Research

Ookla has data from Q3 and Q4 2022 for SpaceX’s Starlink and Sky Logic in Europe and Oceania, as well as new Starlink markets Ookla hadn't yet featured in its ongoing series on satellite internet. With the Federal Communication Commission greenlighting Amazon’s Project Kuiper and many other exciting satellite developments launching in 2023, all eyes will be on the sky in 2023 as new orbital connectivity options become available for consumers. Several developments from the analysis include:

Broadband adoption is a determinant of health that intersects with other sociological determinants such as education and employment. Due to the rising reliance on digital technology, lack of broadband adoption prevents individuals from accessing the essential resources needed to fully participate in 21st century educational and employment opportunities. Vulnerable populations experience greater impacts of divestment, and therefore experience greater sociological stressors and worse health outcomes.

Federal systems are vulnerable to cyberattacks. The GAO has made 236 recommendations in public reports since 2010 with respect to protecting cyber critical infrastructure. Until these are fully implemented, federal agencies will be more limited in their ability to protect private and sensitive data entrusted to them. In September 2022, GAO's review of 24 agencies found that most had generally established policies and procedures for key privacy program activities.

The Federal Communications Commission recently released a “pre-production” draft of its new National Broadband Map in an effort to provide more precise details about where internet service does and does not exist in individual locations across the US. While much attention has been paid to how the map represents broadband service for individual households, there is much less understanding among the general public with regards to how the map represents individual community anchor institutions, such as public schools, libraries, and hospitals.

Despite broadband being an essential infrastructure for conducting basic socio-economic activities and reducing inequality and the digital divide, expanding broadband coverage in rural areas remains a significant challenge in many countries due to high deployment costs.

Significant increases in consumption and speeds, spurred in part by government incentives, powered broadband toward or past major milestones at the end of 2022.

To make sure that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program funding is used efficiently and not misallocated, it is important that National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) rules for allocating those funds be based on sound economic and policy principles. Unfortunately, that is not the case presently. As framed, the BEAD Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is heavily biased to favor and fund Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) projects.

Since announcing his policy of a “general amnesty” for banned Twitter users in November 2022, Elon Musk has reinstated tens of thousands of accounts, including neo-Nazis, white supremacists, misogynists, and spreaders of dangerous conspiracy theories. Now new research by the Center for Countering Digital Hate estimates the value of these reinstatements to Twitter, providing further evidence that Musk’s decision to welcome them back is driven by a desperate drive for revenues. By analyzing new publicly available figures on tweet impressions, the Center estimates that just ten reinstated acco

Broadband access has heterogeneous effects on establishment entry and exit across industries and across urban and rural markets.  Research highlights the following points:

A framework for how each state and territory can spend Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funds on fixed broadband – principally fiber -- projects to connect their unserved and underserved locations. The framework includes both a national analysis and an analysis for each state with the latest data to estimate the number of unserved and underserved locations and the amount of BEAD funding that will be allocated to each jurisdiction. Includes fixed broadband deployment scenarios using that funding and matching funds from providers.