September 2022

Biden Administration Releases Implementation Strategy for $50 Billion CHIPS for America program (Department of Commerce)

Submitted by benton on Tue, 09/06/2022 - 06:05

Irish regulator fines Instagram €405 million for failing to protect children’s data (Financial Times)

Submitted by benton on Tue, 09/06/2022 - 06:04

Caught in a Dangerous World: Problematic News Consumption and Its Relationship to Mental and Physical Ill-Being (Health Communication)

Submitted by benton on Tue, 09/06/2022 - 06:04

Another Step Toward Better Broadband Maps

On June 30, the Federal Communications Commission opened the first ever window to collect information from broadband providers in every state and territory about precisely where they provide broadband services. September 2 marked the close of this first data collection window—the next important step forward in our efforts to build more accurate broadband maps, which are much-needed, long overdue, and mandated by Congress. I wanted to give everyone a quick update on what we’ve done, what we’re announcing today, and what people can expect in the months ahead.

Going the last (and middle) mile: Time and money are required to get statewide broadband access

Alabama Senate Majority Leader Clay Scofield (R-AL) says he gets asked by Alabamians about one topic more than most: High-speed internet and when they’ll have access to it. Alabama's goal is that new publicly funded projects have speeds of 100 megabits per second for downloads and 100 megabits per second for uploads. Getting that statewide will cost billions. In late August 2022, officials announced $26.6 million in Alabama Broadband Accessibility Fund grants to extend broadband internet access to about 15,000 homes, businesses and entities, including schools, in 10 counties.

Starlink flies under the radar at public schools nationwide

Tech magnate Elon Musk’s satellite internet service Starlink has quietly made inroads with public schools nationwide over the past two years, winning over students, families and administrators who say it’s the kind of connectivity that has been sorely lacking in some of the most rural corners of the US. Public school districts in Arizona, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia have announced pilot projects or are already using Starlink to bring broadband internet service to students’ out-of-the-way homes via a network of satellites. But it’s not cheap.

Spectrum Launches Broadband Network in Jefferson County, Texas Using Rural Digital Opportunity Funds

Spectrum announced the launch of Spectrum Internet, Mobile, TV and Voice services to more than 2,670 homes and small businesses in rural Jefferson County (TX). Spectrum’s newly constructed fiber-optic network buildout is part of the company’s approximately $5 billion investment in unserved rural communities, which includes $1.2 billion won in the Federal Communications Commission’s Rural Digital opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction.

Washington state judge rules Facebook violated campaign finance rules (Washington Post)

Submitted by Grace Tepper on Mon, 09/05/2022 - 21:43

FCC Announces the Start of the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric Bulk Challenge Process

The Federal Communications Commission announced that as of September 12, 2022, state, local, and Tribal governments, service providers, and other entities can begin to file bulk challenges to data in the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric, which serves as the foundation for the Broadband Data Collection (BDC) fixed availability maps.

Amazon's telemedicine experiment is dead, but the tech giant’s healthcare ambitions live on (Washington Post)

Submitted by Grace Tepper on Mon, 09/05/2022 - 21:10

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