Research

Almost 20 years ago, the US Department of Justice observed that, “when government is constantly being asked to do more with less, the Internet is playing a vital role in allowing government to better serve all of its citizens.” For people lacking private internet access, officials should consider the options for public internet access and how to best educate community members on its availability. Online meetings “are another element of reaching people,” said Dan McLean, a communications professional based in Shelburne, VT.

A group of prominent media, tech and research executives have raised nearly $3 million to launch an independent policy research center focused on addressing global internet issues, such as disinformation, algorithmic accountability, and the economic health of the news industry. While the Center for News, Technology & Innovation (CNTI) is not designed to lobby or advocate on behalf of specific policy proposals, it does hope to influence future internet policy toward maintaining an open internet and an independent press.

Researchers at the Humana Foundation and AARP’s Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) found that nearly half of older Americans live with technological barriers. And nearly 22 million American seniors do not have wireline broadband access at home. There are poignant correlations between digital disengagement and race, disability, health status, educational attainment, immigration status, rural residence, and, of course, income.

The Federal Communication Commission used FCC Form 477 to collect subscribership information from providers of voice telephone services – incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs), competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), and mobile voice providers – since December 1999. The FCC has required interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (“interconnected VoIP”) service providers to report subscribership information since December 2008. Also, starting with the data reported for 2014, FCC Form 477 has been modified to distinguish “over-the-top” (colloquially, “bring your own broadband”) inte

The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) announced a suite of Broadbandtoolkit.com geospatial planning tools for FBA members to visualize existing broadband deployments and areas of opportunity.

The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) and RVA LLC Market Research & Consulting (RVA) released an annual consumer research report titled, “The Status of U.S. Broadband: The Growing Preference to Fiber Broadband.” The 2023 study reveals fiber broadband is considered the best internet service delivery method in terms of speed and reliability among 63% of all US consumers, including 54% of cable users.

The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) and Cartesian unveiled their Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Threshold Financial Model that helps states calculate their Extremely High Cost Per Location Threshold (EHCT) for fiber broadband deployments using BEAD funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

An AI expert suggested that AI could be used to produce better broadband maps. I had to chuckle at that idea. The primary reason for my amusement is that Federal Communications Commission maps are created from self-reported broadband coverage and speeds by the many internet service providers (ISP) in the country. ISPs have a variety of motivations for how and why they report data to the FCC. Some ISPs try to report accurate speeds and coverage.

A majority of voters don’t trust tech executives to self-regulate their use of AI, 83% of voters believe AI could accidentally cause a catastrophic event, 72% want to slow down AI development and usage, a new survey shows. American views on AI measures to be released on Friday, August 11, 2023. A new poll from the Artificial Intelligence Policy Institute (AIPI) shows that the vast majority of voters of all political affiliations are concerned about the risks from artificial intelligence and support federal regulation of it.

The Federal Communications Commission published its first “illustrative run” of what the offers might be to broadband providers who elect extended subsidies in exchange for agreeing to bring 100/20 broadband to every location in their “study area.” With this illustrative run document, it now appears that if all the ISPs accept the FCC’s offer, 1.3 million locations would be ineligible for BEAD funding because the FCC would have an enforceable commitment from the ISP to bring service to that location.