeco and Rogers have recently unveiled new 50Mbps DOCSIS 3.0 services, though limited competition means the services come with high prices, low caps, and slow upstream speeds. In the UK, cable operator Virgin Media is also struggling with providing upstream speeds, but is offering uncapped bundled 50Mbps service at US$46.03. That's well below the standard prices for 50Mbps DOCSIS 3.0 services in the States, the lowest of which is provided by Comcast at around $99 a month. In most markets, 50Mbps cable services in the States are being priced around $130 a month and up. Virgin says they're also testing 200Mbps connectivity in limited markets.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/UK-50Mbps-For-46-103479

4. Disclosures are woefully inadequate in Canada. Each day brought new and surprising revelations about how little ISPs tell their customers about their traffic management practices. By far the most egregious was Rogers, which admitted that it charges tiered pricing for faster upload speeds but that all tiers were throttled to the same speed when using P2P. In other words, the Extreme subscriber who pays $59.99 per month and is promised fast upload speeds (1 Mbps) actually gets the same upload speed as the Express subscriber who pays $46.99 per month and is promised upload speeds of 512 kbps. There were similar stories from many other ISPs, who disclosed actual speeds that bring P2P down to a virtual crawl. Disclosure has improved over the past year as the issue has gained prominence, but there clearly is a long way to go.


http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4135/125/

Thats a novel idea what virgin is doing.... kinda like what verizon does with fios here in the states.

20 mbit service just became available in my area and while is nice the price is too much for me to upgrade over the 8 mbit plan I have now ($55 for 8mbit and the $80 for the 20 mbit). Hopefully there will be an intermediate plan thats between those because I would like to have a bit more speed when the new 1080p streaming stuff happens on the xbox this fall.

Thats a novel idea what virgin is doing.... kinda like what verizon does with fios here in the states.

20 mbit service just became available in my area and while is nice the price is too much for me to upgrade over the 8 mbit plan I have now ($55 for 8mbit and the $80 for the 20 mbit). Hopefully there will be an intermediate plan thats between those because I would like to have a bit more speed when the new 1080p streaming stuff happens on the xbox this fall.

I am sure pricing will drop. The costs I have read for implementing DOSCIS 3.0 are incredibly low (right around $20 per household). Right now they are trying to value price it to make some money off of early adopters.

I dont think thats going to happen in too many places until a competing service like fios comes to town to compete with the cableco. cableco's in most towns are the only game in town and as such can charge whatever they want. while dsl is an alternative.... its much more speed limited to a point where things like streaming (esp hd) are impossible on dsl lines. Eventually this will not be a problem when uverse and fios take over for now there really is one provider in most areas if you want speed (that dont already have fios or uverse going)

For instance in our town there only used to be one "major" theater. It was a large one and everything but they never upgraded the sound, seating, projectors, etc. And they were very expensively priced. Then a few yrs ago a second major theater came to town and all of the sudden they gutted the whole theater and redid everything in there while also dropping the price in half. Competition gets lazy people off their ass and uverse and fios need to get moving to spark this.

I dont think thats going to happen in too many places until a competing service like fios comes to town to compete with the cableco. cableco's in most towns are the only game in town and as such can charge whatever they want. while dsl is an alternative.... its much more speed limited to a point where things like streaming (esp hd) are impossible on dsl lines. Eventually this will not be a problem when uverse and fios take over for now there really is one provider in most areas if you want speed (that dont already have fios or uverse going)

For instance in our town there only used to be one "major" theater. It was a large one and everything but they never upgraded the sound, seating, projectors, etc. And they were very expensively priced. Then a few yrs ago a second major theater came to town and all of the sudden they gutted the whole theater and redid everything in there while also dropping the price in half. Competition gets lazy people off their ass and uverse and fios need to get moving to spark this.

DOCSIS 3.0 is also playing a role.

It is a very inexpensive way for cable ISPs to get a big bump in speed. Comcast has already stated they are going to roll it out to all their customers (I think they said within 2 years). Considering how inexpensive it is, it is a good way to prevent mass migration to FIOS when it does hit a market.

According to the St. Louis Business Journal, the State of Missouri is looking to drastically ramp up fiber penetration in the State while using the first round of Federal broadband stimulus money.. The MoBroadbandNow project is using public-private partnerships to build a fiber-optic broadband backbone that will connect "every cluster of 50 or more dwellings," anchored by schools and municipal buildings. The State is now screening private-sector applicants, which can apply via e-mail at transform.broadbandinterested@mo.gov. As Telephony Online notes, such private-public partnerships increase the chance of being chosen by the broadband stimulus fairy.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Missouri-Launches-New-Fiber-Initiative-103498

Back in June we were the very first to report that Qwest was getting close to launching new VDSL2 service in select markets that would allow Qwest to offer faster broadband speeds, something that was important for a carrier whose ADSL2+ service offered top upstream speeds of just 896kbps. This morning Qwest finally confirmed the news, announcing via press release that they're offering new VDSL2 service to select markets that top out at 40Mbps downstream and 20Mbps upstream. The new pricing, straight from the announcement:

•Connection speeds of 40 Mbps downstream with 5 Mbps upstream, starting at $99.99 a month for the first 12 months when combined with a qualifying home phone package.

•Connection speeds of 40 Mbps downstream with 20 Mbps upstream, starting at $109.99 a month for the first 12 months when combined with a qualifying home phone package.

•An introductory rate of $5 more a month for qualified customers with 7 Mbps, 12 Mbps or 20 Mbps speed tiers who upgrade to 5 Mbps upstream speeds.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Qwest-Unveils-40Mbps20Mbps-Service-103518

I like this guy! Looking to get real work done!

Blair Levin, the FCC's broadband czar, is not impressed with the FCC's submissions from the public and industry on the grand broadband plan, suggesting there was too much pie in the sky and not enough pie chart on the page.

He said the comments lacked helpful data, analysis of tradeoffs and "seriousness of purpose."

In fact, he said, there was a lot of agreement on various issues, like the need for adoption, but he said the comments don't get the problem the FCC faces, which is to come up with a way to get from here to there, that is cost efficient and doable.

"There are a lot of different ideas and they all sound great, but at the end of the day we have to make choices about where to spend what are frankly going to be very scarce dollars to drive that adoption."

He said what he needs are clear ideas that solve a problem, deliver a return, can gain a consensus, and will be relatively easy to accomplish.

Levin did not mince any words, saying that some people were asking for money as though just asking was sufficient.

"Look, I've got to say this. We are not going to be Santa Clause," he said.

He said that not every incremental dollar will provide the same incremental value.

"People are not approaching this from the perspective of helping us analyze what the trade-offs are," he said.

He said the comments ask the FCC to set goals and take philosophical positions, but that "none of these things help us do what is fundamentally a plan, not a report."


Levin made it clear that while he agreed with many of the aspiration comments, he had "a different job."

"Yes, we can do very great things, but we cannot do that unless we have a different kind of mindframe coming into this process."

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/315891-Levin_Broadband_Comments_Don_t_Move_Ball_Forward.php

According to a new study by Parks Associates, the number of households worldwide with broadband will approach 650 million by 2013. The number of broadband households worldwide grew by over 18% in 2008 to exceed 400 million. According to the stat farm, Asia-Pacific is the largest market with 160 million subscribers, the region having over 49% of the global market share by 2013. For an important sense of context and scale, the Earth's total population is estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau to be somewhere around 6.77 billion.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/650-Million-Broadband-Households-By-2013-103532

BT have announced the next locations where their fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) based broadband will be available. The 69 locations cover areas all across the UK including England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. By March 2010, a million homes will be covered, and by early summer 2010, they expect to have a reach of 1.5 million homes, continuing to 40% of the UK (10 million homes) by 2012.

http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/4004-bt-speeds-up-fibre-rollout.html

Comcast today announced that the carrier has launched faster DOCSIS 3.0 speeds in their hometown market of Philadelphia. Upgraded DOCSIS 3.0 Comcast markets see the company's $42.95 "Performance" tier doubled to 12Mbps/2Mbps, while their $52.95 "Performance Plus" tier jumps from 8Mbps/2Mbps to 16Mbps/2Mbps. Upgraded markets also see two new tiers that require new DOCSIS 3.0 modems: $62.95 "Ultra" 22Mbps/5Mbps and "Extreme 50" 50Mbps/10Mbps, the price of which recently dropped to $99 a month.

Philadelphia mayor Michael A. Nutter was quick to lavish praise on the politically-potent carrier. "I applaud Comcast and their efforts to be the first to bring the benefits of advanced wideband Internet to all areas of our city," said Nutter in a statement. "We are proud of hometown companies like Comcast that enrich our lives through their innovation and investment."

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Philly-Gets-Comcast-DOCSIS-30-103559

Motorola is promoting a DOCSIS feature for cutting down noise in the spectrum range typically used for upstream transmission -- which the vendor claims can boost bandwidth up to 50% -- before cable operators start employing upstream-channel bonding to boost speeds.

The feature, synchronous code-division multiple access (S-CDMA), was developed by Terayon Communications Systems, which Motorola acquired in 2007. S-CDMA was incorporated into the DOCSIS 2.0 specification and is supported in DOCSIS 3.0.

Floyd Wagoner, director of marketing and communications for Motorola's Access Networks division, said S-CDMA represents the first step toward increasing upstream utilization in the 5-42 MHz range before moving to DOCSIS 3.0 channel-bonding on the upstream side. (Motorola's BSR 64000 cable-modem termination system does not currently support upstream channel bonding.)

