While cable has been losing TV viewers to telcos, they're absolutely dominating the overall U.S. broadband landscape. According to new data from Leichtman Research, the seventeen largest cable and telephone providers in the US -- representing about 93% of the market -- acquired over 2.6 million net additional high-speed Internet subscribers in 2013 (a slight slowdown from 2012). These top providers now lay claim to 84.3 million subscribers -- with cable companies serving 49.3 million broadband subscribers, and telephone companies serving 35.0 million subscribers.

Leichtman notes the top cable companies netted 82% of the broadband additions in 2013 -- compared to 88% of the broadband additions in 2012. The firm also notes that the top cable companies added nearly 2.2 million broadband subscribers in 2013 -- 89% of the total net additions for the top cable companies in 2012. Some additional findings of note:

•Comcast added about 1.3 million broadband subscribers in 2013 -- accounting for 49% of the total net additions for the top providers in the year

•The top telephone providers added 480,000 broadband subscribers in 2013 -- 146% of the total net additions for the top telephone companies in 2012

•AT&T and Verizon added 3.3 million fiber subscribers (via U-verse and FiOS) in 2013, while having a net loss of 3.05 million DSL subscribers. U-verse and FiOS broadband subscribers now account for 47% of Telco broadband subscribers -- up from 29% at the end of 2011

You can expect cable's stake of the market to grow as AT&T and Verizon back away further from a significant number of DSL markets they're no longer interested in upgrading.

Those of you who use Google Voice to dodge your cell carrier's voicemail services (like myself) may want to take note: 9 to 5 Google notes that Google appears to be preparing to "kill" Google Voice and integrate most of that application's functionality into Google Hangouts. If you've watched Google integrate Google+ Messenger, Talk, Messaging and Voice into just Voice and Hangouts, this shouldn't be too much of a surprise. It seems safe to assume that most of your Google Voice settings (including your phone number) would remain intact during any such transition -- which the website suggests is still "months out."

While the media's NSA focus has been on metadata (call lengths, times, numbers), much of the coverage seems to forget the agency has long had the ability to record effectively every shred of voice and data that travels over telecom networks. That much was made clear by the allegations of AT&T whistle blower Mark Klein, who noted that the NSA had used fiber splits to collect effectively every bit and byte that touched AT&T's network -- domestic or foreign, regardless of carrier.

Most merger supporters are quick to point out that since Comcast and Time Warner Cable don't directly compete, the new $45 billion proposed merger doesn't pose any risks. Except most everyone else generally understands that letting Comcast grow relentlessly larger could come with certain anti-competitive problems in terms of content licensing negotiations leverage, or in such a content and media giant using the (usage capped) connection to the end user's home to bully Internet streaming competitors.

March Madness recently began with the selection of teams who would be participating in the college basketball tournament. This year, every game, including the "first four" play-in games will be on TV, split between CBS and Turner-owned channels (TNT, TBS and TruTV).

Amazon's long-rumored Internet video device appears to be ready for its official unveiling next month. Insiders tell Techcrunch the device will be a USB stick (can we stop using the word dongle, please?), much like the Google Chromecast or Roku's latest device. It will, obviously, be tied strongly to Amazon's Prime video streaming services, though it appears Amazon is also interested in jumping into the gaming arena with a streaming service not unlike OnLive (the company's Bluetooth game controller leaked last week). According to the Wall Street Journal, you'll get a good look at the new device when it ships sometime next month.

BitTorrent creator Bram Cohen has been trying to monetize his creation for the better part of the decade, and while the man may have somewhat revolutionized file delivery, efforts to build a legal business model around the technology have seen mixed results. Cohen's initial efforts at monetization of his creation began with the now-defunct BitTorrent store, which floundered in 2007 due to a clunky GUI, DRM, and games that came with complimentary spyware.

• 3G/4G wireless network latency: Comparing Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile in February 2014 [fiercewireless.com]
• US cable companies add 2.6 mln internet customers 2013 [telecompaper.com]
• Comcast and Time Warner Cable lost 1.1 million video customers in 2013; Pay-TV isn't going away, though, as AT&T and Verizon boost subs numbers [arstechnica.com]
• LightSquared says Charles Ergen sought its destruction to boost Dish [denverpost.com]
• 'Broadband' and 'boondoggle' don't belong together [startribune.com]
• Amazon’s Set Top Box Will Be A Dongle Like Chromecast, Could Feature OnLive-Style Streaming [techcrunch.com]
• Apple reportedly launching a cheaper 8GB iPhone 5c on March 18th [engadget.com]
• Notice-and-Takedown Gets its Day in Congress [eff.org]
• Australia doubts ICANN is ready to run the internet [theregister.co.uk]
• FCC honcho angry that US classrooms are filled with unused RJ45 ports; says E-Rate program should focus on replacing wired Ethernet in classrooms with Wi-Fi setups [theregister.co.uk]
• Stop the TinFoil Hat Misinformation About ICANN [pcmag.com]

AT&T and T-Mobile may recently be embroiled in a marketing battle, but according to the Washington Post, the two companies see eye to eye on one thing: over-billing prepaid mobile customers. According to the Post's Brian Fung, wireless carriers are logging more voice time than prepaid subscriber devices show, something that a number of users have been complaining about for some time.

