internet provider

Twenty US Internet providers have agreed to offer low-cost Internet plans to people on lower incomes. The deal combines with government subsidies to mean many people will get free broadband. Following the recent infrastructure bill passing, the ... federal government now offers a subsidy of $30 taken off broadband bills for around 48 million households. The Affordable Connectivity Program covers low income households, plus those with people eligible for public programs such as Medicaid and veterans pensions. More than 11.5 million people have already claimed the subsidy. (Source: yahoo.com ) The ... (view more)

Broadband providers can no longer charge customers a rental fee for routers if they use their own equipment. It's banned by the Television Viewer Protection Act which has taken effect after a six month delay. The law was passed in December 2019 and ... originally scheduled to take effect in June. However, Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted a six month delay, stating that cable and broadband providers needed more time because of the coronavirus pandemic. $10 Monthly Fee Dropped Many Internet providers charge rental fees for modems or routers, but allow users to ... (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)

Mozilla is to make an important change to Firefox browser security. It could reduce risks for users, but has raised concerns among governments and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), as it could limit their tools for filtering and monitoring online ... activity. The change has to do with a feature called DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH), and will first affect users in the US. It's already possible to enable DoH in Chrome, but it takes some technical know-how because the feature currently isn't widely used. DoH is all to do with the DNS (Domain Name System), which is effectively the phone book of the Internet ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Izzy M. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am trying to figure out how IP addresses are assigned using IPv4 (IP addressing version 4), but can't seem to find a straight answer online. My question: is there a certain number that my IP ... address has to be? Is there any correlation between my IP address, subnet mask and default gateway? How is my IP address assigned or determined? Thank you in advance! " My response: I think the reason you can't find an answer to this question is because this is an extremely broad question. To put this as simple as possible: the answer to your question ... (view more)

A controversial program of warning letters for suspected copyright infringers has been dropped. The organization behind it says it was a successful education program but critics say it failed to have much impact. The "Copyright Alert System" was set ... up by the Center for Copyright Information, made up of the main producers of TV shows, movies and music in the US. It struck a deal in 2013 with the five largest Internet providers to send up to six warnings to customers after the copyright holders made a complaint of alleged infringement. The precise format was up to the Internet firm, ... (view more)