The modulation schema is aimed at reducing impulse noise particularly between 5 and 15 MHz, and can increase overall bandwidth available in the 5-42 MHz range to from 100 Mbps to 150 Mbps, according to Motorola.

"In today's economy, it's smart to try to wring as much usable bandwidth out of your cable TV infrastructure as you can," In-Stat analyst Gerry Kaufhold said. "Motorola's approach is an excellent way to get more from an existing DOCSIS 2.0 cable plant, and can be upgraded to support a DOCSIS 3.0 channel-bonded approach later on." (In-Stat and Multichannel News are both owned by Reed Business Information.)

For an operator that is near the upstream limit with DOCSIS 2.0, "the S-CDMA approach can save some money this year and still permit you to continue improving your service offerings," Kaufhold added.

According to Wagoner, one Motorola customer experienced an increase in the average sustained upstream rates of 17% from 2007 to 2008. Meanwhile, the average peak across usage for 12 months increased 24%.

"What we're saying is, there's real evidence that the upstream bandwidth is increasing," he said.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/316318-Motorola_Wants_To_Clean_Up_Cable_s_Upstream.php

The nation’s largest cable operator Comcast Communications is expected to add 250,000 net new broadband subscribers when it releases second quarter results later this week, according to analyst firm Strategy Analytics.

Boston-based Strategy said the increase during the summer months, which it characterizes as the weakest for broadband service providers, brings Comcast’s broadband customer base to about 15.5 million subs.

“Ninety-six percent of Americans would hold on to their broadband service, even if economic circumstances forced them to cut back household budgets,” said Ben Piper, analyst director with Strategy Analytics.

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/cable/report-comcast-add-250000-new-broadband-subs-q2-16641

Consumers for broadband services around the globe are seen to make their choice of service provider for the services on two factors, price and speed.

"If you want to convince the average customer they should take your broadband service over the competition you have two primary selling points, price and speed,” says Oliver Johnson, CEO at Point Topic. “If we look at the ‘entry level’ services on offer in these terms we can start to make some direct comparisons.”

The research by Point Topic for broadband services around the globe for Q2 2009, highlights that globally entry level price points are leveling off but currently consumers are getting more for the price paid.

Pressure will be on DSL and cable medium to offer more as they face increasing challenge from fibre. And they have been able to do so reasonably well with residential consumers paying 40% less than for DSL-based services and 30 % less for cable-based services when compared to a year ago period. Fibre prices have dropped by only 17 % during the period.

“Fibre has such an advantage over the other delivery technologies that those operators don’t have to worry much about DSL and cable as competitors, at least for the moment,” says Johnson adding that ultimately it will be hybrid solutions which will come in handy for the service providers.

Speed-wise, Cable-based service providers have increased their offering by 21 % in 18 months while Fibre-based operators have increased by 15 % and DSL-based by 17%.

http://www.telecomtiger.com/Broadband_fullstory.aspx?passfrom=topstory&storyid=6883&section=S212

The folks over at Verizon starting using Twitter (see posts here and here) this afternoon to generate buzz about the fact that Verizon has successfully tested wireless data/voice connectivity in both Seattle and Boston using gear from LG and Samsung. According to this press release, the Seattle testing was successful back in July, with the Boston tests completed this week. Verizon plans to launch the faster technology (downstream speeds between 7-12Mbps downstream and 3-5Mbps upstream to start) in 30 markets in 2010, with deployment completed by 2014. Boston and Seattle now have 10 LTE 4G cell sites up and running on the 700 MHz spectrum, according to the carrier.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Verizon-Successfully-Tests-LTE-In-Boston-Seattle-103962

Midcontinent Communications (see our largely very positive user reviews) is a small cable operator in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The carrier's been informing people via Twitter that they're starting to deploy DOCSIS 3.0 technology, something some much larger and wealthier operators haven't been particularly motivated to do. According to a Midcontinent press statement, they'll be entering phase two of their DOCSIS 3.0 deployment with faster speed launches in Pierre and Ft. Pierre South Dakota on Monday. Like most faster DOCSIS 3.0 tiers their top 50Mbps/5Mbps tier isn't cheap at $124.95 per month, though the company says that the new speedy tier has no caps.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/MidContinent-Continues-Speed-Upgrades-103960

The price of broadband has plummeted in the last four years, but why has this happened and can it continue?

In September 2005 a process known as "local loop unbundling" (LLU) started in the UK. The process, instigated by the regulator, required BT to allow competing companies to install their own equipment in BT telephone exchanges.

This meant providers did not have to sell on BT's wholesale broadband service and could therefore offer very competitive prices. The result has been nothing short of extraordinary.

Losing a bundle
There are now over 6 million "unbundled" phone lines with about 30 different companies providing broadband services to households and businesses in the UK.

"In just four years, unbundling has gone from a flicker on the dial to a major competitive force in telecoms," said Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards. "This has delivered the dual benefits of driving up broadband take-up and driving down prices."

The downward pressure on broadband prices has enormous: in September 2005, the average cost of broadband over a copper home phone line was £23.30 a month, today it is only £13.61 for an equivalent service.

This is a whopping 42% reduction and directly results from the competition unleashed by the LLU process.

http://money.uk.msn.com/mortgages/billsandenergy/article.aspx?cp-documentid=149237128

http://blog.broadband.gov/

Cable operator Mediacom dropped the news earlier this month during their second quarter conference call that they'd be raising customer speeds in September. True to their word, the operator tells the Des Moines Register that as of tomorrow, they're on schedule to bump the company's 8Mbps tier to 12Mbps downstream with 1Mbps upstream. The company's 10Mbps tier will be boosted to 15Mbps downstream and 1Mbps upstream. According to Mediacom, this is the fourth time they've bumped speeds since 2005, though the 15-20 Mbps maximum speeds fall short of the top speeds being provided by cable operators who've been upgrading their infrastructure to DOCSIS 3.0 technology. The 1Mbps upstream for a higher end product offering is also starting to show its age.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Mediacom-Users-Get-Speed-Boost-Tomorrow-104220

Comcast has dropped us a line to note they've launched 100 Mbps broadband service in the Twin Cities market. The tier, which offers 15 Mbps upstream, clocks in at a whopping $369.95 per month, and is intended for businesses. "This is a highly competitively priced when compared to typical business class T1 lines, many of which sell for hundreds of dollars per month and do not include the comprehensive software, applications and other features we offer," says Comcast.

The company says the tier will eventually be offered in additional markets and to residential customers, but is not specifying when. "We’re starting with commercial customers because we think this kind of speed will be of more interest to them," says Comcast spokesman Charlie Douglas. The business tier comes with Microsoft Communication Service, McAfee Security Suite software, Comcast's Web hosting starter package, a static IP, and business class twenty-four hour support.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-Offers-100Mbps-104353

The Pittsburgh City Council today voted unanimously (9-0) to give Verizon a FiOS franchise in the city, after the two sides haggled over local TV funding and the installation of a small local support center. The agreement requires that Verizon deploy FiOS to the entire city within six years, though such agreements generally include plenty of wiggle room for Verizon. Efforts to include an amendment that would have Verizon funding local public access TV failed, though Verizon will have to provide a local support center.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Pittsburgh-City-Council-Approves-FiOS-Franchise-104471

Saying the FCC must be a "smart cop on the beat preserving a free and open Internet," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski Monday proposed adding two new internet access principles to the existing four, and will begin the process of codifying all of them with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking at the FCC's October meeting.

He said the move was necessary because there had already been evidence of "deviations" from historic openness, because there were incentives for that inherent in rational-bottom line competition between players, and because there was not enough of that competition in Internet service.

The new principles, which he wants to make into enforceable rules, would prevent Internet access providers from discriminating against particular Internet content or applications, while allowing for "reasonable network management." The devil will be in the details of what qualifies as that reasonable management. The second new principle would require ISPs to be open with customers about what network management practices they do employ.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/354706-Genachowski_FCC_to_Be_Open_Interent_Cop.php

Comcast has launched DOCSIS 3.0-based "wideband" services in more than half of its footprint in the Denver metro area, with plans roll out faster Internet speeds in other areas of the state by the end of 2009.

With the next-generation cable modem technology, Comcast offers residential customers download speeds of up to 50 Mbps and doubling speeds for current Performance tier customers -- to up to 12 Mbps downstream and 2 Mbps upstream -- at no additional cost.

The MSO said it began the network upgrades in Denver in late August. Later this year, Comcast said, the new services will be available throughout most of the communities it serves in Colorado, from Pueblo to Fort Collins and in most of the Mountain communities along the I-70 corridor.

