In an announcement that surely upsets NAB and their friend Dolly Parton , Microsoft this week boldly proclaimed that a study they funded unsurprisingly values the unlicensed spectrum that will be used by White Space broadband at $100 billion .  Read More →

In an announcement that surely upsets NAB and their friend Dolly Parton , Microsoft this week boldly proclaimed that a study they funded unsurprisingly values the unlicensed spectrum that will be used by White Space broadband at $100 billion . Of course that’s what Microsoft hopes it’s worth; the technology uses unlicensed and partially vacated spectrum created by the shift to digital television to create a new broadband delivery... 

As we recently noted , one of the early problems with the FCC’s national broadband plan is that consumers are under-represented at the table, something that’s not particularly new in DC. That was evident again last week when the FCC held a national broadband workshop on copyright.  Read More →

Telephony Online directs our attention to new VDSL technology from ECI Telecom and Actelis Networks that promises to extend both the reach and throughput of VDSL. Using digital spectrum management level-three (DSML3) technology for reducing crosstalk in DSL networks, Actelis is claiming they can reduce the number of remote terminals needed to serve customers by 90%. That could be good news for carriers like AT&T, who’ve taken the... 

It’s been made fairly clear that as Verizon loses the ability to lock down their phones and network (forcing consumers toward their wireless handset content), the carrier is going to make up for it by squeezing the pipe and imposing some steep per-byte charges. A recently leaked Verizon memo gave insight into the company’s new wireless pricing plans for Internet-enabled handsets not quite powerful enough to be considered “smartphones”:... 

Despite the doubts raised by the backers of Long Term Evolution, such as Ericsson Chief Technology Officer Hakan Eriksson , as to whether or not WiMAX is truly 4G, the technology’s champions believe it has a future. Today their belief can be backed by numbers  Read More →

Last week saw another round of doubt about the future of Mobile WiMax, with one analyst claiming that the future of the technology is in doubt. There’s also been plenty of doubt about future success for Clearwire, the major Mobile WiMax player in the States. Specifically, we’ve noted how some don’t think the company really has enough cash, something Clearwire CEO Bill Morrow downplays this week in conversations with the Seattle... 

Canadian Cable operator Shaw recently dropped a pricing bomb on Vancouver, offering 15Mbps broadband, 200 channels of TV, or voice service for about $9 US for each service . It’s an unheard of deal, and Shaw is clearly taking a loss in the city in order to crush Novus Entertainment , a local FTTH operator. As we noted in July , Novus responded with a fairly smart ad campaign ( Twitter , Facebook , and blogs ) aimed at informing Shaw customers... 

If you recall, last year a Belgian activist got everybody riled up with an incorrect rumor that Canadian phone companies Telus and Bell Canada were planning to start charging customers extra to access certain websites.  Read More →