Report: Pay TV Subscribers to Increase (Just Barely) in 2014
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The rapid emergence of over-the-top (OTT) and Internet TV alternatives, as well as cloud services, has posed stiff challenges for U.S. pay-TV service providers in recent years. Having experienced a 0.58% decline in subscriber numbers in 2013, the pay-TV subscriber base will grow in 2014, albeit at a tepid pace, according to a new report...Learn More
Broadcast Spectrum Auction Plan Floated, Details Band Plan
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler envisions offering two classes of licenses in the upcoming auction of TV broadcast spectrum, reports technology news website Re/code. These would include restricted and unrestricted licenses, with restricted licenses reserved for “companies that don’t currently hold a lot of nearby airwaves,” Re/code says. In referencing “nearby airwaves,” the author likely is...Learn More
Three Men Indicted for Lifeline Program Abuse
The Federal Communications Commission’s efforts to crack down on abusers of the Universal Service low-income Lifeline program seem to be paying off. Late last week the FCC, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Justice announced that three Florida men who operated several wireless phone companies have been indicted...Learn More
Smartphone Shopping Trends: Survey Finds Generational Similarities
The results of a new consumer survey turn conventional wisdom about age and smartphone use on its head. Older generations – Baby Boomers and Seniors – are in fact embracing smartphones and online mobile Web services when they go shopping, according to market research produced by Thrive Analytics and released today by the Local Search...Learn More
Pew: Data Theft Statistics Show 18% of Online Americans Were Victims
Delving into the issue of online data breaches and theft, a Pew Research Center study indicates that a growing number of Americans have been victims. According to a January 2014 survey, 18% of online adults have had important personal information stolen, including Social Security numbers, credit card data, or bank account information. That’s 11% higher...Learn More
T-Mobile Gets in Competitors’ Faces with End to Overage Charges
T-Mobile today capped off its promised three days of market-disruptive announcements with the news that the company will eliminate overage charges for customers on all T-Mobile plans, extending an offering the company previously made only on certain plans. A T-Mobile spokesman said customers will effectively get unlimited domestic voice and text. On the data side,...Learn More
Aereo’s Cloud DVR Service To Be Google Chromecast Ready Come End of May
Aereo’s cloud-based antenna-DVR technology will be Google Chromecast ready by May 29, the Boston-based cloud media technology developer’s CEO Chet Kanojia announced April 10 at Fast Company’s “Innovation Uncensored” conference in New York City. Google Chromecast joins Apple TV and Roku as the platforms that allow Aereo’s innovative cloud TV service, that enables subscribers to...Learn More
IDC: $2.5 Billion in Cloud-Managed Wi-Fi by 2018
Cloud-managed Wi-Fi will fuel worldwide growth in the wireless local area network (WLAN) market, according to a new IDC report. Revenues from worldwide cloud-managed infrastructure and managed services will reach $653 million in 2014 and $2.5 billion by 2018, IDC says. Increased adoption in the mid-market and distributed enterprise markets is fueling growth in cloud-managed...Learn More
AT&T Gigabit Broadband Likely Coming to North Carolina
AT&T took the unusual step late last night of announcing that it is “in advanced discussions” to bring a gigabit network to parts of the Triangle and Piedmont Triad regions of North Carolina. Normally companies like AT&T wait until a deal is iron-clad before announcing it. The unusual announcement illustrates just how competitive the gigabit...Learn More
NTCA Report Quantifies Broadband Benefits, Adoption Challenges
Three in 10 U.S. adults do not use the Internet at home – and getting them online will be considerably more challenging than connecting the first seven, notes a paper released this week from NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association. But the effort would be worthwhile, argues author and NTCA economist Rick Schadelbauer in the...Learn More
Wi-Fi Alliance Adds Near-Field Communications for Quick Set-Up
Wireless network connectivity provides functionality that’s essential for the “Internet of Things” to live up to the hype that’s revolving around it. So it’s no surprise that Bluetooth and the Wi-Fi Alliance are aiming to capitalize on the trend, in part by rolling out new features and initiatives. The Wi-Fi Alliance on April 9 announced...Learn More
Survey: Broadband Seniors See Internet as Hard to Give Up
More than half of senior citizens who use broadband (56%) would find it “very hard” to give up the Internet, according to new research from Older Americans Technology Services (OATS) and New York Law School. Perhaps surprisingly the Internet was the only communications means or device cited as “very hard” to give up by more...Learn More