"We applaud Comcast for their efforts to bring the benefits of advanced wideband Internet to all areas of our city," Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said in a statement. "We are grateful for companies like Comcast that continue to demonstrate their commitment to enrich our lives through innovation and investment."

http://www.multichannel.com/article/354711-Comcast_Launches_DOCSIS_3_0_In_Colorado.php?rssid=20076

If you recall, back in May Time Warner Cable tried to force a bill through the North Carolina legislature that would have banned towns and cities from wiring themselves with broadband. Specifically, Time Warner Cable lobbyists were targeting a handful of new fiber to the home projects in the state in places like Wilson, where users can now get FTTH service that far exceeds Time Warner's aging DOCSIS 1.1 technology. The bill ultimately failed, thanks in part to heightened attention from consumers already annoyed by Time Warner Cable's efforts to impose metered billing, though dozens of such bills have already been passed in other states. The company's key Democratic political ally for the bill in North Carolina, who at the time seemed remarkably oblivious about his own bill, has now resigned under a cloud of controversy surrounding his strangely robust campaign finances for a non-election season.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Time-Warner-Political-Pal-Resigns-Under-Ethics-Probe-104560

On the heels of launching faster DOCSIS 3.0 service and faster 50 Mbps speeds in parts of Rhode Island, Louisiana, Arizona and Northern Virginia, Cox says they're now boosting the speeds of their Preferred and Premier broadband tiers starting September 29. According to Cox, the company's Preferred tier will be increased to 15 Mbps downstream and 2 Mbps upstream. Their Premier tier will be bumped to 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream. Both tiers come with Powerboost, which will nudge speeds for the first part of a download or upload to 20/2.5 and 30/3.5, respectively.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Cox-Offers-Faster-Speeds-104635

Be aware of what is happening out there....


If you still don't know what astroturf is, it's bogus grass roots efforts designed by corporations to present the illusion that a company policy has broad public support. Using fake consumer advocacy groups, co-opted (read: paid off) minority and disability groups, and think tanks, PR firms like Issue Dynamics are paid by companies like AT&T and Verizon to create a sort of "sound wall" of bogus public applause for political positions. This pseudo-grass roots support is then trotted before lawmakers and seeded in the media to suggest anti-consumer policy has consumer support.

While we're sure astroturfers and the people who pay them would describe what they do in polite terms such as "community outreach" or "blogger relations," the reality is that astroturf is unethical propaganda used to screw consumers. One of the biggest names in the telecom astroturf field is Sam Simon. Simon's company Issue Dynamics has its fingers in a huge array of artificial consumer groups and other lobbying organizations, the majority of which are used by AT&T and Verizon to crush competition, eliminate consumer protections, and pass bad regulation.

One of the biggest tricks in Simon's and Issue Dynamics bag is to use existing, pseudo-legitimate organizations to preach AT&T or Verizon policy positions. Back in 2003 Simon reportedly paid seniors rights group the Gray Panthers to help Verizon attack Worldcom. In more recent years, everyone from minority to deaf disability groups have been given funds to preach the baby bell gospel, arguing for everything from the elimination of price controls to new laws that would legalize broadband cherry picking or ban towns and cities from wiring themselves for broadband.

Apparently, cash for a new events center often outweighs any pesky moral pangs formed by supporting policies that are against your constituents' best interest. Simon, meanwhile, uses his connections to these groups (and his brief stint working for Ralph Nader) to help build up his artificial consumer street cred with the myriad of public affairs groups he works with (see his Bio over at Amplify Public Affairs, the new name for Issue Dynamics).

With Simon being at the very heart of a decade of AT&T and Verizon disinformation efforts, imagine our surprise to see that Simon's being given an ethics award by the United Church Of Christ. Well, perhaps more amusement than surprise, given the Church Of Christ is one of the many organizations Simon uses to put corporate words into the mouth of groups that supposedly keep tabs on consumer interests. Interestingly, the Church is also giving an award the same day to Consumerist editor Ben Popken, we'll assume to lend legitimacy to the proceedings.

Wait. It gets better. The honor being bestowed is called the Everett C. Parker Ethics in Telecommunications Lecture, an ethics award series coordinated by a group called the Telecommunications and Research Center. One guess who founded TRAC? Sam Simon. So, in short, you have the telcom industry's biggest astroturfer, with a history of using consumer groups to argue anti-consumer positions, essentially giving himself an ethics award.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Telecom-Industrys-Biggest-Astroturfer-Gives-Self-Ethics-Award-104799

1.5 million North American new homes signed up for to fiber-to-the-home service last year, bringing the continent's total to 5.3 million, according to the latest study by the Fiber To The Home Council. According to the group, the number of homes passed (a term that doesn't always mean the service is actually available) with fiber grew to 17.2 million from 13.8 million one year earlier. While there's hundreds of cooperatives, small telcos and municipal outfits deploying fiber, Verizon takes up the lion's share of that 5.3 million total, serving roughly 3.1 million FiOS Internet customers and 2.5 million FiOS TV customers.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/53-Million-North-America-Fiber-Customers-104789

Electronics retailer Best Buy is selling Motorola's DOCSIS 3.0-certified cable modems both online and in its stores.

The Motorola SurfBoard SB6120 eXtreme DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem is available at Best Buy and BestBuy.com for $99.99. According to customer comments on the site, the modems have been available to order since April.

Earlier this year, Fry's Electronics began selling the Motorola SB6120 cable modem online and in select stores. Radio Shack also sells the unit for $99.99, while Amazon.com offers it for $85.03.

The SB6120 is certified for DOCSIS 3.0 and supports download speeds of up to 150 Mbps, although currently 100 Mbps is the fastest service MSOs, including Comcast and Cablevision Systems, have launched commercially. The modems also work in any cable provider's current DOCSIS 2.0 environment.

According to research firm Pike & Fischer, U.S. cable operators are on track to deploy DOCSIS 3.0-based services to 99% of the country by 2013.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/356934-Best_Buy_Carrying_Motorola_DOCSIS_3_0_Modems.php

While ISPs (and the investors who love them) would like the public to believe that metered billing is inevitable, not everybody in the industry agrees. Ed Gubbins over at Telephony Online takes an interesting detour from the traditional pro-metered position of most loyal trade magazines, talking to industry vendors who don't see per-byte billing as the end all be all of broadband. Arbor Networks network scientist Craig Labovitz, for one, sees the industry settling on flat-rate pricing because of "simplicity":

"Generally stuff starts out flat-rate, and it’s very expensive for a select few," Labovitz said, citing the telegraph and the telephone as examples. "Then as it becomes more ubiquitous, it becomes metered as you try to relax capacity…and you try to dis-incentivize people from using your capacity. And then it ends up being flat-rate again as ultimately there’s a strong economic [force toward] consumers preferring simplicity as a key metric."

Some operators already see this -- Cablevision recently noting how they weren't keen on metered billing because it confuses users, and they want customers to use more of their product, not less. Despite inferences to the contrary, carriers make more than enough money off of flat-rate pricing to fund network upgrades. Indeed, Gubbins goes on to cite a recent scientific study that notes the high cost and complexity (ask Canadian cable operator Cogeco) of metering your users only really makes sense if you want people using less of your product:

"The cost of collecting charges on each transaction, both in real terms for the operator and the user and in dissuading total demand by increasing marginal costs…makes [metering] too expensive,” the authors wrote, adding that metering does make sense in some cases, "When the aim is less to collect revenues and more to discourage usage."

A lot of people who buy the idea that per-byte billing is the obvious, fair evolution of broadband pricing (like Slate did this week) haven't usually thought about how per-byte billing is expensive (for carriers and users), confusing, technically annoying, leads to potential anti-competitive abuses, and when envisioned by most carriers -- not particularly centered toward delivering value to consumers. While there's a lot of rhetoric coming from carriers, lobbyists and investors claiming a shift to per-byte billing is both necessary and inevitable. It's neither.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/PerByte-Broadband-Billing-Is-Neither-Necessary-Nor-Inevitable-104914

Jeffrey M. O'Brien over at Fortune is the latest American with a sluggish DSL connection to suffer from Asian broadband envy, noting that Hong Kong provider City Telecom offers symmetrical 100 Mbps broadband service for about $13 a month. What's more, the ISP offers these users a money back guarantee: if they don't see at least 80% of their promised speed, their ISP pays them. Twice the amount the user paid for service. City Telecom CFO NiQ Lai tells Fortune the low pricing is part of a plan to blow all other Hong Kong ISPs out of the water.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/13-For-100-Mbps-105490

The New York City Council was scheduled to hold a meeting Friday morning on a resolution backing strong network neutrality principles.

The resolution, which says the Internet is "in jeopardy" until such rules are approved, was co-sponsored by seven council members.

"The Council of the City of New York calls upon the Federal Communications Commission to codify strong network neutrality principles in order to ensure that the Internet will continue to foster innovation, increase competition, and spur economic growth as well as making the Internet faster and more affordable for all," the resolution reads.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/390060-New_York_Considers_Resolution_Backing_Net_Neutrality.php

Comcast Corp. has finished a $10 million upgrade of its cable system in Farmington, Aztec and Bloomfield in northwestern New Mexico.

The company rebuilt or installed 600 miles of fiber-optic and coaxial cable in the project, which began last February.

The upgrade will allow Comcast to immediately offer more services to its customers, such as access to 300 digital cable channels and high-speed Internet service, Comcast General Manager Mark Johnson said in a news release.

http://albuquerque.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2009/11/16/daily47.html?ana=yfcpc

While Comcast lobbyists tried their best to slow the encroachment of Verizon FiOS into their hometown of Philadelphia, the Philly city council authorized a citywide franchise back in February (you can read the agreement here (pdf) if you're into that kind of thing). As per the deal, Verizon has around seven years to wire the whole city, though these agreements (as with NYC and DC) often have loopholes that let Verizon extend deadlines or wiggle out of obligations should certain adoption numbers not be met. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, service this week went live in Chestnut Hill, South Philadelphia and North Philadelphia, near Girard College. Additional neighborhoods should come online this year, but Verizon isn't saying which ones. Verizon does keep a PA construction notice (pdf) on their website, but it's quite often outdated.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Verizon-Brings-FiOS-To-Philadelphia-105596

The Federal Communications Commission began to lay the groundwork for a bigger federal role in the broadband business Wednesday, outlining the hurdles the U.S. needs to overcome to improve the availability of high-speed Internet access.

