home.social

#ookla — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #ookla, aggregated by home.social.

  1. Weekly output: inflight WiFi, Visible’s prepaid Verizon home 5G, Uber’s travel ambitions, AT&T emergency response

    Happy World Press Freedom Day to all who celebrate! Which should be all who don’t want to accept the lies of people in power.

    I wrote an extra post for Patreon readers Wednesday explaining three fair ways that you can take one story idea and sell it more than once.

    4/28/2026: Looking for Fast Wi-Fi on Your Next Flight? Pick an Airline With Starlink, PCMag

    This was going to be a straightforward writeup of Ookla’s report about Speedtest measurements of inflight connectivity, but some details seemed just off enough to require follow-up questions.

    4/29/2026: Verizon’s Visible Prepaid Brand Adds $300-Per-Year 5G Home Broadband, PCMag

    This was going to be a a straightforward writeup of Verizon’s prepaid brand reselling Verizon’s fixed-wireless home broadband at a discount, but then I couldn’t get Visible’s site to show me the FCC-mandated broadband-facts label or even let me start a service order.

    5/1/2026: Uber wants to be your travel agent, concierge, and personal shopper next, PCMag

    I took a day trip to New York Wednesday to cover Uber’s Go-Get press event. This Amtrak run was not like any of the others I’ve taken earlier between D.C. and NYC because it featured infrastructure that hadn’t been first built by the Pennsylvania Railroad 90-plus years ago: the new Portal Bridge in the Meadowlands, which is replacing a janky old drawbridge that sometimes gets stuck open.

    5/1/2026: For AT&T, Disaster Recovery Includes Flying COWs and a Robot Dog, PCMag

    I spent a couple of hours in one of the parking lots next to the former site of RFK Stadium–it’s still weird to see nothing where that concrete donut had stood since 1961–to check out the exhibit of emergency-response hardware that AT&T had set up there.

     

     

    #ATT #disasterRecovery #emergencyResponse #fixedWirelessAccess #FWA #home5G #inflightWiFi #Ookla #Speedtest #Starlink #travel #Uber #VerizonHome5G #Visible #WiFi
  2. Accenture compra Ookla – El gigante de la consultoría se hace con Speedtest y Downdetector

    En una operación que promete redefinir el control de los datos de conectividad global, Accenture ha anunciado la adquisición de Ookla, la empresa matriz de servicios esenciales como Speedtest y Downdetector. El acuerdo, valorado en 1.200 millones de dólares, otorga a la consultora tecnológica el acceso a la base de datos de rendimiento de red más grande del mundo y a la plataforma de monitoreo de caídas de servicios más utilizada del planeta (Fuente Accenture).

    Esta adquisición se produce en una semana marcada por la inestabilidad digital, tras las caídas reportadas en Amazon, Anthropic y los problemas de servicios de Meta, lo que subraya el valor estratégico de poseer las herramientas que diagnostican la salud de Internet en tiempo real.

    ¿Por qué Accenture quiere a Ookla?

    Para Accenture, esta no es solo una compra de aplicaciones populares; es una adquisición de inteligencia crítica:

    • Datos de Red en Tiempo Real: Con Speedtest, Accenture ahora posee datos granulares sobre el despliegue de 5G, 6G y conectividad satelital en cada rincón del mundo. Esto es oro puro para sus servicios de consultoría a operadoras de telecomunicaciones.
    • Downdetector como Sensor Global: Al controlar Downdetector, Accenture se convierte en el primer ente en saber cuándo falla un servicio en la nube, una red social o una plataforma bancaria. Esta «alerta temprana» será integrada en sus servicios de gestión de crisis para clientes corporativos.
    • Sinergia con la IA: Accenture planea alimentar sus modelos de IA predictiva con los billones de registros de rendimiento de Ookla para ayudar a las empresas a predecir fallos de infraestructura antes de que ocurran.

    ¿Qué pasará con los usuarios de Speedtest y Downdetector?

    Muchos entusiastas de la tecnología temen que estos servicios gratuitos se vuelvan de pago o se llenen de publicidad corporativa. Sin embargo, el CEO de Accenture, Julie Sweet, ha intentado calmar las aguas:

    «Ookla seguirá operando como una unidad independiente. Nuestra intención es fortalecer sus capacidades de análisis, no alterar la experiencia de usuario que millones de personas consultan diariamente para verificar su conexión».