Sprint today announced that the company has added another twenty additional LTE markets, as well as another two launch markets for their faster "Spark" network upgrades. According to a Sprint press release, the new LTE launches continue Sprint's focus on smaller markets including Myrtle Beach, SC; Scranton, PA; Ocean City, NJ; Omaha, NE; and Sarasota, Florida. Sprint's Spark upgrades, which the company has promised will provide tri-band devices with speeds upward of 50 to 60 Mbps, is now live in both Provo, Utah and Trenton, New Jersey. Sprint also says that their implementation of higher audio quality HD Voice is now live in Provo, with Trenton coming soon.

Time Warner Cable has always had a somewhat contentious relationship with the city of Los Angeles and its residents, ever since the company's sloppy 2007 takeover of Adelphia's networks there. Los Angeles locals are already annoyed by Time Warner Cable's movement of Dodgers games to its own SportsNet LA channel.

A 1.5 Mbps, 150 GB capped DSL line may cost AT&T very, very little to provide, but that isn't stopping the company from raising rates anyway. AT&T DSL users in the Southeast say they're getting a letter from AT&T informing them the monthly cost of their 1.5 Mbps DSL lines will be bumped from $36.00 to $39.00 per month.

According to AT&T, the changes are necessary to provide the "best possible Internet experience" and to "better align our pricing structure across our entire service territory." Another user points out that in fact all of the company's DSL lines in former-BellSouth territories (many of which are some of the least competitive in the country) are seeing $3 rate hikes:

quote:

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Depending on your plan, monthly rates will increase by $3.00 or $3.05 per month. The new monthly rates will be as follows:

•AT&T High Speed Internet FastAccess DSL Lite - $31.00
•AT&T High Speed Internet FastAccess DSL Ultra - $39.00
•AT&T High Speed Internet FastAccess DSL Xtreme - $44.00
•AT&T High Speed Internet FastAccess DSL Xtreme 6.0 - $49.00

AT&T High Speed Internet Direct

•AT&T High Speed Internet FastAccess DSL Direct Lite - $36.00
•AT&T High Speed Internet FastAccess DSL Direct Ultra - $44.00
•AT&T High Speed Internet FastAccess DSL Direct Xtreme - $49.00
•AT&T High Speed Internet FastAccess DSL Direct Xtreme 6.0 - $54.00

---

Don't forget that AT&T already imposes a 150 GB cap on these DSL lines and charges users $10 per each additional 50 GB. Also keep in mind that AT&T's actually interested in driving many of these customers to cable, as they're slowly in the process of shedding DSL territories they're unwilling to upgrade.

The thirteen largest multi-channel video providers in the US -- representing about 94% of the market -- lost about 105,000 net video subscribers in 2013 according to the latest data from Leichtman Research Group. According to the latest data from the firm, annual net multi-channel video additions in 2013 were about 280,000 fewer than in 2012, when the industry added about 175,000 subscribers.

For years there has been repeated demand from numerous countries for a less U.S.-centric approach to Internet governance. Now, in an apparent response to growing tensions courtesy of the NSA scandal, the U.S.

With a growing number of ISPs playing content nanny (as seen in the "six strikes" copyright warning system), an equally growing number of users are turning to VPNs and proxies to hide their behavior from the ever-watchful eye of their Internet service provider. Others simply have on eye squarely fixed on true security. Torrent Freak has been taking an annual look at which VPN services retain user information and logs, how they handle DMCA takedown notices, under which conditions they share user data with third parties, which payment systems they use and more. It's a pretty handy breakdown for VPN users and worth a read.

Charter tells the New York Times that the company is "keeping its options open" to still being able to potentially buy Time Warner Cable, despite Comcast's significantly higher and already approved offer. In the opening salvo of a hostile takeover, Charter nominated 13 directors to replace Time Warner Cable’s existing board, and still hasn't withdrawn those nominations. Given the Comcast deal still hasn't been approved by regulators or shareholders, Charter appears to be holding out some hope they may still have a chance when all is said and done.

Express yourself!

Most of you should clearly recall the train wreck that was the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a proposed law that was broadly and overwhelmingly criticized for its attempt to force ISPs and search engines to filter user access to "infringing" websites (among many, many other bad ideas). The House Judiciary Committee this week started the engine on what's to be a rebranding of the disastrous SOPA anti-piracy effort, which will this time be pushed under the moniker "notice and staydown."

These new push is yet another expansion of already dubious copyright law, with a focus once again on stripping ISPs of their safe harbor protections in order to make them content nannies.

Sprint today unveiled a few new prepaid options for those not already satisfied on that front. According to a Sprint announcement, the key unveil today appears to be a new $45 "Smart" plan that provides unlimited voice and text, but skips data altogether -- requiring that all data consumption be done over Wi-Fi. If you want data, you can shell out $60 for the company's prepaid "Smart Plus" plan, which offers unlimited talk, text and data (you're throttled after 2.5 GB). While the no data option is interesting, Sprint's pricing still needs to go lower to compete with other prepaid options (include some from Sprint's own subsidiary brands).

As we've frequently discussed, AT&T and Verizon are in the process of going state by state gutting consumer protections on DSL and landlines in preparation of hanging up on users they don't want to upgrade. This has been pitched by the carriers as part of the "IP transition" and states are often told by killing consumer protections they'll see better and greater networks than ever.

Karl Bode , IPPlanMan , Bill Neilson