customers

Netflix has rejected proposals that would help fund network infrastructure by companies responsible for large amounts of Internet traffic. It says the European idea would effectively mean customers paying twice for the same technology. Officials in ... Europe are currently consulting on the proposals. The idea is that companies which deliver the most traffic would pay a tax with the proceeds going towards projects to expand and improve Internet connections. The officials argue that companies such as Netflix benefit from the wide availability of Internet connections, but don't currently contribute ... (view more)

Canadian communications giant Rogers is to give extra credit to customers hit by a 15-hour Internet outage. But regulators want to know more about what caused the problem and how it can be prevented in the future. The outage had a huge impact, ... partly because of the sheer size of Rogers' customer base. It has a reported 11 million customers in a country with a population of 38 million. To make things even worse, the outage also affected some critical infrastructure including emergency phone lines and bank machines. That's prompted the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ... (view more)

Apple has agreed to allow app developers to tell users how to save money on app payments. It's part of a settlement in a long-running dispute but it's not enough to satisfy some developers. At the moment, app developers who sell apps in the official ... Apple store can gather email addresses of customers. However, the developers are not allowed to use those addresses to tell customers about how to pay them directly for subscriptions and one-off payments relating to the app. In-App Messages Banned That's a blow to developers who use a "freemium" model where the app itself is free but ... (view more)

Comcast is to impose a 1.2TB monthly data limit on its broadband customers in all locations across the United States. The move affects 12 states that weren't already under the cap. Customers will be able to get unlimited data, but will have to pay a ... fee of $30 a month above their current charges. Those who don't "upgrade" will face an overage charge of $10 for each 50GB they use, with a maximum overage charge of $100. (Source: stopthecap.com ) The company already had the cap in 27 of the 39 states it served. Many of the remaining 12 covered markets where Comcast had competition with Verizon, ... (view more)

Google is doubling the top speed of its Fiber broadband service to 2Gbps, though it will cost $100 a month. It also says the speed will be available through its 'wireless' service for businesses. The original idea for Google Fiber - at least ... according to the company - was to use its buying power and technology to offer an alternative high-speed service in areas which either had no serious broadband available or were served only by a single company that exploited its monopoly. The problem is that while the service itself has had good reviews, Google doesn't offer it in many places. Only a ... (view more)

T-Mobile says it will give customers free scam-blocking tools to protect against misleading and fraudulent calls. The measures will also cover Metro and Sprint users. The program, dubbed Scam Shield, involves a range of tactics to combat bogus ... calls. The logic is to increase the chances of success against any particular attack. (Source: t-mobile.com ) Two of the features come via a dedicated smartphone app that analyzes incoming calls. The first, Scam ID, tries to identify calls that may be using a bogus identity or making unwanted marketing calls. Spam Calls Auto-Blocked Users can choose ... (view more)

Apple has been fined US $6.6 million after remotely disabling iPhones that had been repaired independently. Regulators ruled it was wrong to claim the phone owners have violated their repair warranties. The ruling came in a court case brought by the ... Australian Competitor and Consumer Commission. It's similar to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) but with a more emphasis on protecting consumer rights. The case stemmed from a 2016 software update that disabled "unidentified" touch sensors, a part of the phone screen. With the sensor disabled, it became impossible to use the phone as it ... (view more)

An Internet provider has warned customers that "pirating online content could affect thermostats and security cameras." But the explanation is something of a stretch. The warning comes from Armstrong Zoom, an Internet Provider that serves several ... states from Ohio over to the Washington DC area. It's written to customers whose connections have reportedly been used to infringe copyright. The letter says customers won't face immediate action but will face sanctions for repeat offenses. That's similar of an industry-wide effort that tried to cut down on piracy (including a 'six strike' ... (view more)

T-Mobile is launching a special phone plan for seniors, following on from AT&T. The difference is that T-Mobile's plan covers data, making it more useful for smartphones. The T-Mobile plan allows for unlimited voice calls, texting and data use, ... albeit with some restrictions. Video playback is limited to standard definition, users can only share (tether) the connection with a computer at 3G speeds, and connections may be slowed if the user goes over 32GB of data in a month. (Source: t-mobile.com ) It's the same package available to all T-Mobile users, but at a special price for ... (view more)

A proposed class action lawsuit accuses Bose of selling personal data about customers who use its wireless headphones. But the claims are unconfirmed and the argument may be somewhat overstated. Customer Kyle Zak made the complaint about Bose ... Connect, an app for iPhones and Android devices. The app isn't mandatory to use, but is designed to make it easier to switch between different headsets and speakers on a Bluetooth connection without needing to repeatedly pair and unpair the devices. Podcast Choices Could Be Revealing According to the lawsuit, Bose uses the app to collect details of ... (view more)