Ars Technica
Comcast incorrectly charged 2,000 customers for exceeding data cap
Comcast's data-usage meter gave thousands of customers inaccurate readings for two months because of a software bug, causing the broadband provider to incorrectly charge about 2,000 users for exceeding their monthly data caps. Comcast has admitted the error and said it is giving refunds and additional credits of $50 each to customers who paid data overage fees that shouldn't have been assessed. Comcast said it's still trying to figure out if the bug is in the meter software, the billing software, or in the interaction between the two.
Inexpensive, unpatched phones put billions of users’ privacy at risk (Ars Technica)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Mon, 10/07/2019 - 16:26Why Ajit Pai’s “unhinged” net neutrality repeal was upheld by judges
The Federal Communications Commission has mostly defeated net neutrality supporters in court even though judges expressed skepticism about FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's justification for repealing net neutrality rules.
Nonprofit that runs free TV service Locast fights TV networks in court to keep its service alive (Ars Technica)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Fri, 09/27/2019 - 14:48AT&T vows to keep DirecTV despite losing millions of subscribers (Ars Technica)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Thu, 09/26/2019 - 15:28AT&T tells court: Customers can’t sue over sale of phone location data (Ars Technica)
Submitted by benton on Fri, 09/20/2019 - 16:25Comcast promised not to raise prices—guess what happened next
Comcast offered customers in Utah a "lifetime" price guarantee in order to compete against Google Fiber, then later violated the lifetime promise by raising those customers' prices, according to a lawsuit pending in a federal court. "In 2016, Comcast was under intense competitive pressure from Google's high speed fiber-optic data service," the lawsuit says. In Salt Lake City, "Comcast engaged extra sales staff to try to effectively beat the Google Fiber sales staff as they made their way up and down the streets of each neighborhood.
US fiber broadband shortage: Only 30% of homes have fiber access
A new study commissioned by the Fiber Broadband Association finds that fiber broadband is now available to more than 30% of households across the US, and fiber networks should reach 50% of homes by 2025. But 50% coverage would, obviously, leave another 50% of homes without access to the fastest wireline broadband technology. Reaching 80% of homes instead of just 50% would require an additional cash infusion of $52 billion over the next 10 years, the study says. Going from 80% to 90% would then require another $18 billion.