Industry

AT&T Introduces New Wireless Data Package

AT&T shook up the mobile space this AM with the introduction of new wireless data packages that go into effect next week… just in time for the fourth generation iPhone and as an accompaniment to the new $325 smartphone early termination fee (ETF).

For the last couple years, 5GB and Unlimited data have been pretty much synonymous for the carriers – with consumer rates generally running $30/month. But times are a’changing and we’re heading into an era of more tightly metered usage. Within just the last two weeks Verizon has alluded to data buckets, Sprint’s raised rates to $40 on their flagship EVO smartphone, and AT&T will be reducing rates… along with a lowered data ceiling.

AT&T’s “DataPro” plan will run $25/mo and includes 2GB of data usage, with overages running $10/GB. All in all, it’s not an unreasonable proposition as AT&T states 98% of their customers consume less than 2GB a month. In looking at my stats, I’m comfortably under the cap at <500MB/month. (Then again, I’m also without service about 8 hours a day from an AT&T dead zone.)

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Future of Wi-Fi is Faster, but Proximity Matters

The resurgence of Wi-Fi continues. We’ve been following the progress of point-to-point Wi-Fi Direct for several months, but there’s also another lesser-known innovation in the works for the 25-year-old technology. The WiGig Alliance (WGA) is working on adding a new frequency band to Wi-Fi to enable faster speeds over short distances. The 60GHz band could … Read more

WiMAX Coming to Baltimore… Again

Poor Baltimore. It was one of the first cities to get Sprint’s 4G Xohm service, but it got the short end of the stick when it came to Clear rollouts. Now it appears the city is back on track for 4G service. According to Gus Sentementes on the BaltTech blog, Clearwire is hosting a blogger/tweeter … Read more

Yes, Virginia, Hulu Hates You.

OK, so maybe we can’t ascribe hatred to Hulu, an emotionless corporate entity and online pawn of the studio system. Let’s just say Hulu exhibits something akin to disrespect or disdain and clearly calls the shots as they reach into our homes and devices to decide what web browsing technologies are permissible. They talk about content licensing … Read more

Hope Yet for Yahoo TV Widget Platform?

In two consecutive years at CES first Dave and then I got  excited about the promise of Yahoo’s TV Widgets. But despite all the potential, we’ve seen little of the platform beyond Las Vegas. Now a new report out by GigaOM Pro suggests it may all be a matter of timing. According to the report … Read more

The Cable Show 2010 Tweets

The cable industry’s annual Cable Show may feature a lot of ‘suits’, but it always makes for an interesting time. Here’s a look back at the recently concluded 2010 edition held in Los Angeles, via a string of my tweets – in chronological order from the flight out to my arrival home:

  • Boarding flight to LA. See folks I recognize from other conferences and can’t remember their names. Waiting on the nametags… (5/10)
  • Made it to registration. Headed next to the Conga room (?) for a reception. Bunch of cable reporters. Now this is the cool crowd. (5/10)
  • Headed to dinner with @pjrodriguez and @msbrumfield. Life is good. (5/10)
  • Whatever you think of his positions, @kylemcslarrow speaks pretty openly in an industry where many don’t. (5/11)
  • Google is at the cable show. Interesting. http://twitgoo.com/vdcnk.  (5/11)
  • Chernin asking Roberts how retrans agreements will work when Comcast sits on both sides… (5/11)
  • Brian Roberts says another version of its TV Everywhere product will be out in the next 90 days. (5/11)
  • Cool navigation feature on display in Motorola booth – 4-way nav using the arrows on your TV remote control: http://bit.ly/ci1vL7 (5/11)
  • The @tvrejects rocked! (5/12)
  • Battle of the Bands was great fun. Even if my phone was confiscated. Thanks to Jeff for getting it back. (5/12)
  • And thanks to Time Warner Cable for the Power Pack. Powerade is perfect to end the evening. And I’ll wear the blinky ring tomorrow. (5/12)
  • Verdict so far on new Eee 1005PE – speed not great, but battery life is phenomenal. Survived a whole day of trade show blogging. (5/12)
  • Media Everywhere panel from the Cable Show streamed live here: http://2010.thecableshow.com/Media/CableLive (5/12)
  • Tom Rothman (News Corp Film) says success of Avatar was based on its story, not the visuals and technology. Really?? (5/12)
  • Comcast’s Roberts: Don’t make one big bet; support everything. Support content wherever people want it. (5/12)
  • Mark Andreessen says he pays $4k/month for a 100Mbps commercial connection from AT&T. Did I hear that right? (5/12)
  • Confirmed by many folks: Andreessen pays $4k/mo for 100Mbps connection at home. Opportunity for a cableco to make an announcement? (5/12)
  • Are platforms (Google/Facebook/Twitter) walled gardens, or traffic drivers for content folks? Bewkes: depends on providers’ ability to track (5/12)
  • Better articulated by @kaiyzen Who owns user data and has access to it changes the content/distro game,google/fbook/twitter, (5/12)
  • New Comcast iPad-to-TV app uses EBIF. Works as remote control; adds interactivity and social elements. (5/12)
  • At universal studios. Park open for cable show attendees only. Unbelievably awesome. #CS10 (5/12)
  • How exactly did NCTA pull off this private Maroon 5 concert? Wow. (5/13)
  • At Cable Show Maroon 5 concert: http://twitgoo.com/vgz9i (5/13)
  • Back home from L.A. with much work to do. Thanks for the Cable Show fun. Till next year… (5/14)

Two bonus photos… ;)

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Sprint EVO: Finally, Pricing & Launch Details

Sprint held a second EVO launch event yesterday, where the Android superphone‘s launch date and pricing details were finally revealed.

The first 3G/4G handset hardware lands at a competitive $200 June 4th and the base monthly service package will run $80 a month. Which is $10 more than every other Sprint smartphone… despite CEO Dan Hesse’s CTIA keynote proclamation: “With 4G, we’re giving you more for free.” Sprint’s positioning the $10 surcharge as a Premium Data Charge, rather than a 4G tariff. And they really have to given Clear’s limited (but expanding) 4G footprint. However, “unlimited” data, 3G or 4G, truly means unlimited with the EVO. In the bigger picture, and for most, Sprint’s service plans are still more economical than the competition. That $80 also nets you unlimited texts, unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling (any network), on top of 450 minutes of calls to domestic landlines.

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Digital Media Bytes: The Cable Show Edition

A periodic roundup of relevant news… from The Cable Show: Cox improves search and discovery with new program guide Cable provider Cox Communications is rolling out a new program guide that will improve search and discovery of broadcast and on-demand TV content. The Trio guide was designed by Cox and Frog Design and implemented by … Read more