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Verizon gives a year of free Netflix to new FiOS customers
Telecoms have been handing out free video services like candy in a bid to win you over, and Verizon is finally following suit. The network is offering a year of free Netflix if you sign up online for a FiOS "triple play" (internet, TV and phone) at $80 per month. This includes both new and existing accounts, and Verizon will cover Netflix costs up to $10.99 per month.
Fiber optic lines can double as earthquake detectors
You might not need an extensive sensor network or a host of volunteers to detect earthquakes in the future -- in fact, the lines supplying your internet access might do the trick. Researchers have developed technology that detects seismic activity through jiggling in fiber optic lines. Laser interrogators watch for disturbances in the fiber and send information about the magnitude and direction of tremors. The system can not only detect different types of seismic waves (and thus determine the seriousness of the threat), but spot very minor or localized quakes that might otherwise go unnoticed.
New York City sues Verizon over its fiber rollout
When New York City said it was upset with Verizon for allegedly backtracking on a promise to bring FiOS service to every household in the city, it wasn't joking around. The city has sued Verizon, accusing the telecom of failing to live up to a cable franchise agreement that required fiber to pass by all residences in the city by mid-2014. The company also didn't complete some requested installations, according to officials.
Your clothing could soon have stealthy heart rate sensors
You might not have to wear a smartwatch or a dedicated monitor to track your heart rate in the future -- you might only need the clothes on your back. Scientists have developed polymer optical fibers that are flexible enough to be woven into clothing, enabling sensors anywhere your outfit meets bare skin. And did we mention they're washing machine friendly? You could theoretically slip on an everyday shirt or cap to track your BPM, and you could toss it in with the rest of your laundry at the end of the day.
Nokia wires an apartment complex with 52Gbps fiber
It's one thing to wire a house with gigabit fiber, but it's another matter to outfit an entire apartment building -- you need a huge pipeline to accommodate everyone. Nokia, however, might have a solution. It just partnered with SK Broadband to wire an apartment complex in Seoul, South Korea with fiber optics delivering aggregate speeds of 52.5Gbps. That doesn't guarantee that every user will get that speed (only "selected" customers saw those rates), but it increases the chances that you'll receive gigabit-class bandwidth in your rental.
Terabit fiber optic speeds just came closer to reality
Sure, researchers have been showing off terabit data speeds in fiber optics for years, but they've seldom been practical. That exotic technology may work over long distances, but it can quickly fall apart when you throw typical network loads in the mix. However, it's about to become much more practical. Nokia Bell Labs, Deutsche Telekom and the Technical University of Munich have shown off 1Tbps data speeds in a field trial that involved "real conditions," with varying channel conditions and traffic levels.
Verizon policy: switch from copper to fiber, or no fix for you
It won't shock you to hear that Verizon is not so fond of copper phone lines (just ask those left out in the cold after Hurricane Sandy), but it's now clear exactly how the carrier plans to make you ditch those old wires. The Philadelphia Inquirer has obtained documents detailing a longstanding "Fiber is the Only Fix" policy that effectively forces you to move to a fiber optic connection if you want assistance. If you ask for repairs on copper phone service in an area where fiber is available, technicians are supposed to tell you that the only remedy is to move to the newer technology. Decline, and you won't get any help -- Verizon's official stance is to refuse repairs on copper.
Google Fiber drops free basic service in its original city
Google Fiber's biggest hook has always been its $70 gigabit internet access, but there has usually been a far more frugal option: you could get free 5Mbps service if you were willing to pay a construction fee. However, that choice appears to be going away in at least one city. Google has quietly dropped that free tier in Kansas City, its first Fiber area, and has replaced it with a 100Mbps option that costs $50 per month. Anyone using the free tier has until May 19th to say they want to keep it. The company hasn't explained the move (we've asked Google for comment), but customers in Austin and Provo still have that choice; Atlanta never had it to start with. Also, this doesn't change Google's plan to offer free service in low-income areas.
Scientists push a record 57Gbps through fiber optic lines (update)
Need proof that the limits of fiber optic technology have been shattered? You just got it. University of Illinois researchers report that they've set a record for fiber data transmission, delivering 57Gbps of error-free data. And importantly, they sent the data at room temperature -- they didn't have to cool things down to keep those bits going. Even when things got toasty (185F), the technology could still deliver a brisk 50Gbps.
Google Fiber is coming to San Francisco
That sound you heard was the collective sigh of relief from legions of Bay Area tech workers. At long last, Google has announced that it's bringing Fiber to San Francisco -- the heart of the industry will finally get to see how Google's gigabit internet service works in practice, not just in tests. The company will use existing fiber optic deployments to wire up apartments and condos, and residents in affordable housing projects will get it for free.
Google Fiber comes to Alabama through a city-run network
Until now, Google has had to build Fiber's gigabit networks the hard way, either from scratch or by making deals to use some existing lines. It's about to try something new, though: the search firm is bringing Fiber to Huntsville, Alabama by using a not-yet-finished municipal network. Huntsville Utilities will "design and construct" the fiber optics, while Google and other providers will simply ride on top. There's no timetable for when Google Fiber will be ready (that's contingent on Huntsville), so you shouldn't expect to sign up any time soon.
