You might remember Ohio-based Buckeye Cablesystems for when they came down hard on the heads of cable modem upcappers back in 2002, going so far as to bring in the FBI to investigate users who were trying to squeeze extra bandwidth out of the cable system. It's now 2009, and Buckeye has found a much better solution for bandwidth-hungry customers -- they've started a fiber to the home trial in Toledo, but they're installing it without having to dig up any existing infrastructure thanks to a new technology by Kabel-X. From the Kabel-X description of the technology:Delicious, just like the white filling of an Oreo. Those interested can watch this video for more detail.

For years we've explored how many consumers are anywhere from a few miles to a few feet away from getting cable broadband service. Our forums are filled with tales from users who say getting their carrier to extend service that extra distance can be painfully expensive -- as in $25,000 for just a few hundred feet. The Cleveland Daily Banner (via Stop The Cap) explores how five relatively affluent development dwellers in Tennessee (including a former State Senator) are trying to get Charter to run coaxial cable an extra few miles to their development. Bankrupt Charter says the 36-48 months needed to see a return on the necessary $130,000 investment isn't a deal they'd do, but they are willing to run the cable if each person in the 55 home development is willing to pay $1,850.

Verizon recently signed off on a New York City franchise that has the company promising to deliver FiOS to every home in all fiver boroughs by the end of 2014. With plenty of wiggle room in the agreement's later stages it's not clear that will ever happen, but with new smaller ONTs and bendable fiber in hand, the telco is certainly going to make a good effort of it. In what's surprisingly the first installation of FiOS in any University housing in New York City, Verizon this morning announced that they've struck a deal with NYU to offer FiOS to faculty residents in the college's Greenwich Village housing units. Verizon hinted last March that they were facing some NYC install delays due to negotiations with landlords.

Cypress, California is one of only a few neighborhoods where AT&T U-Verse and Verizon FiOS even get close to directly competing, but according to the Orange County Register, deployment of both services is on hold for very different reasons. Verizon has been slowing down FiOS builds in the state because they say the economy's slow (and because they want to increase uptake in already deployed areas). But U-Verse is seeing a slowdown because once again, city officials are annoyed by the VRAD cabinets AT&T needs to plunk down in neighborhoods in order to offer VDSL and IPTV. The cabinets have been an ongoing point of contention between AT&T and cities, who in some cases are getting AT&T to foot the bill for landscaping to hide the cabinets.

The cutting of an unmarked fiber optic cable or a sewer line are par for the course during construction or fiber installations, though the Washington Post explores what happens when that fiber you cut just happens to belong to a secretive government agency. A $5.2 billion project to extend the DC Metrorail means moving more than 75 miles of conduit. When a normal fiber line gets cut (and they've spent $150 million to move the lines of 21 private utilities) it takes some time to find out the owner, but construction crews say when they cut a government intelligence line, they get a personal visit from very annoyed government employees in black SUVs within minutes.

It looks like AT&T is seriously exploring the use of 802.11n wireless connections to beam HD video around the home, potentially shaving hours (or at least minutes) off of a typical U-Verse install. AT&T currently uses HomePNA technology for in-home networking.

Telephony Online explores how one Norwegian fiber to the home ISP offers customers $400 savings if they're willing to bury the fiber optic line in their yard themselves. Norwegian ISP Lyse offers symmetrical 10Mbps, 30Mbps, or 50Mbps connections, then runs the fiber to the edge of the customer's lawn. Customers are then given the option of finishing the install themselves, something that 80% of customers agree to. Lyse tells Telephony that the self-install acts as kind of a bonding moment for customers, giving the carrier a 0.2% churn (customer defection) rate.

In 2007, UK telco British Telecom called running fiber to the home "premature," instead opting to milk copper for a little longer. In 2008, they announced a widely lauded plan to invest in "fiber" (to the node), though the specifics weren't particularly impressive when you looked a little closer, and the "fiber to the press release" announcement was more about getting what they wanted from lawmakers. Now the carrier, after getting a regulatory back rub from the British Government, is back to saying that nobody really wants fiber to the home:You'd at least wish that executives would make their car analogies consistent. Back in 2003, Qwest's Utah President Jerry Fenn, when defending his company's opposition to municipal fiber and reliance on DSL asked: "Why provide a Rolls-Royce when a Chevrolet will do?" Comcast CEO Brian Roberts of course has had his own thoughts on that, likening cable broadband technology to a BMW, while insisting that DSL is a "Hyundai." Personally, we'd like an Aston Martin, please.

In a video interview with Unstrung, Verizon Wireless Senior VP of product development Roger Gurnani strongly hints that the carrier's LTE wireless broadband network could be completed by 2014. The company's current plans involve launching a couple of test markets sometime this year, with "30 or so" new LTE markets launched in 2010. "From there we'll build it out in the next two, three years, where we'll have LTE deployed throughout our footprint," says Gurnani. Of course talk is cheaper than deployment, but recent comments from the carrier seem to suggest they have no intention of letting Sprint get all the 4G glory.

