Jon Brodkin

Verizon’s plan to deploy fiber to 900 homes and fix problems with its DSL network in South New Jersey is “haphazard” and fails to “address the systemic problems” faced by Verizon customers, an independent government agency said. The New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel, a watchdog agency that advocates on behalf of utility customers, wants state utility regulators to move forward with an investigation into Verizon’s plan to fix service problems. Division of Rate Counsel Director Stefanie Brand made the agency’s position clear in a letter to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU).

The BPU has been considering whether to launch an investigation of Verizon as requested by 17 cities and towns who say the company “has, through neglect, abandoned and retired its copper landline infrastructure in most of South Jersey.” Verizon attempted to prevent a formal investigation by submitting a plan to improve service on September 19, but Rate Counsel argued that the BPU should investigate instead of simply taking Verizon’s word that it will fix the problems.

AT&T is getting rid of Internet Preferences, the controversial program that analyzes home Internet customers' Web browsing habits in order to serve up targeted ads.

“To simplify our offering for our customers, we plan to end the optional Internet Preferences advertising program related to our fastest Internet speed tiers," an AT&T spokesperson spoketh. "As a result, all customers on these tiers will receive the best rate we have available for their speed tier in their area. We’ll begin communicating this update to customers early next week.” Data collection and targeted ads will be shut off, AT&T also confirmed. Since AT&T introduced Internet Preferences for its GigaPower fiber Internet service in 2013, customers had to opt into the traffic scanning program in order to receive the lowest available rate. Customers who wanted more privacy had to pay another $29 a month for standalone Internet access; bundles including TV or phone service could cost more than $60 extra when customers didn't opt in.

The Federal Trade Commission will appeal a court decision that let AT&T avoid punishment for throttling the Internet connections of customers with unlimited data plans. The FTC sued AT&T in October 2014, seeking refunds for customers. But in August, a three-judge panel at the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of AT&T, overturning a District Court decision that had gone in the FTC's favor. The FTC's options include seeking a rehearing of the case in front of the entire Ninth Circuit appeals court, and that is what the commission will do. "We are going to be seeking a rehearing in that matter," FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez told US senators during an FTC oversight hearing Sept 29. If the FTC fails at the appeals court level, it could take the matter to the US Supreme Court, but Chairwoman Ramirez did not address that possibility.

If you were worried that the debate over Internet data caps would get bogged down in technical mumbo-jumbo, fear no more—it's actually much simpler than you think. Mediacom, a US cable company with a little over 1.1 million Internet subscribers in 22 states, has put the matter to rest by explaining to the Federal Communications Commission that its customers shouldn't get unlimited data because using the Internet is just like eating Oreos. "You have to pay extra for double-stuffed," Mediacom Senior VP and General Counsel Joseph Young wrote in a filing with the FCC. Young went into more detail, just to make sure the nation's broadband regulators fully understand how Internet data is just like sandwich cookies.

AT&T has sued Nashville (TN) to stop a new ordinance designed to accelerate the deployment of Google Fiber. The lawsuit was filed in US District Court in Nashville Sept 22, only two days after the Nashville Metro Council passed a “One Touch Make Ready” rule that gives new Internet service providers faster access to utility poles. The ordinance lets a single company make all of the necessary wire adjustments on utility poles itself, instead of having to wait for incumbent providers like AT&T and Comcast to send work crews to move their own wires. Google Fiber says it is waiting on AT&T and Comcast to move wires on nearly 8,000 poles. AT&T’s lawsuit claims that the ordinance is preempted by Federal Communications Commission pole attachment regulations and violates AT&T’s 58-year-old pole attachment contract with Nashville. The company seeks a declaration that the ordinance is unlawful and a permanent injunction preventing the local government from enforcing it.

Charter is trying to convince the Federal Communications Commission to backtrack on a plan that would force cable providers to charge a separate fee for cable modems.

Charter is unusual compared to other cable companies in that it doesn’t tack on a cable modem rental fee when offering Internet service. But FCC officials don’t think that’s good for consumers, because the price of Charter Internet service is the same whether a customer uses a Charter modem or buys their own. Charter argues that it doesn’t pass the cost of the modem on to consumers. “Our pricing is competitive and comparable to other providers,” Charter told Ars. In addition to the base price, other providers "charge a modem fee of around $10. Our service isn’t $10 more expensive. We don’t bake in a modem fee, we include it for free with the service." Charter said, "If transparency is the ultimate goal of the FCC’s provision, we would be more than happy to specifically note on our customers’ bills that our modems are free."

