Comcast has successfully tested a prototype 10G modem that delivered upload and downloads exceeding 4 Gbps, it said Thursday. It said the lab test used a DOCSIS 4.0 SoC cable modem built by Broadcom. It said modem speeds "are expected to increase significantly" beyond 4 Gbps as the 10G architecture gets refined.

Comcast and ViacomCBS signed distribution agreements that renew carriage of ViacomCBS networks and extend the availability of the latter company's Paramount+, Showtime and Pluto TV streaming services, they said Thursday. The agreements give Comcast rights to BET+.

Atlantic Broadband rebranded as Breezeline, the cable operator announced Monday. It said the move comes following its 2021 purchases of cable systems in Ohio (see 2109010068). It said its Ohio operations, operating now under the WideOpenWest brand name, will transition to Breezeline by summer. “We’re no longer just an east coast provider, and we’ve long offered much more than broadband, so our company identity must evolve with us,” said President Frank van der Post. Breezeline said it will launch Breezeline Stream TV, a cloud-based TV platform for accessing live and recorded programming, in select markets early this year and in additional markets throughout 2022.

Cable operators filing FCC Form 1240 can raise the non-external portion of their rates by a factor of 5.95% for Q3 to account for inflation, said an FCC Media Bureau public notice Friday.

Private equity firms GTCR, Stephens Capital Partners and Pritzker are investing in a joint venture with Cable One to accelerate plans to expand fiber coverage in former Clearwave and Hargray Communications territories, Cable One said Monday. It said it has a majority stake in the JV, Clearwave Fiber. See also personals section of this issue.

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court's finding that the Cable Act preempted Maine's cable TV charges prorating law. In a 39-page decision Tuesday (docket 20-2142), Judges Rogeriee Thompson, Timothy Dyk and David Barron said the Maine law doesn't govern rates for provision of cable service but governs the period after provision of cable service and is a consumer protection law. They said the Cable Act's structure, legislative history and amendments compel a finding of no preemption of the Maine law. Dyk penned the decision. Oral argument in Maine's appeal of the lower court's summary judgment supporting Charter Communications' challenge was in June (see 2106070042). Outside counsel for Charter didn't comment.

Households subscribing to virtual MVPDs are “super users” of over-the-top video, blogged Comscore Tuesday. About 26% of vMVPD households consuming linear TV content via a vMVPD over the past year stream video at levels “much higher than typical OTT households,” said Eric Bratten, director-brand generation, saying vMVPD households stream seven OTT services in a typical month vs. five for the average OTT household.

Comments are due Feb. 3, replies March 7, on the status of MVPDs' implementation of Television Viewer Protection Act requirements that customers receive a breakdown of all charges involving the MVPD’s video service before signing a contract, and that customers get a 24-hour grace period to cancel without penalty, said an FCC Media Bureau docket 21-501 public notice Monday.

Apply emergency broadband benefit program rules to the affordable connectivity program until final rules are released, Comcast urged advisers to all FCC commissioners and staff in recent meetings, said a letter posted Monday in docket 21-450 (see 2112090061). It recommended a “true-up process” after the transition for EBB enrollees so providers can “seek full reimbursement.” Comcast backed allowing providers to perform “soft” credit checks on enrollees and applying a household’s initial ACP benefit “no later than the beginning of the subscriber’s first full billing period, rather than immediately."

Altitude Sports and Entertainment plans a new carriage offer to Comcast before the two go into mediation to settle a two-year-old blackout. "It is Altitude’s aim that this offer will bring the case to a close and return the network to Comcast," the regional sports network said Friday. Comcast said it has remained open to resuming carriage in a way that doesn't raise rates for subscribers. Altitude brought an antitrust complaint against Comcast in 2019 (see 1911180062). The two told (docket 19-cv-03253) District Judge William Martinez of Denver Thursday that they will a file joint motion before Dec. 20 for a settlement conference.