rural

Got Broadband? Not Sure? There's a Map for That.

Arik Hesseldahl in Enterprise on February 17, 2011 at 2:30 pm PT

It took two years and $350 million, but America now has a detailed map showing where all its broadband Internet connections are and where they are not.

Obama Wants a Wireless Broadband Network for Everyone

Arik Hesseldahl in Enterprise on January 26, 2011 at 8:00 am PT

Technology references were numerous in the president’s speech to Congress last night. His call for for a national wireless broadband network will reignite a long-simmering debate over spectrum allocation, pitting TV broadcasters against the FCC.

Verizon Wireless Touts 4G Network, Shows Off Devices

Ina Fried in Mobile on January 6, 2011 at 1:03 pm PT

Verizon showed off 10 devices coming in the first half of the year and said it will cover another 140 cities with the high-speed network by year’s end.

If Speed Matters, Why Is American Broadband So Slow?

Arik Hesseldahl in Enterprise on December 15, 2010 at 12:57 pm PT

The Communications Workers of America have completed their latest survey of broadband connections in the U.S., and if the point wasn’t already well-established, then they’re here to remind you: Broadband connections in America are slow, and service availability is lousy or non-existent in many areas.

CityVille Gets 290,000 Residents on First Day

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on December 6, 2010 at 3:03 pm PT

Cities are always more congested. Last week, Zynga proved that even more with the launch of CityVille, its latest social game, which follows other big–and more rural hits–like FrontierVille and FarmVille. In just 24 hours, more than 290,000 people moved over to the big city, besting Zynga’s biggest game launch–FrontierVille.

BoomTown in D.C. to Say Happy 25th Birthday to .Com and Wary Hello to Broadband Plan

Kara Swisher in News on March 15, 2010 at 7:54 am PT

Last night, I jetted east to Washington, D.C., for an unusual confluence of events: The 25th anniversary of the .com Internet domain name and the Federal Communications Commission’s release of the National Broadband Plan. Both are set for tomorrow in the nation’s capital and both concern the impact of the Web on the United States in the past and the future. And after a quarter-century, let’s hope the federal government finally starts to take the Internet seriously.

If It's Tuesday, It Must Be the National Broadband Plan–If Your Connection Isn't Too Slow, You Can Tune In Online

Kara Swisher in News on March 11, 2010 at 11:33 am PT

Finally, after much advance leakage, the Federal Communications Commission will unveil its National Broadband Plan on Tuesday, March 16. The two key questions about the effort to get the United States up to speed, so to speak, with decent digital access: Will it be toothless or not and will there be any money to pay for it, given the cash-strapped federal government? And, of course, will the greedy telecoms quash the plan if it is too helpful to consumers?

AT&T, Google: Nuns on the Run

John Paczkowski in News on October 15, 2009 at 5:00 am PT

In the rhetorical battle over net neutrality, Google may have regulatory capitalism with which to bludgeon and batter AT&T, but AT&T has Benedictine nuns, an entire convent of them. In a 13-page letter to the Federal Communications Commission Wednesday, the carrier took issue with Google’s claim that its Google Voice service only blocks calls to adult sex chat lines, asserting that it also blocks calls to small businesses and Benedictine nuns.

AT&T, Google: Nuns on the Run

John Paczkowski in News on October 15, 2009 at 5:00 am PT

In the rhetorical battle over net neutrality, Google may have regulatory capitalism with which to bludgeon and batter AT&T, but AT&T has Benedictine nuns, an entire convent of them. In a 13-page letter to the Federal Communications Commission Wednesday, the carrier took issue with Google’s claim that its Google Voice service only blocks calls to adult sex chat lines, asserting that it also blocks calls to small businesses and Benedictine nuns.

Google to AT&T: "Noisome Trumpeter"? Takes One to Know One.

John Paczkowski in News on September 25, 2009 at 2:46 pm PT

Google is violating the Net neutrality principles it so strongly advocates–according to AT&T, anyway. In a letter to the head of the Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau Friday, the telephone company described Google as “one of the most noisome trumpeters of so-called net-neutrality” and asked the FCC to order it to “play by the same rules as its competitors.”