WASHINGTON, August 4, 2010 –Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) attributed the aftermath of the Big Branch Explosion in West Virginia to “a troubling lack of communications facilities in our rural communities.” The cause of this void, Rockefeller argued, was the Federal Communications Commission’s model for reaching universal service. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, August 3, 2010 – Federal agencies have not provided top-level leadership for the United States on cybersecurity issues, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office. Additionally, the United States possesses no “clear vision” of how cybersecurity impacts national goals. Rather, the nation has engaged in an ad hoc selection of cybersecurity measures. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 28, 2010 – This Monday, the architects of Vermont’s experimental rural fiber network, the East Central Vermont Community Fiber Network, announced that financing for the project was “well under way.” Keep Reading
WASHINGTON July 28, 2010 –Speaking at a conference on cybersecurity hosted by the Department of Commerce yesterday, one expert argued that when it comes to cybersecurity threats, “we don’t need a new strategy.” The speaker, Philip Reitinger of the Department for Homeland Security, made the observation in the introduction to his remarks on how combating cybersecurity might be accomplished in the current climate. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 22, 2010 –Sprint has announced that it has successfully completed a technological overhaul that frees up 35 MegaHerz of spectrum for general usage. The overhaul was undertaken pursuant to the Federal Government’s goal of freeing up additional spectrum, given the general scarcity of the resource, a fact which Sprint spokespeople acknowledged. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 21, 2010 – According to a report released by the Global System for Mobile communications Association (GSMA), the key to spurring broadband adoption on in previously under-covered areas is targeted tax relief. According to the group’s summary of the study, “The study indicates how a reduction in special taxes applied to the telecommunications sectors in countries with different taxation approaches like Brazil, Mexico, Bangladesh and South Africa will translate into higher Mobile Broadband service adoption and more wealth creation reflected in additional GDP growth.” Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 21, 2010 – A panel of experts convened on Monday to discuss the issue of how to expand broadband at the State level, with a focus on communications challenges. The panel included representatives of North Carolina, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Washington, and disseminated its ideas via a webcast moderated by Greg Laudeman of the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 21, 2010 – According to a study of general Internet and phone use released by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, “African-Americans and Latinos continue to outpace whites in their use of data applications on handheld devices.” Among other things, the study found that whereas 80% of non-Hispanic Whites own a cell phone, 87% of both Blacks and Hispanics do. The gap in the statistics widen in areas of data usage, with nearly twice as many blacks using phones to receive instant messages as whites, and more than twice as many Hispanics as whites doing so. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 9, 2010 – Four economists argued in a letter to the FCC sent Wednesday that the question before the agency was “not whether to impose network neutrality, but whether to eliminate it.” Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 8, 2010 – A Phoenix Center economist said Thursday that no one “would really believe that [the FCC chairman’s] administration would go down in history as light touch regulators,” and that the Federal Communications Commission already had reneged on that promise. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON July 1, 2010- Speaking at the Department of Commerce today, an expert observed that consumers who view streaming video on pay-only sites are “unwittingly giving their credit card numbers to organized crime.” The speaker, Scott Martin of the Motion Picture Association of America, made the comment in the context of a panel entitled “Emerging Infringement Areas,” which was moderated by Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Anna Gomez. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 29, 2010 – The best way to avoid cyber bullying is not to be a teenage girl, said an expert on Tuesday at a panel discussion hosted by the Progress and Freedom Foundation. The remarks, made by Michael McKeehan, Verizon’s executive director of internet and technology policy, were in response to a question on “high risk behaviors” that lead children to become targets of online bullies. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 25, 2010 – Public libraries are key resources for job seekers, researchers and others thanks to their position in the community as an access point to the internet, says a new study from the American Library Association. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 24, 2010 – Broadband adoption in Africa has historically lagged when ranked globally, but its use has been growing steadily in recent years, said Yvon Le Roux, Cisco vice president for Africa and Levant. In an interview conducted by Cisco’s internal news bureau, Le Roux said there’s recently been a significant growth in mobile broadband in Africa. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 23, 2010 – Broadband for America hosted a panel discussion yesterday focusing on models for community broadband adoption, and attempting to answer question such as where to implement such models, who should be targeted and how to manage the programs involved. The panel was led by Karen Archer Perry, of the Federal Communications Commission National Broadband Taskforce, and included Emily Tseng, Broadband Technology Opportunities Program Officer with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and Elizabeth Stock, President of Computers for Youth (CFY). Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 22, 2010 – House Intelligence Subcommittee Chairwoman Jane Harman, D-Calif., announced the consideration of new cybersecurity legislation introduced in the Senate last Wednesday. The bill, S. 3480, sponsored by Sens. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., Tom Carper, D-Del., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, is the “Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act.” Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 22, 2010 – Walter B. McCormick, President and CEO of USTELECOM, delivered the first keynote address at the Roadmap to Broadband Adoption conference hosted by Broadband for America, the US Internet Industry Association, and NetLiteracy today.
