Coverage of how Internet service is deployed, used and regulated.
Internet/Broadband
Republican fight against municipal broadband heats up in Michigan
A state lawmaker in Michigan wants to prevent cities and towns from using any government funding to provide Internet service. Michigan state Rep Michele Hoitenga (R-Manton) submitted a bill that says cities and towns "shall not use any federal, state, or local funds or loans to pay for the cost of providing qualified Internet service." State Rep Hoitenga's bill does say that a city or town "may enter into an agreement with one or more private parties to provide qualified Internet service," as long as no government funds are used. Even with that exception, the bill could discourage cities and towns from pursuing public-private partnerships, according to an analysis by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance's Community Broadband Networks project.
FCC Settles New York City E-Rate Investigation With Verizon
The Federal Communications Commission announced a settlement with Verizon for possible violations of the FCC’s competitive bidding rules for the E-rate program. Verizon agreed to pay $17.68 million to resolve parallel investigations by the FCC and the Department of Justice, $17.325 million of which will be repaid to the Universal Service Fund (USF). Verizon has further agreed to withdraw any rights it may have to hundreds of millions of dollars in requested and undisbursed E-rate support.
Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs strikes deal to turn 800 acres of Toronto into an ‘internet city’
Sidewalk Labs, the smart city subsidiary of Alphabet with the stated goal of “reimagining cities from the Internet up,” now has a very big sandbox in which to conduct its high-tech experiments. The Google spinoff announced a deal with the city of Toronto to develop 800 acres of waterfront property into its own digital utopia.
Waterfront Toronto, a city agency tasked with overseeing the development along the shore of Lake Ontario, is teaming up with Sidewalk Labs to create a new venture called Sidewalk Toronto. On Oct 17, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined top executives from Alphabet, including executive chairman Eric Schmidt, to announce the deal, which includes a $50 million commitment from Sidewalk Labs for the installation and testing of the company’s smart city technology. The cost of the project, currently dubbed Quayside, is likely to run over $1 billion.
As US Confronts Internet’s Disruptions, China Feels Vindicated
For years, the United States and others saw China’s heavy-handed censorship as a sign of political vulnerability and a barrier to China’s economic development. But as countries in the West discuss potential internet restrictions and wring their hands over fake news, hacking and foreign meddling, some in China see a powerful affirmation of the country’s vision for the internet.
Few would argue that China’s internet control serves as a model for democratic societies. China squelches online dissent and imprisons many of those who practice it. It blocks foreign news and information, including the website of The New York Times, and promotes homegrown technology companies while banning global services like Facebook and Twitter. At the same time, China anticipated many of the questions now flummoxing governments from the United States to Germany to Indonesia. Where the Russians have turned the internet into a political weapon, China has used it as a shield. In fact, when it comes to technology, China has prospered. It has a booming technology culture. Its internet companies rival Facebook and Amazon in heft. To other countries, China may offer an enticing top-down model that suggests that technology can thrive even under the government’s thumb.
OTI Submits Reply Comments to the FCC on Broadband Deployment
The Open Technology Institute (OTI) filed reply comments in the Federal Communications Commission’s proceeding to determine whether broadband is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely manner. As OTI argued in our initial comments, we do not believe that broadband deployment meets that goal.
The record showed ample support for the position that the country has a long way to go in providing broadband in a reasonable and timely fashion to all Americans, including from a broad coalition of public interest advocates including Public Knowledge, representatives from the tech industry such as Microsoft Corp. and INCOMPAS, and representatives from rural industry such as Deere & Company and NTCA—the Rural Broadband Association. Our reply comments focused on the following arguments: (1) the FCC should not allow mobile-only access to constitute deployment of advanced telecommunications capability, (2) the FCC should consider other factors in defining advanced telecommunications capability, (3) the FCC should adopt speed benchmarks in a technology-neutral manner, and (4) the FCC should move quickly to finalize its TV White Spaces proceeding.
