Broadbandinfo: Broadband News and Technology
Broadbandinfo.com keeps you up-to-date on the latest broadband news and advancements & developments in high speed Internet, VoIP, WIFI and other broadband technologies.

• AT&T U-Verse Voice Launches in Madison
  AT&T has announced that AT&T U-verse Voice is now available to all eligible U-verse customers in parts of the Madison area. The next-generation digital voice service is delivered over AT&T’s Internet Protocol (IP) network in parts of several South Central Wisconsin communities including Beloit, Fitchburg, Janesville, Madison, Maple Bluff, Middleton, Monona, and Shorewood Hills. With U-verse Voice, customers receive new features that highlight the benefits of having advanced video, broadband, and home phone services from a single provider.
  
  
  AT&T U-verse Voice, U-verse TV, and U-verse High-Speed Internet Suite
  
  "AT&T U-verse Voice is one more way we're making all of our AT&T services work together for you and connecting you to your world," said Kevin Petersen, vice president and general manager for AT&T's consumer operations in Illinois and Wisconsin. "U-verse Voice uses the power of IP to enhance the calling experience. Just like U-verse TV has changed the way people watch television, U-verse Voice will change the way people use their home phone."
  
  
  AT&T U-verse Voice Advanced Features
  
  AT&T U-verse Voice has advanced features that go beyond traditional phone service including: a single, combined voice mailbox for AT&T U-verse Voice and AT&T wireless messages with U-verse Messaging, which can be accessed from any phone line or PC; U-verse Central, an online portal to manage call preferences and settings from any PC; an online voice mailbox to check, manage, and forward voice mail from the online portal; the ability to view call logs from your PC or TV screen; the ability to make a call from your PC or TV using Click to Call, which will initiate a call from your home phone to any number in your Call History with one click of a mouse or the U-verse TV remote control; an online Address Book; Locate Me, a feature that provides simultaneous ringing on up to four wireless or landline numbers so you never miss an important incoming call; and more.
  
  
  AT&T U-verse Voice also includes traditional calling features such as call screening, call blocking, do not disturb, and privacy settings. All U-verse Voice customers will have 911 service; and, where available via the local 911 network, U-verse Voice customers will have enhanced 911 (E911) service.
  
  
• PCMag.com Names Verizon FiOS Fastest Internet Service
  Verizon FiOS has been named the fastest Internet service in the country by PCMag.com. The independent online technology guide and magazine polled tens of thousands of its readers nationwide and determined Verizon FiOS provided the fastest speeds and highest customer satisfaction.
  
  "PCMag.com readers are echoing what our FiOS customers have been telling us for years - that our all-fiber network is providing them with the best Internet experience in the nation," said John Wimsatt, senior vice president of marketing for Verizon.
  
  
  Verizon FiOS Ultra-High-Speed Internet
  Only Verizon delivers ultra-high-speed broadband straight to customers' homes over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network. The network already reaches more than 10 million homes and businesses, and it will reach more than 18 million by 2010.
  
  
  Verizon FiOS Delivers Speeds up to 50 Mbps
  Verizon offers FiOS Internet download speeds ranging from 10 Mbps (megabits per second) to 50 Mbps to markets in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. Verizon also offers the unmatched symmetrical FiOS Internet service with the fastest upload speed (up to 20 Mbps) offered anywhere, coupled with an equally fast downstream speed of up to 20 Mbps.
  
  
  Verizon Expanding FiOS High-Speed Internet and FiOS TV
  "Verizon is expanding the reach of its FiOS network to more neighborhoods every day, bringing the promise of greater Internet speed and reliability to more and more American consumers and businesses," Wimsatt said. "When coupled with FiOS TV's stunning picture-and-sound quality, more and more high-definition channels, and burgeoning video-on-demand choices, FiOS is setting the standard for entertainment and information access in America."
  
  
• Broadband Coalition Calls for National Broadband Strategy
  The U.S. Broadband Coalition, which is comprised of a diverse coalition of broadband stakeholders - including the American Cable Association (ACA) - has called on President-elect Barack Obama and the 111th Congress to make the implementation of a comprehensive broadband strategy a national priority.
  
  As part of its call-to-action, the group has released a framework and initial goals for a national plan to bridge the digital divide and harness the potential of broadband-enabled communications for businesses, schools, and individuals.
  
  
  Coalition Calls on President-elect Obama to Implement Nationwide Broadband
  "In the 21st century, broadband access for every American is more than a luxury, or even a right; it is an absolute necessity," ACA president and CEO Matthew M. Polka said. "We're pleased to lend our voice to the Coalition's call-to-action to help provide President-Elect Obama and the incoming Congress direction and an initial framework to build on in the coming months. Broadband-enabled Internet connectivity has changed the way the world communicates, learns, and does business, and the United States can no longer afford to lag behind other nations. The prioritization of a national broadband strategy is long overdue, and 2009 should mark the beginning of the end for broadband disparity for individuals throughout the country, particularly in unserved communities."
  
  
  Coalition Goals Include Affordable High-Speed Broadband Connections to Internet
  Today's call-to-action issued by the U.S. Broadband Coalition included specific goals for the implementation of broadband for scientific research, education, health care, energy efficiency, transportation, and overall economic vitality. Those goals include: every American home, business, and public and private institution should have access to affordable high-speed broadband connections to the Internet; access to the Internet should be open to as many users, service providers, content providers, and application providers as possible; network operators must have the right to manage their networks responsibly, pursuant to clear and workable guidelines and standards; the Internet and broadband marketplace should be as competitive as possible; and U.S. broadband networks should provide Americans with the network performance, capacity, and connections they need to compete successfully in the global marketplace.
  
  
• Obama Views Broadband as Key to Economic Recovery
  In his weekly radio message, President-elect Barack Obama stressed the importance of broadband Internet access for every American home, business, and institution as key to the country's economic recovery.
  
  
  U.S. Lags in World Broadband Adoption
  Obama said, "It is unacceptable that the United States ranks fifteenth in the world in broadband adoption. Here, in the country that invented the Internet, every child should have the chance to get online, and they'll get that chance when I'm president - because that's how we'll strengthen America's competitiveness in the world."
  
  
  Obama Calls for Broadband Internet in Schools, Hospitals, and Doctor's Offices
  "We will repair broken schools, make them energy-efficient, and put new computers in our classrooms; because to help our children compete in a 21st century economy, we need to send them to 21st century schools," Obama continued.
  
  Obama called for a modernization through broadband of hospitals and doctors' offices, saying "The economic recovery plan I'm proposing will help modernize our health care system - and that won't just save jobs, it will save lives. We will make sure that every doctor's office and hospital in this country is using cutting edge technology and electronic medical records so that we can cut red tape, prevent medical mistakes, and help save billions of dollars each year."
  
  
  National Broadband Internet Access a Priority
  The U.S. Broadband Coalition has called on the President-elect to make a comprehensive nationwide broadband strategy a priority. Matthew Polka, president and CEO of the American Cable Association - a member of the Coalition - said, "In the 21st century, broadband access for every American is more than a luxury, or even a right; it is an absolute necessity. Broadband-enabled Internet connectivity has changed the way the world communicates, learns, and does business, and the United States can no longer afford to lag behind other nations."
  
  
• DIRECTV Signs Distri