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Vishesh Kumar
FCC Opens Investigation Into Cable TV Pricing
Submitted by Benton Foundation on November 5, 2008 - 9:42pmLast updated: November 5, 2008 - 9:43pm
The Federal Communications Commission is investigating why some cable-television subscribers are paying the same amount of money even as they are losing channels. The Commission recently sent letters of inquiry to 11 cable companies and Verizon asking about pricing and changes they have made to their tiers of service, including details about channels that have been moved to digital service.
Economic Woes Hit HDTV Sales
Submitted by Benton Foundation on October 14, 2008 - 7:09amLast updated: October 14, 2008 - 7:10am
Reeling from a stock-market crash and a looming recession, consumers may finally be putting the brakes on the purchase of pricey luxury items like high-definition televisions. Spending in the electronics category fell by 14% year-over-year in September, following modest declines of 3% and 6% in the previous months.
Univision Sees Its Future in Fees
Submitted by Benton Foundation on October 10, 2008 - 7:21amLast updated: October 10, 2008 - 7:22am
As the battle continues over carriage fees between Time Warner Cable and local broadcaster LIN TV, the cable operator is gearing up for what analysts expect to be its next major squabble.
Comcast Submits Plans to Manage Broadband
Submitted by Benton Foundation on September 21, 2008 - 8:23pmLast updated: September 23, 2008 - 8:46am
Comcast, the country's largest cable operator by subscribers, formally submitted plans to the Federal Communications Commission late Friday detailing how the company plans to manage its broadband network. Rather than target specific types of bandwidth-intensive applications like peer-to-peer file sharing, the company will instead slow Internet speeds for its heaviest users at peak times when its network is congested.
Price War Erupts For High-Speed Internet Service
Submitted by Benton Foundation on September 2, 2008 - 8:06pmLast updated: September 2, 2008 - 8:06pm
The battle between cable and phone companies to sign up new customers for high-speed Internet service is heating up, creating fresh opportunities for consumers to cut their bills. While the most generous offers are coming from the phone companies, some analysts expect cable companies will also become more aggressive in their own promotions as they compete to retain customers.
Time Warner Cable, Verizon to Duel
Submitted by Benton Foundation on July 22, 2008 - 7:33amLast updated: July 22, 2008 - 7:33am
As Verizon gears up to offer pay-TV service in New York City, Time Warner Cable is making a series of moves to compete more aggressively with the phone titan for one of its most prized markets.
AT&T Profit May Suffer As Consumers Tighten Belts
Submitted by Benton Foundation on July 21, 2008 - 7:32amLast updated: July 21, 2008 - 7:33am
AT&T is expected to show an accelerated drop-off in landlines and weakness in its wireless business when it reports second-quarter earnings Wednesday, offering Wall Street an idea of how much the economic slump has affected the telephone business.
Comcast Vows to Smooth Access for Vonage Users
Submitted by Benton Foundation on July 10, 2008 - 7:05amAmid growing regulatory scrutiny, Comcast said Wednesday it would collaborate with Vonage Corp. to ensure the Internet phone company's service runs more smoothly over Comcast's broadband network. Under the new arrangement, Vonage and Comcast will have a direct line of communications between their network operations centers to resolve customer issues, the companies said.
Cablevision Closes In On Deal for Newsday
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 12, 2008 - 7:37amLast updated: May 13, 2008 - 1:58pm
Tribune Company is at the brink of a deal to sell its Long Island newspaper Newsday to Cablevision Systems Corp. for $650 million in a deal to that will help relieve Tribune's debt.
Big Tech Firms to Invest in Wireless
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 7, 2008 - 7:52amThe race to bring consumers ultrafast wireless Internet service is on. As early as Wednesday, an unlikely alliance of titans from the cable, Internet and chip industries will disclose they are investing $3.2 billion in a company that will deliver Web access for cellphones and laptops at speeds much faster than what is available today using a technology called WiMax.
