Research
Housing Search in the Age of Big Data: Smarter Cities or the Same Old Blind Spots?
Housing scholars stress the importance of the information environment in shaping housing search behavior and outcomes. Rental listings have increasingly moved online over the past two decades and, in turn, online platforms like Craigslist are now central to the search process. Do these technology platforms serve as information equalizers or do they reflect traditional information inequalities that correlate with neighborhood sociodemographics?
Technical Feasibility of Sharing Federal Spectrum with Future Commercial Operations in the 3450-3550 MHz Band
As part of an assessment conducted with the Department of Defense, NTIA significant progress in finding potential spectrum sharing options for the 3450-3550 MHz band. Federal operations in the 3450-3550 MHz band include shipborne, airborne, and land-based systems — primarily radars. Our report points to a clear possibility for real time spectrum sharing that would protect these critical missions, while providing attractive opportunities for commercial business.
Implementing policy on next-generation broadband networks and implications for equity of access to high speed broadband: A case study of Australia's NBN
In this article we draw on our recent case study research to examine the policy (and politics) shaping implementation of Australia's National Broadband Network (NBN) and its likely effects on equity of access to high speed broadband (HSB) services. We monitored NBN policy and implementation from 2015 to 2018 through policy documents, reports, and media. We found that equity considerations competed with political and commercial imperatives during the rollout of the NBN.
Public Safety Broadband Network: Deployment Is Progressing, but FirstNet Could Strengthen Its Oversight
Public-safety officials such as police officers and firefighters rely on communications systems to do their jobs. The Department of Commerce's FirstNet must establish a nationwide public-safety broadband network for use by these officials. In March 2017, FirstNet awarded a 25-year, multibillion-dollar contract to AT&T to deploy, operate, and maintain the network. AT&T must meet milestones specified in the contract, such as for providing network coverage and for the network's adoption.
Most Americans support right to have some personal info removed from online searches
Americans prefer to keep certain information about themselves outside the purview of online searches. Given the option, 74% of US adults say it is more important to be able to “keep things about themselves from being searchable online,” while 23% say it is more important to be able to “discover potentially useful information about others.”
US Media Polarization and the 2020 Election: A Nation Divided
A new Pew Research Center report finds that Republicans and Democrats place their trust in two nearly inverse news media environments. Overall, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents view many heavily relied on sources across a range of platforms as untrustworthy. At the same time, Democrats and independents who lean Democratic see most of those sources as credible and rely on them to a far greater degree. Evidence suggests that partisan polarization in the use and trust of media sources has widened in the past five years.
Mobile Network Experience Report January 2020
Opensignal released its Jan 2020 Mobile Network Experience: USA Report. Verizon claimed the top position in three of seven categories, holding onto the award for Video Experience. AT&T was close behind with wins in two categories, including Download Speed, and a tie with T-Mobile for Voice App Experience. While Sprint missed out on awards this time, it still scored a big gain in its users' Video Experience – jumping almost 17% in just six months. And all four operators are delivering extremely high levels of 4G Availability – over 90 percent.
The Cost of Connectivity in Ammon, Idaho
Municipal broadband networks can have a positive impact on their communities. Municipal networks, often managed and operated fully or partially by local governments, exhibit a high level of responsiveness to consumer needs and lower prices than larger internet service providers such as AT&T and Comcast.
CBO Scores the Broadband DATA Act
The Broadband DATA Act (HR 4229) would require the Federal Communications Commission to collect detailed data twice a year on the availability of broadband Internet access services. That data would be reported by providers of those broadband services. Under the act, the FCC would establish and maintain a comprehensive database and create detailed and publicly available broadband coverage maps. The act also would require the FCC to develop processes for any person or entity to submit broadband availability data to verify or challenge the FCC’s database or maps.
NIST Privacy Framework: A Tool for Improving Privacy through Enterprise Risk Management
To help organizations balance building innovative products and services that use personal data while still protecting people’s privacy, NIST is offering a new tool for managing privacy risk. Developed in collaboration with a range of stakeholders, the framework provides a set of privacy protection strategies for organizations that wish to improve their approach to using and protecting personal data.