    Un ecosistema digital cada vez más concentrado

    Esta compra sigue la tendencia de 2026, donde las grandes firmas de servicios profesionales están adquiriendo capas de infraestructura de datos. Mientras que empresas como Apple lanzan MacBooks económicos y Qualcomm presenta chips Elite para relojes, Accenture ha decidido ser el dueño del «termómetro» con el que medimos toda esa tecnología.

    Para los analistas, el verdadero valor de los 1.200 millones de dólares reside en la capacidad de Accenture para ofrecer informes exclusivos de mercado a gobiernos y grandes empresas, utilizando los datos de millones de pruebas de velocidad realizadas por usuarios comunes cada día.

    #accenture #arielmcorg #ciberseguridad #conectividad #Downdetector #Finanzas #infosertec #innovación #negocios #ookla #PORTADA #speedtest #tecnología
  3. Accenture to Acquire Ookla to Strengthen Network Intelligence and Experience with Data and AI For Enterprises

    Network data is no longer just a lifeline for the telecoms industry; it now creates significant value across…
    #NewsBeep #News #Business #acquire #Barcelona #GB #Ookla #UK #UnitedKingdom
    newsbeep.com/uk/456009/

  4. Weekly output: Robust.ai, United Airlines Starlink rollout, Ookla speed test rankings, UpScrolled, Shop with Points fraud risk, commercial space stations

    This past week had me flying a long distance to trade snow for sand, in the form of Web Summit Qatar. This coming week will also have me flying from snow to sand, but not nearly as far: I’m headed to Las Vegas for the customer-experience company Medallia’s annual conference. (The organizers of each event are covering my travel costs.)

    2/2/2026: Automation in the wild: Why real environments break perfect models, Web Summit Qatar

    My one panel at Web Summit’s Qatar conference had me quizzing John Spinale, chief strategy officer at Robust.ai, about how that company has gone about designing robots to help ease the work of humans in warehouses.

    2/2/2026: United Airlines: More Than 25% of Our Daily Departures Now Offer Starlink Wi-Fi, PCMag

    I was able to add some context to this post because I’m an avgeek and know there’s a volunteer-run site tracking the state of United’s fleet–a site that I wrote about nine years ago.

    2/3/2026: Latest Speed Tests Put T-Mobile Ahead of Rival Carriers, PCMag

    I’ve been wondering why Ookla issues scores for AT&T’s fiber broadband, ignoring the rest of that company’s residential broadband services, while it grades other providers on a company-wide basis, and this time I asked Ookla far enough ahead of time to get a clear answer to include in my writeup of this survey.

    2/4/2026: CEO of Would-Be TikTok Rival UpScrolled: We Won’t Censor Anybody, PCMag

    Watching UpScrolled founder and CEO Issam Hijazi go on at Web Summit Qatar’s opening night about how that social platform would not practice censorship reminded me of all of the other times I’ve seen other social-networking executives say versions of that and then be proved wrong by reality.

    2/4/2026: Shop on Amazon? Watch Out for This Sneaky Credit Card Points Scam, PCMag

    I had started reporting this post in late December, then had to set it aside for CES, then had to set it aside for other pressing deadlines, and finally filed it on the last day of January.

    2/6/2026: Space Startups to NASA: Hurry Up and Pick Someone to Build ISS Replacement, PCMag

    Appropriately enough, considering a prior topic of my coverage this week, I finished and filed this post via Starlink from my Qatar Airways flight back to Dulles.

    #AxiomSpace #ChaseSapphireReserve #Doha #inflightWiFi #InternationalSpaceStation #ISS #IssamHijazi #JohnSpinale #milesAndPoints #nasa #Ookla #pointsFraud #Qatar #robots #RobustAi #ShopWithPoints #spaceStation #Speedtest #Starlink #TikTok #UA #UnitedAirlines #UnitedAirlinesStarlink #UpScrolled #VastSpace #warehouses #WebSummitQatar
  5. Weekly output: Robust.ai, United Airlines Starlink rollout, Ookla speed test rankings, UpScrolled, Shop with Points fraud risk, commercial space stations

    This past week had me flying a long distance to trade snow for sand, in the form of Web Summit Qatar. This coming week will also have me flying from snow to sand, but not nearly as far: I’m headed to Las Vegas for the customer-experience company Medallia’s annual conference. (The organizers of each event are covering my travel costs.)

    2/2/2026: Automation in the wild: Why real environments break perfect models, Web Summit Qatar

    My one panel at Web Summit’s Qatar conference had me quizzing John Spinale, chief strategy officer at Robust.ai, about how that company has gone about designing robots to help ease the work of humans in warehouses.