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WASHINGTON, June 22, 2010 – The United States Department of Agriculture convened a workshop today for recipients of the Broadband Initiative Program (BIP), economic development experts, and USDA officials in Dallas last week. The workshop was keynoted by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who made arguments suggesting that the Initiative Program would improve health care, education and increased economic opportunities in rural areas. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 21, 2010 – More federal workers wish to telework and the government should study private sector efforts to make that happen, according to a new study. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 17, 2010 – NYFI, a wireless and telecommunications company located near Manhattan, recently announced its intention to begin supply free Wi-Fi coverage to all commuters on New York’s MTA Metro North Railroad. This decision comes after AT&T Mobility announced a similar plan to expand free Wi-Fi in Times Square. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 17, 2010 – Connected Texas, a subsidiary of the national group Connected Nation, held a web conference today to give a demonstration of its new broadband mapping technology. The conference was hosted by Connected Texas Staff Member Wes Kerr, who walked the audience through the demonstration, and fielded questions once it had concluded. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 16, 2010 – The Broadband Opportunity Coalition, a new coalition of civil rights organizations, announced a plan to promote Broadband adoption and literacy among minority and disadvantaged communities. The coalition was formed in response to encouragement by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for groups to coalesce around shared goals. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 15, 2010 – Today’s broadband expansion throughout the United States faces similar challenges to wiring the nation with electricity decades ago, and the nation’s businesses, consumers and government must work together to tap into the resources that high-speed internet access offers, said one of the nation's top expert on rural broadband at a BroadbandBreakfast.com panel discussion. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 15, 2010 – In response to the passage of a bill bolstering Federal Cybersecurity policy by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME), Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) released a statement today extolling the benefits of the proposed bill. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 11, 2010 – Community broadband providers face unique challenges, said a group of experts Thursday at an event hosted by the New America Foundation. Broadband is a local issue and members of the communications community shouldn’t lose sight of that, said author Craig Settles, who is also president of Successful.com and co-director of Communities United for Broadband, in a speech just prior to the panel discussion. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 8, 2010 –Jonathan Adelstein, Director of the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), recently sat down for an interview with C-SPAN’s “The Communicators” series. The interview covered a wide range of topics, mostly concerning the role of the Rural Utilities Service in bringing broadband access to previously inaccessible areas through grants and loans. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 7, 2010 – Experts gathered last week to discuss problems surrounding transparency in federal spectrum policy and the challenges in addressing the issue. A recurring point of contention was the question of how to raise governmental consciousness of the price of spectrum, so as to prevent overuse by the government at the expense of the private sector. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 3, 2010 – Rep. Mike Doyle sent a letter to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission requesting changes in regulatory policy regarding broadband internet access and asking the FCC to review and possibly update the 1996 Telecommunications Act. Keep Reading