1. Monthly archive
  2. March 2017

March 2017

Tens of Thousands Urge FCC Chairman Pai to Get Serious About the Digital Divide, Stop Restricting Lifeline Services

On March 23, a coalition of digital rights advocates, racial justice groups and grassroots activists called on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to make a more genuine effort to provide affordable internet access for low-income communities. In comments filed as part of an agency proceeding on its Lifeline program, members of Voices for Internet Freedom called on the FCC to reverse a February order revoking the Lifeline status of nine internet-access providers, and to fully implement the Lifeline Modernization Order passed in 2016. The Voices filing notes that the FCC’s revocation “erodes Lifeline's promise to bring affordable broadband to low-income consumers.”

Voices is urging the Commission to avoid any future effort to undermine Lifeline reforms put in place by former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, former Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. Free Press has received more than 13,000 comments from people across the country protesting Pai’s attacks on Lifeline and supporting the expansion of the program to broadband. Another 18,000 public comments were filed by Demand Progress, a digital rights group urging the FCC to support Lifeline and close the digital divide for those who need access most.

Charter promises President Trump something new ($25-billion investment) and something old (20,000 jobs)

Thomas Rutledge, chief executive of Charter Communications, committed in a meeting with President Donald Trump to invest $25 billion on broadband infrastructure while joining a trend of business leaders touting previously announced job creation at the White House. In the case of Charter — Southern California’s dominant cable-TV and Internet service provider — Rutledge said he expected to hire 20,000 new US employees over the next four years. Charter had made the hiring promise in 2015 when it was purchasing Time Warner Cable. The new development was the time period in which it will occur. Nevertheless, President Trump indicated the job creation was triggered by his election.

“We are really in the process of announcements and you’re going to see thousands and thousands and thousands of jobs and companies and everything coming back into our country,” President Trump said, flanked by Rutledge and Gov Greg Abbott (R-TX). “They’re coming in far faster than even I had projected.” The large investment in broadband infrastructure was a new commitment from Charter. Rutledge signaled that it was made because of the policies of President Trump and congressional Republicans, who have promised to cut corporate taxes and reduce regulations.

FCC Chairman Pai Statement On Charter's Broadband Investment Announcement

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai issued the following statement on the announcement by Charter Communications on broadband investment: “The FCC’s top priority is making sure that any American who wants high-speed Internet access, or broadband, is able to get it. To do that, since January, we have been working to set rules of the road that encourage companies to build and upgrade broadband networks across the country. I’m pleased to see that our investment-friendly policies, along with the Administration’s overall regulatory approach, are already producing results. I applaud Charter Communications for its announcement today that it intends to spend $25 billion in broadband infrastructure and technology over the next four years. I am optimistic that this massive investment will help to close the digital divide and to strengthen our economy.”

Tech community "dumbfounded" by Treasury Secretary Mnuchin's dismissal of AI impact on jobs

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin riled the tech community when he said that displacement of jobs by artificial intelligence and automation is "not even on my radar screen" because the technology is "50-100 more years" away. Sec Mnuchin also said he is "not worried at all" about robots displacing humans in the near future. "In fact, I'm optimistic."

The reaction from the tech community was harsh and swift. DJ Patil, former US Chief Data Scientist, pointed out the Obama Administration's report on artificial intelligence and said "Read to see why we need to get ready now." "This is actually kind of frightening, particularly the dismissal of the impact of AI and machine learning on jobs," tweeted Larry Irving, a former Clinton Administration official who works with tech companies. "Has he talked to anyone in the tech (or any) industry recently?"

The Soul-Sucking, Attention-Eating Black Hole of the Trump Presidency

[Commentary] In short, President Donald Trump is very likely a short-timer whose moment on our national stage — even if it lasts four years — will not have warranted the degree to which it has shifted our attention from the important long-term issues that do not go away simply because we stop paying attention to them or, as in the case of climate change or Russian wrongdoing, our president continues to pretend they don’t exist. President Trump will not inadvertently or otherwise damage the fundamentals of what makes America great. Indeed, recent events have restored hope that perhaps his story may one day be seen as proof that the American system works and that bad actors are ultimately brought down.

But we need to tear our eyes away from the spectacle of this clusterf--k of a presidency and its daily dramas and periodically look up and out to our horizons, recognizing that the narcissism aside, there remains real greatness in America that needs tending, planning, and nurturing in the context of the real world — even if, at the moment, there is very little evidence of that greatness at the center of our government.

© 1994-2024 Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. All Rights Reserved.