J.D. Power and Associates: Customer Satisfaction with High-speed Internet Service on the Rise

According to a recent study by J.D. Power and Associates, overall customer satisfaction with residential high-speed Internet service providers has increased from 2008. The study pointed to improvements in performance and reliability as a major factors.

The Internet Service Provider Residential Customer Satisfaction Study^SM found overall satisfaction with residential high-speed Internet service is 639 on a 1,000-point scale-an increase of 22 index points compared to last year.

Among customers who bundle services from their Internet service provider, the most popular option is a combination of video and Internet services. The percentage of customers who bundle voice, video and data services has increased from 16 percent in 2008 to 19 percent in 2009.

High-speed Internet service providers were examined in four regions, with Verizon coming out tops in the East, Bright House Networks' Road Runner service in the South, WOW! in the North Central, and EarthLink in the West.

Not satisfied with your current high-speed Internet service provider? Find other options in your area!

Viewing of Movies and TV Shows Online Doubled in 2009

According to Parks Associates, a market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services, the number of U.S. broadband households watching premium online content, including movies and TV shows via the Internet, doubled in the last year. They found that more 25 million U.S. broadband households regularly watch full-length TV shows online, while over 20 million watch movies online.

In their study Broadband, Communications, and Entertainment Bundles, the company found that the growing popularity of online portals such as Hulu.com shows rapid growth in the number of viewers who use the Internet to watch premium content. Parks concluded that this shift highlights the opportunity for Internet service providers to extend their current pay-TV and video-on-demand services to include online and mobile video features. In addition, they say that these providers will have to embrace online video services, including the ability to deliver content across multiple platforms, if they are to remain competitive and attract new subscribers.

Does your high-speed Internet service handle all the online content you want to experience? If not, it might be time to search for a new provider.

Image via Nielsen Wire

Verizon FiOS Internet Named Reader's Choice by PCMag.com

For the fourth consecutive year, PCMag.com readers gave high praise to Verizon FiOS Internet service, earning the online magazine's Readers' Choice award. It's also the third consecutive year that FiOS has finished at the top of the Web site's annual Internet Service Provider (ISP) Service and Reliability Survey.

The survey, conducted between June 15 and July 17, asked PCMag readers to rate their ISPs in 11 categories ranging from speed and reliability to initial setup and overall satisfaction.

FiOS Internet scored 8.7 out of 10 in its overall rating and led all competitors in scores for initial setup, speed, reliability, e-mail, technical support, repairs and likelihood to recommend. It topped all cable companies when it came to needing the fewest repairs.

See if Verizon FiOS Internet service is available in your area

How Fast is Your High Speed Internet?

If there's one thing that can be confusing when it comes to shopping for home services, it's high speed Internet. With the increasing packages that providers are offering via fiber optic, cable and DSL connections, it's getting harder and harder to figure out which speed is the right one for you. On top of that, there's no real standard across the industry for broadband speeds, so there are lots of options out there that can be difficult to sift through.

It really all boils down to what your needs are. If you are simply a fan of browsing the Web casually and checking e-mail, then you don't need anything more than the basic 768 kbps (kilobytes per second) package that most providers offer. However, if you are into downloading music and watching the occasional YouTube or other small streaming video, you might need to kick it up another notch.

For the more serious Web fiends, the options continue. If you are into higher quality video streaming, like the services found on Netflix, 6 Mbps (Megabits per second) is probably necessary to yield better results. In addition, online gamers will need a faster connection, but download speed isn't quite as important as upload speed there. Online gaming relies on how fast your connection is uploading your information back to the server you're playing on.  Many providers try to sell higher download speeds (like 12 Mbit/s) as the "gaming" package, but if it doesn't have a higher upload speed, you might not be getting what you need. 

Right now, I'm sporting a 6 Mbps connection at home, and so far it's proven great for video streaming and even online gaming. What about you guys? What do you have at home? Vote and tell us in the comments!

Happy Birthday to the Internet

The Internet turns 40 years old today. It's all grown up. Who knew?

On October 29th, 1969, "the first two nodes of ARPANET were interconnected between UCLA’s School of Engineering and Applied Science and SRI International (SRI) in Menlo Park, California". I suppose the rest is history. Eventually came the now-dead Geocities, broadband, file sharing, social media, pictures of cats and Kanye West memes.

It really is hard to imagine life without the crazy World Wide Web these days. It's just as ordinary as turning the lights on or cranking the heat during the winter. We use the Internet on our phones, personal computers and our video game consoles and expect to be able to do so without a wait or a series of crazy dial-up noises.

