1. Monthly archive
  2. June 2020

June 2020

The FCC’s Approach to Small Cells Strips Municipalities of Rights, Claim NATOA Panelists

Wireless infrastructure deployment, particularly for small cell or distributed antenna systems, promise smart city innovation abilities. But this rollout is likely to be stymied until resolution of disputes between industry and municipalities. Local officials are upset that federal intervention – by Congress and by the Federal Communications Commission – is hampering their ability to govern their own rights-of-way.

Facebook changes algorithm to boost original reporting

Facebook will be updating the way news stories are ranked in its News Feed to prioritize original reporting and demoting stories that aren't transparent about who has written them. Facebook says that in order to identify which original stories to promote, it will use artificial intelligence to analyze groups of articles on a particular story topic and identify the ones most often cited as the original source. It's a minor but concrete tweak that Facebook can point to as doing something to minimize misinformation.

Comcast touts network performance and Wall Street takes note

Comcast says its broadband network has earned high marks for its performance so far during the Covid-19 pandemic, and now Wall Street analysts are projecting more broadband subscriber growth for the company. Comcast claims its network is delivering above-advertised speeds nationwide, based on the results of more than 700,000 daily diagnostic network speed tests. Upstream traffic is up 32% as more Americans work from home, and downstream traffic is up 11%.

Facebook’s Politics Aren’t Aging Well

They say it is best not to talk politics among friends. But in trying to avoid the conversation, Facebook has stepped right into the thick of it. Now, some of its most valuable relationships are at risk. Since the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018, Facebook has been no stranger to controversies ranging from election misinformation, security breaches, violent content and more.

Remote School Is a Nightmare. Few in Power Care.

With expanded unemployment benefits set to expire at the end of July, many parents will have no choice but to return to work by September. Even for parents who can work from home, home schooling is often a crushing burden that’s destroying careers, mental health and family relationships.

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