Latest in Broadband

The nation’s second largest cable operator Charter Communications said Monday it’s selling $1.5 billion in debt and could use the fresh cash to repay existing debt and fund share buybacks. It expects to close the offering of senior unsecured notes due in 2031 on July 9. The company sold $3 billion in senior notes in…

Comcast and AT&T are extending through June 30 a set of initiatives they launched in response to COVID-19, offering wifi hotspots free to everyone (not just their customers) and more flexible payment options for internet, pay-TV and wireless services. The extension, Comcast said, will “help ensure students can finish…

With most media and entertainment companies in cutback mode due to the coronavirus, Charter Communications has promised not to implement layoffs or furloughs for at least the next 60 days. The No. 2 U.S. cable operator and a major supplier of broadband internet access said it is making the promise as part of an…

The number of U.S. broadband households subscribing to two or more OTT services has more than doubled since 2014, according to a new study by streaming media tracker Parks Associates. Nearly half — 46% — of all broadband homes have multiple OTT subscriptions, the study found, up from 33% in 2017 and 20% in 2014. At…

UPDATED with reports of some customers having service restored. Before Comcast can come back to the bargaining table with a new offer for 21st Century Fox assets, it will likely need to get its broadband service back up and running. As the battle with Disney over Fox continues, the No. 1 U.S. cable provider is dealing…

The number of broadband-only households in the U.S. will grow to 37.2 million by 2022, up from 19 million in 2017, according to a new report from Kagan. That trend will only amplify industry angst about cord-cutting and the management of the traditional TV bundle. "A perfect storm of long-term trends including…

2ND UPDATE, 5:29 PM: President Donald Trump has signed into law Senate Joint Resolution 34, which “nullifies the Federal Communications Commission's rule on privacy of customers of broadband and other telecommunications services.” The move was expected after the Senate and the House passed bills scrapping an Obama…

What a difference two months make. In late January, SNL Kagan forecaster Tony Lenoir made what he deemed an “aggressive” prediction when he said that the number of homes subscribing to broadband — but not pay TV — could grow 83% from the end of 2016 to 28.0 million in 2021. Now he says the prediction “could end on the…

Updated with Clyburn and McSweeny statements: Looks like you can forget about the rules the FCC approved in October to bar Internet providers from monitoring the sites you visit, unless you give permission to do so. Recently named FCC Chairman Ajit Pai wants to stay the initiative before March 2, and try to match the…

AT&T isn’t the only communications company eager to acquire. This morning CenturyLink, a broadband services company that also provides video to about 318,000 customers, agreed to pay cash and stock worth $34 billion (including debt) for Level 3 Communications, an important provider of internet backbone services. “The…

Internet providers will be barred from monitoring the sites that subscribers visit, unless they give permission to do so, in a rule that FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler plans to present to fellow commissioners on October 27. Cable and phone companies would have to tell customers what information they collect, how they use…

It’s possible as content providers plan a massive Internet data dump on Tuesday, one that could break traffic records and put ISPs and WiFi networks to the test. “We're going to see long download times, more buffering of streams, more QoS issues and ISPs that will take steps to deal with the traffic, knowing it will…