    2/2/2026: United Airlines: More Than 25% of Our Daily Departures Now Offer Starlink Wi-Fi, PCMag

    I was able to add some context to this post because I’m an avgeek and know there’s a volunteer-run site tracking the state of United’s fleet–a site that I wrote about nine years ago.

    2/3/2026: Latest Speed Tests Put T-Mobile Ahead of Rival Carriers, PCMag

    I’ve been wondering why Ookla issues scores for AT&T’s fiber broadband, ignoring the rest of that company’s residential broadband services, while it grades other providers on a company-wide basis, and this time I asked Ookla far enough ahead of time to get a clear answer to include in my writeup of this survey.

    2/4/2026: CEO of Would-Be TikTok Rival UpScrolled: We Won’t Censor Anybody, PCMag

    Watching UpScrolled founder and CEO Issam Hijazi go on at Web Summit Qatar’s opening night about how that social platform would not practice censorship reminded me of all of the other times I’ve seen other social-networking executives say versions of that and then be proved wrong by reality.

    2/4/2026: Shop on Amazon? Watch Out for This Sneaky Credit Card Points Scam, PCMag

    I had started reporting this post in late December, then had to set it aside for CES, then had to set it aside for other pressing deadlines, and finally filed it on the last day of January.

    2/6/2026: Space Startups to NASA: Hurry Up and Pick Someone to Build ISS Replacement, PCMag

    Appropriately enough, considering a prior topic of my coverage this week, I finished and filed this post via Starlink from my Qatar Airways flight back to Dulles.

    #AxiomSpace #ChaseSapphireReserve #Doha #inflightWiFi #InternationalSpaceStation #ISS #IssamHijazi #JohnSpinale #milesAndPoints #nasa #Ookla #pointsFraud #Qatar #robots #RobustAi #ShopWithPoints #spaceStation #Speedtest #Starlink #TikTok #UA #UnitedAirlines #UnitedAirlinesStarlink #UpScrolled #VastSpace #warehouses #WebSummitQatar
  6. Weekly output: Robust.ai, United Airlines Starlink rollout, Ookla speed test rankings, UpScrolled, Shop with Points fraud risk, commercial space stations

    This past week had me flying a long distance to trade snow for sand, in the form of Web Summit Qatar. This coming week will also have me flying from snow to sand, but not nearly as far: I’m headed to Las Vegas for the customer-experience company Medallia’s annual conference. (The organizers of each event are covering my travel costs.)

    2/2/2026: Automation in the wild: Why real environments break perfect models, Web Summit Qatar

    My one panel at Web Summit’s Qatar conference had me quizzing John Spinale, chief strategy officer at Robust.ai, about how that company has gone about designing robots to help ease the work of humans in warehouses.

    2/2/2026: United Airlines: More Than 25% of Our Daily Departures Now Offer Starlink Wi-Fi, PCMag

    I was able to add some context to this post because I’m an avgeek and know there’s a volunteer-run site tracking the state of United’s fleet–a site that I wrote about nine years ago.

    2/3/2026: Latest Speed Tests Put T-Mobile Ahead of Rival Carriers, PCMag

    I’ve been wondering why Ookla issues scores for AT&T’s fiber broadband, ignoring the rest of that company’s residential broadband services, while it grades other providers on a company-wide basis, and this time I asked Ookla far enough ahead of time to get a clear answer to include in my writeup of this survey.

    2/4/2026: CEO of Would-Be TikTok Rival UpScrolled: We Won’t Censor Anybody, PCMag

    Watching UpScrolled founder and CEO Issam Hijazi go on at Web Summit Qatar’s opening night about how that social platform would not practice censorship reminded me of all of the other times I’ve seen other social-networking executives say versions of that and then be proved wrong by reality.

    2/4/2026: Shop on Amazon? Watch Out for This Sneaky Credit Card Points Scam, PCMag

    I had started reporting this post in late December, then had to set it aside for CES, then had to set it aside for other pressing deadlines, and finally filed it on the last day of January.

    2/6/2026: Space Startups to NASA: Hurry Up and Pick Someone to Build ISS Replacement, PCMag

    Appropriately enough, considering a prior topic of my coverage this week, I finished and filed this post via Starlink from my Qatar Airways flight back to Dulles.

