comcast

Comcast offers cheap broadband to poor families

Cable giant Comcast is making good on its promise to help the U.S. boost broadband adoption rates and eliminate the so-called digital divide by offering poor families more affordable broadband.

The company announced today its Internet Essentials program that will target low-income families with school-age children and help them get connected to the Internet by offering a combination of discounted broadband service, low-cost computers, and free training programs to teach people how to use the technology.

The company kicked off the program at Ballou High School in the District of Columbia. David Cohen, an executive vice president at Comcast, … Read more

Sprint reportedly in talks for Clearwire takeover

Sprint Nextel is in talks with the cable companies over a new round of investment that may lead to a full takeover of 4G partner Clearwire, according to Bloomberg.

Sprint is in discussions with investors Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks, Bloomberg reported today, citing anonymous sources. The report said Sprint is weighing using the investment to fund the acquisition of the remaining stake in Clearwire that it doesn't own.

Such a scenario could provide relief to cash-strapped Clearwire, which is seeking funding to stay alive and expand its network with a newer, faster 4G technology. The … Read more

Cable, satellite see quarterly loss of TV subscribers

That loud snipping sound is a greater number of Americans cutting the cord and ditching their cable and satellite TV subscriptions. That's the verdict today in an analysis done by the Associated Press of the pay TV companies' quarterly earnings reports.

The AP tallied lost subscribers from eight of the top nine providers, including Comcast and Time Warner cable, Verizon, AT&T, DirecTV, and Dish Network. Cox Communications was not included because it is a private company and does not disclose subscriber numbers, but AP said it has captured 70 percent of households in its survey and found … Read more

Verizon workers go on strike

Comcast offers a $9.95 Internet Essentials service to low-income families, the FBI releases an iPhone app that helps parents with a missing child, and Verizon workers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic go on strike after negotiations fail to produce a contract.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Verizon workers go on strike HP TouchPad 4G and $50 in the App Catalog Education iMac? AntiSec hackers post police data Comcast $10 Internet Essentials plan FBI Child IDapp in App Store Subscribe: iTunes (MP3) | iTunes (320x180) | iTunes (HD) | RSS (MP3) | RSS (320x180) | RSS HD

Comcast gets boost from NBC Universal

NBC Universal gave Comcast a boost in the second quarter as the cable operator announced a 16 percent jump in profits.

Comcast also said it lost fewer pay-TV subscribers and saw broadband subscriber growth surge, besting its phone company rivals.

Net income rose to $1.02 billion, or 37 cents a share, from $884 million, or 31 cents a share, a year earlier, Comcast said in its second quarter earnings statement. Excluding certain costs, profit was up about 17 percent to 42 cents a share.

The company got a boost its NBC Universal unit. The second quarter was the first … Read more

Yahoo would reportedly buy Hulu under right terms

Yahoo would pay up to $2 billion to acquire Hulu if the deal came with four or five years of exclusive access to current TV shows and older movies, according a story in yesterday's Business Insider.

Citing a "source familiar with Yahoo's M&A plans," Business Insider said that Hulu's owners would have to guarantee the exclusive access before Yahoo's corporate development people would present such a deal to their board of directors.

However, that type of deal may be tough to swing.

Hulu's owners have reportedly been willing to offer the … Read more

Nine Netflix alternatives

Netflix recently announced price increases that upset a lot of customers, to say the least.

Whether or not you're planning to cancel your own Netflix account, it's good to know what alternatives are out there. Here are nine Netflix alternatives:

DVD rental

Redbox Redbox rents physical discs through strategically located kiosks inside retail stores. You may have already seen them in your local drug store or grocery market; the all-red kiosks are hard to miss. To rent a title, you walk up to a kiosk, make your selection, and pay for it. For added convenience, you can also … Read more

Comcast shows off next-generation broadband, TV

CHICAGO--Comcast showed off 1 gigabit-per-second downloads and cloud-based channel surfing here today as it demonstrated features for its next-generation broadband and TV services.

CEO Brian Roberts took the stage at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association's Cable Show, where he showed how the company's hybrid-coaxial infrastructure is capable of delivering a 1GB connection to the home. Using an 11-mile demonstration cable network, he showed how an entire season of the hit show "30 Rock" in HD could be downloaded in just 1 minute and 39 seconds. Roberts commented that with slower, older connections, this download could … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1489: 7073, people, keep it simple (Podcast)

The most common iPhone passcodes are revealed on today's show (no, not by LulzSec), but Tong has a pager-callback suggestion for all of us. A proposal in Congress would force U.S. companies to actually tell us when they're hacked and our data is stolen (yes, please), and Rojadirecta becomes the people's hero in challenging the government's domain-name seizures. Go, Rojadirecta, go!

Skype to bring video chat to Comcast subscribers

CHICAGO--Cable giant Comcast is teaming up with Skype to offer its subscribers video calling on their TVs, in a move that could bring more affordable video conferencing to the home.

On the eve of the Cable Show here, the companies today announced that Comcast will be offering the Skype service through the TV to its broadband subscribers. The companies are still working out all the details of the service, and they're expected to begin testing it in the next few months. The Cable Show is an annual conference and trade show, where cable operators from around the country gather. … Read more