Internet/Broadband

Meta Platforms is urging a federal appellate court to reconsider a recent 2-1 decision allowing Facebook and Instagram advertisers to proceed with a class-action fraud lawsuit over inflated metrics.

TikTok and its parent company ByteDance challenged the US government in a legal filing on May 7 over a new law forcing the sale or ban of the social media giant, igniting a high-stakes court battle in Washington that could prove to be an existential fight for one of the world’s most popular apps. President Biden signed a law in April demanding that China-based ByteDance sell TikTok within a year or be banned across the United States, arguing that the Chinese government c

Devon Braunstein is taking the helm as Deputy Director of the Illinois Office of Broadband at the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and Matt Schmit is poised to join the Illinois Broadband Lab at the University of Illinois System as Senior Director for Broadband.

DZS a global leader of broadband networking and software-defined cloud solutions, announced a binding agreement to acquire NetComm Wireless. The acquisition of NetComm’s Fiber Extension, Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), Home Broadband and Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) products and patents combined with DZS’ category defining broadband networking and cloud software solutions will create one of the world’s most comprehensive and technologically advanced last mile broadband access portfolios.

The Washington State Public Works Board (PWB) recently approved $21 million in critical infrastructure projects in 10 communities for broadband construction, pre-construction, and emergency funding. Taking action at its May 3, 2024 business meeting, the PWB approved $20 million to expand broadband access in unserved communities, $550,000 for two pre-construction projects, and two emergency infrastructure projects for $514,500.

A blueprint for cities and counties to expand Internet access by leveraging a municipally-enabled, middle-mile fiber backbone without bearing the full burden of infrastructure costs. The approach could help bridge the persistent digital divide affecting numerous communities nationwide. Drawing on case studies from Fort Worth and Lake Cities (TX), and Joplin (MO) Middle Mile as a Catalyst highlights the efficacy of following this approach.

Back in the pandemic depths of December 2020, when so many Americans were working, learning and performing essential daily tasks online, the Federal Communications Commission launched an emergency program to help low-income people connect to high-speed internet with a $50-per-month subsidy. That was extended with the Affordable Connectivity Program, which has provided $30 a month for internet service.

Two concrete examples of rapidly growing broadband demand are schools and internet service provider (ISP) backhaul. A decade ago, there was a scramble to get gigabit broadband access to schools. Because of the use of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) E-rate money, a lot of schools across the country got connected to fiber and were able to buy faster broadband. The original goal was to get a gigabit connection to each school, and almost every school in many states met that goal.

American and Chinese diplomats plan to meet to begin what amounts to the first, tentative arms control talks over the use of artificial intelligence. The talks in Geneva are an attempt to find some common ground on how A.I. will be used and in which situations it could be banned—for example, in the command and control of each country’s nuclear arsenals.

Microsoft and OpenAI launched a $2 million Societal Resilience Fund to further artificial intelligence education and literacy among voters and vulnerable communities. Grants delivered from the fund will help several organizations—including Older Adults Technology Services from AARP (OATS), the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) and Partnership on AI (PAI)—to deliver AI education and support their work to create better understanding of AI capabilities.