New America

There are two general approaches to expanding access to high-speed broadband in small towns and rural areas: with wires (fiber) and without (fixed wireless). Because trenching fiber is very costly in low-density areas, there is a growing recognition that “wireless fiber”–otherwise known as fixed wireless access–can provide broadband at high capacity (100/10 Mbps or better) at a fraction of the cost and also far more quickly.

David Kaye, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, issued a call for comments on content regulation in the digital age. The call aimed to collect information from states, companies, and civil society organizations on content regulation processes, including relevant legislative measures, internal and external policies, and the challenges and successes of these procedures.

As everyday consumer appliances and devices like televisions are increasingly connected to the internet, concerns about privacy and security are mounting.

[Commentary] One year ago, President Trump designated Ajit Pai as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. New America reviews Pai’s first year as chair, which was marked by a radical agenda that rolled back consumer protections and rubber-stamped corporate wish lists.

1. Repealed Net Neutrality
2. Abandoned Consumer Privacy
3. Put Industry Ahead of Consumers
4. Exacerbated the Digital Divide 
5. Stoked Mergers and Stifled Competition
6. Kept the Public in the Dark

[Commentary] What if Google posted your search history online? All of it, I mean—even the stuff you looked at years ago (or perhaps yesterday) in Incognito Mode. If that question doesn’t send a shiver down your spine, my guess is you’re probably not a Millennial. And to those Millennials who think that Incognito Mode truly protects your data by fully anonymizing your online browsing, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but—that isn’t really the case.

In a blink of an evolutionary eye, radio and television then give way to smartphones—all of the world’s threats in your hand, all the time. “The smartphone, especially, more than pretty much any other technology that existed before, is constant,” says Barry Glassner, a professor of sociology. “For many people, at least, notifications come and updates come pretty much nonstop. It’s a very far cry from picking up the daily paper,” let alone the town square.