    #AxiomSpace #ChaseSapphireReserve #Doha #inflightWiFi #InternationalSpaceStation #ISS #IssamHijazi #JohnSpinale #milesAndPoints #nasa #Ookla #pointsFraud #Qatar #robots #RobustAi #ShopWithPoints #spaceStation #Speedtest #Starlink #TikTok #UA #UnitedAirlines #UnitedAirlinesStarlink #UpScrolled #VastSpace #warehouses #WebSummitQatar
  7. Weekly output: Robust.ai, United Airlines Starlink rollout, Ookla speed test rankings, UpScrolled, Shop with Points fraud risk, commercial space stations

    This past week had me flying a long distance to trade snow for sand, in the form of Web Summit Qatar. This coming week will also have me flying from snow to sand, but not nearly as far: I’m headed to Las Vegas for the customer-experience company Medallia’s annual conference. (The organizers of each event are covering my travel costs.)

    2/2/2026: Automation in the wild: Why real environments break perfect models, Web Summit Qatar

    My one panel at Web Summit’s Qatar conference had me quizzing John Spinale, chief strategy officer at Robust.ai, about how that company has gone about designing robots to help ease the work of humans in warehouses.

    2/2/2026: United Airlines: More Than 25% of Our Daily Departures Now Offer Starlink Wi-Fi, PCMag

    I was able to add some context to this post because I’m an avgeek and know there’s a volunteer-run site tracking the state of United’s fleet–a site that I wrote about nine years ago.

    2/3/2026: Latest Speed Tests Put T-Mobile Ahead of Rival Carriers, PCMag

    I’ve been wondering why Ookla issues scores for AT&T’s fiber broadband, ignoring the rest of that company’s residential broadband services, while it grades other providers on a company-wide basis, and this time I asked Ookla far enough ahead of time to get a clear answer to include in my writeup of this survey.

    2/4/2026: CEO of Would-Be TikTok Rival UpScrolled: We Won’t Censor Anybody, PCMag

    Watching UpScrolled founder and CEO Issam Hijazi go on at Web Summit Qatar’s opening night about how that social platform would not practice censorship reminded me of all of the other times I’ve seen other social-networking executives say versions of that and then be proved wrong by reality.

    2/4/2026: Shop on Amazon? Watch Out for This Sneaky Credit Card Points Scam, PCMag

    I had started reporting this post in late December, then had to set it aside for CES, then had to set it aside for other pressing deadlines, and finally filed it on the last day of January.

    2/6/2026: Space Startups to NASA: Hurry Up and Pick Someone to Build ISS Replacement, PCMag

    Appropriately enough, considering a prior topic of my coverage this week, I finished and filed this post via Starlink from my Qatar Airways flight back to Dulles.

    #AxiomSpace #ChaseSapphireReserve #Doha #inflightWiFi #InternationalSpaceStation #ISS #IssamHijazi #JohnSpinale #milesAndPoints #nasa #Ookla #pointsFraud #Qatar #robots #RobustAi #ShopWithPoints #spaceStation #Speedtest #Starlink #TikTok #UA #UnitedAirlines #UnitedAirlinesStarlink #UpScrolled #VastSpace #warehouses #WebSummitQatar
  8. Weekly output: Robust.ai, United Airlines Starlink rollout, Ookla speed test rankings, UpScrolled, Shop with Points fraud risk, commercial space stations

    This past week had me flying a long distance to trade snow for sand, in the form of Web Summit Qatar. This coming week will also have me flying from snow to sand, but not nearly as far: I’m headed to Las Vegas for the customer-experience company Medallia’s annual conference. (The organizers of each event are covering my travel costs.)

    2/2/2026: Automation in the wild: Why real environments break perfect models, Web Summit Qatar

    My one panel at Web Summit’s Qatar conference had me quizzing John Spinale, chief strategy officer at Robust.ai, about how that company has gone about designing robots to help ease the work of humans in warehouses.

    2/2/2026: United Airlines: More Than 25% of Our Daily Departures Now Offer Starlink Wi-Fi, PCMag

    I was able to add some context to this post because I’m an avgeek and know there’s a volunteer-run site tracking the state of United’s fleet–a site that I wrote about nine years ago.

    2/3/2026: Latest Speed Tests Put T-Mobile Ahead of Rival Carriers, PCMag

    I’ve been wondering why Ookla issues scores for AT&T’s fiber broadband, ignoring the rest of that company’s residential broadband services, while it grades other providers on a company-wide basis, and this time I asked Ookla far enough ahead of time to get a clear answer to include in my writeup of this survey.