The FCC identified a number of issues the government should address, including the high cost of laying new broadband lines in rural areas, a lack of airwaves for wireless Web access and ill-informed consumers.

"This focus on broadband is a reflection of a recognition that the U.S. is lagging behind," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Wednesday at the agency's monthly meeting.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125858121746254383.html?mod=rss_Today%27s_Most_Popular

Again, the inference that the flat-rate pricing model mysteriously doesn't offer the money needed to fund investment is simply not true, should you care to look at any major ISP balance sheet or 10-K. Internet usage data (at least the data not coming from DC lobbyists pushing the "Exaflood") indicates that future capacity demand can be met with only modest capacity upgrades. New data from the University of Minnesota this week indicates that growth continues to slow. So if by "shooting through the roof," Spangler means "completely manageable with only modest investment and smart engineering," he's right. Otherwise, not so much.

But Spangler derails his own point here. Comcast's using a combination of investment in DOCSIS 3.0, smart engineering, intelligent network management hardware and a 250GB cap to handle demand on peak and off. All of that is funded, with plenty of money to spare, by flat-rate pricing. The 1% of users who are still a problem can be bumped to more expensive business-class tiers. The capacity demands are being taken care of now and in the future, customers understand the pricing and limits, Comcast's network is healthy, most of their costs are fixed or decreasing, and their business is hugely profitable. Yet Spangler says:

If you want to pretend that all-you-can-eat plans are sustainable at today’s price tiers, you’d be kind of clueless.

Now as Spangler himself says he's "the man" and we're just "edgy blogger types" (edgy is apparently a polite euphemism for asking questions when presented with industry talking points) but again: where's the evidence that a shift to consumption-based billing is necessary? Repeating that metered billing is necessary and inevitable doesn't magically make it so.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Theres-Still-No-Evidence-That-Metered-Billing-Is-Necessary-105574

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has added to the FCC's quivver of reasons to aim at high-speed broadband for all Americans: supporting our troops.

In a speech in at the Clinton Presidential Library in Arkansas, the chairman echoed the need for broadband for a host of social services and general connectivity, but he framed them in khaki.

Genahchowksi said the country is lagging the rest of the world in broadband deployment and adoption. He asked, rhetorically, why it matters that we are "middle of the pack" (echoing the characterization of a Berkman study the FCC commissioned on international broadband). He then answered the question by way of discussing a recent visit to troops in the Middle East (he spoke earlier this month at an international telecommunications conference in Beirut) and broadband's importance to remote education, healthcare, and morale.

He talked of a learning center on an Air Force base in Qatar, of using secure online sites to lift the burden of hard copies of medical records soldiers often have to carry with them, of the importance of interoperable public safety communications, and of soldiers staying connected with families when they are far from home.

"Broadband has immense power to improve the quality of lives of our citizens in innumerable ways -- whether it’s our troops serving in Iraq or a family living in Little Rock," he said.

The commission appears to be building a case almost daily for far higher broadband speeds than its current 768 kbps downstream.200 kbps upstream definition of high-speed broadband in a world where current distance learning and telemedicine apps often need multiple megabytes going in both directions, according to advocates of both.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/390754-Genachowski_Says_American_Troops_Need_High_Speed_Broadband.p hp

Earlier this month Mediacom hinted that their implementation of faster DOCSIS 3.0 technology would involve both 50 Mbps and 100 Mbps tiers, and would be arriving sometime in December. According to the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier, Waterloo will be a "showcase" for their faster speeds, which will launch before the end of December. While the speeds are set at 50/5 Mbps and 105/10 Mbps, the company says they're still trying to determine what they'll charge for the "high end" product. Mediacom hopes to have about 25% of their network upgraded to the faster speeds by the end of the year, and has an additional 25% of their network DOCSIS 3.0 headend-capable for expanded launches in 2010.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Waterloo-Iowa-To-See-105-Mbps-Mediacom-105667

House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-Va.) has told the FCC what he expects to see in its national broadband plan, and that includes minimum speeds for 80% of the country by 2015.

At its Dec. 16 public meeting, the FCC's broadband team provided broad strokes on policy for the plan, due to Congress Feb. 17, but provided no hard and fast proposals.

In a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, Boucher urged him to make universal availability and higher speeds part of that plan.

"The commission should explicitly endorse a goal for minimum broadband speeds, of at least 50 megabits downstream and 20 megabits upstream for 80 percent of the population by 2015," he said. "Without committing to such ambitious, but achievable, levels of speed and service, the promises of telemedicine, distance learning and telecommuting may remain a far-off dream rather than a near-term reality. If we fail to achieve such a goal, our nation will likely remain well behind other industrialized countries that are racing ahead and gaining a competitive advantage by doing so."

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/440869-Boucher_Says_50mb_20mb_Should_Be_Baseline_of_Broadband_Plan. php

Comcast is gearing up to take its first system in the U.S. -- in Augusta, Ga. -- to 100% digital operation by February, eliminating analog versions of 16 limited-basic cable channels and allowing the operator to introduce a 100-Mbps broadband service.

Under Comcast's Project Cavalry initiative, the operator is converting expanded basic lineups to digital-only delivery and offering customers a free digital set-top and two digital transport adapters (DTAs) for no extra charge. In Augusta, which completed the Project Cavalry cutover on Sept. 1, the elimination of the analog expanded basic channels allowed the system to add 45 HD channels, bringing the total number of HD channels available in the area to 83.

Now the Georgia system is going whole-hog, planning to phase out the 16 channels in the so-called "B1" tier by Feb. 1, 2010. The limited basic channels includes local broadcast feeds of NBC, CBS, Fox, PBS and ABC, as well as local public access, education and government channels.

Following the "B1" analog reclamation, Comcast plans to roll out an additional 18 HD channels and will be offering a 100-Mbps high-speed Internet tier to Augusta subscribers in addition to the 22- and 50-Mbps DOCSIS 3.0 speed tiers that are available in other markets, said Alana Davis, Comcast senior director of corporate communications for video communications.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/441155-Comcast_To_Hit_100_Mbps_In_Augusta_Ga_After_Going_100_Digita l.php

For years, ISP lobbyists and their hired mouthpieces have pushed the bogus concept of the "Exaflood", or the idea that bandwidth demand is growing so quickly, ISPs can't possibly keep up unless they get X. Usually X in this equation is fewer consumer protections, no price caps, the right to charge incredibly high overage fees, not having to pay taxes -- etc. You get the point. Real science from outside lobbyist land, however, repeatedly shows that bandwidth demands can be met in both the core and the last mile with only reasonable network upgrades.

While network congestion certainly is real, it is also frequently used to justify anti-competitive behavior -- be it Bell Canada's decision to throttle wholesale competitors so they can't offer superior service to consumers, or AT&T and Time Warner Cable's desire to impose high overages on their users despite already making an incredible profit under the flat-rate pricing model. During these arguments, consumers who dare actually use the company's product (as it's advertised to them) are demonized as "bandwidth hogs."

Techdirt directs our attention to two posts over at Fiber Evolution and DadaMotive, exploring how even the concept of a bandwidth hog is somewhat disingenuous. Herman Wagter, who has worked on Amsterdam's FTTH efforts (covered here by us, but also see this interesting interview with him) goes so far as to argue the bandwidth hog doesn't really even exist. Wagter's fundamental argument is that bandwidth hogs aren't real; what's real are chokepoints and network designs that companies are hiding from sight.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/105809

Comcast this week will offer ultra-fast Internet service based on the cable industry's DOCSIS 3.0 technology to 27 more communities in Northern California, as the operator is shooting to deploy "wideband" services to nearly 80% of its footprint nationwide by the end of the year.

As it has in other DOCSIS 3.0 markets, the MSO will offer two new tiers of service -- Extreme 50, with up to 50 Mbps down and 10 Mbps up, and Ultra (22/5 Mbps) -- and will double top speeds for existing Performance tier customers to 12 Mbps down and 2 Mbps up.

Comcast previously deployed wideband in the San Francisco Bay Area, Monterey-Salinas and several portions of the Central Valley earlier this year.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/441573-Comcast_Expands_DOCSIS_3_0_Reach_In_Northern_California.php

The Justice Department this week submitted comments to the FCC urging that the agency make more unused spectrum available to wireless carriers to help improve broadband competition. While that's an obvious sentiment, making more spectrum available doesn't help competition if the major competitors have an edge in winning it at auction, and then just wind up sitting on it. Fortunately, the Justice Department took their statement a bit further, saying that the FCC should also work to make sure incumbents don't win and then hold spectrum to prevent competition to their services:

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/DOJ-To-FCC-Promote-Broadband-Competition-106235

The FCC this week announced (pdf) that the agency has created a new "Consumer Task Force" headed by Joel Gurin, Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau. Gurin was also a former journalist, and a former Executive Vice President of Consumers Union (CU), the publisher of Consumer Reports magazine. The new task force will "play a critical role in ensuring that Commission proceedings take account of consumer interests," while making sure "that consumer protection and empowerment policies apply consistently and reasonably across technologies and bureaus at the FCC."

