The future is wireless. At least, so all the wireless companies say. Sure, running actual cables to houses and apartment buildings brought broadband this far, but the always-on, always-streaming future is just going to get more and more mobile. And so the current era of 4G LTE wireless connections will eventually give way to 5G, which promises to be faster, better, and stronger in every way. But before you can use 5G tech, first you have to make it, you know, work. [More]
wireless broadband
AT&T Testing Super-Fast Wireless Internet Using Power Lines
By 9.20.16
While good chunks of the country, particularly rural and tribal lands, currently lack access to high speed broadband, most inhabited parts of America are serviced by power lines. AT&T is currently testing a new project that aims to deliver data at fiberoptic speeds, but without having to run any new cables or build huge cellular or microwave towers. [More]
Aereo Founder Now Wants To Offer Wireless Gigabit Broadband Service
By 1.27.16
While Aereo — the startup that offered online access to freely available over-the-air broadcast TV networks — may have been gutted by a 2014 Supreme Court ruling, its founder and CEO Chet Kanojia soldiers on. His latest project: Wireless high-speed broadband for your home. [More]
Sprint Says Net Neutrality Won’t Stop Verizon, AT&T From Investing
By 2.12.15
Mouthpieces for the wireless industry would have you believe that the FCC’s pending net neutrality rules — which would reclassify both terrestrial and wireless broadband as a utility — will cripple investment and plunge us into an era where we carry around mammoth brick cellphones like Zack Morris. So why is Sprint telling everyone a completely different story? [More]
Comcast Officially Files for TWC Merger, Claims Broadband Competition Is Fine Because You Have A Smartphone
By 4.8.14
It’s a big day for Comcast: not only did they win a big old golden poo this morning, but also they formally took the first step in the regulatory dance that stands between them and their purchase of Time Warner Cable by filing a mountain of paperwork with the FCC. The massive document contains all of Comcast’s explanations for why the merger is the best idea ever… and it’s a doozy. Let’s take a closer look at their arguments, shall we? [More]
Customers Sue Clearwire For Rotten Service, Early Termination Fees
By 4.23.09
Customers from Washington, Hawaii, Minnesota and North Carolina have teamed up to file a lawsuit against Clearwire for misrepresenting the quality of its hit-or-miss wireless network, and then charging ETFs for account cancellations even when there’s no service as promised. If they win, Clearwire will be banned “from enforcing the Early Termination Fees and from further false advertising.”
Great Customer Service Goes Unrewarded
By 4.12.06
Let’s face it: customer service lines are designed so you give up long before you get an answer. A confusing labyrinth of telephone menus, leading eventually to a computerized voice demanding information that you likely don’t have and they, coincidentally enough, can’t help you without. When you do get someone, they tend to be either incompetent or reading from a three-ring binder. The industry’s secret is they actually can’t handle your issues and complaints: the conspiracy is to make it so frustrating that you won’t even try.
