Verizon FiOS speeds increasing to 50 Mbps

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Broadband, Internet

For all you Verizon FiOS subscribers out there, Verizon just announced this morning that they are going to be upping a couple of their speed tiers across the country, beginning next week. Of course, you need to live in one of the FiOS-covered areas in one of the 16 states where the service is available, like we do.

So, first things first - if you are in New York or Virginia, don’t expect any changes. You guys are already enjoying the upgraded speeds that the rest of us have been waiting for. For the rest of us though, two changes are in order. First, the 30/15 speed tier will be going away, and will be replaced by the newer 50/20 tier. Crazy, we know. The 50/20 speed will remain at the same $139 per month cost. Those of you on the 15/15 symmetrical tier will also say goodbye to your current speeds, as you will be upgraded to the new 20/20 speed tier, and it will remain at the same $64 per month cost.

The lower tiers are getting upgrades as well, as 15/2 becomes 20/5, and 5/2 becomes 10/2. It should be noted that Comcast recently bumped up their speeds across the board to 16/2. I guess Verizon was just waiting on Comcast before spreading their NY and VA speeds to the rest of the country.

Read More | Verizon Press Release

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Internet Charges May Rise to a Whole ‘Nother Level

Posted by Sheila Franklin
Categories: Broadband, Cell Phones, Editorial, Home Entertainment, Internet, Movies

We remember a time (about 15 years ago) when we were allotted only so many hours on the Net. If you were really addicted, that meant you either had to go online with a stopwatch, reconnect occasionally, or be charged for a business account. Nowadays you can go 24/7 and most providers will offer you a good deal for doing so. For example, knowing that about 1 in seven no longer have landlines, Verizon will be offering discounts to those who don’t but order Internet or TV service. Their Flex Double Play begins this week allowing customer discounts of $8.00 to $12.00 a month if you combine their wireless plan with FiOS TV or broadband.

On the swing side, AT&T is thinking of charging more for those who download too much data. Spokesperson Michael Coe claims that about 5% of their DSL customers use 46% of their bandwidth, while overall usage doubles every year and a half. Time Warner is already charging its customers in Beaumont, Texas, who go over their bandwidth limit $1.00 per gigabyte. If you are one of those who downloads movies and TV shows, especially in hi-def, don’t move to the Lonestar state.

What do you guys think? Should we be charged extra for services that companies are pushing on us to the max? Or should we all go out and purchase a Roku and spend the $8.99 a month before our Internet overcharges become excessive?

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AE WiFi Internet Radio

Posted by Sheila Franklin
Categories: Internet, Misc. Tech, Music, Wireless / WiFi

Acoustic Energy is working on what they say will be the planet’s first WiFi Internet Radio.  It will be able to reach about 99% of radio stations online through broadband connection anywhere in your house. AE claims there will be no pops, crackles or signal coverage problems. Expected out in November, there will be no subscription fee involved with the radio. Look for a MSRP of ~£199 (~$394.00.) At that price, we think we will stick to radio ramblings via our computer.

Read More | Acoustic Energy via Broadband Reports

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Apple TV Take 2 finally released!

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Apple, Broadband, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies, Software

If you are like me, you’ve been waiting for Apple TV Take 2 to hit for just about a month now. When it was delayed two weeks ago, I stared at my Apple TV in disgust. In it’s current form, it was nothing more than a YouTube viewer, and sometimes, a nice picture screensaver. However, the wait is no more. As part of today’s Tuesday updates, Apple has finally released the Apple TV Take 2 software, and it is available now for download. Aside from a freatly enhanced UI, here are some of the features:

• Movie rentals in both high definition and standard definition
• Flickr photo browsing and slideshows
• .Mac photo gallery browsing and slideshows
• Purchasing of items from iTunes Store from Apple TV
• Browse and view podcasts in iTunes Podcast directory on Apple TV

If you have an Apple TV, fire up Software Update on the device to get the new hotness, and let us know what you think.

Read More | Apple TV Take 2 Guided Tour

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Follow Up: Verizon makes good on our FiOS privacy woes

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Broadband, Editorial, Features, Internet

A little under two weeks ago, we made a long-standing issue that we had with Verizon public. The fact that they had ignored our request to fix a huge oversight that resulted in our private FiOS account info to fall into the wrong hands for over 8 months was starting to upset us just a tad. We knew that if we shared it with you, our readers, that Verizon would have no choice but to respond quickly. At least, that was the hope.

