Comcast Corporation

Although the phrase, “the customer is always right” has been around forever, and good customer service has always been valued, 2008 was the year that companies really took that message to heart and not only built up their listening capabilities, but became proactive about responding and changing.

Google Inc. denied that it had reversed its stance on the issue of "Net neutrality" and dismissed a story in Monday's edition of The Wall Street Journal on the subject as "confused."

Citing undisclosed sources, the newspaper reported that Google had been in talks with major cable and phone companies about getting preferential treatment for traffic to and from its sites.

With broadband Internet access encompassing much of the country, Comcast announced Monday that it is joining a trend to wideband. The company said it will launch its next-generation DOCSIS 3.0 network in Oregon and southwest Washington with download speeds up to 50 megabits per second.

A lawmaker is bringing the issue of net neutrality back into the spotlight. Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) plans to introduce a bill in January that would stop Internet service providers from blocking and managing certain Internet content.

AT&T has become the latest Internet service provider to test limits on bandwidth usage, with a trial this month of caps for subscribers in Reno, Nevada.

The company -- the largest Internet service provider in the United States -- said about five percent of subscribers use about 50 percent of capacity.

$1 Per Gigabyte