You’re reading the Benton Foundation’s Weekly Round-up, a recap of the biggest (or most overlooked) telecommunications stories of the week. The round-up is delivered via e-mail each Friday; to get your own copy, subscribe at www.benton.org/user/register
Robbie’s Round-Up for the Week of March 21-25, 2016
Comcast said it has teamed with the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) ConnectHome initiative on a pilot that will extend the company’s Internet Essentials program to public housing residents in Miami, Nashville, Philadelphia and Seattle.
Internet Essentials, a voluntary commitment linked to Comcast's acquisition of NBCUniversal and originally designed for low-income families, provides high-speed Internet service (up to 10 Mbps downstream) to those who qualify for $9.95 per month, plus computer equipment (less than $150) and free Internet training. Comcast said Internet Essentials now connects more than 600,000 low-income families, and that 2015 was the program’s most successful year amid a 30% increase in enrolments over 2014.
Hillary Clinton, drawing a sharp contrast with Republican presidential candidates in the wake of the Brussels terror attacks, warned in a counterterrorism policy address that in the fight against ISIS, America must “rely on what actually works — not bluster that alienates our partners and doesn’t make us any safer.”
In a reference to Trump and his signature proposal to build a wall on the Mexican border, Clinton said, “When other candidates talk about building walls around America, I want to ask them: How high does the wall have to be to keep the Internet out?” Clinton also slammed Sen Ted Cruz’s call for more surveillance of Muslims, saying, "One thing we know that does not work is offensive, inflammatory rhetoric that demonizes all Muslims. There are millions of peace-loving Muslims living, working, raising families, and paying taxes in this country. These Americans are a crucial line of defense against terrorism. They are the most likely to recognize the warning signs of radicalization before it’s too late, and the best-positioned to block it."
A recent trip allowed me to learn firsthand what policymakers and industry stakeholders are doing and thinking in eastern Europe. It should be no surprise that in this vibrant and technically sophisticated region of the world, much is underway with respect to smart cities, the transition to next generation networks, and extending broadband to all citizens. How odd then to return home to a Federal Communications Commission that is continuing its campaign to favor some industry sectors and companies over others, that is spending money to contrive reasons to regulate (of all things) copper-based 1.5 Mbps special access services and set-top boxes, and that is proposing to create unique and burdensome “privacy” rules that are more about creating advantages for some companies in the advertising market than about protecting consumers. Perhaps saddest of all, how odd to come home to a rating agency’s warnings resulting solely from the damage being done by the FCC to America’s world leading broadband industry. Something’s clearly not right in Washington.
You wouldn't know it from reading headlines about Utah Republicans' experiment with online voting, but America has actually held statewide online elections before — and arguably, successfully. The first and the biggest happened in Arizona in 2000 at the height of the dot-com bubble. The state's Democratic Party decided to enter the Wild West and hold its primary online. It marked the first time a major public-sector election had been held online in the world, and it drew national and even international attention and controversy. In the end, some 41 percent of Democratic primary voters cast ballots online from outside polling locations. The results were a mixed bag, but a record turnout that doubled from the previous election won over New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor, who wrote: "Aside from a few crashed browsers and overloaded servers, the event was a success." But here we are in 2016, where you can order Chinese takeout and stamps on your phone, but voting online is still almost completely nonexistent.
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