    2/4/2026: CEO of Would-Be TikTok Rival UpScrolled: We Won’t Censor Anybody, PCMag

    Watching UpScrolled founder and CEO Issam Hijazi go on at Web Summit Qatar’s opening night about how that social platform would not practice censorship reminded me of all of the other times I’ve seen other social-networking executives say versions of that and then be proved wrong by reality.

    2/4/2026: Shop on Amazon? Watch Out for This Sneaky Credit Card Points Scam, PCMag

    I had started reporting this post in late December, then had to set it aside for CES, then had to set it aside for other pressing deadlines, and finally filed it on the last day of January.

    2/6/2026: Space Startups to NASA: Hurry Up and Pick Someone to Build ISS Replacement, PCMag

    Appropriately enough, considering a prior topic of my coverage this week, I finished and filed this post via Starlink from my Qatar Airways flight back to Dulles.

    #AxiomSpace #ChaseSapphireReserve #Doha #inflightWiFi #InternationalSpaceStation #ISS #IssamHijazi #JohnSpinale #milesAndPoints #nasa #Ookla #pointsFraud #Qatar #robots #RobustAi #ShopWithPoints #spaceStation #Speedtest #Starlink #TikTok #UA #UnitedAirlines #UnitedAirlinesStarlink #UpScrolled #VastSpace #warehouses #WebSummitQatar
  9. Weekly output: RootMetrics wireless network report

    DOHA, Qatar–Between two daylong conferences in D.C. Thursday and Friday, scrambling to finish up some longer posts so I could put them on a January invoice instead of waiting yet another month, and getting ready to fly almost 7,000 miles here for Web Summit Qatar, I only had one post appear under my byline this week.

    Patreon readers, however, got one extra post from me: my annual look into my income sources for the previous year.

    1/26/2026: Verizon Has Slight Edge Over AT&T, T-Mobile, Except in One Key Category, PCMag

    I’ve been covering RootMetrics’ nationwide testing of wireless carriers for years, but this was the first time I could quiz my former Light Reading editor Mike Dano for a story about them. He moved from that trade pub to become an analyst for RootMetrics’ parent firm Ookla last year, and I could see Mike’s knowledge of the business show up in the new RootMetrics report’s detailed breakdown of network infrastructure progress at AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.

    #Doha #Ookla #Qatar #RootMetrics #WebSummit #WebSummitQatar #wirelessCarriers #wirelessNetworkPerformance #wirelessNetworks

  10. Weekly output: Next Big Things in Tech (x3), Starship, T-Satellite, prepaid home wireless broadband

    A months-in-the-work project finally reached the publication stage this week, which felt good–if not as good as invoicing for this project. Another high point of this week: spending a chunk of Saturday afternoon at the No Kings demonstration in D.C. and seeing how strong the protest-sign game remains in my city.

    10/14/2025: The 5 next big things in space and telecom for 2025, Fast Company

    Once again, my work on Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech list (NBTT for short) started with judging entries in the converging industries of space and telecom.

    10/14/2025: The 4 next big things in robotics and automation for 2025, Fast Company

    This is another category I’ve judged before, but most of the companies I considered this year were new to my work at Fast Co.

    10/14/2025: These 4 innovations help solve critical issues for North America, Fast Company

    This was a new addition to my NBTT work, and deciding what made companies worthy of this honor in this geographically-defined category got tricky at times.

    10/14/2025: Starship’s Version 2 Flies for the Last Time, Splashes Down in One Piece, PCMag

    I wrote this recap of Starship’s 11th flight test Monday night and then revised the piece slightly Tuesday morning–hours before SpaceX released video of Starship’s upper stage looking more than a little cooked as it lowered itself into the Indian Ocean.

    10/16/2025: Who’s on T-Satellite? T-Mobile Dominates, But Verizon Customers Say No Thanks, PCMag

    One surprise of this study from Ookla was how many AT&T subscribers chose to pay $10 a month extra to T-Mobile for Starlink satellite roaming; another was how rarely wireless users now find themselves without a terrestrial signal.

    10/17/2025: T-Mobile, Verizon Now Selling 5G Home Internet Service Via Their Prepaid Brands, PCMag

    Telecom-industry analyst Jeff Moore e-mailed me about the impending launch of resold Verizon fixed-wireless-access broadband by its Tracfone subsidiary, then T-Mobile’s Mint Mobile subsidiary started reselling its parent firm’s FWA. Moore then gave me some useful insight about the state of prepaid home wireless broadband.

