ISP

The least popular internet provider in the US isn’t the one you think

March 25th, 2021

Yoni Heisler

Back in 2016, the UN General Assembly passed a non-binding resolution that declared internet access to be a human right. And though the resolution didn’t impose any requirements on governments to actually provide internet access, it nonetheless underscored how integral the internet has become in our day-to-day lives. “Overwhelmingly, studies around the world show that …

FCC Complaint: internet service provider fee

Politics

Changes to FCC rules could make more people pay $225 to file a formal complaint

July 11th, 2018

Chris Mills

The Federal Communications Commission under the leadership of Ajit Pai has shown a studied disinterest in acting as a consumer watchdog on communications companies. It already outsourced net neutrality enforcement (or what’s left of it, anyway) to the Federal Trade Commission, and the commission is now set to vote on a new rule that would …

Tech

The best home internet provider in the US is run by local government

June 20th, 2018

Chris Mills

If you listen to Ajit Pai and the telecoms industries’ paid mouthpieces, who have been crying foul over net neutrality ever since 2015, any kind of government intervention in the internet is Bad. Private companies will always provide the best, fastest, and most innovative service, and irritating regulations like net neutrality only get in the …

Best ISP for home broadband: municipal service vs cable

Business

Shocker: Community-owned broadband is cheaper and better than Big Cable

January 16th, 2018

Chris Mills

This is another one of those pieces of news you’re going to need to take sitting down: Big cable companies are not, in fact, Good. For all of the supposed advantages that giant, nationwide cable providers are meant to have — better R&D, economies of scale, vast customer-service centers — a new study from Harvard …

CenturyLink lawsuit: worst internet service provider

Business

CenturyLink is being sued by everyone over deceptive billing

July 13th, 2017

Chris Mills

It’s not been a good month for CenturyLink. In the last few weeks, a former sales rep turned whistleblower filed a lawsuit against the company, a video surfaced showing the company’s former Chief Diversity Officer going on a homophobic rant, and a class-action lawsuit was filed over deceptive billing practices. To add serious legal insult …

Business

Comcast, Verizon and T-Mobile get hammered in latest privacy analysis

July 11th, 2017

Chris Mills

Anyone who still thinks that their cell carrier has their back is in for a rude awakening when they open their next credit card statement. But it’s not just about money: of course companies need to make profit somewhere, but a sure-fire way to see if they care about customers should be how they safeguard …

Business

Cox extends broadband cap to more states

July 5th, 2017

Chris Mills

Cox, peddler of “Panoramic Wi-Fi” and potential new buddy of Charter, has expanded its 1TB cap on home broadband to more states. Customers in Arizona, Louisiana, Nevada, and Oklahoma will now have to pay extra if they use more than 1TB, and will be charged automatically for every 50GB they use over the limit.

Tech

ISPs plot to take over the browsers of movie pirates, which is all kinds of screwed up

June 15th, 2017

Chris Mills

According to a report from TorrentFreak, movie rightsholders and major internet service providers are in “very thorough” discussions on new anti-piracy measures. You might think “measures” means a scary ad or a threatening letter, but the movie companies are thinking much, much nastier.

Business

Republicans want to let internet providers sell your data without your consent

March 9th, 2017

Chris Mills

It’s easy to feel that you have zero privacy or control over anything you do on the internet. Between mass surveillance programs, Google reading your emails, and Comcast sliding into your internet-browsing DMs, it’s a pretty bad time to be afraid of The Man. But cherish it while it lasts, because Republican lawmakers are moving …

Business

Netflix explains why broadband data caps are dumb

September 12th, 2016

Chris Mills

For most of us, data caps are just annoying. But for Netflix, they pose an existential threat to its way of doing business. If people have to pay extra to watch internet TV, it gives Comcast and TWC the edge. So it’s not surprising that Netflix feels strongly about the emerging trend of data caps, …