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/FCC-Creates-Consumer-Task-Force-106534

According to new research from Informa Telecoms & Media, global fixed-broadband subscription numbers will reach half a billion this year, driven by continued growth in emerging markets. Although the fixed-broadband markets of the wealthiest countries in the world are fast becoming saturated, tens of millions of homes in some of the world's largest markets, such as China and India, are still without broadband. These underserved markets are poised to drive a second wave of broadband growth, creating opportunities for operators, investors and equipment vendors, says Informa.

"Overall the number of net new fixed-broadband subscriptions grew in 2009 to over 480 million, largely as a result of accelerating growth in emerging markets and we expect this number to reach 500 million this year. China, Russia, Mexico, India and Vietnam were among the countries that recorded the greatest leaps in fixed-broadband subscription numbers last year," comments Rob Gallagher, Principal Analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media and Lead Author of the Next 100 Million report.

"China extended its lead over the US, and Russia overtook Italy to claim the No. 8 spot. India, Mexico, Turkey, the Ukraine and Vietnam look set to also grow strongly, provided that current trends continue," he adds.

http://www.eurocomms.com/online_press/113487/Global_fixed-broadband_subscriptions_to_surpass_half_a_billion_mark_in_20 10,_says_research.html?

i just cant believe that broadband is going to reach only 650 million homes worldwide by 2013. that doesnt seem like very much when compared to the actual population.

i just cant believe that broadband is going to reach only 650 million homes worldwide by 2013. that doesnt seem like very much when compared to the actual population.

If you consider most of the world is dirt poor. You know how many people live in area that don't even have electricity? Also even in the US nearly 15%-20% of the popualtion doesn't have access to broadband. Not because they don't want it because it's not available. And no satellite and cell phone broadband don't count. Not until the can match speed and pricing of DSL/cable and get rid of insanely low caps and $50 per GB overage fees.

i just cant believe that broadband is going to reach only 650 million homes worldwide by 2013. that doesnt seem like very much when compared to the actual population.

It is all relative.

For a comparison, it is estimated that some 92 million US households have DVD players, while some 83 million US households have broadband subscriptions (through 9/09).

We've long discussed how companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast frequently use artificial consumer-advocacy groups to argue in favor of frequently anti-consumer corporate policy positions. But these companies' lobbyists also frequently do something called "co-opting," which involves donating money to existing groups in exchange for that group parroting AT&T or Verizon policy positions. This often results in groups like the National Association For the Deaf supporting policies that frequently aren't in the best interest of the deaf, including laws advocating for the "cherry picking" of next-generation broadband services.

These faux consumer groups and co-opted legitimate groups, combined with paid lobbyists, think tanks, fake grass roots (astroturf) and other PR mechanisms, collectively form a sort of policy sound wall in Washington and in the news media. The goal is to create the illusion of a wide variety of public and (pseudo) scientific support for policies that often have very negative consequences, with one or two companies controlling the message. Minority, disability groups and even corn farmers are often used as part of this process, lending an air of humanist legitimacy to the latest telecom lobbying effort.

his is why you'll see groups like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) or the Arkansas Retired Seniors Coalition coming out in favor of bad laws written by telecom companies. It's also why you'll see groups supposedly dedicated to civil rights suddenly supporting Comcast in their fight against network neutrality.

With all of this as a backdrop, it's interesting to see new FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, with her focus on minority media ownership, discovering the dirtier aspects of telecom lobbying. Speaking Friday at the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council's Social Justice summit (see transcript (pdf)), Clyburn spoke to the obvious benefit unfettered broadband access brings to marginalized communities. She also politely observed how many civil rights groups weren't focusing on the core broadband availability issues facing minorities:

To my surprise, most of the filings submitted and public statements issued by some of the leading groups representing people of color on this matter have been silent on this make-or-break issue. There has been almost no discussion of how important – how essential – it is for traditionally underrepresented groups to maintain the low barriers to entry that our current open Internet provides.

Clyburn shouldn't be surprised. Many of these groups are silent on issues of substance for minorities because they've been co-opted by major carriers. The lure of cash contribution long ago overshadowed any substantive interest in standing up for their constituents in the field of technology. You'll recall that even former FCC boss Kevin Martin admitted as much, having had his wrist slapped in 2007 for pointing out that civil rights groups were being used by giant telecom companies as puppets on technology policy. As with many of these unethical lobbying efforts, it says volumes that few people really noticed.

Combined with her recent run in with Verizon over the carrier's phantom $2 fee scam, Clyburn's comments seem to indicate she's not going to be quite the FCC pushover some consumer advocates and progressives had predicted. You'll recall there was ample worry that Clyburn's stint as a South Carolinia regulator hinted at a strong fondness for AT&T. She has much to prove, but so far she's asking all the right questions. At the very least, she's going to deliver some much needed genuine (for once) minority input into the FCC's new effort to craft network neutrality guidelines.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/New-FCC-Commissioner-Clyburn-Not-The-Pushover-Some-Expected-106576

Fiber-optic technology proved popular once again in the latest round of U.S. rural broadband stimulus funding. At least nine of the 14 projects announced today will use fiber for middle-mile or last-mile networks.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today the 14 Recovery Act Broadband Infrastructure projects that will receive $309,923,352 through funding made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. An additional $3,551,887 in private investment brings the total to $313,475,239. Altogether, Congress awarded USDA $2.5 billion in Recovery Act funding to help bring broadband services to rural un-served and underserved communities.

The project awards announced today come on the heels of an announcement last week from the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) that two fiber-based projects would receive funding via the NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).

The first of the newly funded projects is in Michigan. Merit Network, Inc. will receive a $33.3 million infrastructure grant, backed by an additional $8.3 million in matching funds, to build a 955-mile fiber-optic network through 32 counties in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. The project also intends to directly connect 44 community anchor institutions and will serve an area covering 886,000 households, 45,800 businesses, and an additional 378 anchor institutions.

In North Carolina, MCNC will receive a $28.2 million infrastructure grant, augmented with an additional $11.7 million in matching funds and in-kind contributions, to build a 494-mile middle-mile broadband network passing almost half the population of North Carolina in 37 counties. The network will build new rings in the western and eastern regions of the state, which will connect to 685 miles of existing infrastructure in the urbanized central region, expanding the reach of the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN), an established broadband service for community anchor institutions in the state.

http://www.lightwaveonline.com/fttx/news/Fiber-dominates-latest-US-rural-broadband-stimulus-funds-release-82618867.html?

Mediacom Communications has expanded its DOCSIS 3.0 rollout to nine additional markets, reaching just over 25% of its subscriber base with a 50-Mbps downstream service, on the heels of the operator's 105-Mbps service launch in two small communities.

"It's a great competitive edge and an opportunity for Mediacom to have the best connection in a given market," said Dan Templin, group vice president of strategic marketing and product development.

The operator last month launched the Ultra 105 tier -- at 105 Mbps down and 10 Mbps up, billed as the fastest residential broadband in the United States -- in Waterloo, Iowa, and Dagsboro, Del., priced for first 12 months at $149.95 per month.

Since then, Mediacom's Ultra 50 tier (50 Mbps down and 5 Mbps up) has been launched in Waterloo and Dagsboro and nine additional markets: Charleston and Moline, Ill.; Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, Iowa; Mound, Minn.; Gulf Breeze and Milton, Fla.; and Columbia and Springfield, Mo. Pricing for the first 12 months is $99.95 per month.

In total, the Ultra 50 service is available to approximately 25% of Mediacom's existing high-speed Internet subs, meaning about 191,000 out its 765,000 broadband customers would be able to upgrade to Ultra.

In 2010, Mediacom expects to bring DOCSIS 3.0 to another 25% of its footprint to be able to offer 50-Mbps service to roughly half its customers, Templin said. In addition, the MSO in March plans to introduce a 50-Mbps service for business customers, Mediacom's first commercial offering.

"With some pretty smart investment in our network we have the capacity to be a market leader with the DOCSIS 3.0 technology," Templin said. "We're showing that Middle America doesn't have to be trailing larger urban markets."

http://www.multichannel.com/article/446180-Mediacom_Launches_DOCSIS_3_0_In_Nine_More_Markets.php

About 105 million subscribers worldwide are currently connected to cable broadband services, representing 25% of all broadband users, with 65% hooked up via DSL and 11% fiber-to-the-home, according to market research firm ABI Research.

BroadbandThe number of fixed broadband subscribers reached more than 422 million at the end of 2009, up 9% from 2008, with ABI attributing the increased penetration to operators offering multiplay bundles and lowering access prices.

ABI forecasts that worldwide wireline broadband subscribers will increase to 501 million at the end of 2014 -- with most of the growth in fiber-to-the-home connections. FTTH will more than double over that time period, from 44 million at the end of 2009 to about 106 million in 2014, the research firm estimates.

"File sharing, music downloads, IPTV, online gaming and videoconferencing are all acting to increase the user demand for high speed Internet. The number of fiber broadband subscribers is increasing with growing popularity of these services," ABI analyst Khin Sandi Lynn said.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/447852-Cable_Broadband_Subs_Top_105_Million_Worldwide_Study.php

Last April Time Warner Cable shelved their plans to impose metered billing on their customers, after a user, media and political backlash caused them to reconsider the consumer value of charging up to $5 per gigabyte (as in: not much). While Time Warner Cable took a media beating, AT&T quietly continued to experiment with metered billing in two markets: Beaumont, Texas and Reno, Nevada. In those markets, DSL users face caps ranging from 20GB to 150GB, with users paying $1 for every gigabyte over the cap they travel.

