Online

Comcast Data Usage Meter Begins Rolling Out To Customers

Starting today, Comcast subscribers in the Portland OR pilot market area will begin receiving notifications that they can access a usage meter via their online accounts to help avoid data overage charges.


November 26, 2009

Places Where The Internet Actually Happens (In Real Life)

Real, physical places form the Net’s backbone: data centres, under-sea cables, junctions, optic fibre pipes. Wired traced a single bit’s journey from England, across the US, and into Asia—a fascinating reminder at how physical the virtual really is.


February 24, 2009
Online

U.S. Broadband May Not Suck So Much After All

In fact, we may be #1! That’s according to Professor Leonard Waverman’s Connectivity Scorecard, which rates a country’s wired-ness by looking at a wide range of different factors, not just speed and adoption rates.


January 9, 2009

Google May Be Working On Its Own Router

According to various SD Times sources, including one inside Cisco, Google is exploring the idea of dumping Juniper Networks in favour of building its own routers to handle their ever-expanding need for bandwidth.


November 4, 2008

AT&T Monthly Bandwidth Caps Are Here

AT&T’s bandwidth caps for its high speed internet customers are here. They’re conducting a “market trial” in Reno that started on Nov. 1, where users get between 20GB and 150GB a month, depending on their speed tier. Unlike Time Warner’s trial in Beamont, where caps were only applied to new customers, existing customers will also be capped, though they’ll get the roomier 150GB cap. If you bust the cap, AT&T will charge an extra dollar per gigabyte.


September 25, 2008

T-Mobile Removes 1GB 3G Data Cap for G1 Android Phone

T-Mobile’s just rolled back on their 1GB usage cap on their 3G plans for upcoming G1 Android customers, instead going to a hold-up-while-we-figure-this-out route. The statement they give now states that they can reduce throughput for “a small fraction” of users who are using too much data, but exact terms and limits are still being reviewed before they’re finalised. Statement after the jump.


September 11, 2008

AT&T Changes Terms of Service, Will Start Slowing Rebel Downloaders Next Month

AT&T’s just updated its terms of service for broadband customers, and starting next month, if you’re a heavy downloader, get ready to have your connection squeezed to a trickle. While they haven’t implemented usage caps a la Comcast (yet) they are using a similar traffic management technique starting on Oct. 18 that will slow down your whole connection if you’re “using other U-verse services in a manner that requires high bandwidth.”


August 29, 2008

Comcast’s 250GB Data Caps Now Official, Starting in October

Bad news for Comcast folks–the 250GB caps that were once rumoured are now officially official and will start October 1 for residential customers. But, instead of charging you for every GB you go beyond that in a month, Comcast is getting a bit more byzantine–if you blow the cap twice in six months, they may terminate your service altogether.


August 6, 2008

Sprint Finally Makes Good On 3G Data Capping

Sprint’s finally pulled the trigger on their data capping policy, limiting users to 5GB a month or 300MB while on off-network roaming. Our tipster says the note after the jump appeared on his most recent bill, and will start the cappage in 30 days. They now join the Verizon and AT&T networks at 5GB, but Sprint is still our favourite for field work on the go.


June 26, 2008

Japanese ISP Institutes Upload Cap of 30GB… Per Day

While everyone is up in arms about US ISPs such as Comcast instituting bandwidth caps that’ll keep you from downloading all the sweet, sweet data that you want, what about telcos in Japan? Well, they’re going to start instituting caps as well. Oh, the horror? What is it, 25GB a month? 50GB? No, actually. NTT Communications is going to start instituting an upload cap of 30GB… per day. I’m pretty sure if I was uploading at max speed at all times I couldn’t hit 30GB a day.