Google Fiber today announced it will begin exploring Chicago and Los Angeles as markets for its gigabit internet service. Those two cities will join a list of other potential Google Fiber cities including Louisville, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego and Tampa. Google Fiber is currently up and running in Kansas City, Austin and Provo, […]
AT&T Planning Competitor to Verizon’s go90 Video Platform
AT&T is just going to sit back and let Verizon collect all those ad dollars coming in from its go90 video platform. Speaking at the UBS investor conference, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said his company is chasing down more content deals and working on a direct competitor to Verizon’s recently launched ad-supported video service. “There […]
Streaming Now Accounts for a Huge Majority of Broadband Traffic
Subscription video on demand (SVOD) services have exploded and broadband networks have grown more robust, so it’s basically inevitable that streaming would begin eating up the lion’s share of bandwidth. But even considering, it’s amazing how fast streaming has taken over. As Recode points out, Sandvine has compiled some new global broadband numbers that show […]
FCC Cheers Comcast, NBC for Adding Visual Description to The Wiz Live!
Comcast’s NBCUniversal today announced that the Dec. 3 live broadcast of The Wiz Live! on NBC will be accompanied by video description, making it accessible to viewers with visual disabilities. According to Comcast, video description is a narration track that is included between the natural pauses in dialogue that describes the visual elements of a […]
Charter Hits Back, Says TWC Merger Good for Online Video
A day after Dish Network again, this time with CEO Charlie Ergen in tow, urged the FCC to deny Charter Communications’ proposed merger with Time Warner Cable (TWC) and Bright House Networks (BHN, Charter is hitting back against Dish’s claims. Ergen this week met with FCC representatives to blast the proposed Charter-TWC-BHN merger as unhealthy […]
Cord Cutting is On the Rise
Pay-TV providers have a real problem on their hands as consumers choose to cut the cord on cable and satellite TV services. According to TiVo’s Digitalsmiths research firm, the problem may be getting bigger. Digitalsmiths’ third-quarter video trend report found 4.8 percent of people plan to cut service all together, up annually from 4.3 percent […]
Espial Enables HLS, DASH Streaming for RDK
Espial today announced software contributions to the Reference Design Kit (RDK) code base for adaptive video streaming that will enable Apple’s HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) and Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH) for RDK environments. Espial hopes the its new RDK software will allow pay-TV operators to offer new OTT services and to adopt a […]
DirecTV Planning Live 4K UHD Content for ‘Early 2016’
DirecTV already has a decent lead in offering 4K Ultra HD content to consumers, though the selection is still minimal. But it looks like next year the satellite giant will take the next big step in helping spread adoption of the new resolution standard. According to Advanced Television, DirecTV SVP of Space and Communications Phil […]
Birch Adds 80,000 Buildings to Metro Fiber Network
Birch Communications today announced that it has added another 80,000 new connected buildings to its metro fiber network. That brings the company’s reach to more than 400,000 buildings across its 22 state footprint. BirchLink fiber offers up to 1 Gbps symmetrical service. Birch’s IP network now covers 44 markets and is comprised of 31,000 route […]
CenturyLink, Cogent Sign New Long-term Interconnection Deal
CenturyLink and Cogent Communications today announced they have entered into a long-term, bilateral interconnection agreement for their public IP networks. “This agreement allows the exchange of Internet traffic in a balanced, scalable and mutually economical manner to accommodate the growing use of the Internet,” the companies said in a joint statement. Cogent this year has […]