comcast

Verizon Communications, in justifying its planned acquisition of spectrum from the major cable providers, said today its wireless arm could suffer from a capacity shortage in its bigger cities as early as next year.

"We will need this spectrum in a number of significant markets by 2013, so there is no time to lose in making this spectrum available," said Randal Milch, general counsel for Verizon, in prepared remarks.

Verizon and Comcast, hoping to avoid the pitfalls that ended up killing the AT&T-T-Mobile deal, made their best case during a Senate hearing today. At stake is … Read more

Cable companies--like cell phone companies--aren't always keen to explain all the little nickels and dimes that they sweetly extract from your account.

There are so many little charges on your bill that their names mesmerize. You know, like the "Oops, We Made A Mistake, But We'll Charge You To Fix It" charge.

You might not have heard of this one, because it might masquerade under the name "payment reversal." At least this is the claim made by one pseudonymous Comcast customer, who noticed a $25 line item that seemed out of line.

Consumerist reports … Read more

Rumors are zinging around tech blogs and media companies about why Netflix might be pursuing partnerships with cable companies.

Some of the theories are that Netflix needs help adding subscribers; or that Netflix wants to become the Internet service for the cable providers that don't have any online presence; or that it wants to become a cable station; or maybe it wants to join forces in the hopes of obtaining lower streaming rates from cable companies.

A Netflix spokesman declined to comment.

What we do know is that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is talking to cable companies about a … Read more

Remember Cable Card? It's still around, quietly allowing owners of TiVos and Home Theater PCs, via devices like the HDHomeRun Prime, to get the full complement of cable TV programming without having to use the company-issued DVR or cable box.

At CNET we've tested a few Cable Card products, including TiVos and the now-defunct Moxi DVR. The latter product was still hanging around the CNET offices so I decided to test it out for myself at home.

I called up Verizon (I'm a Fios TV subscriber) last week, told the rep I had a third-party DVR and … Read more

Netflix's public-relations team almost walked away today from a San Francisco tech conference without its CEO saying anything that might complicate its job.

But it was not to be.

Minutes before wrapping up an on-stage interview at the Morgan Stanley Technology Media & Telecom conference, Reed Hastings made the kind of witty, impromptu, and controversial remark for which he's become increasingly famous.

Asked whether the cable companies are "pressured" by the enormous amount of traffic that Netflix customers generate, Hastings sarcastically said, "That 92 percent Comcast operating margin is really under a lot of pressure...… Read more

Comcast announced a new subscription video-on-demand service today that will provide "out of home" access via the Web.

Comcast has named the new service Xfinity Streampix. The cable company's strategy to compete against Netflix, the Web's No. 1 video rental service, has obviously been influenced by HBO.

Streampix is designed to enhance Comcast's existing service, Xfinity, by offering users a broader selection of movies and TV shows. Variety, the Hollywood trade magazine, first reported the story.

HBO Go, the Internet service that enables HBO subscribers to access every episode of the company's past and … Read more

Comcast is ramping up its Internet Essentials program to cover more low-income families and students eager to get online.

Launched last September, the program provides cheap Internet access, low-cost computers, and literacy training to poor families and their school-age children.

Families who have at least one child getting a free lunch through the government's National School Lunch Program (NSLP) have been able to receive 1.5-megabit-per-second broadband Internet for only $9.95 a month, compared with the $41 that Comcast typically charges.

Detailing the program in a blog post this week, Comcast noted several accomplishments, such as promoting the … Read more

Sen. Patrick Leahy, the sponsor of a controversial Hollywood-backed copyright bill, has bowed to public pressure and will yank the most controversial sections from the legislation.

The Vermont Democrat, a longtime ally of large copyright holders, said today he would delete portions of his Protect IP Act that mandate Domain Name System (DNS) blocking and redirecting.

"I'm going to set aside these domain name provisions," Leahy told Vermont Public Radio. "That we'll hold back on, because I've listened to some of the concerns on those. I think there [are] easy answers to it, but … Read more

Comcast has just launched a new, free service for subscribers who want to watch live TV on their iPads.

Dubbed AnyPlay, the service is currently available only to customers in Nashville and Denver and only for iPad users. But Comcast is promising to add more markets in the coming months and kick in support for the Motorola Xoom.

Latching onto the Xfinity TV app for the iPad, AnyPlay will let Comcast subscribers to both its TV and Internet services watch any channel or program already available through their regular TV lineup. The service will also allow a customer to watch … Read more