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28
Feb 2008 |
Companies should do more to make their extra charges clear to customers, the communications regulator said.
Ofcom today put forward a draft package of measures which aims to stamp out unfair and sometimes hidden charges.
Late payment fees should only be imposed after customers have had a fair chance to pay their bills, Ofcom said.
Those charges should reflect only the direct cost to the provider of collecting the money. Telecoms, broadband and pay-TV firms should also make customers aware of late ... |
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28
Feb 2008 |
After reading and discussing some of the comments on our recent iPlayer usage blog and the follow-up I thought that for the next topic it would probably be useful to put together a piece on how UK ISPs like PlusNet are charged for the broadband services that they provide.
Different Delivery Methods
As an ISP there are a number of choices on how to deliver broadband service, we’ll cover them off first with a short overview (This list isn’t exhaustive, but covers most scenarios):
BT IPStream - The mo... |
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25
Feb 2008 |
Japan launched a rocket Saturday carrying a satellite that will test new technology that promises to deliver "super high-speed Internet" service to homes and businesses around the world.
A rocket carrying a super-fast Internet satellite lifts off from its launch pad on the Japanese island of Tanagashima.
The rocket carrying the WINDS satellite -- a joint project of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries -- lifted off its pad at 5:55 p.m. (0855 GMT).
If the te... |
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25
Feb 2008 |
The government's announcement of an independent review into the issue of next-generation broadband is welcome, if a little belated.
Until now, the debate has stagnated. The Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG), which comprises organisations ranging from the government and Ofcom to ISPs and content providers, is somehow still seriously considering questions such as: "Do we need next-generation access at all?", and "Does the UK need to keep pace with international competitors?".
Such questions are absurd. ... |
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23
Feb 2008 |
The government is apparently so concerned about being left in the slow lane of the information superhighway that it has appointed a fresh inspection of the path to next-generation broadband, even while the current one is still on the track, writes Ben Fenton .
Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, is already conducting a consultation on issues such as how the cable and telecoms industries can invest more than £1bn in upgrading the ageing copper-wire infrastructure. Only this will enable the UK to compete wi... |
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22
Feb 2008 |
A modest increase in U.S. broadband adoption would have an annual economic impact of US$134 billion, according to a study released Thursday.
A 7 percent increase in broadband adoption would create 2.4 million jobs across the U.S., would save $662 million in health-care costs and $6.4 billion in vehicle mileage, among other savings, according to the study, released by Connected Nation, a nonprofit group focused on improving broadband adoption across the U.S.
A broadband stimulus package would pump ne... |
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22
Feb 2008 |
A modest increase in U.S. broadband adoption would have an annual economic impact of US$134 billion, according to a study released Thursday.
A 7 percent increase in broadband adoption would create 2.4 million jobs across the U.S., would save $662 million in health-care costs and $6.4 billion in vehicle mileage, among other savings, according to the study, released by Connected Nation, a nonprofit group focused on improving broadband adoption across the U.S.
A broadband stimulus package would pump ne... |
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22
Feb 2008 |
Skype has announced that the amount of time its customers have spent chatting on the free Skype-to-Skype voice and video call service has hit the 100 billion minute mark.
According to Skype, that's one minute of talk time for every man, woman and child that has ever lived. The 100 billion minute total works out as 69,444,444 days and 190,258 years.
Skype, which was launched in 2003 and was bought by eBay in 2005 for £1.3bn, now has 276 million registered users worldwide. Thirty million users joined ... |
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22
Feb 2008 |
We've seen Wi-Fi installed in planes, trains and automobiles, but San Francisco will soon be launching the first Wi-Fi bus. Developed by Cisco Systems and Muni, the local transportation authority, the city's new "Connected Bus" is outfitted with free Wi-Fi for riders, as well as touch screens displaying wait times and useful map information. Muni CEO Nathaniel Ford explains, "This is definitely not your grandmother's bus in terms of technology and capability."
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, so... |
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20
Feb 2008 |
The UK’s largest broadcaster finally launched its online video streaming and download service on Christmas Day. Plusnet, a small ISP owned by BT, has provided a preliminary analysis of the traffic and the results should send shivers down the spine of any ISP currently offering an unlimited “all-you-eat” service.
The iPlayer service is basically a 7-day catch-up service which enables people who missed and didn’t record a broadcast to watch the programme at their leisure on a PC connected to the internet. ... |
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19
Feb 2008 |
Have you ever wished your cellphone or PDA had just a slightly bigger screen?
Wondered how it would ever be possible to balance the need for larger displays with the trend towards ever smaller phones?
Welcome to the latest thing in cellphones: Polymer Vision's Readius, a combination ebook and smart phone with a whopping big 12,5cm screen, announced last year.
The large display size is achieved by having the screen literally "fold up" around the body of the phone when not in use.
Flexible e... |
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17
Feb 2008 |
Genesis Technical Systems Corp (GTS) http://www.genesistechsys.com of Calgary, Canada developer of the patent pending Bonded DSL Rings(tm) Technology (BDR) , successfully demonstrated its BDR proof of concept at the Broadband World Forum in Berlin, Germany in October 2007 and at the MINT Lab in conjunction with TR Labs "Building the Next Generation Internet Network Workshop" in Edmonton, Canada in November 2007.
High quality television over copper telephone lines can be a reality for Telcos using Bonded... |
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5
Feb 2008 |
Verizon Communications Inc. added more than 66,000 Massachusetts subscribers to its fiber-optic television service last year, pushing past cable provider RCN Corp. but still trailing far behind Comcast Corp.'s 1.66 million customers.
The company also said yesterday it would make FiOS TV service available in the towns of Wayland and Norfolk.
Nationwide, Verizon said in its latest earnings report that it had 943,000 subscribers to FiOS TV service in 13 states in 2007.
While the gains are big for Veri... |
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5
Feb 2008 |
AT&T will raise rates for most of its major broadband plans in its 13-state legacy region starting in March, the company said this week.
Prices won't increase for AT&T's Elite service, which currently goes for $34.99 a month when bundled with home phone and $38.99 per month when ordered as stand-alone, according to AT&T spokesperson Brad Mays.
He also says the change does not affect customers in the legacy BellSouth region, nor does it change either of the merger offers for $19.95 stand-alone DSL or $... |
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1
Feb 2008 |
SanDisk announced a couple new additions to its line of high-capacity SDHC cards. The SanDisk Ultra II line now includes 32GB and 16GB SDHC cards. SanDisk also added an 8GB Ultra II SDHC Plus card as well.
The SDHC Plus card folds in the middle exposing a USB connector that allows the direct connection of the card to a PC without needing a card reader. SanDisk says the cards have read and write speeds of 15 MB/sec up from previous SDHC cards with 10MB/sec read and 9MB/sec write.
The 32GB SDHC card wil... |
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