While Comcast lobbyists tried their best to slow the encroachment of Verizon FiOS into their hometown of Philadelphia, the Philly city council authorized a citywide franchise back in February. As per the deal, Verizon has around seven years to wire the whole city, though these agreements (as with NYC and DC) often have loopholes that let Verizon off the hook when it comes to deploying to low ROI areas. Employees at the company tell us the upgrades began this week; after a ribbon cutting ceremony in Northeast Philly yesterday, company workers headed to Chestnut Hill to begin work on killing off the city's copper.

Belmont, North Carolina and Evanston, Illinois are the latest to get annoyed with AT&T's VRAD boxes, used for AT&T's VDSL & IPTV U-Verse service. As is the case in a number of other communities, locals believe the boxes erode property values, though in many states, AT&T had state laws passed stripping locals of any say over where boxes are located.

In Evanston, a group has formed called Stop The Box, and complains that instead of running fiber to the home, "AT&T has admitted to choosing the more intrusive, above-ground, refrigerator sized boxes in an attempt to save money." At least in many AT&T communities, AT&T is offering to pay for and/or install landscaping (up to $2,000 per box) to make the new VDSL service prettier.

We've explored how tower climbing (really any elevated structure) is one of the most dangerous professions in the United States, at least when looking at the death rate per 100,000 employees. After a recent spike in climber deaths, many companies re-assessed their safety protocols, and forced subcontractors to revisit safety procedures. This week saw a Comcast technician fall from a water tower in Ohio while installing equipment. While his rigging broke, Wireless Estimator reports that 34-year-old Chris Faylor lived because he followed proper safety procedures. Faylor's harness and lanyard arrested his fall, though he dangled a hundred feet above the ground before being rescued by local firefighters.

According to Multichannel News, the nation's ten largest cable operators have deployed 9.8 million of their own set-top boxes that use CableCards to provide security functions since the Federal Communications Commission's integrated set-top ban went into effect July 1, 2007. But actual use of CableCARDs in third party boxes is fairly dismal, judging from the latest quarterly data (pdf) provided by cable carriers. Just 18,000 people requested CableCARDS from carriers over the last three months, while 392,000 CableCARDS have been installed by the ten largest cable operators. However, many customers aren't even aware they have the option because cable operators often don't advertise them -- out of fear of cannibalizing revenue from their own set tops. When they are ordered, CableCARD installs by cable operators often go horribly awry.

Users in our AT&T forums have spotted new VRADs in and around Birmingham, Alabama, a good sign that AT&T's VDSL-based IPTV service isn't too far behind. The local Birmingham News confirms that the launch is scheduled for tomorrow (Monday). Birmingham will be the first metro area in the state to get U-verse.

Qwest's in the process of spending roughly $300 million to upgrade 1.8 million of their customers to ADSL2+ technology, offering users 12Mbps/896kbps tiers for slightly less than $50, and 20Mbps/896kbps tiers for around $100. Those are introductory rates, change depending on whether you bundle local phone, and those prices increase after a year -- though can be locked down with a long term contract.

Earlier this year, a routine New York State Public Service Commission inspection found a significant number of FiOS installs had not been grounded and/or bonded, though Verizon has told us nobody had been hurt. Still, they don't technically meet the electrical code, so in order to get a NYC FiOSTV franchise, Verizon agreed to go back and revisit every single install in the State -- in some instances giving out refunds.

According to the Wilmette Life, Wilmette, Illinois residents are the latest to be annoyed by the placement of AT&T VRAD cabinets -- necessary for the telco's U-Verse IPTV and VDSL deployment. As is the case in a number of other communities, locals believe the boxes erode property values.

Time Warner Cable has sued AT&T in federal court in San Antonio, claiming that AT&T destroyed cable equipment during expansion of the telco's U-Verse VDSL and IPTV service. According to the lawsuit, Time Warner Cable alleges that AT&T engaged in "sheer acts of vandalism, trespass, conversion and misappropriation of Time Warner's property." The lawsuit also alleges that AT&T "tried to make up for lackluster response to its service by interfering with its competitors." Neither company is offering further comment. These kinds of disputes are not particularly uncommon -- Qwest has had similar fights with Cox over vandalism and even bee infestations.

Verizon has been on the defensive lately after a routine inspection found that a significant number of their NY State FiOS installs weren't grounded or bonded. While Verizon revisits every install in the State to ensure compliance with code, union workers are saying that shoddy installs certainly aren't unique to Verizon, and have submitted their own collection of photos from improperly installed cable service. "We recommended that the PSC institute an audit of all cable installations and, if problems are identified, require the cable providers to develop remediation plans under a PSC proceeding," says The Communications Workers of America.

There's instances where broadband installs go wrong (maybe some crushed azaleas or a giant hole burned in your fence), and then there's the install that goes very wrong, like a recent Comcast install in Woodstock, Georgia that resulted in a homeowner's home being flooded with raw sewage. An installer with Madison Communications managed to drill -- and run coax through -- a sewer line, causing an estimated $15,000-$16,000 in damages -- highlighted via this slide show. Never seen sewage bubble up from behind a wall coax jack? Now you have.