I think my first encounter with the Internet was around 1993 or so. My friend was on AOL I believe, and we would log into chat rooms after school and make fun of people. Looking around at message boards these days, I suppose that really not that much has changed. So what about you guys? What was your first encounter with the Internet?

Source- Mashable

Feds Offer Cyber Security Tips for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month!

As part of this initiative, the Federal Trade Commission has launched a new site focused on the cybersecurity. OnGuardOnline.gov provides practical tips from the federal government and technology industry to help consumers be on guard against Internet fraud, secure their computers, and protect their personal information.

Topics include computer security, broadband Internet, identity theft, Internet auctions, email scams, and social networking sites. The site also offers a variety of practical tips and tools consumers can use to be safe online, including a glossary of Internet terms, and tutorial videos on topics like spam filtering and wireless security. There is even a game, The Case of the Cyber Criminal, that teaches tips on how to protect privacy online.

For more tips on cybersecurity, also check out StaySafeOnline.org.

Online Shopping Safety Tips

Shopping online is the most convenient thing since sliced bread! There's no need to hassle with mall parking or crowds. Just simply click on what you want, enter in your credit card information and in a few days you'll get your items in the mail — so simple! Or is it?

Of course there are those who shy away from online shopping because of identity theft. Sure it's a problem but if you arm yourself with knowledge then you can avoid becoming a target.

Below are some safety tips to keep you safe while you're shopping online.

• Read reviews from other shoppers
• Look for the Better Business Bureau logo or call them to verify the company is legitimate
• Shop with reputable leading companies
• Look for the lock icon that lets you know the Web site is secure
• Update your browser often as it comes with security features
• Stay away from sites that ask you to enter in your social security number to make a purchase

Global Broadband Keeps Gaining Momentum

While we know that broadband use continues to spread in the United States, it is also increasing dramatically around the planet. In 2008, it was estimated that somewhere around 382 million people around the world were connected to the Internet via fixed broadband connections. The number has grown 10.5 percent in 2009 to bring the total to 422 million. That is about 1 in 5 households. Interestingly enough, the projected growth for next year is even more than this past year's, putting the total to 580 million strong.

According to a report at CNET, there are many countries that have broadband connections in 50 percent of households, while in some Asian countries the number might be as high as 93 percent. When looking at the projected forecast for the immediate future, "Brazil, Russia, India, and China will account for nearly half, or 47 percent, of the increase in consumer broadband connections over the next several years."

To read more about the continued spread of broadband worldwide, visit CNET.

AT&T; Launches New Entertainment Site

Last week, AT&T; announced the launch of AT&T; Entertainment, a new site that offers streaming TV shows and movies to watch on your PC. The online content is provided by numerous providers including ABC and NBC Universal (via an agreement with Hulu), CBS Interactive and others. The site is open to any user, not just AT&T; high speed Internet customers.

Content will include movies and TV shows (available after their initial network airing) from a variety of networks and studios, including ABC, Bravo, CBS Entertainment, CBS News, CNBC, NBC, Oxygen, Syfy, The CW, and USA Network. The site allows users to brows TV shows and movies alphabetically, by genre, or by network or studio.

AT&T; U-verse TV and Internet customers who visit AT&T; Entertainment can sign in to access U-verse Web Remote Access, a popular application that allows customers to schedule and manage DVR recordings directly from their PC.

To start watching, visit www.entertainment.att.net.

Hughes Honored for Satellite Internet Industry Leadership

Hughes, providers of the popular HughesNet high-speed satellite Internet service, received a 2009 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Market Leadership this week for their efforts in the consumer satellite broadband industry. The award is given to companies that demonstrate superior innovation, customer service and leadership and winners are chosen by a panel of industry analysts.

Speaking about the award, Hughes senior vice president Mike Cook said that the company is “proud to receive the 2009 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Market Leadership for our HughesNet high-speed Internet access service.” He went on to say that “from online banking and shopping to social media applications, the demand for broadband is growing unabated and we look forward to continuing to lead the way in meeting the needs of our subscribers.”

It’s been a very positive summer for Hughes, as last month they were able to report a massive gain of 18,000 HughesNet subscribers during the second quarter. The total number of HughesNet subscribers now tops 470,000. HughesNet is an always-on, satellite Internet service that allows those not served by cable or DSL providers to enjoy the full experience of a high-speed Internet connection.