Tag: verizon

AT&T Data Woes

I started a new job back in November and it has been a whirlwind.  As part of the transition, I have changed cell phones and added an aircard.  In a future piece, I will discuss my new Palm Pre.

My employer offered the option of three mobile data providers: AT&T, Verizon and Sprint.  Sprint coverage is not good where I live and so I debated between AT&T and Verizon. I eventually chose AT&T because online articles had suggested that AT&T had the fastest network (excluding VZW’s new LTE which had not been announced at the time) and because AT&T’s GSM technology would work better outside of the US.  Both arguments later proved faulty since Verizon offers GSM capable aircards and recently announced high-speed LTE service.

I was excited when my new USB Connect Lightning arrived and was surprised by its large size.  However, I was happy to have the service and that the unit arrived just before a trip.  The initial configuration was painless although I was slightly disappointed about the weak signal in my house.  Signal strength is not great where I live, but my cellphone appeared to handle the situation better.  Regardless, I was looking forward to having Internet access wherever I traveled.

Continue reading AT&T Data Woes

Googizon and Net Neutrality

One of the biggest surprises this week was the net neutrality announcement from Google and Verizon (Googizon).  The New York Times covers the announcement here and the situation raises significant concerns about future control and innovation on the Internet.

Background

Net neutrality relates to freedom of accessing data on the Internet and it suggests that all Internet content should be treated equally and that ISPs have no right to limit access or bandwidth to specific sites or content types.  ISPs like Comcast, Time Warner or even AT&T Wireless argue that they should be able to control access to certain types of data or sites that could impact their network.  Some ISPs have already implement technology to prevent access to certain technologies like BitTorrent.  it is in the context of these concerns that Googizon announced their net neutrality proposal.

The Googizon perspective

The document put forth is restrictive and clearly favors the ISPs.  The Huffington Post has a good article discussing the document.   To summarize, the key points are:

  1. No net neutrality on wireless networks
  2. Proposed net neutrality rules on wired networks are so weak as to be pointless
  3. ISPs could split their pipes and charge separately for each thus creating a two tiered system.  One for content providers who pay them (and get better performance and reliability) and the other for content providers who don’t pay them
  4. The FCC becomes a worthless watchdog Continue reading Googizon and Net Neutrality