It seems everyone wants to regulate our consumption these days. You may be familiar with Smart Meters that track your energy usage on an hourly basis and snitch to the utility company when you’re active during “peak times” so they can justify charging a premium for your indiscretions. Now, broadband providers like Comcast are getting in on the action by capping its monthly usage on home plans to 250GB and dinging you monetarily if you go beyond that. At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised that in the future broadband providers calculate your bill according to the type of data you consume — i.e. VoIP, video streams, BitTorrent, etc. (much different than what Net Neutrality proponents warn about, which deals with access). Of course, pushers of these types of meters will tell you it’s for your benefit and convenience so you can know how much energy/data you consume in month. Ah, thanks. MORE »

You may have caught the news yesterday that Sezmi, a company who we first heard about last year, has finally launched it service to a small group of participants in Los Angeles (you can still be one of them). MORE »

At NewTeeVee LIVE yesterday Comcast’s Amy Banse talked about what subscribers can look forward to with the company’s “TV Everywhere” initiative. Essentially, what Comcast wants to do is bring TV programming to a variety of platforms – specifically Internet enabled and mobile devices. TV Everywhere encompasses, as Banse puts it, linear viewing, à la carte, and online. MORE »

The Hollywood Reporter and Broadband TV News are reporting that Stuart Collingwood, VP EMEA of Sling Media, has been quoted saying that the percentage of people who don’t use their Slingbox for remote placeshifting has jumped from 40% two years ago to 70% today. In fact, most people use their Slingbox to stream TV to networked PCs and other device around the home (see: Sling Media’s downloads page for apps targeted to the desktop PC and handhelds). And when it comes to remote mobile access, 80% of people watch slightly over 15 minutes of television in a single session.

Ok, I’ll bite. After reviewing the details on the Ooma Telo VoIP phone adapter and service, I can’t find anything not to like. For $249.99 the Ooma Telo, which needs to be connected to a router with a high-speed Internet connection and is compatible with standard corded or cordless telephones, provides FREE phone calls nationwide and international calls at competitively low rates. In addition, users get caller-ID, call-waiting, 911 service linked to their current address, and other features at no additional charge. Ooma even lets you port your existing phone number for a one-time fee of $39.99 (free with annual subscription to Ooma Premier). Check it out. Ooma Telo is available now at 1,200 retail locations nationwide and online. MORE »

Cablevision is announcing today that beginning May 11th the company will begin offering a new 101Mbps downstream / 15Mbps upstream high-speed Internet package called Optimum Online Ultra for $99.95/mo. The package, which will serve the New York metro area, is the nation’s first 101Mbps broadband service to hit the impressive benchmark. The closest competitor, Verizon, offers a 50Mbps package for $140/mo. According to AP, the 101Mbps service should theoretically allow people to download a 4GB HD movie in 5 1/2 minutes and a 1.6GB SD movie in about two. MORE »

Parks Associates is out with a new report that applies to Western Europe, but could very well pertain to all Internet users. The study found that 31% of broadband households in Western Europe downloaded / streamed movie and TV content on their PC in the last 6 months while only 8% of those households actually purchased digital video downloads from the Internet. The study also found that 80% of broadband households preferred traditional options for viewing video like going to the movie theater or watching a DVD. However my favorite quote from the press release is from John Barret at Parks Associates who says: “Since so many users are watching online video only because it is free, they will likely step away from the computer if they have to start paying for it.” I think he’s right on point there. MORE »

It’s been quite some time since anything exciting has been announced by a consumer broadband provider. This week Qwest is rolling out, what they call, the Personal Digital Vault which offers customers 2GB of secured, offsite storage space at no additional charge. The new service allows users to schedule PC backups, manually upload files, and gain remote access from any web browser. Qwest is also offering customers expanded service with 50GB vault space for $6.99/mo and UNLIMITED vault space for just $9.99/mo! MORE »

It’s probably true that most of our readers are more than happy using a traditional broadband provider for their home’s Internet access, but I’m sure there’s a few of you out there who are mobile warriors who want the lowdown on which cellular network currently has the fastest 3G download and upload speeds. So, it’s with great respect I point you folks to the hard work Gizmodo put into conducting their 8 major city nationwide test comparing AT&T, Sprint, Verizon’s mobile broadband service. Verdict: Best Overall Download Speed Winner – Sprint, Best Overall Upload Speed Winner – AT&T (Sprint came in second).

Related: Gizmodo – Sprint Dual U300 Modem Will Connect to Both EVDO and WiMax

Among the top designated marketing areas (DMAs), San Francisco, Miami and Los Angeles are the most connected cities, based on home networking adoption, according to new research from MultiMedia Intelligence. A wired or wireless home network allows consumers to connect multiple PCs and printers, and to share Internet access among computers. MORE »