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Comcast and Charter's joint streaming venture is now called Xumo
Xumo is the new branding for Comcast and Charter's recently announced joint streaming venture.
Charter and Comcast team up to build 'next-generation' streaming hardware
Charter and Comcast are joining forces to create new streaming hardware based on Flex.
Charter is the first cable company with a deal for HBO Max
HBO Max will be available to Charter's TV customer at no extra charge -- if you already have HBO.
Spectrum's exit from home security leaves people with useless tech
A host of Spectrum subscribers are about to learn the risks of tying your home security to your telecom provider. The Charter-owned cable company has notified customers that it will stop supporting its Spectrum Home Security service on February 5th. When that happens, the system will largely be useless. Individual devices should work, but the core monitoring service and remote device access (you know, the main reasons you signed up) will go away.
Facebook's new content oversight board can overrule Mark Zuckerberg
Facebook has unveiled the finished charter for its content oversight board, and it's evident that the social site wants to give the board at least some meaningful independence. The new rules will let users appeal content decisions directly to the board instead of through Facebook's usual channels, and any decisions will be binding no matter who at Facebook disagrees with it, according to Mark Zuckerberg. The charter also outlines how Facebook intends to keep the board independent throughout the overall process, and how it will choose and work on cases.
Charter will integrate Hulu and Disney+ into its set-top boxes
Disney and Charter Communications inked a multi-year deal today that will deliver a wide range of content -- from college sports to The Bachelor -- to Spectrum subscribers. The deal avoids a blackout of Disney-controlled networks like ABC and ESPN, reported Bloomberg. It also paves the way for ESPN's ACC Network, which Charter has agreed to carry as a part of the deal. The new 24/7 network, which was developed in partnership with the Atlantic Coast Conference, is expected to launch on August 22nd.
Charter will expand broadband network so it can stay in New York
Charter Communications has agreed to a settlement with the New York's Department of Public Service that will allow the internet service provider to continue operating within the state. As a part of the agreement, Charter will have to kick back $12 million to New York, which will be used to expand broadband services to underserved areas. Charter will also have to expand its high-speed broadband service to 145,000 residences and businesses in upstate New York by September 30, 2021.
Charter launches its zero sign-on Spectrum app for Apple TV
Charter just completed the other half of its zero sign-on puzzle. The cable giant has launched its delayed Spectrum app for Apple TV, giving you access to both live programming and on-demand shows without having to enter your credentials. If you set up the app while you're connected to Spectrum broadband service, it'll use tvOS 12's smarter authentication to sign in you in automatically -- you can focus on watching instead of remembering your password. There's Siri support, too, so you just have to speak to tune into a given channel.
New York sets tougher standards for marketing internet speeds
New York isn't just asking Charter to clean up its act. The state has reached a settlement with Altice (Optimum's owner), Frontier, RCN and Engadget parent company Verizon that will have them adhere to stricter standards for advertising internet speeds. They'll have to back up their claims with regular speed testing, ensure they have enough network capacity to handle advertised third-party services and make clear that speeds on WiFi won't be the same as with a wired connection.
Apple TV's zero sign-on is live, starting with Charter Spectrum
Charter Spectrum support for the new zero sign-on feature for Apple TV is now live. The feature, announced earlier this year, automatically signs into apps that require a cable subscription when the device connected to internet service from the same provider. If you're a Spectrum subscriber, you should now be able to access content in any app just by connecting your Apple TV to your Spectrum network.
California delays net neutrality law while federal lawsuit plays out
Last month, California's governor signed the state's net neutrality bill into law, legislation that restores the net neutrality protections the FCC repealed last year. However, the state was quickly hit with a lawsuit from both the Department of Justice and industry groups representing companies like AT&T, Charter and Verizon, which claimed the law ran afoul of the FCC's regulations. California's law was set to take effect at the start of next year, but the state has now agreed to delay its implementation and stay the litigation until a federal challenge to the FCC's decision is settled.
