broadband

This is an update of a deal I wrote about last year.

I'm a longtime fan of the Verizon MiFi 2200, a pocket-size 3G modem that doubles as a Wi-Fi hot spot. Just one problem: it costs $269 and locks you into a two-year contract with Verizon. Service starts at $35 per month (for a mere 3GB of data).

You can accomplish much of the same thing with the CradlePoint PHS300, currently on sale at UnlockedCellPhoneKings via Amazon for $49.99 shipped. The only difference is, it's BYO cell phone or wireless card.

In other words, you have … Read more

Editors' note: This is a guest column. See Steve Largent's bio below.

In the last few weeks, I have read a number of op-eds claiming that reallocation of broadcast spectrum for wireless use should be left to the free market. While I am a fervent believer in free markets and limited government, there are rare instances in which government involvement is necessary. I agree with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski on his proposal that managing the incentive process to voluntarily reclaim broadcast licenses and repack the spectrum is an area that absolutely requires FCC leadership and experience.

When … Read more

T-Mobile has unveiled a new data plan that gives mobile broadband users up to 10GB each month and no overage costs for a price of $85.

Launched yesterday, the new "10 GB Web access + Unlimited T-Mobile HotSpot" mobile broadband plan is designed for T-Mobile 3G or 4G cellular subscribers who hop onto the Internet via their tablets, Netbooks, and notebooks.

With overage costs sometimes giving customers a nasty surprise when the bill is due, T-Mobile is promising no overage fees. Instead, the carrier will throttle back on the data speed until the billing cycle ends for anyone who … Read more

Unlimited data will soon be a thing of the past for all AT&T customers, as the company confirms it will put a cap on data usage for its DSL and U-verse broadband services.

The blog Broadband Reports confirmed over the weekend that AT&T will introduce a data cap for its broadband services. Customers who exceed a monthly limit of 150GB of data in three separate months will be charged $10 extra for every additional 50GB of data they consume. Customers subscribing to AT&T's faster U-verse broadband service will have a limit of 250GB. … Read more

Using Wi-Fi over a wired connection at home could bring your speeds down about 30 percent, suggests a new study out today by broadband research firm Epitiro.

Tracking the broadband connections of sample users in the U.S., U.K., Italy, and Spain, Epitiro found that on average people lost around 30 percent of their download speed using Wi-Fi over wired. Further, Wi-Fi users ran into a 10 to 20 percent increase in latencies, or delays, when downloading content.

Why such a disparity in performance? Many Wi-Fi routers use the same default communications channel, which can create interference with neighboring … Read more

I've long been a drooling, slobbering fan of the Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200, a credit card-size 3G router that was first available from Verizon, then picked up by Sprint.

This amazing little device creates a broadband-powered Wi-Fi hot spot for up to five devices. The only sucky part: buying one meant buying into another two-year contract and paying anywhere from $40-60 per month for service.

What is it with the carriers and their damn contracts?

Anyway, when Virgin Mobile (now owned by Sprint) started offering the MiFi last year, it did something incredible: it took away the contract. Suddenly … Read more

WASHINGTON--Hopes for a solution to the looming crisis in available radio spectrum for mobile broadband users were raised today.

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced legislation aimed at solving some of the biggest threats to the mobile Internet, feeding hopes of bipartisan solutions for spectrum woes in an increasingly divided Congress.

"The Reforming Airwaves by Developing Incentives and Opportunistic Sharing (Radios) Act will set the proper foundation to meet growing demand for spectrum through greater planning and coordination and by promoting more innovative and efficient use of spectrum resources," Sens. Snowe and Kerry said in a statement. … Read more

If you ever wanted to dig into data about broadband availability around the U.S., now's your chance.

The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has launched the National Broadband Map in time for today's deadline set by Congress. According to the NTIA, the broadband map is designed to be a public tool offering data that could eventually be used to help expand broadband access in areas around the country that need it most.

A map of the state of U.S. broadband access has been a long time coming. Back in 2008, the … Read more

President Obama said today he wanted 98 percent of Americans to have 4G-speed wireless Internet connections within five years, calling it necessary for the United States to remain internationally competitive and "win the future."

In a speech at Northern Michigan University in snowy Marquette, Mich., Obama offered details on his administration's proposal to promote high-speed wireless Internet connections in rural areas, elaborating on a point he made in his State of the Union speech last month.

"Every American deserves access to the world's information," Obama said today. "Every American deserves access to the … Read more