October 2023

A fifth of China's broadband users access speeds of 1 Gbps or above

Twenty-two percent of broadband customers in China have access to downlink speeds of at least 1 Gbps. China is progressing in fixed-line broadband as well as mobile, according to its latest government statistics. The country's three big operators reported 622 million fixed-line broadband users at the end of August, which is up 32.1 million from the start of the year. All told, of the 587 million Chinese broadband users, 94 percent are on 100 Mbps and above. The country's success in rolling out advanced infrastructure and racking up big subscriber adds is due to several factors, such as a su

Paying for news: Price-conscious consumers look for value amid cost-of-living crisis

This Reuters Institute report uses survey data from 20 countries and qualitative research from the United Kingdom (UK), US, and Germany to explore who is paying for news content online, which publications they pay for, how much they pay, and what motivations they have for subscribing or donating to news. The focus is  on how the cost-of-living crisis is impacting willingness to pay for online news. Key findings include that payment for online news is leveling off with high levels of cancellation strongly linked to the cost-of-living crisis.

European telecommunication groups ask Brussels to make Big Tech pay more for networks

Europe’s biggest telecommunications companies have called on the European Union to compel Big Tech to pay a “fair” contribution for using their networks, the latest stage in a battle for payments that has pitched the sector against companies such as Netflix and Google. Technology companies that “benefit most” from telecommunications infrastructure and drive traffic growth should contribute more to costs, according to the chief executives of 20 groups including BT, Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica.

Put Out the Red Light (Report)

Have you read Senator Cruz’s Red Light Report on broadband funding that came recently? The report accomplished several things:

Governor Gavin Newsom Appoints Laphonza Butler to Complete Senator Feinstein’s Term in the US Senate

Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) selected Laphonza Butler—the President of the nation’s largest organization dedicated to electing women, EMILY’s List—to complete the United States Senate term of the late Senator Dianne Feinstein, which runs through 2024. Butler, a longtime senior adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris, labor leader, and advocate for women and working people, will be the first openly LGBTQ person to represent California in the Senate.

Op-ed

Put Out the Red Light (Report)

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

Monday, October 2, 2023