Internet industry groups sue California over net neutrality law
Industry groups representing AT&T, Charter, Comcast and Verizon among others have joined the Justice Department in suing California over the state's new net neutrality law. The groups said the legislation is a "classic example of unconstitutional state regulation" and asked the court to block the law before it takes effect January 1st, Reuters reports.
Apple and Google will testify to Senate on data privacy September 26th
More tech companies are about to face congressional scrutiny. Leaders from Amazon, Apple, AT&T, Charter and Google are scheduled to testify before a US Senate panel at a data privacy hearing on September 26th. Senators will grill the companies on their existing approaches to privacy, how Congress can press for "clear privacy expectations" and how firms will adapt to stricter requirements like the European Union's GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act.
New York kicks Spectrum out of the state for 'recurring failures'
Charter cable company acquired Time Warner Cable in a 2016 merger, becoming one of the largest TV providers in the country. Re-branded as Spectrum, the company introduced a streaming option last year. New York, however, hasn't been impressed with the company's performance, and has now kicked Spectrum out of the state and rescinded its approval for the merger.
The FCC is peddling its net neutrality spin as facts
Last week, the FCC released the final draft of its proposal to roll back net neutrality protections, a plan that the agency will vote on next month. Removing these protections has been a targeted goal of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai since he took the position, and even in the face of immense pushback from both the public and hundreds of companies and organizations, the FCC has moved forward with the plan and is fully expected to approve it in just a couple of weeks. Since its release, the draft proposal has continued to draw intense opposition and now the FCC has released a list of myths vs. facts in regards to the plan. But this list, which poses as an explanatory breakdown of the FCC proposal and is most definitely the agency's attempt at damage control, is nearly as ill-conceived as the plan itself.
The FCC is helping cable companies evade consumer protection rules
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol): is it an information service or a telecommunications service? This is the question that sits at the heart of an ongoing dispute between the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC), as the FCC takes steps to help cable company Charter avoid state consumer protection rules.
Data leak exposed millions of Time Warner Cable customers
Verizon isn't the only big US telecom whose corporate ally left customer data out in the open. MacKeeper developer Kromtech has discovered that BroadSoft, a frequent partner to service providers, was storing over 4 million Time Warner Cable customer records on Amazon cloud servers without a password. The records, which stemmed from the MyTWC mobile app, date as far back as November 2010 -- years before Charter bought TWC. The information included email addresses, user names, financial transactions (though there's no indication of credit card data) and billing addresses. There was even closed-circuit camera footage from BroadSoft's Indian offices, as if to rub salt in the wound.
WSJ: Sprint has proposed a merger with Charter
Another day, another rumor of a deal bridging the worlds of cable and mobile involving Sprint. Tonight a report from Wall Street Journal claims that Sprint has proposed a merger with Charter, to create a media/telecom giant controlled by the Japanese company Softbank. Of course, since this is Sprint then nothing is so simple, as Bloomberg reporter Alex Sherman tweeted that according to a source, Charter has "no interest" in the arrangement. This news comes after the end of an exclusive negotiating period between Sprint and the combined forces of Charter/Comcast, however, Bloomberg reported those talks are continuing. Of course, Charter and even Comcast have been named in rumored arrangements with (Engadget parent company) Verizon, so while there's certainly interest in teaming up, it's unclear who might make a deal and when. The door is also open for merger talks to resume with T-Mobile, but so far we haven't seen any new magenta-tinged rumors flying around.
Lawsuit claims Sprint caused RadioShack’s latest bankruptcy
In 2015, RadioShack filed for bankruptcy and shortly thereafter co-branded around 1,400 of its remaining stores with Sprint. Just over two years later, RadioShack has filed for bankruptcy again and a group of its creditors says it's largely Sprint's fault.
Charter tests streaming-only cable service for $20/month
If you've cut the cable cord, or have been tempted to do so, you may be getting yet another streaming option soon. Cable company Charter Communications is testing a new streaming service called Spectrum Stream among their internet subscribers.
