Comcast Claims They Support Net Neutrality

Internet Service Providers like Comcast have had it out for the net neutrality rules passed back in 2015 since they went into effect. They might say they want a free and open Internet but their actions tell a different story.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, probably taking orders from the telecom industry, announced recently plans to do away with net neutrality. Comcast has already started walking back its previous rhetoric on the subject.

In the past Comcast said, “We don't prioritize Internet traffic or have paid fast lanes, and have no plans to do so." Now Comcast says “We do not and will not block, throttle, or discriminate against lawful content." or impose the more nebulous "anticompetitive paid prioritization." What is actually “anticompetitive” is open to interpretation whereas before they just said they won’t prioritize. Most of the bigger Internet Service Providers say that they support net neutrality but want to repeal the net neutrality rules.

Several US Senators wrote a letter to Pai asking him to delay action on the rules but he has already made up his mind so refused to consider it. The Attorney General from New York also requested delaying action and wants him to investigate the cracing of the FCC website when they opened up comments on net neutrality rules. It seems like Chairman Pai forget that he works for the people and thinks he works for big business. Maybe he is just looking to secure a job for when he leaves government work.

After the dust settles on the whole net neutrality subject we will see if Internet providers like Comcast offers “fast lanes" to websites to ensure the site loads quickly.

Connecting America to High Speed Internet Across the Country

Although the percentage of Americans that can't get connected to the Internet has been going down over the years the need to be connected has gone up. It is more important than ever to find fiber optic Internet service in your area. It is hard to learn in school these days without an Internet connection.

Back when electricity was new it wasn't always easy to get electricity all the way to your house if you lived out in the country. Okay, maybe electricty wasn't actually "new" but having it connected to your house and using it to toast your bread and heat up your oatmeal was. Since it was hard to get electricy way out in the boondocks electrical co-ops were formed to help get power to all the houses.

Fast forward eighty or so years and people who don't live in the city are having the same issues with high speed Internet connections in their towns. It is expensive to install Internet to people's homes.

One problem now is that although they won't spend the money to connect them, the existing commercial ISPs don't want any competition so they sometimes try to make laws to make it harder for co-ops and municipalities to install Internet lines.

Ajit Pai, the new FCC Commissioner, seems to be taking orders from his former employer, Verizon and working to maintain the existing ISPs dominance in the industry. There are about 60 electrical co-ops that have started to offer Internet to make sure the residents can get access to the high speed fiber optic Internet in their zip codes.

Medicom Wraps Up DOCSIS 3.1 Deployment

After two years, cable TV, Internet, and phone provider Mediacom has completed its mission of company wide deployment of DOCSIS 3.1 network services. Now it is available across Mediacom's entire footprint according to JR Walden, Mediacom's Chief Technology Officer.

“We did the last one Friday,” Walden was speaking at an SCTE Cable-Tec Expo breakfast panel event that included technology executives from Midco, CableLabs and the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers. The event was produced by Broadband Technology Report. “We wanted to put a stake in the ground as fast as we could," he continued.

"We began launching markets in 2017," he added. "We staggered the launches to get our names in the paper a little more. It worked. But for all intent and purposes, we’re done."

To improve Mediacom's Internet, voice and digital television bundles are available in 22 states. Mediacom began switching from CableLabs’ DOCSIS 3.0 to the new 3.1 standard two years ago. Back then the vendors didn’t really even have any DOCSIS 3.1 products completed.

They could get the cable modem termination system or CMTS products for the hubs early on. They replaced about 200 cable modem termination system devices at around 40 different locations but the DOCSIS 3.1 modems were a lot harder to source.

“CableLabs kept telling us that the CMTSs would come first and the modems second,” Walden said. “I don’t know why I didn’t believe them. We really anticipated the modems coming a little faster.”

Mediacom conducted DOCSIS 3.1 field tests in 2016.

About 10% of new Mediacom Internet, cable and voice subscribers are signing up for 1-gig service, powered be DOCSIS 3.1, Walden said. They have deployed some 12,000 DOCSIS 3.1 gateways out of a million plus customers. Mediacom announced last year a billion dollar upgade plan.

Top Cable Internet Providers in the United States.

Never ones to leave money sitting on the table Cable TV companies started providing cable high speed Internet when they saw that they could do so using the cables they already had going into people’s houses. Cable Internet was much faster then dial up and customers could use their phone while surfing the Internet. Not sure who was the first company to find high speed cable Internet was a viable way to get online but these are the major players now. Even though they started out with Cable television most cable customers have more Internet customers than cable television customers.

