1. Monthly archive
  2. June 2020

June 2020

Social Justice, Broadband Top Priorities for Smart Cities

Issues around equity, access to broadband and the broader social ills related to racism are finding a stronger foothold in smart city strategies. The compounding events of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, its related economic fallout and nationwide protests calling attention to unjust policing and systematic racism are redefining how cities use technology as an instrument for achieving community goals. The coronavirus crisis, which either idled large segments of the economy or required workers to go remote, has laid bare lingering problems like the digital divide, as smart city leaders rethin

Pandemic internet aid is ending, but digital divide remains

Thousands of people in communities across the country are about to grapple with losing broadband service. Free services started to help low-income families during the pandemic and a pledge not to cut off service or charge late fees to customers struggling financially are ending June 30. If left unaddressed, this end threatens to unravel a precarious thread of the social safety net at a particularly difficult time for many American families.

Adoption of stand-alone broadband service jumps to 42% of US broadband households in 1Q 2020, up from 34% in 2017

New consumer research finds the market for broadband service is steady overall, showing high adoption rates and rising average revenue per user (ARPUs), with the adoption rate for stand-alone internet service rising from 34% in 2017 to 42% in 1Q 2020. The average stand-alone internet subscriber now pays $60 per month for service, which increased by 36% from 1Q 2012 to 3Q 2019, while payment for TV + Internet services increased from $107 to only $127 over the same time period.

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