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Sprint and Clearwire light up first 4G network in New York City, among other locales
We gave a fortunate sect of consumers a taste of WiMAX during our recent reader meetup in the Big Apple, but now it's available to all: as promised, Sprint has just gone live with New York City's first 4G network. With the holiday sales season just around the bend, this honestly couldn't have come at a better time, and considering the bandwidth strain that hamstrings the city, it could very well make things easier on everyone if the adoption rate is high. Moreover, Sprint has blessed Hartford, New Haven, New Brunswick, Trenton and Tampa with WiMAX as of today, bringing the grand total of lit cities to 61. So, LTE -- whatcha waitin' for? Update: Naturally, Clearwire has launched 4G in NYC as well. Of course, we're splitting hairs with branding by now, but there it is.
Comcast plans HD additions for Connecticut markets
Comcast has been on fire of late, adding in high-def stations in more markets than we care to count. The next dot on its warpath is Connecticut, and starting today, it's planning a whole heap of HD channels for a variety of areas. In Middletown, viewers will see CNN HD (196), SciFi HD (217) and AMC HD (222) added within the next 24 hours, while Bravo HD (243), CNBC HD (244), Hallmark Movie Channel HD (252), QVC HD (281), E! HD (284) and Cartoon Network HD (287) will land in Hartford on Wednesday. Plainville, Vernon, New Haven, Norwich and Old Lyme all have HD newcomers of their own to deal with soon, so hop on past the break for the full list.[Thanks, Erik]
Two LIN TV stations to trial Backchannelmedia's TV-to-Internet ad platform
While LIN TV and Time Warner Cable remain embroiled in all sorts of disagreements, two of the company's stations in the Hartford-New Haven, Connecticut area are gearing up to trial Backchannelmedia's TV-to-Internet click through technology. If you'll recall, we first heard of this worrisome interactive advertising platform back in May when MGM Grand at Foxwoods signed on. Now, WTNH (ABC) and WCTX (MyNetworkTV) have also agreed to participate in the company's market trial, which is set to start next month. In essence, it will give viewers the ability to click on "non-intrusive icons at the bottom of the their TV screen" in order to bookmark offers for online viewing; obviously, all of the response data is forwarded on for use in soliciting more cash from advertisers. Why does the idea of having to engage with ads sound so dreadful from here?
Comcast plans 8 new HD stations for Connecticut
We're not sure what got into Comcast (though we hear Verizon may know...), but the cable carrier is apparently aiming to boost its HD lineup in the area in a huge way. Reportedly, Comcast is looking to add eight new high-def channels in the Hartford, Plainville, Vernon, Seymour, Waterbury, Old Lyme and Norwich systems, with the first three receiving their newcomers by August 7th (with some filtering in as early as July 22nd) and the rest of 'em getting gifted by August 12th. So, what channels are we talking? SNY HD, Disney HD, ABC Family HD, Science HD, TLC HD, AMC HD, The Movie Channel HD and Showtime Too HD. Huzzah![Thanks, Erik]
AT&T's U-verse swallows more of Hartford, Connecticut
AT&T already gifted current U-verse subscribers in the Nutmeg State with high-def versions of The CW and MyNetworkTV, but now even more folks in Connecticut will have the opportunity to tune in. Post-expansion, over 230,000 living units in parts of 80 communities in the state will have access to U-verse TV and internet, but an undisclosed amount of homes in the greater Hartford area are now in range. Unfortunately, no real details beyond that are dished out, so if you call Hartford home and have a hankering for fiber, we suppose your best bet is to just phone up AT&T and hope for the best.
Comcast SportsNet New England HD heading to areas of Connecticut
Barely two weeks after Comcast SportsNet Northwest took Oregon by storm, along comes news that Comcast SportsNet New England will be doing the same in select areas of Connecticut. According to papers that Comcast filed with the DPUC, the aforementioned station will be "added to the Expanded Basic tier on channel 199 in the Hartford, Plainville and Vernon systems, and 779 in the Old Lyme system." Best of all, each region will receive the channel in glorious high-definition. Keep an eye out on February 6th -- in case you couldn't guess, that's the date it's supposed to go live.[Image courtesy of DailyNewsTribune, thanks Erik]
