broadband

Nielsen takes online ad-tracking tool overseas

Nielsen Holdings, the company best known for tracking TV viewership, is taking its new online advertising measurement tool international.

The company said today that it plans to expand its service of measuring online advertising to countries outside the U.S., including Australia, Italy, Germany, and Canada, according to a statement sent to Bloomberg News.

The new tool will allow marketers to compare online advertising campaigns with TV commercials. Nielsen has been using the tool in the U.S. market for about 18 months.

The purpose of the new tool is to help online marketers better understand the effectiveness of their … Read more

Carrier confusion: When am I free to leave my family plan?

Wireless operators would like to believe the pricing and terms of their services are straightforward and easy to understand. But when it comes to deciphering family plans or figuring out whether you can or cannot use your smartphone as a wireless hotspot, it's not always so clear.

In this edition of Ask Maggie, I explain to a reader who is confused about how wireless contracts work on a family plan. He complains that he was socked with a hefty early termination fee, and he wonders if it has something to do with the fact that he and his wife … Read more

Get a T-Mobile Jet 2.0 prepaid 4G modem for $19.99

I'm a big believer in the old Boy Scout motto: be prepared.

That's why I always pack a prepaid modem in my travel bag, just in case there's no Wi-Fi available wherever I end up. This happens more often than you might think.

Through tomorrow, and while supplies last, you can get the T-Mobile Jet 2.0 prepaid 4G laptop stick for $19.99 shipped. Props to reader Harvey for sharing this deal.

Like the aircards of old, the Jet 2.0 plugs into your Mac or PC, endowing it with high-speed Internet access -- in this … Read more

First steps taken to build gigabit network in North Carolina

The Gig. U coalition of universities that is helping college towns across the U.S. get wired with super-fast broadband took a major step forward in its effort to bring gigabit speed broadband networks to more communities.

On Friday, Gig. U announced that it has helped the North Carolina Next Generation Network, a group made up four universities -- North Carolina State, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Duke and Wake Forest -- and six communities, put together a request for proposals for a project that will bring a next-generation broadband network to a large region of North Carolina.

Through the … Read more

Akamai: A third of cyberattacks come from China

A third of all cyberattacks in the third quarter of 2012 came from China, a new report from Akamai said, double the percentage in the second period.

Akamai, one of the world's largest globally distributed networks, released its State of the Internet report today that found a steep increase in the percentage of attacks originating in China. In the second quarter of 2012, only 16 percent of attacks came from the country, but that rose to 33 percent in the period ended in September. The U.S. came in at No. 2 with 13 percent, up sequentially from 12 … Read more

FCC pushes for gigabit broadband in all 50 states by 2015

The Federal Communications Commission's chairman, Julius Genachowski, wants to see gigabit speed broadband services in all 50 states by 2015.

At a meeting of U.S. mayors in Washington, D.C., today, Genachowski called on municipal leaders and service providers to deploy gigabit speed broadband in at least one community in each of the 50 states in the next two to three years. Genachowski said that by participating in the "Gigabit City Challenge" communities would turn themselves into innovation hubs that would create valuable jobs for its citizens.

Genachowski has been a big proponent of faster broadband … Read more

Dish counters Sprint, makes $5B offer for Clearwire

Dish Network made an unsolicited bid to buy Clearwire for $5.15 billion, upping the ante for Sprint Nextel, which entered into an agreement last month to purchase the 50 percent of the wireless broadband provider it does not already own.

Dish is offering $3.30 per share for all outstanding shares in Clearwire, about 11 percent more than Sprint's offer, and a 13 percent premium over today's closing stock price. The stock price was up 23 cents, or 7.8 percent, to $3.15 a share in after-hours trading.

Sprint announced in December that the two companies … Read more

U.K.'s 4G pushes forward, with 17 new locales on tap

Residents in an additional 17 towns and cities in the U.K. will have the option of signing up for EE's 4G LTE network by March 2013.

Everything Everywhere -- a collaboration between mobile operators Orange and T-Mobile -- launched the United Kingdom's first 4G network in October this year. Although these two carriers still exist, for next-generation data speeds EE is one of the only options currently available.

In addition to extending 4G coverage, the company said it plans to upgrade its 3G network to DC-HSPA, which will result in faster speeds for non-4G customers, including those … Read more

FreedomPop launches free home broadband

Expensive in-home Internet service may soon be a thing of the past, at least if FreedomPop has anything to say about it.

The startup, backed by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom, today said it's now taking preorders for its FreedomPop Hub Burst home modem that allows users to access the high-speed Internet for free.

The company noted that the device, available for an $89 deposit, will ship next month. If a user decides to turn off the service within the first year, he or she can return the modem to FreedomPop and receive the deposit back. There are no contracts … Read more