Broadband

A new survey from the Federal Communications Commission notes that while 91 percent of U.S. broadband consumers are satisfied with their service, 80 percent of them don't know what speed broadband connection they're paying for.

The survey of more than 3,000 adults conducted this spring asked consumers if they knew what the advertised speed of the broadband service they were signed up for was supposed to be. Four out of five said they didn't know. About 24 percent said they thought they were likely getting the speed they were supposed to get. And 57 percent … Read more

Pressure is building in Washington for the Federal Communications Commission to abandon its plans to apply old-style regulation to the Internet.

Now 282 members of Congress on both sides of the political aisles have asked the FCC to step aside while the lawmakers rewrite the nation's telecommunications laws.

On Friday, 171 House Republicans signed a letter addressed to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski urging him to stop the FCC's plans to reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service. The reclassification would subject broadband services to many of the same rules applied to traditional telephone services.

This letter follows a letter sent by 74 House Democrats and a letter from 37 Republican Senators both sent on Monday … Read more

Less than a week after admitting it had inadvertently spied on some Wi-Fi users, Google is the target in several investigations in Europe and at least one lawsuit in the U.S.

On Tuesday, Pacific Northwest residents Vicki Van Valin and Neil Mertz filed a class action lawsuit against Google alleging their privacy was violated when Google's Street View vehicles drove by their homes, detecting and storing data from their open Wi-Fi Internet connections used in their homes. The news of the lawsuit was first reported by TechEye.net.

The case was filed in an Oregon district court. It … Read more

Google admitted in a blog post Friday that it has been snooping on Wi-Fi users as its Street View cars have been riding around neighborhoods throughout the world collecting data for its mapping service.

In a blog post, the company said it has parked its Street View cars and stopped collecting data after it realized that it has been inadvertently collecting data about people's online activities from unsecured Wi-Fi networks over the past four years. The disclosure could not come at a worse time for Google, following strident criticism over its Google Buzz launch from privacy experts and a … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission released detailed plans Thursday to ensure that it has authority to craft new rules to keep the Internet open.

Figuring out exactly what the FCC is proposing and how it will affect the industry and consumers is confusing. The procedure the FCC has chosen to shore up its authority is complicated and requires some legal gymnastics. To get the skinny on what's being proposed check out this FAQ below:

What exactly did the FCC do on Thursday? FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski released details of a new plan to reclassify broadband services so that some common … Read more

Updated at 9:28 a.m. PDT with comments from Comcast and information from the chairman's statement.

Updated at 11:45 a.m. PDT with comments from Verizon Communications and statements from companies, such as Google and Amazon, in the Open Internet Coalition.

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday detailed plans for its so-called "third way" to reclassify broadband service as a telecommunications service, which would help the agency reassert its authority for regulating the Internet, after it lost an important legal battle last month.

The purpose of the statement is to put the agency on stronger … Read more

Time Warner Cable, the No. 2 cable operator in the U.S., saw strong broadband subscriber growth in the first quarter, which helped the company boost earnings 30 percent during the three-month period.

Time Warner reported a profit of $214 million, or 60 cents a share. This was up from $164 million, or 48 cents per share, during the same quarter a year ago. The results included 22 cents of restructuring charges. Revenue was up 5.4 percent to $4.6 billion. Analysts expected the company to earn 74 cents a share on $4.56 billion in revenue, according to … Read more

In Washington, D.C., Google is learning there's nothing wrong with a little diplomacy.

In a Federal Communications Commission filing earlier this week, Google reiterated its support for Net neutrality regulation, but it didn't take sides in the ongoing debate over whether the FCC should reclassify broadband services to help ensure the agency has the authority to enforce that regulation.

The FCC's authority was challenged earlier this month when a federal appeals court sided with Comcast, ruling that the FCC had no legal basis for censuring the company for violating its Net neutrality principles.

Net neutrality proponents, … Read more

The battle for the 21st century TV viewer is heating up as Verizon Communications adds more Internet content to its Fios TV service. But cable may not be the only competitor Verizon faces as more consumer electronics devices such as Blu-ray players and game consoles add similar Net-based services without an expensive TV service subscription.

Starting Tuesday morning, Verizon Fios TV subscribers will be able to watch YouTube videos and listen to Internet radio from iHeartRadio on their big screen TVs via their Fios TV service. The upgrade, which adds to a growing catalog of Web content available through Fios … Read more