Scientists use 'spooky action' to mail electron messages a mile
Researchers at Stanford University announced Tuesday that they had successfully leveraged the "spooky" interaction of entangled electrons to send a message between them over a span of 1.2 miles. This is by far the longest distance that scientists have managed to send entangled particles and provides the strongest evidence to date that quantum computing can have practical applications.
Mayors unite to trash Verizon over slow fiber internet rollouts
New York isn't the only city getting up in Verizon's grill over the provider's reluctance to roll out FiOS across its service areas. The mayors of 13 large US cities (plus a mayoral candidate in Philadelphia) have sent a letter to Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam criticizing his company's network practices, especially its lackadaisical attitude toward fiber internet access. The telecom reportedly hasn't met its obligations to offer FiOS in some cities (such as Newark and Pittsburgh), and in other cases (like Albany and Syracuse) is refusing to offer it at all. Verizon isn't just frustrating customers who want high-speed data, the mayors say -- it's reducing competition.
Google Fiber considering Irvine, Louisville, and San Diego for expansion
Google has announced that it is considering rolling out its high-speed Fiber internet service to three additional American cities. The company stated on its Fiber blog on Thursday that it hopes to enter a joint planning process with the cities of Irvine, California; Louisville, Kentucky; and San Diego, California. "We'll work with Irvine, Louisville and San Diego to conduct a detailed study of factors that affect construction," wrote Jill Szuchmacher, Director, Google Fiber Expansion, "such as local topography, housing density, and the condition of existing infrastructure."
San Antonio is getting Google Fiber
Nearly six months after the city cleared a steeplechase-worth of legal hurdles, Google has finally announced that it will be installing its ultrafast fiber-optic network in San Antonio, Texas. Google cites San Antonio's 1.4 million residents and thriving tech scene -- including the country's first all-digital library, the Bexar BiblioTech -- as reasons for the selection. The fact that San Antonio was recently chosen for the President Tech Hire and Connect Home initiatives didn't hurt, either. The company will spend the next few months coordinating with city leaders on how best to lay the 4,000 miles of necessary fiber-optic cable. There's no word yet on when the 1,000 Mbps service will actually begin.
This electro-optical modulator is smaller than a lightwave
As data travels around the internet, it's routinely switched from electrical signals to light in order to travel through the network's fiber optic backbone. To do this, the signal travels through devices called electro-optic modulators. However, these devices are really bulky (usually several centimeters across) and require an inordinate amount of power to operate. However, a team from ETH Zurich recently published research in the journal Nature Photonics that outlines how they built a modulator one hundred times smaller and less power hungry than conventional models.
22 Massachusetts towns will build their own gigabit internet service
The FCC made it clear that towns should have the freedom to build their own broadband services, and one cooperative group is determined to take advantage of that liberty. WiredWest has gained the support of 22 Massachusetts towns for a municipal broadband effort that will give them all fiber optic service. It won't be the cheapest option, but it'll be much faster than the pokey DSL, fixed wireless and satellite data that residents have had to settle for in the past. It'll start at $49 per month for 25Mbps speeds and no caps, with 100Mbps and a lightning-quick 1Gbps respectively available for $79 and $109 per month.
Researchers have broken the capacity limits of fiber optic networks
You can allay those fears that the fiber optic network that delivers your internet is going to overload. At UC San Diego's Qualcomm Institute, engineers not only broke the supposed limits of fiber optic data transmission — they utterly smashed it, increasing the power of optical signals almost twenty times the base level. Engineers have usually cranked up the power of the signal to send and receive data faster. However, at one point, that power increase starts to create interference, degrading whatever's getting send to the point of not delivering the data at all. As more light is beamed through cases, the amount of interference between carriers increases — at some point, the data becomes so distorted that it can't be untangled and decoded by the receiver. This time, engineers were able to send the information 7,400 miles without the need for pricey electronic regenerators to boost the signal.
The internet risks hitting peak capacity soon, but it can be saved
The internet has more than one capacity problem to worry about, apparently. Researchers met in London this week to tackle growing concerns that fiber optic cables, which represent the internet's backbone, are hitting their physical limits. An Alcatel-Lucent representative warned that we could hit this barrier, about 100 terabits per second, in five years -- not good news when 8K video and other data-hungry technologies are just over the horizon. The only conventional solution would be to add more cables, which isn't always practical.
Microsoft pours money into undersea data cables
For many internet giants, undersea fiber optic cables are a lifeline. In some cases, it's the difference between delivering fast services overseas and watching people give up in frustration. Microsoft knows this all too well, it seems, as it just poured money into three subsea fiber projects (Aqua Comms, Hibernia and New Cross Pacific Cable Network) that should speed up connections to Asia-Pacific and Europe. The Redmond crew sees this as a small investment that could pay off big in the future. As it explains, online products like the Azure computing platform and Office 365 are booming -- it only makes sense to have those moneymakers running as smoothly as possible. This isn't really an altruistic gesture, then, but it could go a long way toward improving your internet access as a whole. [Image credit: US Pacific Fleet, Flickr]