Comcast – The United State’s largest cable company and also the largest home Internet provider, Comcast provides high speed cable Internet to more than 25 million houses. Comcast also owns NBC/Universal and Dreamworks. It was founded in 1963 as American Cable Systems but re-incorporated in 1969 as Comcast (from communication and broadcast).

Charter Communication – After buying Time Warner Cable and the Bright House Network Charter is the second largest cable TV company and the second largest Internet provider in the United States. Charter provides High Speed Internet to almost 23 million Internet customers.

Cox Cable – Cox has about 3 and a half million Internet subscribers, a little less than 3 million cable TV customers and a little more then 3 million telephone customers. Cox has bundles of Internet, Cable TV and voice. They also owns newspapers, TV and radio stations and Kelley Blue book and the Auto Trader. They were actually the first cable company to offer phone services. It is still owned and run by the Cox family.

Cable One is the seventh largest cable Company in the United States, Cable One has a litte less than a million customers spread over 21 states. They offer Internet speeds of up to 200 Mbps in some areas. Customers can get a Cable One bundle with Internet, voice and cable televsion.

Mediacom - With a customer base primarily in the midwest Mediacom is the 9th largest cable TV and Internet company in the U.S. with over 800,000 video customers. They are the biggest cable company in Iowa and the second largest in Illinois. They have promised to have Gigabit (1000 Mbps) Internet speeds in all of the areas they service by the end of 2017.

What Type of Internet Should You Have?

"What is the best Internet for my area?"

We hear that question a lot. That or "What Internet can I get in my zip code?" That is important. You don't want to be spending more money than you have to and you want to get the best value for your money.
The first question you should ask yourself is "How much do I use the Internet?" If you use the Internet a lot then you need a fast Internet. It also depends on what you are using it for. Even if you use it a lot but if it is mostly for checking email or reading blog posts you might not need super fast Internet speeds. But, if you watch a lot of video or engage in online gaming you probably need to get something that is pretty fast.
Believe it or not, there are places that still only have dial up Internet. I would not recommend that even if you don't use it much. Internet speeds can vary a lot depending on where you live so it is a good idea to go to an Internet comparison website to find the best Internet Service Provider in your zip code. One way that you might save money is getting a bundle with Internet and Cable Video or a phone. There are a lot of options for that. If you are going to get both products anyway, you can save money by bundling.
A speedy and reliable Internet makes it easier to watch video but also play online games or even just to find a new recipe for hot chocolate on a cold day.

Fastest Average Internet Speed is in Rhode Island

If you are like most people, finding the best Internet service provider in your area is often a bit of a problem. How fast a speed can you get? How fast a speed do you need?
Recently a new ranking of speeds from all the Internet Service Providers in all 50 states and Washington DC was compiled, and Internet Service in Rhode Island was the winner of the fastest overall speed at 36.69 Mbps. Over 42 million speed tests were analyzed to come up with the average Internet speeds across the US. The report was published through a partnership of Princeton’s PlanetLab, New America’s Open Technology Institute, Google Open Source Research among others. The state with the slowest average speed according to the report was Internet Service in Montana at 10.94 Mbps. According to the results, while it might take less than 30 minutes to download a long Hi Def movie in Rhode Island, it would probably take over an hour and a half in Montana. Maybe not surprisingly, the slowest city in the country was Southerly North Slope Bo, Alaska, with a speed of only 0.28 Mbps!
Of course speeds can vary at different locations throughout a state and Internet speeds are not generally guaranteed so you need to check what Internet packages are available in your zip code.
Out of the top ten fastest speeds all but eight were on the East Coast. Only Washington and Oregon on the West Coast made it to the top ten. After Rhode Island the top average Internet speeds are in Washington, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, Oregon, New York, Washington DC and Delaware.

Ajit Pai and Internet Service Provider Competition in Your Area

FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai has recently been quoted as saying that there is enough competition with Internet Service Providers in the US. His definition of "enough competition" is ONE Internet provider.
He also wants to redefine what High Speed Internet is from 25 MBPS down to 10 MBPS. And he is serious. That is taking a giant step backwards.
Of course while many Americans only have one Internet provider Pai has has many. Among them high speed Internet providers Comcast and his former employer, Verizon. Comcast Xfinity has download speeds up to 200Mbps in his address and Fios speeds up to 500Mbps.
Sometimes it is even hard to find out what Internet providers are in your zip code. If you want better Internet in your area, contact your local Senator and Representative.