Cox Communications today officially unveiled broadband speed increases along with free cloud storage without adjusting data plan usage allowances for customers who take advantage of the service enhancements.

“Our customers tell us that their overall online experience is becoming increasingly important to them,” said Betty Jo Roberts, vice president of marketing for Cox Virginia. “Speed, access, safety and storage are key components of their communications and entertainment needs. Free cloud storage presents an especially significant value, as most similar services are fee-based.”

*A DOCSIS 3 modem is required to consistently receive optimal speeds for Preferred and higher tiers.

Using cloud storage regularly and taking the new speeds for a hard run could drive customers perilously close to their monthly usage allowance. Cox Ultimate customers get unlimited cloud storage but not unlimited broadband usage. While Cox does not currently charge any overlimit fees, the company does reserve the right to request heavy users upgrade to a plan with a higher allowance, reduce usage, or face account termination.

Although Cox touted the speed upgrades as coming at no charge, the cable company is busy hiking rates for certain broadband tiers. Customers report the popular Premier tier has increased from $55.99 to $62.99 in some markets and as high as $73.99 in Phoenix.

(Image: DownDetector)

A major outage caused by a failing fiber optic switch owned by Level 3 Communications left millions of cable subscribers along the eastern seaboard without Internet access Saturday.

The outage affected Cablevision and Time Warner Cable customers from Albany, N.Y. eastward to Long Island and north into Maine.

Some cable operators did a better job dealing with Level 3’s troubled equipment than others.

A Cablevision spokesperson indicated technicians discovered the problem, routed around it, and restored service about an hour later.

Time Warner Cable apparently waited for Level 3 to repair or replace the switch, leaving their broadband customers offline for most of Saturday morning.

The switch failure did not just affect Internet Service Providers. Some content distribution networks and regional servers for major websites including Facebook and Twitter also had problems.

Although the outage was too brief for Cablevision customers to qualify for a service credit, affected Time Warner Cable customers can use the company’s online chat platform or call to request a one day broadband service credit for the interruption.

AT&T has expanded its TV Everywhere service to cover more devices and networks, adding more than 20 channels available for streaming outside of the home.

AT&T U-verse live TV streaming is available to customers subscribing to a U-family or higher U-verse TV package, and can be viewed on a growing number of devices including iPad/iPhone (iOS) and more than 25 current generation Android smartphone models.

Many, but not all popular cable networks are available for streaming, as are most premium movie channels.

But the biggest change subscribers are looking for is streaming those cable channels outside of the home on the go. Most cable carriage agreements still restrict out-of-home streaming, but providers are negotiating to drop that restriction.

“By making live TV content available across devices we’re enabling our customers to watch TV on their terms when and where they want it,” said Mel Coker, chief marketing officer, AT&T Home Solutions, in a statement. “U-verse has always been about delivering a TV experience built around our customers, and this enhancement gives them even more flexibility and control.”

The networks now available for out-of-the home viewing:

AXS TV, Big Ten Network, CNN, Disney Channel, Disney Jr., Disney XD, Encore, Encore-West, Encore Action, ESPN 1/2/3, ESPN U, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Channel, HDNet Movies, HLN, NFL Network, NFL RedZone, Showtime (All variants), Starz (All variants), The Movie Channel, The Movie Channel West, TMC Xtra, and TMC Xtra-West.

All online viewing from a U-verse broadband connection counts against AT&T’s U-verse monthly usage cap of 250GB, presently unenforced in most areas.

New York regulators have turned down Time Warner Cable’s request to shut off past due phone customers late at night or on weekends to protect consumers.

The Public Service Commission today reaffirmed long-standing rules that allow phone providers to only disconnect customers for non-payment between the hours of 8:00am – 7:30pm Monday through Thursday and 9:00am to 3:00pm on Friday.

“We are saying ‘no’ to Time Warner’s request to waive our rules regarding when it would be authorized for suspensions and terminations of its telephone customers,” said Commission chair Audrey Zibelman. “The Commission’s rules applicable to Time Warner are consistent with the hours of operation of the Commission’s consumer call center which receives consumer complaints’ and requests for assistance. To ensure telephone consumers’ rights are protected, especially core customers such as the elderly and disabled, it is essential customers are afforded the opportunity to contact our call center if their telephone service is threatened with a potential suspension or termination.”

But Time Warner Cable was granted approval of most of its other regulatory reform requests:

• Time Warner Cable can now apply partial payments first to basic local telephone charges, then non-basic services;
• The cable company will not have to distribute White Page directories except on request in print or CD-ROM format;
• After six months of providing monthly service quality figures, the cable company can limit future reports to only reflect standards for “core customers,” if the PSC finds Time Warner is providing adequate service.

An enterprising reader of the Broadband Reports‘ AT&T Forum stumbled on proposed pricing for AT&T’s faster speed services for U-verse and, presumably, their planned fiber-to-the-home rollout in Austin, Tex.:

The prices are no bargain in comparison to the $70 a month Google charges Kansas City residents for 1,000/1,000Mbps service, but on the lower end, AT&T’s 45Mbps U-verse option is comparable to Time Warner Cable’s 50/5Mbps tier, which now sells for $65-75 a month on a one-year promotion:

Time Warner Cable’s latest broadband offers