Sonic Gigabit Internet, Hulu Live, Windstream, Cable ONE, and more

Internet Telecom Cable Service News

Here is a recap of the highlights in the cable and ISP news from around the country for the week of May 8, 2017:

Sonic Expands its $40 Gigabit Internet in San Francisco

Independent Internet Service Provider Sonic has begun offering gigabit internet service for $40 per month to residents of San Francisco. That is about half the price that many of the bigger ISPs are offering their gigabit service for.

SpaceX to Launch Thousands of Broadband Internet Satellites

According to a recent Federal Communications Commission filing, SpaceX is planning to launch 4425 Internet-providing satellites, starting in 2019 and ending in 2024. The undertaking is geared to help provide Internet to residents in rural areas and others who don’t currently have access to high speed Internet options.

Comcast Sprouts a New Kid Channel

Looking to expand into the market controlled by Disney, Comcast owned NBCUniveral will be renaming and rebranding its Sprout channel into Universal Kids. It will be targeting children ages 2 through 11. It will feature family offerings made by NBCUniversal owned DreamWorks Animation as well as other family fare.

Hulu Live Goes Live

Steaming company Hulu released its live programming service this week. The service includes all four major networks as well as access to Hulu’s streaming library and Hulu originals like The Harlots, The Handmaid’s Tale and The Mindy Project. Hulu Live is currently available on Android, Apple and Xbox devices with more scheduled to be available soon. The new service goes for $39.99 a month.

Verizon Finally Offers Almost Gigabit Service to Some of its Customers

After years of collecting subsidies and over charging customers Verizon has finally started to offer what it is calling Fios Gigabit Connection service (940 Mbps down and 880 Mbps up) to subscribers in parts of its service area.
Critics are saying this sudden interest in giving customers higher speeds is due to finally getting competition from French based Altice USA which recently acquired Suddenlink and Cablevision.

Verizon Answers Cyberattack Threat

Verizon has released its new Software Defined Perimeter (SDP) service that helps identify and block cyberattacks. SDP enables rapid identification and prevention of network-based cyberattacks such as connection hijacking, denial of service, and identification theft. SDP basically hides applications from hackers and is Verizon’s answer to the rise in cyberattacks in recent years. According to Verizon, ransomware has increased 50% over the last year.

Facebook and Google Fall Victim to $100 Million Scam

Fake news and now fake invoices. When Facebook and Google get scammed, they get SCAMMED. A Lithuanian man has been arrested and charged by the US Justice Department with allegedly swindling over $100 million dollars from the two companies by impersonating a Asian Computer manufacturer and billing the two Internet companies tens of millions of dollars. They paid out over $100 million before finally realizing they were being robbed.

Windstream Agrees to Purchase Broadview Networks for $228 Million

Fresh after finalizing its merger with EarthLink, Windstream Holdings announced it would acquire Broadview Networks, a provider of local and long distance voice and data communications services to small businesses. It is based in Rye Brook, NY.

Cable ONE Buys New Wave Communications for $735 Million

Cable ONE, the nation’s seventh largest cable company, has closed on its purchase of New Wave Communications for $735 million. The deal expands Cable ONE’s customer base by 214,000 residential and 31,000 business subscribers. Now Cable ONE and New Wave serve more than 1.2 million customers in 21 states.

New WiFi ONE Boosts WiFi Signal Throughout the House

This week Cable ONE announced the release of their new WiFi ONE solution to enhance WiFi coverage in customer’s homes. The solution utilizes signal mapping software to find the optimum location for the WiFi gateway in a customer's home. WiFi ONE is free when customers rent their modem from Cable ONE.

It’s About It for About.com

About.com has rebranded its online presence from an all-in-one site( About.com) to branded individual sites. The new sites will be Verywell (Health), Lifewire (Tech), The Spruce (home and food) The Balance (personal finance), and ThoughtCo (education).  About.com is ditching its old name for a new one: Dotdash.

We Are Microsoft; We Have Assumed Control

With the new Windows 10 S operating system installed on Microsoft’s Surface Laptop, you can choose your default search engine as long as it is Bing. You can  also choose your default browser as long as it is Microsoft Edge.  For downloading apps, your choice is the Microsoft store. You don’t need to worry about making choices, Microsoft has done all that for you.