Items tagged with Comcast
A pair of tech titans could make major waves in the entertainment industry if a deal to launch a new streaming TV service can be reached. According to multiple reports, Apple is currently in talks with Comcast about using Apple's set-top box to deliver the new service, which would give users the ability to stream live...
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In what had been a standoff between Netflix and Comcast -- one in which subscribers of both companies were caught in the crossfire -- Netflix was the first to blink by agreeing to pay the ISP for faster speeds. The two media giants inked a multi-year deal that should ensure less buffering and higher quality Netflix...
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Over the past 12 months, Netflix performance has been dropping steadily across most of the major ISPs. Comcast, Verizon, and Time Warner Cable have all recorded significant performance drop-offs. The issue has been particularly acute on Verizon, where measured bandwidth rates have fallen a high of 2.3Mbps in October 2013 to 0.97Mbps in January,...
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As we’ve all had some time to digest the potential reality of a Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger, there’s some thought out there that the two giants could be making a move specifically designed to target cord-cutters, those brave souls who’ve given the one-finger salute to traditional pay-TV...
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What happens when two giants unite? We're about to find out, as Comcast on Thursday announced that its board of directors approved a definitive agreement to acquire Time Warner Cable in a deal worth approximately $45.2 billion. Comcast describes the agreement as a "friendly, stock-for-stock transaction" in which owners of Time Warner Cable...
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Two events in the telecommunications and cable world this week have highlighted why, exactly, we need net neutrality and stronger protections for consumer rights. First, on the cable side of the business, Time Warner Cable, Cox, Eagle Communications, and Comcast have collectively introduced a bill into the Kansas...
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This summer, Comcast announced a plan to run trials of a cloud-based DVR service called X2, which it is now doing, and there’s also a tweener option at play with the X1 mobile app. The app, which is available in the iTunes store, allows those with access to the X1 cloud DVR trial to watch their recorded content...
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It only makes sense, really. Netflix has taken over the content world in many ways, even going so far as to fund original programming of its own and buck the usual trend by making entire seasons available at once. That journey has led it to an enviable position, but to date, getting to Netflix still requires something that many American households...
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Anyone who has tried to host their own website from home likely knows all-too-well the hassles that ISPs can cause. Simply put, ISPs generally don't want you to do that, preferring you to move up to a business package (aka: more expensive). Not surprisingly, the EFF doesn't like these rules, which seem to exist only to upsell you a product,...
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Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but those annoying data caps ISPs like to implement aren't going anywhere. And if you're a Comcast subscribers, overage fees aren't taking a hike, either. In fact, the company plans to expand its trial of data overage fees in additional markets starting next month, serving as an...
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There will always be people who pirate content, that's just the way it is. We don't condone illegally downloading movies and TV shows, nor are we being pessimistic, but unlike big media companies, we're willing to look at the situation realistically. Perhaps so is Comcast, which is said to be developing a new method...
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Whether or not Google launched its Google Fiber Internet service as a legitimate business venture or as a massive trolling measure to shake up the broadband market (as some believe), its effect has been evident in how ISPs are competing. Leveraging a partnership with the city of Seattle and its fiber optic network...
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As we've talked about before, the cloud is a great innovation...so long as you have access to a solid and quick Internet connection. But for much of the world, offline needs are still very real, and when you're talking about hour-long programming in high-definition, one has to wonder if we're really and truly ready to migrate those recordings...
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Look out, ADT and Vivint. Comcast is getting into the home security and control business, and it’s hitting the ground running, thanks to its Xfinity services. The new Xfinity Home Control provides remote access to your thermostat and lighting, not to mention video monitoring you can view from afar. Given the...
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Don't be fooled by the lukewarm reception to Comcast's share price following the company's first quarter 2013 financial results. The cable outfit killed it in Q1, posting a profit of $1.44 billion, or 54 cents a share, on combined revenues totaling $15.3 billion, up 2.9 percent compared to the same quarter a year. The...
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We knew that Comcast was readying a new Internet service tier to compete with Verizon’s Quantum FiOS (300Mbps down, 65Mbps up, $205 per month), and now we have confirmation and some more details. Comcast announced Xfinity Platinum Internet, which promises almost exactly the same performance as Verizon, with...
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Watch out Verizon, Comcast is gunning for your ultra high-speed Internet customers. In response to Verizon's Quantum FiOS service, which tops out at 305Mbps downstream / 65Mbps upstream for $205 per month, Comcast is said to be readying a new 305Mbps downstream service tier, though a few important questions remain...
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The Internet is still something of a wild frontier, where everything is growing and evolving fast, but the rules are still being written and shootouts between companies are general practice. It’s grown so much that it’s gradually invading just about every other market sector, from phone service to retail and more. The TV industry...
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Well that didn’t take long. Verizon Wireless’ acquisition of SpectrumCo’s 122 Advanced Wireless Services spectrum licenses is already making waves in the wireless industry. As we reported earlier, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks were the trio that formed SpectrumCo, and the sale...
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Families with limited income who are struggling to make ends meet may have reason to consider switching to Comcast. The company has rolled out a new $9.99 service tier that's available nationwide to citizens with at least one child receiving a free school lunch through the National School Lunch Program. The program...
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Most ISPs advertise the upload and download speeds of their broadband, but just how much truth is in advertising? A recent study by the FCC aims give consumers the answer for the nation's largest providers. The Federal Communications Commission has released the results of a year-long scientific study it conducted with regard to the upload...
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Comcast is launching Internet Essentials, a new initiative offering discounted Internet access and home computers to families that meet low income requirements. The program was mandated as a requirement of Comcast's acquisition of NBC Universal, earlier this year. In that way, it's very similar to AT&T's Naked DSL...
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