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NewsThe Broadband Price War Erupts with Price Slashing

Posted 09/03/08 at 12:06:13 PM by Paul Lilly

Perhaps a bad economy is to blame, or maybe consumers are more concerned with getting outside this summer than going online. But whatever the reason, broadband operators are struggling to sign up new customers. Twenty of the largest cable operators and phone companies in the U.S. managed to snag just 887,000 new subscribers in Q2 '08, and according to Leichtman Research Group, the comparatively anemic numbers mark the lowest level of growth seen in the past seven years.

That's good news for consumers, as the lower than expected growth might have sparked a broadband price war. Verizon has said it offer six months of free DSL service to new customers who agree to a one year commitment and also grab a landline package. By taking advantage of the promotion, consumers can pay as little as $45 per month for high-speed DSL and phone service, compared to $65 per month.

But Verizon isn't the only one looking to entice new customers, and AT&T has kicked off a new promotion that guarantees customers its current pricing for two years. Prices range from $20 to $55.

As the broadband market continues to saturate, cable companies could feel the pinch too. Comcast added 278,000 high-speed internet subscribers in Q2, which represents 18 percent fewer customers than the company signed one year ago.

Comments: 6
TAGS: Internet, broadband, Verizon, at&t, price cuts

NewsMore ISPs Pull The Plug On Usenet

Posted 07/19/08 at 11:01:13 PM by Justin Kerr

The New York State Attorney General’s office has won another battle in its war against child pornography on the Usenet. AT&T and AOL have joined Sprint and Verizon to drop large chunks of the alt.* hierarchy, thereby limiting access. This comes as a major disappointment to Usenet surfers who make legitimate use of the alt.* service. Internet service providers have been under increased public pressure to address Usenet abuse since a recent investigation turned up over 11,000 child porn images scattered across 88 different newsgroups. Intervention by ISPs was inevitable, but they are treading very carefully into the foray. Network providers maintain a strict policy of noninterference when it comes to moderating the content of their networks. Improper filtering of content can be seen as promotion and has lead to lawsuits in some cases.

Want to know more about Usenet?

Click the jump to see what else this little known corner of the web is used for.

Comments: 6
TAGS: Internet, Sprint, Verizon, aol, at&t, newsgroups, usenet

NewsFiOS Engages Ludicrous Speed

Posted 06/23/08 at 08:49:50 PM by Mark Pengelski

If you happen to be in one of the 16 U.S. states (and possible 10 million mostly suburban homes) where Verizon provides their fiber optic FiOS service, data will soon be moving at 50 megabits per second downstream and 20 mb/s upstream -- up from its former 30/15). Verizon Chief Operating Officer Denny Strigl says the 100-megabit home , will be a reality faster than anybody thinks.

If right about now, you're starting to feel a little green, like one of those Slowsky turtles with DSL of 1.5 mb/s or something even slower (yikes!), you might feel surprised to learn that 100 mb/sec consumer broadband is already common in Sweeden, Denmark, Japan and elsewhere in the world.

Comments: 0
TAGS: broadband, Verizon, FiOS

NewsDaily News Brief: Verizon to Acquire Alltel

Posted 06/06/08 at 05:54:53 PM by Paul Lilly

Verizon agrees to buy Alltel for $28.1 billion, Intel slapped with antitrust fine, Comcast readies 100Mbps service, a DNF update, and more!

Comments: 4
TAGS: games, Internet, videocard, Verizon, hardware, Cellular, consumer electronics, alltel

FROM THE ARCHIVE10 Things Verizon Could Have Bought with the Money It Spent on the C Block

Posted 03/21/08 at 11:39:05 AM by Tom Edwards

Sure, all that bandwidth will come in handy, but here are a few other things Verizon could have spent its money on

Comments: 6
TAGS: cell phone, Google, fcc, Verizon, at&t

NewsDaily News Brief: Meet the $750K Desktop!

Posted 01/30/08 at 07:40:34 PM by <a href="mailto:dailynewsbrief@gmail.com">Paul "One4yu2c" Lilly</a>

See what kind of PC three-quarter of a million dollars will buy, Verizon faces massive class action suit, Hilton Hotel employees logging quality time with Unreal Engine 3, and much more!