Cox slows an entire neighborhood’s internet after one person’s ‘excessive use’

Cable company Cox Communications is slowing internet speeds of a whole neighborhood if one resident is a heavy user, Ars Technica reported. Cox confirmed that it does enact neighborhood-wide slowdowns to discourage what it calls “excessive use,” but...

AT&T and Comcast improve internet access in response to COVID-19

With so many people in the US working and learning from home, as offices and schools close in response to the coronavirus pandemic, internet service providers (ISPs) are beginning to react. Comcast is increasing internet speeds for low-income users,...

Virgin Media begins pushing its UK broadband to 120Mbps, much to Usain’s delight

Virgin Media begins pushing its broadband to 120Mb

If you're one of Virgin Media's top-tier internet customers, you may soon see your service getting a little speedier. The Branson-backed company is boosting its top speed from 100Mbps to 120Mbps, thanks to a £110 million ($169 million) infrastructure investment. The majority of the network -- around 60 percent -- has yet to be supercharged, but you can use the coverage checker linked below to see if you're in-line for an early Christmas present from Sir Richard.

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Virgin Media begins pushing its UK broadband to 120Mbps, much to Usain's delight originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Oct 2012 07:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FCC to begin testing and reporting mobile broadband performance

FCC to begin testing and reporting mobile broadband performance

Just like the FCC is looking to the public to help define modern broadband, it's similarly planning to arm citizens with more accurate information of mobile broadband speeds. The initiative is promoted as a natural extension of the Measuring Broadband America report, an annual publication of the FCC that currently only applies to wireline services. While still in the planning stages, the agency has already secured cooperation from CTIA and the major carriers. Come September 21st, the FCC will hold an open meeting to discuss the most appropriate methods for gathering and analyzing the data. It'll likely be a rather dry affair, but if you're really keen on attending, you'll find the complete details after the break.

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FCC to begin testing and reporting mobile broadband performance originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 01:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Internet speeds drop around the world according to Akamai, adoption rate up

Internet speeds drop around the world according to Akama, adoption rate up

Here's an odd one: average connection speeds around the globe dropped 14 percent to just 2.3 Mbps during the last quarter of 2011. The drop off remains something of a mystery since the data used to calculate that result doesn't include mobile broadband (so its increased adoption can't be dragging down the whole) and Akamai offers no explanation. Still, it's not time to start panicking, just yet. Even though speeds in the US dropped 5.3 percent from the previous quarter, average connection rates are still up significantly over the previous year. Otherwise, things largely stayed the same. Global broadband adoption was steady at 66 percent and the US continued to trail its friends across the Pacific (by a lot) in the race for the fastest Internet connections.

Interestingly, while the number of broadband connections stayed consistent the number of narrowband lines (under 256 Kbps) declined dramatically. Yet, the percentage of the world's population connected to the web managed to increase 2.1 percent quarter over quarter -- and 13 percent for the year. So, while it may seem that the internet had a temporary set back in Q4 of 2011, the long term trends look good. The number of people online is increasing, the average speeds being pulled down by those people is climbing and the number of folks stuck in the dial up era is dropping. To get a copy of the full report hit up the source.

Internet speeds drop around the world according to Akamai, adoption rate up originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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