Verizon Wireless is facing questions about the accuracy of its data meter after a series of newspaper stories on customers who were charged big overage fees after unexplained data usage increases. The Plain Dealer of Cleveland detailed a $9,100 bill charged to a customer named Valarie Gerbus. “For months, the mother of two from suburban Tampa paid $118 a month for her cellphone package that included 4 gigabytes of data, which she says she never exceeded,” the article said. “That changed last month when Verizon charged her with using an eye-gouging 569 gigabytes for a whopping $8,535.” Verizon added $600 to the bill when she dropped her plan. Gerbus refused to pay and asked Verizon “repeatedly” to explain how her bill soared, but she got no answer, the article said. "I told them that I won't pay the bill,'' Gerbus said to the Plain Dealer. "I can either wait until they take it to a collection agency or when they take it to court. Either way, my credit history will be ruined. I can go bankrupt here.'' Gerbus was planning to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission, but then Verizon agreed to waive the $9,100 bill after the article ran. Gerbus still has to pay a cancellation fee.

Plain Dealer reporter Teresa Dixon Murray described her own "mysterious" increase in Verizon data usage in a story on September 2 and was then flooded with similar stories from customers around the country. In a followup article last week, Dixon Murray wrote that "thousands of people, mostly Verizon customers,” said they had “seen their data use jump significantly—doubling or tripling since the spring in many cases, even though their cell phone habits haven't changed.”

As the Nashville (TN) Metro Council prepares for a final vote to give Google Fiber faster access to utility poles, one council member is sponsoring an alternative plan that comes from AT&T and Comcast. The council has tentatively approved a One Touch Make Ready (OTMR) ordinance that would let a single company—Google Fiber in this case—make all of the necessary wire adjustments on utility poles itself. Ordinarily, Google Fiber must wait for incumbent providers like AT&T and Comcast to send construction crews to move their own wires, requiring multiple visits and delaying Google Fiber's broadband deployment.

The pro-Google Fiber ordinance was approved in a 32-7 preliminary vote, but one of the dissenters asked AT&T and Comcast to put forth a competing proposal before a final vote is taken. The new proposal from council member Sheri Weiner calls for Google, AT&T, Comcast and Nashville Electric Service to create a system that improves the current process for making utility poles ready for new cables. Weiner said AT&T and Comcast helped draft the resolution she proposes. Weiner said that she asked AT&T and Comcast to propose a resolution.

The city council in Wilson (NC) has reluctantly voted to turn off the fiber Internet service it provides to a nearby town because of a court ruling that prevents expansion of municipal broadband services. The Federal Communications Commission in February 2015 voted to block laws in North Carolina and Tennessee that prevent municipal broadband providers from expanding outside their territories. After that vote, Wilson's Greenlight fiber Internet service expanded to the nearby town of Pinetops (NC). But the states of North Carolina and Tennessee sued the FCC to keep their anti-municipal broadband laws in place, and in August they won a federal appeals court ruling that reinstated the law that prevents Wilson from offering Internet service to nearby municipalities.

At Sept 15's city council meeting, Wilson decided not to appeal the court decision and voted to terminate the service agreement with the town of Pinetops, Wilson's city spokesperson, Rebecca Agner said. About 200 home Internet customers in Pinetops will thus lose their Internet service on October 28, Agner said. The nearby Vick Family Farms that employs about 250 people will also lose its service, she said. "We must comply with our state law," Agner said. But city council members were very vocal in their opposition to the law and regret having to disconnect the service, she said.

The operators of free Internet kiosks in New York City plan to disable Web browsing on publicly available tablets after reports of "lewd acts," such as people watching porn and masturbating. LinkNYC kiosks have been replacing New York pay phones, offering free Wi-Fi access and a tablet that can be used by anyone who doesn't have their own mobile device. But LinkNYC announced that it "will be removing Web browsing on all Link tablets while we work with the City and community to explore potential solutions, like time limits." The tablets will still offer free phone calls, maps, and access to emergency services. New Yorkers can also continue to connect their own devices to LinkNYC Wi-Fi hotspots. But browsing on the publicly accessible tablets is being restricted after some disturbing reports.