Well, sure enough, after the story was picked up on The Consumerist as well as made it to the front page of Digg, we received a phone call. Then an email. Then another phone call. Then a couple more emails. Verizon Damage Control had stepped in.

Click to continue reading Follow Up: Verizon makes good on our FiOS privacy woes

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Our Verizon FiOS customer service nightmare: Why won’t they protect my private customer information?

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Broadband, Editorial, Features, Internet

Seeing as we’ve been experiencing a ton of customer service issues with our Verizon FiOS service for the past 8 months, we figured it was time to put out a warning to you guys. After all, we typically hear that the FiOS Internet service is remarkably amazing, and people have been dumping cable in droves when FiOS becomes available in their area. Hey, there is good reason to. Where we are at, right outside Seattle, our choices are slow DSL, Comcast at 8.0 down and 768k up, or FiOS with a max speed of 30.0 down and 15.0 up (which is the plan we are on.)

Now let’s be clear here, we love the FiOS service. It works fantastically, it has never gone down in the 8 months we’ve been using it, and it’s, well, fast.

So what is the problem? To put it bluntly, Verizon has shown that they don’t care - at all - about protecting their users private, confidential information. Now, why would we make a statement like that? Check it.

Click to continue reading Our Verizon FiOS customer service nightmare: Why won’t they protect my private customer information?

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Southwest Airlines Takes the Internet Skyward

Posted by Sheila Franklin
Categories: Corporate News, Internet, Transportation, Wireless / WiFi

Southwest Airlines is now testing broadband Internet access on its flights. The company has gotten together with Row 44 to access WiFi sometime this summer. Row 44 has already been working with such companies as Alaska Airlines, so it is a pleasant thought that once you actually get off the ground, you will get more than a really bad B movie and stale peanuts if you fly business class. Watch for this one to be a trend on other airlines once it gets started.

Read More | Mashable

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Verizon Offers NFL Network Game Extra

Posted by Sheila Franklin
Categories: Cell Phones, Corporate News, Home Entertainment

If you are a hardcore football fan and have Verizon video and broadband services, then you may already be aware of NFL Network Game Extra. It enables sports fans to watch live online broadcasts of Thursday and Saturday Pro games while selecting between camera feeds or viewing all four at a time. Other features include replays, live online chats, stats, highlights, and college bowl and college all-star games. Here’s hoping that it will fare better than ESPN Mobile.

Read More | Verizon

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AT&T USBConnect 881 bringing 3G over USB to PCs and Macs everywhere

Posted by Sparky
Categories: Apple, Broadband, Internet, PC / Laptop, Peripherals, Wireless / WiFi, USB

AT&T just announced their USBConnect 881 - an HSDPA/HSUPA modem for Macs and PCs that connects via USB. The minuscule 1.25oz modem claims to give an average download speed of 600kbps to 1.4Mbps, with uploads clocking in at 500kbps and 800kbps in HSUPA markets. While it may not be as slim and sexy as an Expresscard modem this looks like a great option for those with an older laptop, or a Macbook looking to quench their hankering for high speed laptop data on the go.

Available now for $50 with a 2 year contract, or for $299 without a commitment to AT&T.

Read More | AT&T

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AT&T Releases Option 3G HSDPA 3.6 ExpressCard, Gives Details on Sierra Wireless 875U

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Broadband, Peripherals, Wireless / WiFi

AT&T has just launched their new Option GT Max 3.6 Express mobile broadband HSDPA ExpressCard. We have been waiting for something like this to come down the Cingular/AT&T pike for quite a while now, especially since Verizon has been rocking a 3G card in the V640 ExpressCard since late last year. Still, better late than never, right?  The Option GT MAx 3.6 Express is being touted by AT&T as a Windows-only device, despite the fact that Option has released Mac drivers for the card. Details about the Sierra Wireless 875U USB HSDPA modem were also released, and that too is showing as being Windows only, despite Mac drivers being available. Our guess? AT&T just won’t help you troubleshoot issues in OS X, but we think it will work just fine.

You can pick up the GT Max 3.6 Express now for $49.99 with two-year contract after $100 rebate, while the Sierra Wireless 875U price is being left in the dark for now. At least we know what will be available in May.

Read More | AT&T Option GT Max 3.6 Express

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