Berkman Center at Harvard Launches Dashboard Aimed at Aggregating Broadband Data
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, October 2, 2015 – The Berkman Center for Internet and Society here has launched [https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/node/99141] an ambitious new dashboard designed to provide a visualization of internet health and activity. The dashboard, which debuted at the World Economic Fo
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, October 2, 2015 – The Berkman Center for Internet and Society here has launched an ambitious new dashboard designed to provide a visualization of internet health and activity.
The dashboard, which debuted at the World Economic Forum in Geneva on Monday, builds upon the prior collection of broadband data available through Internet Monitor, a project of Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center.The dashboard is a tool for policymakers, researchers and users to understand, at a glance, various metrics pertaining to broadband access and use.
It incorporates both real-time and historic data across three domains: access (the speeds and prices of broadband internet service), control (whether access been denied), and activity (the sorts of information being accessed by users).
“Over three billion people around the globe use the Internet—for communication, for education, for livelihood,” said Urs Gasser, executive director of the Berkman Center. “As the Internet becomes a vital part of more and more people’s lives and as we shape its future, we need both data and analysis to help understand how it’s working. The Internet Monitor dashboard brings this data and analysis together in an easily shareable way.”For readers of BroadbandBreakfast.com, including those who have followed the early efforts of BroadbandCensus, the need for data about broadband speeds, prices, availability, adoption and competition will come as no surprise.According to the frequently access questions portion of the Internet Monitor’s web site:Internet Monitor’s Access Index aggregates 15 indicators to provide a rough single estimate of the quality of Internet access in countries for which we have collected enough data. We include measures of adoption, speed and quality, and cost, along with several indicators measuring literacy and education rates that attempt to round out the context of the score with additional information. A full explanation of how we collect, aggregate, and analyze this data is available here: A Hackable Access Index.Internet Monitor’s data about access launched in July 2014. To this rich collection of information about broadband access – including speeds and prices – the Berkman Center adds the ability for users to see service interruptions, and real-time data of top edits on Wikipedia.Project developers said that the dashboard aims to inspire both greater use of the data that exists and greater efforts to collect and share that data that does not yet exist.“Internet Monitor is a key part of our effort to expand the evidence base for public and private decision making about the future of the Internet,” said Mark Spelman, Future of the Internet Initiative and World Economic Forum. “We are glad to be partnering with the Berkman Center on such an important venture.”“Internet architecture relies on an extraordinary collective hallucination: there is no central authority or switching station,” added Jonathan Zittrain, faculty chair of the Berkman Center. “That has made measurement of even basic facts about the size and scope of the Internet, and the flow of bits within it, difficult. We need those measurements to inform any number of debates about the state and future of the Internet. This project aims to get them.”
Indicators within the Internet Monitor Access index are collected into four groups. In order to receive a score, countries must have data for at least one indicator in each group. For definitions of these indicators, more information about their sources, and to download data, please see our Data page.
Adoption
Speed & Quality
Price
Education (Literacy & Gender Equality)
Among the articles about the project include these from Harvard Law and the Boston Globe.
Drew Clark is the Chairman of the Broadband Breakfast Club. He tracks the development of Gigabit Networks, broadband usage, the universal service fund and wireless policy @BroadbandCensus. He is also Of Counsel with the firm of Best Best & Krieger LLP, with offices in California and Washington, DC. He works with cities, special districts and private companies on planning, financing and coordinating efforts of the many partners necessary to construct broadband infrastructure and deploy “Smart City” applications. You can find him on LinkedIN, Google+ and Twitter. The articles and posts on BroadbandBreakfast.com and affiliated social media are not legal advice or legal services, do not constitute the creation of an attorney-client privilege, and represent the views of their respective authors.
