broadband

Modest FTTH growth benefit found in rigorous Swedish study


Blow fiber, not tumbleweeds.

Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) systems drive growth in cities by a measurable amount, according to a recent study in Sweden. The analysis was done by Ziyi Xiong, a graduate student at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.

She crunched demographic and network data from 290 Swedish municipalities, factored out other possible influences, such as the degree of urbanization, and found that increasing fiber availability at workplaces by 10% results in population growth of nearly two-tenths of a percent (.17%).… More

Fewer rules in the new Uverse

6 April 2013 by Steve Blum
, ,

No regulation, no cap.

AT&T seems comfortable feeding a lot of bandwidth to its unregulated Uverse customers. Research done by Broadband DSL Reports indicates AT&T isn’t enforcing the 250 GB monthly data cap it tells Uverse customers to expect.

On the other hand, heavy users of traditional DSL service – tied to the regulated side of the business – are being throttled if they exceed monthly caps as low as 150 GB, according to the newsletter.… More

Faster, cheaper fiber microtrenching gains acceptance

3 April 2013 by Steve Blum
, , , ,


Verizon’s microduct ready to be installed near Sea Ranch in Sonoma County.

In what could lead to the first large scale urban use of fiber microtrenching in the U.S., Verizon and the City of New York have agreed to test it at 12 sites. Verizon has used microtrenching for other fiber projects, including one last year in a rural part of California.

You can see a video of the process here. It involves sawing a narrow trench – 2 cm wide and up to 30 cm deep – into the roadway, inserting thin, flat microduct, and then sealing it back up.… More

EU proposes "best practice" for broadband deployment

2 April 2013 by Steve Blum
, , , , ,


The bell system worked for missions, but Spain has moved on.

An international consensus on the best ways to encourage better broadband infrastructure is rapidly forming. The European Union is proposing to harmonise broadband development policy across its 27 member states, including…

  • Creating a central source of information about broadband assets to help network planning.
  • Coordinating civil construction/public works projects – sometimes called open trench or dig once policies – so opportunities to put fiber in the ground are maximised.
… More

Bargaining for broadband saves money, even more in a competitive market

31 March 2013 by Steve Blum
,


If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

Sharp consumers can sometimes save hundreds of dollars a year by negotiating with cable and telephone companies, according to a recent study by Consumer Reports. But few people are even giving it a try.

Only a third of the triple/quad play subscribers surveyed said they tried to bargain for a better deal for Internet, television and telephone service. And the people responding were subscribers to Consumer Reports, who aren’t exactly passive shoppers.… More

Unlimited means unlimited, at least in the Queen's English

28 March 2013 by Steve Blum
, ,


Immoderate Virgin.

British Internet service providers can’t claim to offer “unlimited” downloads or streaming with “no caps” if it comes with more than incidental throttling for heavy users. That was the ruling yesterday from the Advertising Standards Authority, an independent U.K. watchdog agency with real teeth.

The ASA investigated complaints against Virgin Media, a major national ISP, made by a member of the public and two of its competitors, BSkyB and BT (aka British Telecommunications).… More

Real world planning brings real free WiFi to Santa Clara


Free WiFi coverage in most of Santa Clara.

It’s a beautiful thing when the pieces fall into place and a city can maximize the value of past investments and decisions. Particularly when it means better and cheaper broadband service.

Santa Clara is rolling out an elegant solution for universal Internet access. The city owns and operates its own electric utility, and put in a fiber optic network to support it. The fiber’s reach is limited – it’s definitely not FTTH scale – but it’s enough to make broadband connectivity relatively easy throughout the city and keep the cost of Internet bandwidth down.… More

AT&T upgrades coming, if you live on the "high-potential" side of the divide

26 March 2013 by Steve Blum
,

You either have or you have not, Slim.

AT&T is getting ready to roll out 45 Mbps service in Dallas shortly and expand over its entire wireline footprint during the coming year, according to Broadband DSL Reports. The technology being deployed – VDSL2 and pair bonding – has the potential to eventually make good on an earlier promise to deliver 75 to 100 Mbps service.

To maybe half of AT&T’s wireline customers. The other half will have to make do with slower copper-based speeds or, in some cases, with 4G mobile service.… More

CPUC commissioner possible pick as new FCC chair

24 March 2013 by Steve Blum
, , , ,


Catherine Sandoval, California Public Utilities Commission.

One person mentioned as a replacement for outgoing Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Julius Genachowski is Catherine Sandoval, a member of the California Public Utilities Commission and a law professor, currently teaching at U.C. Berkeley. A Silicon Valley resident, she’s taken up the telecoms portfolio on the CPUC and understands the industry from a West Coast perspective.

Sandoval would be a great choice. The FCC needs someone who’s been shaped by Californian culture, high tech and otherwise.… More

HBO legend sees a long road to 4K television

23 March 2013 by Steve Blum
, , , , ,


Zitter didn’t just look into the future, he made it.

Bob Zitter, HBO’s revered chief technology officer, retires this month, ending more than thirty years at the cutting edge of television technology. In a valedictory keynote at the TV Connect conference in London, Zitter expressed near-term skepticism about the future of 3D and 4K television technology, but held out long term hope.

HBO tried offering 3D content, but Zitter said they never believed in it.… More