    #911inform #AES #EascraBiotech #fixedWireless #Heven #home5G #ImpulseSpace #MintMobile #MobileX #Ookla #OWLIntegrations #PilaEnergy #ProRataAi #ServeRobotics #SpaceXStarship #Starlink #Starship #TMobileStarlink #TSatellite #TracFone #USMobile #Vantor #Varda

  11. Weekly output: Next Big Things in Tech (x3), Starship, T-Satellite, prepaid home wireless broadband

    A months-in-the-work project finally reached the publication stage this week, which felt good–if not as good as invoicing for this project. Another high point of this week: spending a chunk of Saturday afternoon at the No Kings demonstration in D.C. and seeing how strong the protest-sign game remains in my city.

    10/14/2025: The 5 next big things in space and telecom for 2025, Fast Company

    Once again, my work on Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech list (NBTT for short) started with judging entries in the converging industries of space and telecom.

    10/14/2025: The 4 next big things in robotics and automation for 2025, Fast Company

    This is another category I’ve judged before, but most of the companies I considered this year were new to my work at Fast Co.

    10/14/2025: These 4 innovations help solve critical issues for North America, Fast Company

    This was a new addition to my NBTT work, and deciding what made companies worthy of this honor in this geographically-defined category got tricky at times.

    10/14/2025: Starship’s Version 2 Flies for the Last Time, Splashes Down in One Piece, PCMag

    I wrote this recap of Starship’s 11th flight test Monday night and then revised the piece slightly Tuesday morning–hours before SpaceX released video of Starship’s upper stage looking more than a little cooked as it lowered itself into the Indian Ocean.

    10/16/2025: Who’s on T-Satellite? T-Mobile Dominates, But Verizon Customers Say No Thanks, PCMag

    One surprise of this study from Ookla was how many AT&T subscribers chose to pay $10 a month extra to T-Mobile for Starlink satellite roaming; another was how rarely wireless users now find themselves without a terrestrial signal.

    10/17/2025: T-Mobile, Verizon Now Selling 5G Home Internet Service Via Their Prepaid Brands, PCMag

    Telecom-industry analyst Jeff Moore e-mailed me about the impending launch of resold Verizon fixed-wireless-access broadband by its Tracfone subsidiary, then T-Mobile’s Mint Mobile subsidiary started reselling its parent firm’s FWA. Moore then gave me some useful insight about the state of prepaid home wireless broadband.

    #911inform #AES #EascraBiotech #fixedWireless #Heven #home5G #ImpulseSpace #MintMobile #MobileX #Ookla #OWLIntegrations #PilaEnergy #ProRataAi #ServeRobotics #SpaceXStarship #Starlink #Starship #TMobileStarlink #TSatellite #TracFone #USMobile #Vantor #Varda

  12. Weekly output: Next Big Things in Tech (x3), Starship, T-Satellite, prepaid home wireless broadband

    A months-in-the-work project finally reached the publication stage this week, which felt good–if not as good as invoicing for this project. Another high point of this week: spending a chunk of Saturday afternoon at the No Kings demonstration in D.C. and seeing how strong the protest-sign game remains in my city.

    10/14/2025: The 5 next big things in space and telecom for 2025, Fast Company

    Once again, my work on Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech list (NBTT for short) started with judging entries in the converging industries of space and telecom.

    10/14/2025: The 4 next big things in robotics and automation for 2025, Fast Company

    This is another category I’ve judged before, but most of the companies I considered this year were new to my work at Fast Co.

    10/14/2025: These 4 innovations help solve critical issues for North America, Fast Company

    This was a new addition to my NBTT work, and deciding what made companies worthy of this honor in this geographically-defined category got tricky at times.

    10/14/2025: Starship’s Version 2 Flies for the Last Time, Splashes Down in One Piece, PCMag

    I wrote this recap of Starship’s 11th flight test Monday night and then revised the piece slightly Tuesday morning–hours before SpaceX released video of Starship’s upper stage looking more than a little cooked as it lowered itself into the Indian Ocean.

    10/16/2025: Who’s on T-Satellite? T-Mobile Dominates, But Verizon Customers Say No Thanks, PCMag

    One surprise of this study from Ookla was how many AT&T subscribers chose to pay $10 a month extra to T-Mobile for Starlink satellite roaming; another was how rarely wireless users now find themselves without a terrestrial signal.

    10/17/2025: T-Mobile, Verizon Now Selling 5G Home Internet Service Via Their Prepaid Brands, PCMag

    Telecom-industry analyst Jeff Moore e-mailed me about the impending launch of resold Verizon fixed-wireless-access broadband by its Tracfone subsidiary, then T-Mobile’s Mint Mobile subsidiary started reselling its parent firm’s FWA. Moore then gave me some useful insight about the state of prepaid home wireless broadband.

