Fast Company
2020 candidates step up Facebook ad spending as the rest of the country hunkers down (Fast Company)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Fri, 04/10/2020 - 16:45Location tracking to combat COVID-19 may not be accurate enough to be effective, says ACLU (Fast Company)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Wed, 04/08/2020 - 17:16Our lack of will to expand broadband access has left millions of students disconnected during closures
Internet providers stepping up in the midst of this crisis to maintain affordable service is the right thing to do in this moment—but it’s a short-term fix for a decades-long problem. To truly close the digital divide, cities and states (and Congress if needed) should follow the playbook from the 1930s, and from the many communities—red and blue, urban and rural—who have brought high-speed internet to all residents:
The latest COVID-19 conspiracy theory puts the blame on 5G (Fast Company)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Fri, 04/03/2020 - 11:37How the telephone failed its big test during 1918’s Spanish flu pandemic (Fast Company)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Fri, 04/03/2020 - 11:37Apple, Google, and Microsoft are failing U.S. students during the COVID-19 crisis (Fast Company)
Submitted by benton on Tue, 03/31/2020 - 18:41Coronavirus crunch may expose weakness in your broadband plan: much slower upload speeds
Binge-watching in high-def isn’t an act of irresponsibility in a moment of crisis. “The internet as a whole is fine,” agrees Doug Suttles, CEO of the bandwidth-measurement firm Ookla. “It can handle a ton.” Coronavirus-induced traffic during the day still doesn’t exceed the nightly peaks your internet provider should have already designed its systems around.
How a controversial new broadband map may finally bring fast internet to everyone in America
The newly signed Broadband DATA Act calls for the Federal Communications Commission to develop a more detailed and accurate map that reflects more granular and accurate data about broadband markets. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has complained that his agency would need more time and money to abandon its current mapping method and adopt a new one that fits the requirements of the bill. “At this point, it is vital for Congress to provide the FCC as soon as possible with the appropriations necessary to implement the Act,” Chairman Pai said recently.