ilamont/telecom

From the page: "Second, DPI can be used to defeat Net Neutrality, which, in theory, is supposed to give equal treatment to all Internet traffic, no matter the source or contents involved. In the United States, Net Neutrality is a hot-button issue among surfers who fear the erosion of the relatively free and equal browsing they enjoy today. ISPs could use DPI or some other scheme to deny their customers access to certain types of content or even specific files, or charging them more to access them."

From the page: "The ongoing controversy over traffic shaping by leading facilities-based Canadian ISPs has intensified with more high-profile groups speaking out on the issue."

From the page: "AT&T has dropped its contract to sell satellite TV service from Dish Networks as part of its triple-play Internet/TV/phone bundle. GigaOm says that the refusal to renegotiate their five-year deal could be a sign that AT&T is trying to bring DirecTV to the negotiating table in hopes of getting a better deal -- or that it ends any chance of AT&T making a play to buy Dish."

From the page: "Verizon will use the spectrum to deploy a wireless data network using the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard, it said. The company announced plans for an LTE-based network last November, and it plans to launch an LTE network in the 700MHz band in 2010."

From the page: "So will larger cities ever see citywide Wi-Fi networks? A company named Meraki thinks so, and plans to create a San Francisco ad-supported network by the end of 2008. In contrast with the typical model of Wi-Fi routers on street lights, Meraki is using solar-powered distribution points on city and asking residents to host repeaters in their homes."

From the page: "Telcos, ISPs, mobile phone companies and other communication service providers are known for their complex pricing plans and creative attempts to give less for more. But Larry Borsato asks why we as customers are willing to put up with anything less than 99.999% uptime? That's the gold standard, and one that we are used to thanks to regulated telephone service. When it comes to mobile phone service, cable TV, Internet access, service interruptions are the norm â€" and everyone seems willing to grin and bear it: 'We're so used cable and satellite television reception problems that we don't even notice them anymore. We know that many of our emails never reach their destination. Mobile phone companies compare who has the fewest dropped calls (after decades of mobile phones, why do we even still have dropped calls?) And the ubiquitous BlackBerry, which is a mission-critical device for millions, has experienced mass outages several times this month. All of these services are unregulated, which means there are no demands on reliability, other than what the marketplace demands.' So here's the question for you: Why does the marketplace demand so little when it comes to these services?""

From the page: "Similarly, if you require five 9â€s of uptime, then be prepared to pay for it â€" be it in the form of redundant data centers, multiple Internet trunks, fail-over clusters, or even a couple of mainframe computers"

From the page: "After Free Press on Tuesday accused Comcast of using unfair tactics, Comcast spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice confirmed to The Associated Press that the company hired people to fill seats after the hearing room doors opened at 7 a.m. and before the 11 a.m. start. As Comcast employees arrived, they replaced the hired seat-warmers. Fitzmaurice declined to say who or how many were hired, how the company found them, or how much they were paid."