Broadband Roundup: Incumbents Defend Data Caps, Comcast Cites Competition for Merger, and Wheeler Seeks Diversity of Media Ownership
WASHINGTON, September 24, 2014 –Verizon Communications and AT&T are urging the Federal Communications Commission to include the use of data caps in the agency’s definition of broadband. Including usage-based pricing in its definition is important because companies that use universal service funds to
Comcast Sites Stiff Competition as Reason for Acqusition
Although FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler repeated multiple times that America lacks true broadband competition in many areas of the country, Comcast argued in a filing defending its proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable that the cable and broadband giant does faces substantial competition. Citing municipal broadband networks, telephone companies, satellite broadband providers and fixed wireless providers, as well as newcomers like Google Fiber, as competitive threats, to which the company claims disgruntled customers can switch. (Ryan Block, other Comcast customers and even Comcast’s own customer service representatives and retention specialists, however,
would beg to differ.)In a speech on September 4, Wheeler said most Americans have at most two choices for internet speeds between 4 Mbps and 10 Mbps, and only one choice for speeds of 25 Mbps or faster, Ars Technica reported.
Cox & CenturyLink Push Gigabit Service In Phoenix
Cox Communications and CenturyLink both plan on providing Gigabit Networks in Phoenix , Fierce Telecom reported.
Cox announced that Las Vegas and Omaha are the next two markets to receive 1Gbps service as part of its plan to cover the entirety of its markets by 2016. CenturyLink is also planning to expand their fiber-to-the-premises services to Las Vegas and Omaha, as well as 13 more cities.
FCC Wheeler Seeks Diversity of Media Ownership
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler urged for more diversity in media ownership in a blog post about the E-Rate program and traditional media facilities following his recent trip to Philadelphia. Wheeler said that the newly revamped E-Rate program has been helping ensure internet access in libraries and schools. Meeting the information needs of communities nationwide means more than just providing universal internet access. Wheeler noted the need for “a diverse array of voices on all media platforms,” since “one way to ensure diversity of content is to encourage diversity of media ownership.”Wi-Fi May Become Cash Cow for ISPs
Broadband providers may soon look to Wi-Fi as potential profit centers, Multichannel News reported. Currently, most cable operators offer free access to Wi-Fi hotspots to their wired broadband customers as a retention tool. As these companies continue to expand their Wi-Fi coverage, two top executives had said that monetizing these systems will be focal point over the next three to five years.
