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Justice Department probes Internet video data caps

Recent accusations that cable companies are giving preferential treatment to online video streamed on their own apps and services have apparently attracted the attention of antitrust regulators.

The Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether cable companies are acting improperly to suppress online video competition, people familiar with the matter tell The Wall Street Journal. Investigators have spoken with several major players in the sector, including Netflix, Hulu, Comcast, and Time Warner Cable about the monthly caps placed on the amount of data subscribers can download, the Journal reported.

CNET has contacted the companies mentioned above, as well as … Read more

Getting started with Comcast Xfinity TV Player for Android

If you're a Comcast TV customer, you can finally stream videos to your Android tablet and smartphone. The Xfinity TV Player app allows Comcast TV subscribers to watch TV shows and movies from networks like Showtime, Starz, HBO, and more. Here's how to get started with Comcast's Xfinity TV Player for Android:

Download and install the Xfinity TV Player for Android, then launch the app and log in using your Comcast account credentials.

On tablets, you'll see the app toolbar on the left-hand side. On Android smartphones, you'll need to press the menu key to … Read more

New Comcast services threaten wireless text and data revenue

BOSTON -- Comcast is taking aim at wireless operators with new services introduced here at the NCTA's Cable Show that will undercut mobile carrier fees for text messaging and offer an alternative to mobile data services.

Over the past two days Comcast has made two new product announcements that could threaten revenue for wireless companies. At the same time, though, the company is also partnering with the nation's largest wireless provider, Verizon Wireless.

In the latest Comcast product announcement, the company said it will allow its voice subscribers to make phone calls and send text messages for free … Read more

Verizon unveils 'Viewdini' video service for mobile devices

BOSTON--Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead announced a new service platform that will make finding and viewing video on mobile devices easier.

Mead described the new video service called Viewdini as a portal that will aggregate and deliver mobile content to a variety of devices. Comcast's Xfinity service is the first to partner with Verizon. Mead and Comcast's CEO Neil Smit were on a panel at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association's Cable Show here today, where the announcement was made.

Other partners at the launch of Viewdini include: Hulu Plus, mSpot, and Netflix.

The way it works … Read more

SpaceX launches new era in space travel

We have lift-off! It's a new era for social media, space exploration and... shoes?

Update: The SpaceX rocket launch was aborted at the last minute and rescheduled for Tuesday, May 22 at 3:44 a.m. Eastern.

Facebook ended its first publicly traded day right where it began: at $38 a share. CEO Mark Zuckerberg rang in the Nasdaq opening bell virtually from the Silicon Valley campus, and later, shares began trading at around $42 each. Facebook's bankers saved the IPO, keeping shares barely above $38. From this IPO, Facebook raised $16 billion. That's almost 10 times … Read more

Comcast ditches 250GB data cap, tests tiered pricing

Comcast, the largest cable TV and Internet broadband provider in the U.S., is changing its data cap policy on its broadband service to encourage its customers to use its service without worrying about how much data they are consuming.

Today, the company announced in a blog post that it will soon begin testing a new pricing model for customers who use an "excessive" amount of data each month. In these markets, the company will increase the cap, which is now 250GB per month, to 300GB per month. And when customers exceed this cap, the company will charge … Read more

Pay-per-use bandwidth? Not without some ground rules

Update: May 17, 2012 Do I get results, or what? Less than a day after this column posted, Comcast announced it would ditch its 250GB data cap in favor of a 300GB cap with the option to buy additional 50GB chunks for $10 each. Not bad, although it's amusing timing given their current fight over Net neutrality and cap-free Xfinity on-demand streaming.

Bandwidth caps, the death of unlimited data plans, throttling, "data hog" accusations...I get it. Pay-per-use bandwidth is inevitable: the end of unlimited Internet access is at hand. Bandwidth is a limited resource, especially on … Read more

Comcast denies favoring Xfinity video content

In response to charges that Comcast favors content streaming via its Xfinity app on the Xbox over that of its competitors, the cable giant denied giving preferential treatment to its app and said its traffic policies are in compliance with the FCC's Open Internet rules.

Comcast announced in March that it will stream Xfinity on-demand content to Microsoft game consoles. The fact that Comcast content streamed directly to the Xbox console will not be counted against subscribers' total bandwidth usage caps prompted accusations that the cable provider is giving its Xfinity app an unfair advantage over the apps of … Read more

Franken: Comcast thumbs nose at Net neutrality rules

Senator Al Franken says Comcast may be violating Net neutrality rules by exempting its own video service from a usage cap on its broadband network.

The Minnesota Democrat today sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice asking the agencies to take a closer look at a new service Comcast announced in March that will stream Xfinity on-demand content to Microsoft Xbox consoles.

The content that is streamed directly to the Xbox console will not be counted against subscribers' total bandwidth usage caps.Comcast now imposes a 250GB monthly data cap on its subscribers.

This … Read more

FCC extends review process for Verizon-cable deal

Federal regulators said today they needed more time to review Verizon's deal to acquire spectrum from the cable providers and cross-sell cable and wireless services.

The Federal Communications Commission extended the typical 180-day review period by 21 days to give it sufficient time to examine the reams of documents that were submitted late by Verizon and the cable companies. Opponents have lauded the FCC's move, claiming the agency has "stopped the clock" on the deal, signalling deeper concerns about the transaction. But the move only marks an extension, and not an actual pause, in the process. … Read more