Bringing the internet back to Puerto Rico
Few people have heard of NetHope, but lots of people have benefited from its work. The group acts as the tech arm for a consortium of 53 major global charities, working with tech giants to restore communications in the wake of natural disasters. These days, of course, NetHope is focused on Puerto Rico and other places devastated by recent hurricanes. "You can't really get food, water, shelter where it needs to go if you can't communicate, certainly not at scale," NetHope global programs head Frank Schott said.
The group has dozens of people on the ground, including volunteers from some of the biggest companies in tech. The extensive devastation of the electric grid is making things especially challenging, though the U.S. government and big companies are pitching in on efforts to restore cell service and internet connectivity.
As the World Tweets, Social Media Chiefs Remain Tight-Lipped
[Commentary] The social-media overlords seem sincere when they describe their high-minded intentions. They talk much less, however, about the money they make from their users’ relinquishment of privacy. The willingness of those who make daily use of Google and social media sites to offer up their likes and dislikes, not to mention the details of their spending habits and internet wanderings, provides these companies with the personal data that is the holy grail of modern advertising. It also gives them an endless stream of free content to put those ads beside. Their users’ endless posts, spats and vacation pics make for the ultimate reality show. At times, social-media feeds are about as authentic as a standard reality show, too.
Boston Creates $35,000 Digital Equity Fund
Boston Mayor Martin Walsh announced the creation of a $35,000 Digital Equity Fund, which will support the City's goal of ensuring all residents have equal access to digital services.
The Digital Equity Fund will provide support to community-based organizations that help Boston residents fully connect and participate in today's media and information landscape. The Digital Equity Fund will explore ways to build individual and community capacity to:
- Use the Internet, digital skills, and digital tools to pursue professional, educational, and civic endeavors;
- Engage with the Internet safely and securely;
- Develop needs-responsive, community driven digital skills building opportunities;
- Increase broadband adoption among the roughly 1 in 5 Bostonians who do not subscribe to this service in the home.
In 2017, Boston will award one grant of $35,000 or up to two grants up to $17,500 each to nonprofit organizations that promote digital equity. By providing seed funding, the City hopes to identify promising strategies that can attract outside funding and further create a City where everyone has the tools and skills they need to succeed in the 21st century.
Tennessee Electrical Co-Ops Eager to Bridge Rural Broadband Gap
Many of the power cooperatives that helped electrify rural Tennessee in the 1930s and 1940s are gearing up for a similar effort to bring high-speed broadband to rural areas not connected to today's information superhighway. But similar to electrification of the South in the early 20th century, the telecommunications upgrades for rural broadband are likely to be costly and take years or even decades to fully implement.
"We know that in rural America there is a lack of broadband and that is holding back many communities and residents from fully engaging in today's economy," Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), said. "It's just like electricity in the 1930s. The economics make more sense in the densely populated areas and it's far more challenging to serve sparsely populated areas with capital-intensive services." But Matheson and Tennessee power co-op leaders insist membership-owned cooperatives are well suited for the challenge, even if they are likely to need government help and subsidies to bring broadband everywhere
ISPs don’t want to tell the FCC exactly where they offer Internet service
The Federal Communications Commission is considering whether it should collect more accurate data about broadband deployment in the US, but cable and telecommunication lobby groups are urging the FCC to maintain the status quo. Currently, the FCC's "Form 477" data collection program requires Internet service providers to identify the census blocks in which they provide residential or business Internet service and the maximum speeds offered in each block. ISPs are also supposed to identify the census blocks that are near enough to their networks that they could provide service within a reasonable timeframe.
Broadband lobby groups are urging the FCC to maintain the census block-level reporting, saying that reporting whether they can offer service at individual homes would be too burdensome on ISPs. ISPs have sometimes mistakenly told people moving to a new home that broadband service is available at their new address when, in fact, it is not. If the lobby groups succeed in blocking any change, this situation could persist.