Transparent Internet Pricing Campaign, Google Fined $600M in France, Work-From-Home Study

July 13, 2021–A new campaign called Broadband Together is asking consumers across the United States to share their monthly internet bills at broadbandtogether.org.

Consumer Reports alongside more than 40 public interest groups are joining forces to advocate for better internet for lower prices.

This initiative will analyze the cost, quality, and speeds to better understand why consumers are paying different rates for the same service, the campaign said. The campaign will analyze these factors in a data-driven manner to force accountability on providers and lawmakers to deliver more accessible broadband, it added.

“It’s hard to have good broadband policy without good broadband data,”

, legal director at advocacy group Public Knowledge, said in a statement. Public Knowledge joined Consumer Reports in the campaign.

“Not only do we not know where broadband is deployed, but we also don’t know how it performs, how much people are paying for it, and whether they’re getting what they pay for. Broadband Together is a way for people in communities across the country to share data to help make broadband more universal, affordable, and equitable” Bergmayer said.

Google fined $593 million in France over treatment of news publishers

Google was fined $593 million by France’s Competition Authority for allegedly violating orders to negotiate “in good faith” licensing deals with publishers and news agencies.

According to France 24, this is the “biggest ever fine” imposed by the Competition Authority for a company’s failure to adhere to one of its rulings.

A Google spokesperson said the company was “very disappointed” by the decision.

France’s Autorité de la concurrence claimed Google breached an agreement of the recent adoption of the European Union’s new copyright directive involving fair compensation when news publishers’ work is shown on a website, search engine, and social media platform.

Complaints of publishers have been filed over the past few months and Google has since negotiated paid deals with some French news publishers such as Le Monde and Le Figaro, but not all publishers.

Study finds fiber will close wage gaps, but speeds still a concern

The Fiber-To-The-Home Council Global Alliance (FCGA) said in a report that fiber will attract people to less populated areas, creating jobs and increasing housing development.

“As these areas become more populated, more housing development will occur to satisfy demand,” said the report, called The Future of Work: Analyzing Global Broadband Trends, released Tuesday. “Fiber networks can only strengthen this trend as Fiber networks have proven to increase economies, create jobs, and increase home values.”

The FCGA said in a global study, which examined how businesses dealt with work-from-home strategies, that 52 per cent of respondents surveyed said download and upload speeds were “among the top challenges they faced while working from home.”

The study is based on nearly 500 responses from member and non-member company participants of the Fiber Broadband Association and FCGA across North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia Pacific over a two-week period.

“Trends toward remote workforce has been in play for several years, but remote working became a necessity overnight in mid-2020 and will continue for the long term,” the study said.

“For those who had not been accustomed to working from home, sharing the internet with other members in the household proved to be challenging and frustrating while the business worked behind the scenes toward providing some relief as quickly as possible. However, not all employees had their issues resolved essentially waiting out slow loading applications and files, webpages, and low-quality video conferencing.”