Speakers at Minority Telecom Conference Call Broadband a 21st Century Civil Right
FCC, Net Neutrality, Wireless
July 30th, 2014
WASHINGTON, July 30, 2014 – Speakers at a Minority Media Telecommunications Council conference here on Monday advocated for expanded minority-based involvement with and access to broadband capital. “Broadband is the 21st Century’s civil right and our laws must reflect the digital shift,” said Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C, at the MMTC’s twelfth annual telecom policy conference. […]
GAO Study Finds that Broadband Data Caps are Causing Customer Confusion and Less Internet Use
Broadband Data
July 30th, 2014
WASHINGTON, July 30, 2014 – Internet service providers are adopting more usage-based pricing models and consumers may be using the internet less as a result, according to preliminary results from a Government Accountability Office study. Consumers may also be neglecting benefits of lower-cost models due to confusion over data caps, the report found. “In the […]
Broadband Roundup: Rural Providers Want RUS Funding, AT&T Expands ‘GigaPower’, and Potential Surveillance Changes
Broadband Roundup, Gigabit Networks, Privacy, Universal Service
July 30th, 2014
WASHINGTON, July 30, 2014 – The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Rural Development and Credit held a hearing on coordinating the future of broadband investment. Lang Zimmerman, vice president of Yelcot Telephone Co., a member company of rural broadband association NTCA testified that funding the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service is critical for […]
Internet Researcher John Horrigan on How Digital Illiteracy is Eclipsing Digital Divide
Broadband Data, Broadband's Impact, Education, NTIA
July 29th, 2014
WASHINGTON, July 29, 2014 – The internet equity facing the nation isn’t the digital divide, but is digital readiness, according to a panel last month by internet researcher John Horrigon at an event of the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation. According to Horrigan, digital literacy is rapidly overshadowing non-adoption.A half-decade ago in 2009, 83 million […]
NetAmerica Alliance Hails Rural 4G LTE Benefits From Partnership with Sprint
Fiber, Wireless
July 29th, 2014
WASHINGTON, July 29, 2014 – An alliance designed to serve the wireless broadband needs of rural America has partnered with Sprint to provide fourth-generation LTE service to members of the NTCA that are calling themselves the Rural Broadband Alliance, according to details unveiled in a webinar on Thursday, July 24. In a webinar hosted by […]
FCC Officials Outline Plans for $100 Million in Funding for Rural Broadband Experiments
Broadband's Impact, FCC, Universal Service
July 29th, 2014
WASHINGTON, July 29, 2014 – In a webinar on Thursday, July 17, the Fiber to the Home Council hosted a webinar with Federal Communications Commission officials on a $100 million fund for expanding broadband capabilities to rural communities. FCC officials encouraged companies to apply for the funds, but also cautioning them of the heavy commitment. […]
Broadband Roundup: City Leaders Call For Overturn of Local Broadband Bans
Broadband Roundup, Broadband's Impact, FCC
July 28th, 2014
WASHINGTON, July 28, 2014 – City leaders in Wilson, North Carolina, and Chattanooga, Tennessee, want the Federal Communications Commission to pre-empt state laws that would prevent them from expanding their municipal networks, Broadcasting & Cable reported. With an existing ban in place in North Carolina, Wilson can only serve its municipal network, Greenlight, to residents […]
Broadband Roundup: Battle of the Lobbyists, Holding Comcast Accountable and Satellite Reauthorization
Broadband Roundup, Broadband's Impact, FCC, Net Neutrality
July 23rd, 2014
WASHINGTON, July 23, 2014 – Broadband providers are outspending internet search and content firms on lobbying lawmakers and regulators, Recode reported. However, among single companies, Google spent more than any internet provider in both of the past two quarters. ISPs and their trade associations have collectively spent $42.4 million this year. Content creators spent only […]
Critics at Digital Policy Institute Say Net Neutrality Is a Solution In Search of a Problem
Net Neutrality
July 22nd, 2014
WASHINGTON, July 22, 2014 – As the Federal Communications Commission received more than a million comments on the agency’s push for net neutrality regulations governing the conduct of broadband providers, critics argued on July 15 that net neutrality is a counter-intuitive solution in search of a problem. Moreover, these critics said, “common carriage” regulation under […]
Broadband Roundup: More Than a Million Comments on Net Neutrality, Plus Seattle Goes Again for Gigabit Broadband
Broadband Roundup, FCC, Fiber, Gigabit Networks, Net Neutrality
July 21st, 2014
WASHINGTON, July 21, 2014 – More than one million comments were received by the Federal Communications Commission on net neutrality before the Friday night deadline, Reuters reported. The second round of comments will give the public until Sept. 10 to respond. AT&T pitched to the FCC its proposal that “fast lanes” could be regulatorily barred […]