    #911inform #AES #EascraBiotech #fixedWireless #Heven #home5G #ImpulseSpace #MintMobile #MobileX #Ookla #OWLIntegrations #PilaEnergy #ProRataAi #ServeRobotics #SpaceXStarship #Starlink #Starship #TMobileStarlink #TSatellite #TracFone #USMobile #Vantor #Varda

  13. Weekly output: inflight WiFi, Napster resurfaces, FCC chair’s “Build Agenda”

    I spent yet another Fourth of July without going into D.C. to see the fireworks, because I had a logistically simpler alternative: a college friend within walking distance having his usual Independence Day gathering, with smaller-scale pyrotechnics in the backyard.

    Patreon readers got a bonus post: a review of the first new TV we’d purchased since 2009, covering its utility with over-the-air ATSC 3.0 broadcasts and with streaming-video services.

    6/30/2025: Planning a Trip? These Are the Airlines With the Speediest In-Flight Wi-Fi, PCMag

    This post started as a writeup of a report by Speedtest publisher Ookla of the inflight WiFi of 30 airlines, then I used the opportunity to provide an update on United’s rollout of Starlink connectivity on regional jets and remind readers about how the price of inflight WiFi is trending towards zero.

    7/1/2025: Napster Resurfaces As (What Else?) an AI Company. Can Its Agents Deliver?, PCMag

    I got a heads-up about this weird relaunch of Napster as an AI service a week and a half ago but had no bandwidth to get to the story at the time. Fortunately, Monday had enough free time for me to try out Napster’s AI avatars and write a first-look post about that experience.

    7/3/2025: FCC Chair’s ‘Build Agenda’ for Broadband Expansion Looks Familiar, PCMag

    After watching FCC chairman Brendan Carr’s speech Wednesday afternoon outlining his plans to boost broadband availability, I realized that parts of it didn’t seem too different from previous initiatives by the commission. So I took a little time to check with a telecom-policy expert and filed this report Wednesday night.

    #AI #BrendanCarr #broadband #BuildAgenda #FCC #HawaiianAirlines #inflightBroadband #inflightConnectivity #inflightWiFi #Napster #NapsterCompanion #Ookla #QatarAirways #Speedtest #Starlink

  14. Weekly output: inflight WiFi, Napster resurfaces, FCC chair’s “Build Agenda”

    I spent yet another Fourth of July without going into D.C. to see the fireworks, because I had a logistically simpler alternative: a college friend within walking distance having his usual Independence Day gathering, with smaller-scale pyrotechnics in the backyard.

    Patreon readers got a bonus post: a review of the first new TV we’d purchased since 2009, covering its utility with over-the-air ATSC 3.0 broadcasts and with streaming-video services.

    6/30/2025: Planning a Trip? These Are the Airlines With the Speediest In-Flight Wi-Fi, PCMag

    This post started as a writeup of a report by Speedtest publisher Ookla of the inflight WiFi of 30 airlines, then I used the opportunity to provide an update on United’s rollout of Starlink connectivity on regional jets and remind readers about how the price of inflight WiFi is trending towards zero.

    7/1/2025: Napster Resurfaces As (What Else?) an AI Company. Can Its Agents Deliver?, PCMag

    I got a heads-up about this weird relaunch of Napster as an AI service a week and a half ago but had no bandwidth to get to the story at the time. Fortunately, Monday had enough free time for me to try out Napster’s AI avatars and write a first-look post about that experience.

    7/3/2025: FCC Chair’s ‘Build Agenda’ for Broadband Expansion Looks Familiar, PCMag

    After watching FCC chairman Brendan Carr’s speech Wednesday afternoon outlining his plans to boost broadband availability, I realized that parts of it didn’t seem too different from previous initiatives by the commission. So I took a little time to check with a telecom-policy expert and filed this report Wednesday night.

    #AI #BrendanCarr #broadband #BuildAgenda #FCC #HawaiianAirlines #inflightBroadband #inflightConnectivity #inflightWiFi #Napster #NapsterCompanion #Ookla #QatarAirways #Speedtest #Starlink

  15. Weekly output: inflight WiFi, Napster resurfaces, FCC chair’s “Build Agenda”

    I spent yet another Fourth of July without going into D.C. to see the fireworks, because I had a logistically simpler alternative: a college friend within walking distance having his usual Independence Day gathering, with smaller-scale pyrotechnics in the backyard.