In AT&T's Reno and Beaumont trial markets, the experiment hasn't been particularly well received. Users in those markets have been complaining to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and state regulators, saying they're being advertised unlimited service at sign up, then (if they consume more than 150 GB a month) informed they're being automatically included in the trial. AT&T may have grown tired of the cost of either the project itself, or of answering BBB complaints. According to Stop The Cap, complaining users are being told the trials are being shelved in April:

"Go to the Southern Nevada Better Business Bureau and file a complaint. I just had the VP of Regional West of AT&T call. She was pissed that I filed a complaint, and now she has to personally reply. She hung up on me." ... Albert was told the nightmare ends April 1st, when the trial wraps up.

One anonymous source within AT&T tells Broadband Reports that the trials may have been scrapped due to the high cost of implementation. "I heard it might be getting shelved because the hardware to do such a thing was more expensive than what it was worth or what it would yield profitwise," says the source. "Supposedly it wouldn't even break even in 5 years," he says. Possibly the cost of hardware, software, support and dealing with Better Business Bureau complaints simply weren't worth the effort. "Some of us network folks have been laughing about it since it started," they say.

The carrier justification for the shift from flat rate pricing to low caps and high overages has always been suspect. Carriers make enough money under the flat rate pricing model to fund network upgrades for decades -- a fact verified by looking at carrier earnings and 10-K data. While carriers (and hired think tanks) also try to claim that these billing models are necessary due to a looming bandwidth implosion, actual network analysis doesn't bear that out, either. Worst perhaps is the carrier argument that such models are in some way altruistic, but most consumers have also seen through such claims.

What these trials are about is delivering additional money to investors by charging consumers more money for the same or less product. What better present to an investor than the money gleaned from continually hiking user overage fees -- at the same time that bandwidth and hardware costs continue to plummet? Low caps and high overages allow a carrier to both monetize the explosion in Internet video and protect TV revenues. They have nothing to do with fairness, as under the models proposed so far, everybody pays more -- not just heavy users.

As both AT&T and Time Warner Cable may be realizing, pushing meters and low caps into a flat-rate market creates a perfect opportunity for your competitors to highlight the simpler benefits of uncapped, flat rate service. As we've noted previously, the only way for carriers to impose their metered billing model on the U.S. market is by doing it collectively, in unison, so that users have no competitive choice in the matter. Both companies may have also drastically underestimated the intelligence of their users.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Is-ATT-Shutting-Down-Metered-Billing-Trials-107012

Last week Charter gave their customers a bit of good news by informing Broadband Reports that the company has no plans to impose metered billing, or for that matter even enforce their recently created "soft caps." The company dropped another bit of good news on customers this morning, by announcing a suite of new speed upgrades for users. According to a new Charter website and Charter employee Eric Ketzer, the company started bumping their "Express," "Plus" and "Max" speed tiers last week, and users need to power cycle their modem to see the faster speeds.

The company's Express tier used to be 5 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up, and is now 8 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up. Charter's Plus tier has gone from 10 Mbps down and 2 Mbps up to 16 Mbps down and 2 Mbps up. The company's Max tier has gone from 20 Mbps down and 2 Mbps up to 25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up. Prices may vary based on regional competition, but Charter's website lists the tiers' introductory new-contract price points at $30, $40, and $55 respectively.

Ketzer confirms to Broadband Reports that the freshly-upgraded 25/3 Max tier is being powered by DOCSIS 3.0 upgrades, so you will need to upgrade your modem to one that's DOCSIS 3.0 compliant. Ketzer also confirms to us that this faster speed should be available in all markets, which suggests that Charter has been a very busy company since they exited from bankruptcy late last year. As a related aside, Charter's latest earnings report shows a company on the mend.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Charter-Offers-Free-Speed-Upgrades-107114

In July of last year, Broadband Reports was the first to report that AT&T was cooking up a new 24 Mbps down 3 Mbps up tier for U-Verse users, and in December of last year the product launched under the "Max Turbo" brand. The tier, which costs $65 a month but requires you bundle other AT&T U-Verse products, was originally launched in Austin, San Antonio and St. Louis. According to an AT&T press statement today, AT&T has now expanded the availability of the tier to all of their U-Verse markets. AT&T currently offers U-Verse in 120 markets across 22 states.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ATT-Says-24-Mbps-UVerse-Now-Available-Everywhere-107613

Looks like the "free" internet for all has a major set back.
Now the ISP's can limit bandwidth as needed if a streaming service does not want to pay to allow full bandwidth to an end user/subscriber.

This ruling basically gave the ISP's full control over how they control, monitor and regulate bandwidth.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100406/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_internet_rules


The ruling also marks a serious setback for the FCC, which is trying to officially set net neutrality regulations. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski argues that such rules are needed to prevent phone and cable companies from using their control over Internet access to favor some online content and services over others.

The decision also has serious implications for the massive national broadband plan released by the FCC last month. The FCC needs clear authority to regulate broadband in order to push ahead with some its key recommendations, including a proposal to expand broadband by tapping the federal fund that subsidizes telephone service in poor and rural communities.

Looks like the "free" internet for all has a major set back.
Now the ISP's can limit bandwidth as needed if a streaming service does not want to pay to allow full bandwidth to an end user/subscriber.

This ruling basically gave the ISP's full control over how they control, monitor and regulate bandwidth.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100406/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_internet_rules

Comcast screwed the pooch on this one. By clearly demonstrating that the laws from 1934 are not adequate, they have opened Pandora's box to new laws, classifications and consumer protection action.


The more likely scenario, Scott believes, is that the agency will simply reclassify broadband as a more heavily regulated telecommunications service. That, ironically, could be the worst-case outcome from the perspective of the phone and cable companies.

"Comcast swung an ax at the FCC to protest the ********** order," Scott said. "And they sliced right through the FCC's arm and plunged the ax into their own back."

"Today's court decision invalidated the prior commission's approach to preserving an open Internet," the agency's statement said. "But the court in no way disagreed with the importance of preserving a free and open Internet; nor did it close the door to other methods for achieving this important end."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36193558/ns/technology_and_science-security

"Free and open internet" ?

Phone lines aren't free and TV shouldn't be either.

I'm sure it's not over but that was a major b.... slap to the FCC...

"Free and open internet" ?

Phone lines aren't free and TV shouldn't be either.

The internet should be free to be a platform for innovation.

It certainly should not be limited to preserve existing monopolies.

I think Comcast is going to seriously regret ever bringing the lawsuit. It is a battle they will not win, and they certainly did not endear themselves to folks who can have a large say in how their business runs.

Nor should the internet be another way for a bloated FCC to dip into consumers pockets for a redistribution of wealth.
This ruling prevents one more suck on everybodies wallet.

Xfinity rebranding means a market gets 12/2, 20/4, 50/10, 100/25 Mbps tiers

An insider at Comcast informs Broadband Reports that Comcast users should expect a shake up in the company's speed tiers sometime during the next eight months. The changes should arrive as Comcast continues to push their "Xfinity" rebranding effort into different markets. According to the source, the new Comcast tiers will be 12/2 Mbps, 20/4 Mbps, 50/10 Mbps, and 100/25 Mbps. Current 22/5 customers will be grandfathered, according to the source, and Comcast apparently hopes to get that 100 Mbps tier into about 20% of their footprint this year.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Insider-Tells-Us-Comcast-Will-Shake-Up-Speed-Tiers-This-Year-107801

The internet should be free to be a platform for innovation.

It certainly should not be limited to preserve existing monopolies.

I think Comcast is going to seriously regret ever bringing the lawsuit. It is a battle they will not win, and they certainly did not endear themselves to folks who can have a large say in how their business runs.

in fairness though:

if a Comcast user is using large amounts of bandwidth to download movies from a third party: a movie that Comcast also offers, I can see it is problematic for them, No?

in fairness though:

if a Comcast user is using large amounts of bandwidth to download movies from a third party: a movie that Comcast also offers, I can see it is problematic for them, No?

Problematic as a business? Sure.

But when they are the only (are one of only two) choices for consumers to receive broadband, then they should not be allowed to stifle normal, healthy competition. If someone else is providing the same movies, they need to compete on other fronts rather than actively working to deny or restrict customer access to the competition.

Businesses will work to protect their revenue streams whenever possible. That is why there ARE protections in place that prevent companies from harming the competitive landscape.

It is exactly the scenario you describe that regulators want to avoid (trapping consumers into one option).

Problematic as a business? Sure.

But when they are the only (are one of only two) choices for consumers to receive broadband, then they should not be allowed to stifle normal, healthy competition. If someone else is providing the same movies, they need to compete on other fronts rather than actively working to deny or restrict customer access to the competition.

Businesses will work to protect their revenue streams whenever possible. That is why there ARE protections in place that prevent companies from harming the competitive landscape.

It is exactly the scenario you describe that regulators want to avoid (trapping consumers into one option).

point taken

I think the usage meter they added and the tier pricing are reasonable approaches to address this

It is exactly the scenario you describe that regulators want to avoid (trapping consumers into one option)

Isn't the latest judgment against the FCC doing just that. They just said the FCC couldn't impose net neutrality on ISP. Not that I agree with that decision but it seem your judiciary isn't concerned with the freedom of choice of the consumer on the net.

