Items tagged with Verizon
We can’t say that we didn’t see this coming. Back in late July, Verizon Wireless customers became alarmed when they noticed that their YouTube and Netflix streams were being capped at 10Mbps. At the time, Verizon stated, “We've been doing network testing over the past few days to optimize the performance of video applications on our network...The test was across the board, and did not target any individual applications.” Now, it appears that Verizon’s throttling “tests” have been extended to a full-blown implementation across its network. Starting tomorrow, August 23rd, Verizon’s unlimited data...
Read more...
Has your House of Cards binge been plagued by lag? Verizon admitted to having recently experimented with capping download speeds to 10Mbps on mobile devices. The test seems to have particularly targeted popular video streaming services like Netflix and YouTube. Verizon’s cap was uncovered through tests last week with Netflix’s speed test tool fast.com. Although Netflix was the only service that was able to verify these numbers through a test tool, other video streaming services such as YouTube seemed to have also suffered from lag. Many people argued that these numbers were confirmation that Verizon...
Read more...
When you spill a glass of milk or drop your car keys, you might say, "Oops!" But when you inadvertently leak personal information of millions of customers, well, other choice phrases might come to mind. That is the situation Verizon finds itself in—the nation's largest wireless carrier confirmed that certain information belonging to 6 million customers has leaked online.Cybersecurity firm UpGuard discovered the security issue, which traced back to a improperly configured security setting on a cloud server. The situation is being deemed as "human error," which probably will not make affected customers...
Read more...
Verizon recently came out ahead in the battle for control over wireless spectrum for future 5G networks. The telecommunications corporation won a bidding war against AT&T for Straight Path Communications, Inc. Verizon has promised to pay roughly $3.1 billion for the corporation. AT&T had originally reached a deal with Straight Path last month to purchase the company for $1.6 billion in stock, including liabilities. This quiet deal, however, soon erupted into a bidding war. Verizon eventually won and has agreed to not only pay $3.1 billion to Straight Path, but a $38 million termination...
Read more...
If Google Fiber’s stalled rollout has got you down, Verizon has a new high-speed service offering available that could help boost your spirits — that is if you actually live in a Fios coverage area. Verizon today announced Fios Gigabit Connection, which despite what its name implies, doesn’t actually provide gigabit speeds — but it does get pretty close. Fios Gigabit Connection provides download speeds of up to 940 Mbps and upload speeds that top out at an equally impressive 880 Mbps. Both of those figures are within striking distance of Google Fiber’s symmetrical 1 Gbps speeds. On the all-important...
Read more...
Once Verizon completes its acquisition of Yahoo and merges it with AOL, it will create a new "value" division called "Oath." Tim Armstrong, the longtime CEO of AOL, tweeted out the new name and it did not take long for the Internet to start mocking it. That is to be expected when snark seems to rule the web, though Verizon certainly didn't do itself any favors by settling on the name "Oath" without any explanation to how it arrived at that brand.Here is a look at the original Twitter post and some of the comments that followed: Billion+ Consumers, 20+ Brands, Unstoppable Team. #TakeTheOath. Summer...
Read more...
When it comes to a bill that was passed both in the U.S. House and Senate that would kill off FCC rules pertaining to internet privacy, consumers are understandably somewhat upset and confused about what this all actually means. The FCC rules, which were ratified late last year, would require internet service providers (ISPs) to gain consent from customers before sharing or selling web browsing data and other identifiable information with third-parties. Lawmakers in the majority argued that the FCC overstepped its authority and that ISPs were being subject to regulations that don’t apply to companies...
Read more...
The last thing that Verizon customers were probably asking for was the addition of yet another app to invade their Android smartphone. But that is just what the nation's #1 wireless carrier is doing with the inclusion of AppFlash, which will gain prominent positioning on the home screens of Verizon smartphones (sans the iPhone, of course). AppFlash, which was developed by Evie, allows you to discover new apps, browse for music, check out movie showings, or search for restaurants in the area. It will also give you listing of frequently used apps, and provides a universal search feature that is able...
Read more...
Marissa Mayer’s tenure as Yahoo CEO is quickly winding down. The troubled internet portal has been in the news for all the wrong reasons following Verizon’s announcement last year that it would purchase the company for $4.83 billion. However, we are learning today that once Mayer steps down following the close of the deal with Verizon, she will be floating back to earth with a pretty snazzy golden parachute. Regulatory documents, which were filed today, shows that Mayer will receive a total of $23 million in compensation when she leaves the company. That figure includes roughly $3 million in cash,...
Read more...
The last time we visited Verizon Wireless’ efforts to bring 5G connectivity to Americans, the company had completed its 5G radio specification. This crucial step allowed the company to form guidelines for hardware that will be validated for use on its future 5G network. Verizon began its own internal 5G wireless trials in New Jersey, Massachusetts and Texas last year, and today announced that those trials will extend to customers starting in mid-2017. The U.S. metropolitan areas that will be the first to gain access to the 5G pilot program include Ann Arbor, Atlanta, Bernardsville (NJ), Brockton...
Read more...
Verizon has made it official -- the company today revealed that it has mutually agreed to lower its purchase price of Yahoo by $350 million, bringing the total value of the deal down to $4.48 billion in cash. This follows a report from last week, which indicated that Verizon was seeking a $250 million to $350 million discount for the internet portal. “The amended terms of the agreement provide a fair and favorable outcome for shareholders,” stated Marni Walden, Verizon’s Executive Vice President and President of Product Innovation and New Businesses. For her part, current Yahoo CEO Marisa Mayer...
Read more...
Everyone loves a discount, especially when that discount ranges in the millions of dollars. Verizon is reportedly trying to reduce the $4.83 billion USD price tag for Yahoo, Inc. by $250 million. The renegotiation is in light of Yahoo’s disclosures of past security breaches. Yahoo revealed three security breaches this past year. In May, the corporation disclosed that Russian hackers stole and traded on the black market information from more than 40 million Yahoo accounts. The information was mostly from American banking, manufacturing, and retail outfits. This past summer, a hacker known as “Peace”...
Read more...
A full-blown Skynet situation might be the thing of science fiction (we hope, anyway), but that doesn't mean bizarre things involving machines can't happen. As proof of this, Verizon teased an entry in its upcoming 2017 Data Breach Digest that describes a recent DDoS attack on an unnamed university involving vending machines, light bulbs, and 5,000 Internet of Things (IoT) devices. As with many DDoS attacks involving IoT devices, this one is the result of system administrators being a little too lax with security on these seemingly benign devices. The university in question dismissed complaints...
Read more...
“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!” Verizon has been working behind the scenes on a new unlimited data plan for its customers, and it just unwrapped the goodies this afternoon. Called Verizon Unlimited, customers are given “unlimited” 4G LTE data, talk and text for $80 per month (when you use AutoPay). But that’s not all, Verizon Unlimited also comes with 10GB of Mobile Hotspot per month, along with unlimited calling and texting to Mexico and Canada. Building on that North American coverage, Verizon Unlimited also gives you 500MB/day of 4G LTE data in Mexico and Canada...
Read more...
