Imagine sitting in a rural health clinic, streaming three-dimensional medical imaging over the web and discussing a unique condition with a specialist in New York. Or downloading a high-definition, full-length feature film in less than five minutes. Or collaborating with classmates around the world while watching live 3-D video of a university lecture. Universal, ultra high-speed Internet access will make all this and more possible. We’ve urged the FCC to look at new and creative ways to get there in its National Broadband Plan – and today we’re announcing an experiment of our own.

We’re planning to build and test ultra high-speed broadband networks in a small number of trial locations across the United States. We’ll deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today with 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-the-home connections. We plan to offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people.

Our goal is to experiment with new ways to help make Internet access better and faster for everyone. Here are some specific things that we have in mind:

• Next generation apps: We want to see what developers and users can do with ultra high-speeds, whether it’s creating new bandwidth-intensive “killer apps” and services, or other uses we can’t yet imagine.
• New deployment techniques: We’ll test new ways to build fiber networks, and to help inform and support deployments elsewhere, we’ll share key lessons learned with the world.
• Openness and choice: We’ll operate an “open access” network, giving users the choice of multiple service providers. And consistent with our past advocacy, we’ll manage our network in an open, non-discriminatory and transparent way.

Like our WiFi network in Mountain View, the purpose of this project is to experiment and learn. Network providers are making real progress to expand and improve high-speed Internet access, but there’s still more to be done. We don’t think we have all the answers – but through our trial, we hope to make a meaningful contribution to the shared goal of delivering faster and better Internet for everyone.

As a first step, today we’re putting out a request for information (RFI) to help identify interested communities. We welcome responses from local government, as well as members of the public. If you’d like to respond, visit this page to learn more, or check out our video:

We’ll collect responses until March 26, and will announce our target communities later this year. Stay tuned.

South Africa’s largest ISP MWeb has revealed that as of 15 December 2009 it will offer national calls to enterprise customers at lower rates than incumbent operator Telkom, aiming to bring genuine competition to a PTO-dominated voice market.

MWeb Business said in a press statement: ‘Targeted at businesses of all sizes that are hungry for real savings and an alternative to the incumbent telcos, the new offering will take effect from 15 December this year. MWEB will offer calls to national exchanges (011, 012, 021, 031 and 051) for less than the cost of a Telkom local call, during both peak and off-peak periods, a first for any telecoms provider… Using our IP-based interconnect agreements with all the major operators, we are able to offer real cost-saving as well as a full spectrum service to clients. For business customers we can offer every aspect of their voice requirements, from the PABX hardware, to the trunk links to the routing of calls, without the client having to deal with another provider.’ MWEB added that voice customers will also see additional savings on calls to mobile numbers when new mobile termination rates (MTRs) come into effect in early 2010.
(Source: Telegeography)

Accra, Sept. 15, GNA - Vodafone Ghana, has announced a reduction in the installation charge of its fixed broadband service from GHc90 to GHc55, a statement copied to the GNA said.

The reduction, which started from September 11, 2009, would last for a period of three months.

The statement said the reduction meant that, the initial upfront cost for new broadband customers has reduced significantly.

“We have reduced our installation charges so that everyone can connect to our broadband facilities,” it said.

Recently Vodafone introduced a wireless dongle that offered on-the-go internet service on Vodafone Mobile broadband. Dubbed, the Vodafone Mobile Connect, the dongle gave customers always-on, fast Internet access on one’s PC or laptop “whether you’re stationary, on the move, indoor or outdoor,” a statement said. The service, which came with a Vodafone USB Modem with a new Tariff Offer for Post-paid and Prepaid subscribers, would soon be available in the market.

The statement said Prepaid Customers would enjoy an additional GHC20 to start directly with the service.

It said Vodafone’s broadband had a suite of business broadband packages tailored to the needs of Solar and Heliospheric Observatory service (SOHOs), Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SME’s) and large enterprises.

In a related development, the Vodafone Group had launched a Wi-Fi hotspot application that would enable users to connect up to five devices to the same mobile broadband connection, a statement copied to the GNA said.

The “Vodafone Mobile Broadband Hotspot” would initially be available in Germany, Romania and Spain and soon in Ghana and other Vodafone operations in Ghana, would support High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) connectivity up to 7.2 Mbps.

The credit-card-sized independent operating system enables customers to connect quickly and easily to any device that supports the Wi-Fi standard, and then connect to the internet using Vodafone’s mobile broadband connectivity.

With one touch to power on, users will be able to detect the mobile Wi-Fi cloud using any device configured for Wi-Fi and connect up to five devices within a 10-metre radius.

The device has an internal battery that provides up to four hours of active use on a single charge.

“The Vodafone Mobile Broadband Hotspot offers mobile professionals, students and families a one-touch connectivity solution that turns Wi-Fi enabled devices such as MP3 players and laptops into connected mobile internet devices,” the statement said.

It said the product brought even more flexibility to customers, and ensures that Vodafone’s market leading mobile broadband could be rolled out to even more devices to give customers greater convenience. Vodafone has a monopoly over SAT-3, the only submarine fibre optics cable with a landing station in Ghana, giving the company monopoly over broadband.

But two more submarine fibre optic cables, Glo One and Main One, are due to land in Ghana soon, which would broadband ownership available to other telecom operators and ISPs; and analysts say that would break Vodafone’s monopoly on broadband and automatically force prices down.

Source: GNA

ps: SOHO stands for Small Office Home Office not Solar and Heliospheric Observatory stated above

An American ISP allegedly involved in distributing spam and images of child abuse has been thrown off the net.

The US Federal Trade Commission asked for Pricewert LLC’s net links to be severed after it had gathered evidence of the firm’s ‘criminal’
connections.

The FTC alleges that Pricewert had created one of the “leading US-based havens for illegal, malicious, and harmful content”.  Pricewert denied the allegations and said it would fight them in court.

Legal fight
In an official complaint filed in a San Jose Federal court, the FTC described Pricewert as a “rogue” or “black hat” ISP that acted as a hosting centre for many hi-tech criminals.

The FTC alleges that Pricewert was paid to host “child pornography, botnet command and control servers, spyware, viruses, trojans, phishing-related sites, illegal online pharmacies, investment and other web-based scams”.

The evidence against Pricewert was gathered with the help of Nasa’s computer crime division, Symantec, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, as well as groups such as Spamhaus and the Shadowserver Foundation.

In its statement accompanying its filing, the FTC said its complaint was “not a finding or ruling that the defendant has actually violated the law”. That, it said, would be decided by a court. A preliminary hearing will be heard on 15 June.

So far, the FTC has not been able to identify who was behind Pricewert.
Although its servers are based in the US, it is registered as a business in Belize and many of its employees are thought to be located in Eastern Europe.

Talking to technology news site Network World, a spokesman for Pricewert said the action was “unfair” and it would take legal action to defend itself.

Source: BBC News