Isn't the latest judgment against the FCC doing just that. They just said the FCC couldn't impose net neutrality on ISP. Not that I agree with that decision but it seem your judiciary isn't concerned with the freedom of choice of the consumer on the net.

It is more a matter of the judiciary trying to accurately interpret the current law.

The FCC itself has several ways to move forward, including what is referred to as the "nuclear option" of classifying broadband companies as common carriers. That WOULD end up putting Comcast broadband (and all broadband providers) being treated more like public utilities (including requiring universal service obligations and being subject to rate setting statutes).

I said it before and I will say it again... Comcast may have won this battle, but they have likely caused themselves immense harm by forcing the FCC and Congress to act in broader strokes to enforce net neutrality and implementing the national broadband policy.

With the upcoming election it all depend how many people Comcast and other buys...
Listening to US radio and watching US news I don't believe the FCC is all that powerful these day and quite a few politician are either pro industry or speaking from both side of their mouth (they are politician after all).

With the upcoming election it all depend how many people Comcast and other buys...
Listening to US radio and watching US news I don't believe the FCC is all that powerful these day and quite a few politician are either pro industry or speaking from both side of their mouth (they are politician after all).

The FCC does not need politicians help for the nuclear option. Indeed, politicians who wish to protect the cable companies from being classified as utilities would be wise to give the FCC specific powers to promote net neutrality and not allow ISPs to abuse their monopolistic powers.

The FCC does not need politicians help for the nuclear option. Indeed, politicians who wish to protect the cable companies from being classified as utilities would be wise to give the FCC specific powers to promote net neutrality and not allow ISPs to abuse their monopolistic powers.

UNless I'm mistaken the FCC exist because the gov. feed it and want it to exist. The FCC aren't on a higher level than the gov and the court. They could be disband or transform or a simple change at the head and that would be it.

Also, the internet is a double edge sword. Yes if you keep net neutrality and full liberty on the net the people are happy, but the internet is also a weapon against the politicien and they have all the interest in the world to try to curb it and control it.

Not saying that I approve of that but I recognize the reality of it. Nothing to prevent washington from passing a law or impose a new level of regulation. If it goes through both houses and the president signs it then it is law. If the SCOTUS doesn't rule it anti-constitutional then you and everybody is F***d when it comes to net neutrality. The FCC could scream their head off if they want but it wouldn't change a thing.

UNless I'm mistaken the FCC exist because the gov. feed it and want it to exist. The FCC aren't on a higher level than the gov and the court. They could be disband or transform or a simple change at the head and that would be it.

You are mistaken. No one is disbanding the FCC. Although they could try and change the leadership, I would not expect that to happen without a big shift in the US political landscape.

Also, the internet is a double edge sword. Yes if you keep net neutrality and full liberty on the net the people are happy, but the internet is also a weapon against the politicien and they have all the interest in the world to try to curb it and control it.

Are you talking about politicians trying to control the internet to control news that is published about them? Ummm.... OK.

Not saying that I approve of that but I recognize the reality of it. Nothing to prevent washington from passing a law or impose a new level of regulation. If it goes through both houses and the president signs it then it is law. If the SCOTUS doesn't rule it anti-constitutional then you and everybody is F***d when it comes to net neutrality. The FCC could scream their head off if they want but it wouldn't change a thing.

ROFL! Alrighty... Sorry, but that is just absolutely ludicrous particularly in the current political landscape.

You are mistaken. No one is disbanding the FCC. Although they could try and change the leadership, I would not expect that to happen without a big shift in the US political landscape.

Didn't say they were doing it, I said they could. Don't put word in my mouth.

Are you talking about politicians trying to control the internet to control news that is published about them? Ummm.... OK.

They are politician and they are in power. They can pretty do what they want if it is voted for and if it is judge constitutional, no? Do you know of an higher authority that could go against that legally?

ROFL! Alrighty... Sorry, but that is just absolutely ludicrous particularly in the current political landscape.

Ok, where is the big political uproar about preserving net neutrality? Tell me where on your gov. priority list net neutrality is? With 2 wars, an economic downturn, health care, scandals, please tell us at what point they'll deal with this.

enough with the politics please: get back to technical talk

enough with the politics please: get back to technical talk

Thank you!

Comcast is now offering ultra-fast Internet service -- with up to 50 Mbps downloads -- to all 2.3 million subscribers in California, with the launch this week of "wideband" in the Sacramento area.
Previously, the MSO deployed wideband, delivered using the next-generation DOCSIS 3.0 technology, in the San Francisco Bay Area and several portions of the state's Central Valley region.
With the Sacramento launch, Comcast now offers DOCSIS 3.0-based services to more than 40 million homes and businesses in the U.S., representing nearly 80% of the MSO's nationwide footprint. The company had been aiming to reach that milestone by the end of 2009.
In 2010, Comcast expects to begin offering 100-Mbps downstream speeds to residential customers, but it hasn't indicated markets or pricing at this point.
Effective Monday, April 12, Comcast's new 50-Mbps Internet tier will be available to residential homes and businesses in all regions of Sacramento County, including: Antelope, Carmichael, Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Elverta, Fair Oaks, Folsom, Galt, Gold River, Mather, North Highlands, Orangevale, Rancho Cordova, Rio Linda and Sacramento.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/451352-Comcast_Completes_DOCSIS_3_0_Rollout_In_California.php

As previously stated, Comcast (and every ISP) is likely going to rue the day they "won" this lawsuit.

The Open Internet Coalition said Tuesday that the FCC needs to reclassify its broadband oversight under Title II telecommunications service regulations, and fast.

In a conference call with reporters, coalition executive director Markham Erickson, said that if not, almost half of the FCC's initiatives under the National Broadband Plan would be in jeopardy, as would the agency's proposal to enforce, much less codify and expand, its network neutrality guidelines.

That comes in the wake of a federal court decision saying the FCC had not justified its statutory authority for regulating Comcast's network management practices, in this case impeding peer-to-peer file sharing by ********** users.

"The Comcast decision destroys the FCC's theory for promulgating network-neutrality rules," said Markham. Classifying Internet access as a Title II service would be a fairly straightforward process and quicker than waiting for Congress to "fix" the decision by clarifying the commission's authority, he said.

"We think that time is of the essence," said Markham.

The coalition includes Google, Sony, Free Press, Public Knowledge and Consumers Union, among others. Essentially all the members support Title II classification said Markham.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/451423-Coalition_FCC_Needs_To_Go_Title_II_Route.php

Against Title II (http://internetinnovation.org/blog/entry/against-title-ii1/)

Multichannel News sat down with former FCC Chairman Michael Powell to talk about the National Broadband Plan.

On the whole, Powell believes the plan is a great step toward connecting everyone in America to broadband. But when it comes to the idea of reclassifying the Internet as a Title II service, the former Chairman doesn’t mince words:

MultiChannel News: What do you think about the FCC possibly classifying Internet service as a Title II service subject to mandatory access?

Michael Powell: I think that idea is an unadulterated disaster.

MCN: Not a surprise, since yours was the commission that defined it as an information service subject to lighter regulations.

MP: Not entirely. Part of that decision was during my commission, part of that was during Kevin Martin’s tenure [Powell’s successor as chairman]. I see so many misrepresentations of historical fact that it is worth noting here that broadband has never been classified as Title II. You will get people who will say: “We’re going back to something.” No, we never had that something. Cable is the leading broadband provider in the United States and it has never been a Title II and never been a common carrier. … The only thing that was ever Title II was the old dial-up telephone service, more because of historical accident than policy forethought.

So, broadband itself has never been Title II. In fact, all the investment that has been deployed in the United States has been on the assumption that it is a lightly regulated information service. If the commission wants to recklessly change and try to fight the battle to reclassify that, we will be in a period of painful, prolonged uncertainty, confusion and war for probably four to six years with an undoubted trip to the Supreme Court interspersed between.

And for a country that says it wants to dramatically up the amount of private investment going on in broadband, that would seem like a very backward way to do it.

Against Title II (http://internetinnovation.org/blog/entry/against-title-ii1/)

FORMER chairman (appointed by previous administration with different political leanings). His rule was defined by deregulation and media consolidation and his infamous "Mercedes divide" comment, which basically stated that if you can't afford access to information, broadband, etc then too bad.

In other words, his views and policy are in direct opposition to the FCC's current actions and totally irrelevant to policy that will be enacted.

LAST week, a federal appeals court in Washington ruled that the Federal Communications Commission lacks the legal authority to tell Comcast not to block certain uses of its Internet access services. This decision has become a rip-the-Band-Aid-off moment for the regulatory agency, forcing it to reconsider its effort to impose “network neutrality” by requiring that Internet access providers treat all content equally.

It also puts a substantial roadblock in the path of the commission’s National Broadband Plan, which proposes to spend billions of dollars to help provide Internet access, rather than phone access, for people in rural areas.

But the F.C.C. needn’t change either strategy. It can regain its authority to pursue both network neutrality and widespread access to broadband by formally relabeling Internet access services as “telecommunications services,” rather than “information services,” as they are called now. All the commission needs to do is prove it has a good reason.

