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  2. July 2017

July 2017

Supreme Court Extends Time for Title II Appeal

The Supreme Court has agreed to give Internet service providers more time to decide whether to appeal a DC Court's ruling upholding the Federal Communications Commission's Title II Open Internet order. The court granted a petition by USTelecom and others to extend the deadline for appeal (filing a writ of certiorari) from July 30 to Sept. 28.

ISPs pointed out that the new FCC might have mooted that appeal by September—if it has voted on a proposal from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to reverse the Title II classification and review the rules. Seeking the extension in addition to USTelecom were NCTA–The Internet & Television Association, CTIA–The Wireless Association, the American Cable Association, AT&T, CenturyLink, Alamo Broadband, TechFreedom and various individuals including VoIP pioneer Daniel Berninger. The FCC has sought comment on the proposal by the Republican FCC majority under chairman Ajit Pai to reclassify internet access—wired and wireless, fixed and mobile, customer facing and interconnections—as an information service not subject to Title II and to review whether rules against blocking, throttling and paid prioritization are necessary.

Since Trump’s Election, Increased Attention to Politics – Especially Among Women

Following the 2016 election, which had one of the largest gender gaps in history, women are more likely than men to say they are paying increased attention to politics. And while far more Democrats than Republicans say they have attended a political event, rally or protest since the election, Democratic women – especially younger women and those with postgraduate degrees – are among the most likely to have participated in such a political gathering.

The latest national survey by Pew Research Center, conducted June 27 to July 9 among 2,505 adults, finds that 52% of Americans say they are paying more attention to politics since Donald Trump’s election; 33% say they are paying about the same amount of attention, while 13% say they are paying less attention to politics. The new survey also finds that, nearly nine months after the election, most people (59%) say it is “stressful and frustrating” to talk about politics with people who have a different opinion of Trump than they do; just 35% find such conversations “interesting and informative."

Remarks by Joan Marsh at the MMTC 15th Annual Access to Capital and Telecom Policy Conference

We live in an age of innovation and disruption, of opportunity and cost, of benefit and risk. As communications technologies continue to evolve, I believe digital equity is within reach, but to achieve it we must continue to bridge gaps – in both access and understanding – and to work together for the communities we all serve. For our part, AT&T looks forward to continuing to support and develop a diverse workforce, to support minority-owned vendors and suppliers, to creating jobs for diverse communities, and to investing in technology and networks that will transition us to a 5G future, which will further bridge the digital divide, creating economic opportunities for communities that need them most.

Rural Broadband Access: Summit Seeks To Connect Leaders

The Appalachian Ohio-West Virginia Connectivity Summit was created by community organizer and Meigs County resident Liz Shaw and the Citizens Connectivity Council. Her goal was not necessarily to see immediate action, but to show the strong desire for access and the currently sad state of broadband in Appalachia. “We’re not only not going forward, we are going backward in many cases,” Shaw said. “This is like being in a Conestoga wagon on the prairie and sending up smoke signals, in my opinion, when you hear from a county that has no 911 and no landlines and no cell phone and no internet working.” Kate Forscey, associate policy counsel at Public Knowledge, a Washington, D.C., digital rights advocacy group, said the summit was a good time for national groups to hear from the region. “This is an opportunity for localities to be empowered, to provide their own broadband, to talk about the challenges that they face that we don’t necessarily always hear about in Washington,” Forscey said.

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