In a move that has the Internet yelling a collective "you suck!" at Verizon, the major ISP announced late last week that effective May 6, 2012, all new subscribers to its "high speed Internet service" will be required to bundle their broadband with local voice service.This marks an aggressive power play by the Internet giant, aimed exclusively towards profits and not towards customer service or satisfaction.Instead of loosening its grip on its "loyal Verizon customers" (per their letter's heading) and providing more choice and affordability, Verizon decided to add restrictions and make it even harder to avoid the higher
If you haven't seen it already, Businessweek recently published a great article about Boston's growing Innovation District. NetBlazr got a shout out in the article, check it out!Businessweek Article - Boston's Innovation District Eagerly Awaits More Innovators
Lessons Learned from Back Bay/South End Power OutageBy last Friday, power was back throughout Boston’s Back Bay and South End. Businesses were hard at work trying to make up for lost productivity. The outage highlighted how dependent business and organizations are on quality Internet connectivity. The cost of an outage is high.The cost of lost productivity is great. Modern organizations rely on information being stored in the Cloud, fast speeds for uploading and downloading massive amounts of data, and a reliable connection for communicating in real-time. A prolonged Internet outage can shut down an entire business in minutes,
The rise of the iPad is simply put, unquestionable. With the release of the iPad 3 this last week, its increasing dominance as the tool of choice for business becomes obvious. However, these devices require faster and augmented corporate networks, something that many organizations may not be ready to deliver.A recent article in Wired posed the problem well:"The research firm Gartner says that unless businesses plan for it, they could require three times the amount of wireless coverage in order to support the iPad on corporate networks."Apple and Verizon are approaching this problem through the introduction of
Co-founder and CTO Brough Turner was recently interviewed by TMC. Check out the full interview by clicking here:
Approved in 2008 as part of the 2008 Broadband Improvement Act, and funded by the 2009 stimulus bill, the FCC has released an interactive map that offers the most comprehensive outline yet of broadband availability broken down by census block.It's a pretty neat tool, worth checking out.
netBlazr Co-founder and CEO Jim Hanley was interviewed in a segment that aired on Monday on the Boston Neighborhood News Network. Jim focused on the internet duopoly and how it impacts small and medium-sized businesses, while sharing our vision for a Boston internet cooperative.Check out the full interview online
Back in December, we asked, "Is Internet a human right?" While an interesting debate, with perhaps no consensus coming any time soon, I think we can all agree that it's pretty much a necessity for a modern household or business to keep up with the times. That's why it's a shame when something so vital and representative of the 21st century is so out of reach due to inflated pricing models developed by an internet duopoly.The FCC recently proposed offering government assistance to help low-income families afford high-speed broadband services. While I agree that action is needed in addressing the lack
netBlazr announced today that it has raised $275K and has another $50K committed to its efforts to expand its innovative free internet service to Boston businesses. With Carbonite (a netBlazr co-op member) Founder and CEO David Friend leading the round, netBlazr continues discussions with additional investors and angels interested in revolutionizing broadband in America.“After bootstrapping our business for the first year, we’re eager to accelerate our growth in the Boston market,” states Jim Hanley, Co-founder and CEO. “This capital will fund our expansion into 3 new areas of the city and provide the sales and marketing support to spread the
FOR IMMEDITATE RELEASE netBlazr Upgrades Head-end in Hancock Tower, Expanding Boston’s Most Affordable Alternative Broadband ServicenetBlazr has upgraded its head-end at the Hancock Tower, which doubles its capacity to serve small and medium businesses in Boston’s Back Bay and South End. This will allow netBlazr to better serve additional members as they join the broadband cooperative and more aggressively promote its radical complement to the broadband duopoly that exists in Boston and other metropolitan areas. The head-end is located on the 61st floor of the Hancock Tower and allows netBlazr to effectively serve up