It wouldn’t be the first time that the F.C.C. relabeled Internet access services — and certainly not the first time it addressed the need for equal access. Until August 2005, the commission required that companies providing high-speed access to the Internet over telephone lines not discriminate among Web sites. This allowed innumerable online businesses — eBay, Google, Amazon, your local knitter — to start up without asking permission from phone and cable companies. There was nothing unusual about this legal requirement; for more than 100 years, federal regulators had treated telegraph and telephone service providers as "common carriers," obligated to serve everyone equally.

But under the Bush administration the F.C.C. deregulated high-speed Internet providers, arguing that cable Internet access was different from the kind of high-speed Internet access provided by phone companies. Cable Internet access providers, the commission said, really offered an integrated bundle of services — not just Internet connection but also e-mail, Web hosting, news groups and other services. So the F.C.C. declared that high-speed Internet access would no longer be considered a “telecommunications service” but rather an “information service.” This removed all high-speed Internet access services — phone as well as cable — from regulation under the common-carrier section of the Communications Act.

This was a radical move, because it reversed the long-held assumption that a nondiscriminatory communications network was essential to economic growth, civic welfare and innovation. At the same time, the F.C.C. said that it would retain the power to regulate Internet access providers if the need arose, under another section of the Communications Act.

The F.C.C. has the legal authority to change the label, as long as it can provide a good reason. And that reason is obvious: Americans buy an Internet access service based on its speed and price — and not on whether an e-mail address is included as part of a bundle. The commission should state its case, relabel high-speed Internet access as a “telecommunications service,” and take back the power to protect American consumers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/opinion/11crawford.html

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said she remains open to the possibility of the FCC reclassifying broadband as a Title II common-carrier service, an action that would reinforce the agency's position on the topic after a court decision cast doubt on its authority to regulate broadband. The issue of reclassification has emerged as key sticking point in the FCC's efforts to move ahead on net neutrality regulations for wireless and wireline networks.

Later, in comments to the Post, Clyburn said the court decision, Comcast v. FCC, that brought into question the FCC's authority only focused on whether the agency could use its ancillary jurisdiction under Title I of the Communications Act to pursue net neutrality. "We are therefore not foreclosed from using other sources of authority to enact and enforce rules that enable us to keep the Internet open and free," she said. "I am open to all options and believe that we should not be afraid to ask the tough questions in order to find the best way to keep the Internet in the hands of the people and not industry."

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/fccs-clybrun-remains-open-reclassifying-broadband/2010-04-23

Cable's next major broadband technology platform may throw DOCSIS out the window -- but it is envisioned to let operators economically deliver gobs of bandwidth over existing coaxial cable.

CableLabs, the industry's research and development consortium, is in the earliest stages of investigating a new platform for data-over-coax transmission reconceived from the ground up, according to people familiar with the project.

The concept, if it comes to fruition, could let cable operators deliver extremely high speeds downstream, of up to 5 Gigabits per second -- or even more.

The initiative underscores the cable industry's position that the hybrid fiber coax (HFC) network architecture will be sustainable for many years -- if not decades -- without requiring a complete fiber-to-the-home buildout.

Executives familiar with the project said CableLabs is exploring new advanced media access control (MAC) and physical-layer (PHY) components for cable broadband equipment that would do away with the traditional 6-MHz channel divisions used in cable systems today.

Theoretically, CableLabs' current DOCSIS 3.0 spec can deliver multiple gigabits-per-second speeds. The specification "bonds" multiple 6-MHz channels together to aggregate the bandwidth provided by each one (typically about 38 Mbps downstream).

The post-DOCSIS approach, by eliminating the 6-MHz divisions, potentially would be far more efficient.

Even if the new data-over-coax platform never sees the light of day, DOCSIS 3.0 should provide cable operators ample bandwidth delivery for the next several years. The specification requires support for a minimum of four downstream channels (for a total of 160 Mbps) but chip suppliers have already delivered eight-channel products that deliver more than 300 Mbps down.

Cisco Systems, for one, has developed a DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem with Broadcom's silicon to bond together eight downstream channels, capable of delivering more than 300 Mbps.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/451860-CableLabs_Next_Gen_Broadband_Project_Envisions_Multigigabit_ Speeds.php

Speaking on yesterday's earnings conference call, Charter Communications said the company is on track to deliver DOCSIS 3.0 to half of all markets by the end of the year. The company currently offers a 60 Mbps tier in scattered markets -- though Charter recently confirmed to us they have no plans to cap this tier. Back in March the company introduced a suite of free speed bumps (5/1, 10/2 and 20/2 became 8/1, 16/2 and 25/3) for most users. Charter also informed conference call attendees they hoped to have 60% of their markets upgraded to switched digital video (SDV) by the end of the year. SDV frees up bandwidth on cable systems by delivering fewer channels to the cable-box, keeping the rest waiting at the edge router.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Half-Of-Charter-Customers-Can-Get-60-Mbps-By-Years-End-108289

Users in our CenturyLink forum note that CenturyLink (fresh off of their announcement of a merger with Qwest) is cooking up a new 25 Mbps downstream 2 Mbps upstream bonded DSL tier. The tier, rumors of which first popped up in Las Vegas, appears to be quietly expanding into places like Naples, Florida, and will soon be in testing in a number of additional markets like Kalispell, Montana. There's no official mention on the CenturyLink website yet, but chatter in our forums indicates the pricing could fall anywhere between $55 and $80 a month depending on your bundle options. Tipsters suggest an official launch should happen this summer, though we've got calls out to CenturyLink to try and glean some official updates.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/CenturyLink-Expanding-25-Mbps-Bonded-DSL-108315

What message do you have for cable operators gathering in L.A. this week?

One of the things our broadband plan helped us recognize was the unique and vital role the cable plant can play and needs to play in the economic future in the United States. It is potentially a competitive advantage for the United States that we have a cable infrastructure. And I think that is a real opportunity for the country, as well as for the cable industry. And, obviously, more and more people in the industry recognize that.

In the wake of the ********** decision, NCTA members have pledged to abide by the FCC's Internet openness principles. But do you have any advice to any potential bad actors who don't sign on to that?

Preserving a free and open Internet, I am as convinced as ever, is essential to making sure that we have a platform for innovation and competition and expression. And so, the importance of preserving the openness of the Internet is as important as it ever was.

The transparency component is also very important. I think, on all of these issues, it is in everyone's interest to develop high-level rules of the road so that the freedom and openness that exists on the Internet, that consumers expect, that innovators expect, is preserved, so that businesses throughout the Internet ecosystem can continue to innovate and invest and contribute to our broadband future.

I know you can't talk specifics of the Comcast/NBCU deal, but the FCC has asked for more information about access to online video. Is the FCC going to have to get into online video access if that is where video delivery is moving?

I can't talk about the specifics of the transaction review, other than to say the process is moving and we intend to be very thorough in our review and tackle all the significant issues that are raised.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/452441-Genachowski_FCC_Will_Protect_Consumers.php

Back in March we noted how SuddenLink Communications had launched a new 107 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up cable broadband service, proclaiming it "the fastest available in the U.S. today." Technically that's not true, but 107 Mbps still tops most offerings -- and pleases those niche bleeding edge users out there. Suddenlink now says they've expanded the footprint (via Telecompetitor) of both their 50 Mbps and 107 Mbps downstream tiers into additional markets. The upgrades are part of "Project Imagine," a $350 million investment plan through 2012 aimed at upgrading networks to DOCSIS 3.0 technology, pushing HD channel counts in all markets past 200, and upgrading On Demand services for all users.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/SuddenLink-Expands-50-Mbps-107-Mbps-Tiers-108503

http://www.dslreports.com/r0/download/1548765.thumb200~a636ec6dc857d1e7d09a10d33826851e/continentalmapAF.jpg/thumb200.jpg

A company by the name of Allied Fiber today announced they have begun construction on a nationwide "neutral" dark fiber and co-location network. The network, which according to the company's website will be constructed in five phases, will ultimately cover some 11,548 miles. The company's aggressive plan targets data centers, rural ISPs, wireless companies and long-haul network providers as potential customers.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Allied-Fiber-Begins-Building-National-Dark-Fiber-Ring-108560

We never had any doubt that Comcast's anti-net-neutrality court victory would prove to be more of a defeat in the long run, and that's exactly how it's shaping up: some 74 Democratic members of Congress have voiced concerns about the FCC's plan to re-classify broadband as a more highly-regulated "telecommunications service" instead of as an "information service" in letter sent to FCC chairman Julius Genachowski today, and a group of Democratic senators and representatives are planning a series of meetings in June with the goal of revamping US telecommunications law in general. According to Senate staffers who spoke to the Washington Post, the idea isn't to pre-empt the FCC's plan, but rather to bring the law into alignment with the modern market instead of trying to fit a round peg into a square hole -- our current telecom law was enacted in 1996 and is based on law written in 1934, so a more modern revamp could bring sweeping changes to the way broadband providers are able to sell and manage their services.

We don't know what the specific agenda is yet, but we'd bet the FCC's recent finding that there's no "effective competition" in the wireless industry is sure to play a big part in these discussions, and we wouldn't be surprised to see some serious talk about cable providers and set-top hardware as well. Whatever happens, we'll be keeping a sharp eye on these meetings -- this is the first time we've seen the government take up the issue of modern telecommunications policy with this level of interest and momentum, and we've got a feeling some big things are afoot.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/24/congress-investigating-general-revamp-of-telecommuncations-law/