    Patreon readers got a bonus post: a review of the first new TV we’d purchased since 2009, covering its utility with over-the-air ATSC 3.0 broadcasts and with streaming-video services.

    6/30/2025: Planning a Trip? These Are the Airlines With the Speediest In-Flight Wi-Fi, PCMag

    This post started as a writeup of a report by Speedtest publisher Ookla of the inflight WiFi of 30 airlines, then I used the opportunity to provide an update on United’s rollout of Starlink connectivity on regional jets and remind readers about how the price of inflight WiFi is trending towards zero.

    7/1/2025: Napster Resurfaces As (What Else?) an AI Company. Can Its Agents Deliver?, PCMag

    I got a heads-up about this weird relaunch of Napster as an AI service a week and a half ago but had no bandwidth to get to the story at the time. Fortunately, Monday had enough free time for me to try out Napster’s AI avatars and write a first-look post about that experience.

    7/3/2025: FCC Chair’s ‘Build Agenda’ for Broadband Expansion Looks Familiar, PCMag

    After watching FCC chairman Brendan Carr’s speech Wednesday afternoon outlining his plans to boost broadband availability, I realized that parts of it didn’t seem too different from previous initiatives by the commission. So I took a little time to check with a telecom-policy expert and filed this report Wednesday night.

    #AI #BrendanCarr #broadband #BuildAgenda #FCC #HawaiianAirlines #inflightBroadband #inflightConnectivity #inflightWiFi #Napster #NapsterCompanion #Ookla #QatarAirways #Speedtest #Starlink

  16. Sunday started with Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and is ending with Kamala Harris as the increasingly likely Democratic presidential nominee. I am struck by the selflessness involved in somebody at the apex of political power assessing the circumstances and the stakes and deciding that they require taking himself out of contention–and how well that grace, however grudgingly it may have come, compares to Donald Trump’s incessant self-worship. As Tom Nichols writes in The Atlantic: “Biden’s decision reflected a determination to put the fate of his country ahead of his personal vanity, a choice Trump is inherently incapable of making.”

    7/15/2024: Automation Lessens Zombie Account Risks, FedTech

    I last wrote for this publication in 2017, but I must have left a decent reputation there for an editor to e-mail me in April to ask if I could do a story about how government-IT types can ease staff transitions between administrations.

    7/17/2024: Boost Mobile Unwraps New Plans As 5G Network Buildout Chugs Along, PCMag

    We had to correct this post because I had missed how Boost’s most expensive plan does not include mobile hotspot use, even though two of its three cheaper options include it. Which is a dumb pricing game for any wireless carrier to play, but especially one that touts “simplified pricing” in its pitch for its new plans.

    7/17/2024: On Speed, T-Mobile Is First in Mobile Broadband, AT&T in Home Internet, PCMag

    Ookla, the company behind the Speedtest family of apps, offered me an advance on their latest connectivity report. I’m still confused by how they assessed only AT&T’s fiber service next to all of Verizon’s broadband options.

    7/18/2024: Google Ships Fourth And (We Hope) Last Android 15 Beta, PCMag

    This was the fifth time this year that I’ve written a short post about an incremental step in Android 15’s development cycle for PCMag.

    7/19/2024: Prior to Microsoft Meltdown, CrowdStrike Exec Warned of ‘Single Point of Failure’, PCMag

    As I read about the worldwide IT meltdown sparked by CrowdStrike’s epic failure of a driver update, I remembered seeing a CrowdStrike executive declaring at a Washington Post event in early June that “A resilient digital architecture should be able to weather a storm.” Awkward!

    Patreon readers got a bonus post related to this story, in which I recounted the continuing utility of keeping notes in a searchable digital format but also revealed that I still have paper notepads from more than 25 years ago–and recently got some unexpected use out of one.

    7/19/2024: Ep 103 SmartTechCheck Podcast–CrowdStrike, innovation drought, foldable phones and robotaxis, Mark Vena

    I joined my industry-analyst friend’s podcast to talk about a grab-bag of tech topics, one of them being Waymo’s robotaxis as I experienced them in Los Angeles a few weeks ago.

    https://robpegoraro.com/2024/07/21/weekly-output-zombie-accounts-boost-mobile-broadband-isp-ratings-android-15-beta-crowdstrike-mark-vena-podcast/

    #5G #Android15 #ATTFiber #BoostMobile #CrowdStrike #federalIT #MarkVena #Ookla #Speedtest #TMobile #wirelessCarriers #zombieAccounts