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Marriott makes Wi-Fi free in hotel lobbies

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marriott-logo.jpgHotel chain Marriott is getting more into free wireless Internet access around the properties of five of its brands. The total number of non-cost Wi-Fi locations for Marriott now stands at around 1,500.

Marriott said that, after introducing free guest room high speed and Wi-Fi several years ago, it had now expanded the free Wi-Fi to guests in lobbies and other public areas. The brands made part of this new offering include Courtyard, Residence Inn, Fairfield Inn, TownePlace Suites and SpringHill Suites.

These free hotspots are only available at hotels in the United States and Canada. Marriott maintains more than 2,900 lodging properties in the United States and 68 other countries and territories.

Originally posted on July 24, 2007 @ 1:23 pm

U.S. broadband use up, says CEA

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cea.jpgThe Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the trade group for the consumer electronics industry best known for putting on the yearly CES show in Las Vegas, released research today which suggests 72% of American adults have broadband access. They see an increasing demand for content-rich entertainment options and lower prices for access as key factors in future high speed Internet adoption.

The research study determined 57.8 million U.S. households subscribe to broadband at home, an increase of 21 percent in the last 12 months. 75 percent of households with Internet access subscribe to broadband. For these households, 65 percent decided to upgrade for a faster Internet connection. For non-subscribers, 15 percent say price is the number one reason they don’t have broadband in the home.

Broadband access outside of the home is also on the rise, with consumers going online through work, public libraries, and schools as well as even through portable devices like wireless phones.

“With 20 percent of non-broadband subscribers expecting to adopt this service in the next two years, future growth looks strong,” said CEA President and CEO, Gary Shapiro. “Yet, competition among broadband service providers must stay robust for this expected growth to prevail. Consumers must have access to media-rich entertainment content they can use anytime, anywhere at a reasonable price.”

Originally posted on July 23, 2007 @ 2:51 pm

Earthlink enables telephone company free DSL

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DSL users who wish not to be tied to their phone company for service now have a new option in limited markets in the form of Earthlink Freestanding DSL. It is priced at up to $19.95 a month for 3.0Mbps of high-speed service.

Earthlink Freestanding DSL allows consumers to get around the need to purchase local telephone service in order to use a DSL line. It will initially be available in Verizon territory, including parts of California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington state, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia and Wisconsin.

“Up until now, many consumers wanting to purchase DSL without the cost of a local phone line had no cost-effective solution,” said Kevin Brand, senior vice president of access at EarthLink. “No longer – Freestanding DSL is a perfect solution for cord-cutters who want more choice and lower monthly bills.”

Originally posted on July 10, 2007 @ 2:50 pm

Toshiba pushing Web-enabled HD DVDs

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hd-dvd.jpgToshiba said today the next generation DVD format it backs – HD DVD – will begin offering new titles which offer Web-enabled network capabilities. The goal of this new feature is to offer a higher degree of interactivity for HD DVD users.

Folks who update the firmware on their Toshiba HD DVD players, the consumer electronics company said, will find their device now supports improved network connectivity for downloading web-enabled network content. Going through the Ethernet ports one will be able to download and store bonus features or unlock content on the disc which requires a downloadable key. HD DVD owners will also be able to upload content and interact with content providers.

Web-enabled network content became available on June 26 with the launch of Bandai Visual’s anime title “Freedom” volume 1. This title is the first HD DVD anime title available in the United States, the first web-enabled network content disc and the first “twin format” disc (featuring both HD DVD and DVD on one side of the disc).

Originally posted on June 29, 2007 @ 3:01 pm

Broadband users to reach half a billion by 2012

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Are you on broadband yet? If not, you may well be by 2012. That’s the year a new report out by research firm Research and Markets suggests there will be close to 500 million broadband subscribers worldwide.

The report indicates that globally, in addition to such a huge growth in broadband users, DSL currently holds a 65 percent market share over cable among high speed subscribers. The USA is one of only two reported countries in which cable subscribers have a larger base than DSL but this is expected to change next year as continued massive deployment of fiber networks by telcos improves the speed and bandwidth of their high speed networks.

Outside of the USA the Latin American region looks to be one of the world’s fastest broadband uptake regions with an annual growth rate of around 54% in 2006. However broadband penetration at the end of 2006 was only 2.5% – less than the global average of 5.4%. Globally at the moment around 50% of Internet traffic is consumed by less than 5% of Internet users.

Originally posted on June 20, 2007 @ 1:54 pm