1. Monthly archive
  2. September 2017

September 2017

Why 23 million Americans don’t have fast internet

In rural America slow internet can mean more than missing shows on Netflix. Poor service limits access to health, business, and education opportunities that are readily available in urban locations with fast networks.

So far, major telecommunication companies have kept their attention on urban markets. Even when they have made the effort to tackle rural access, they have later scaled back on their commitments. Why? Customers were using too much data on their “unlimited” service plans. It’s an easy economic decision for them to make, but it doesn’t help the 39 percent of rural Americans living without high-speed internet access. In place of private companies, federal funding has been crucial in deploying rural broadband. But the level of funding has not kept pace with technology. As internet speeds get faster, the technology and infrastructure required to provide them becomes more expensive. While experts debate how to deploy broadband and what level of funding should be directed toward fostering adoption, the Federal Communications Commision seems to have an entirely different solution, and it’s not what you might expect.

As Google Fights Fake News, Voices on the Margins Raise Alarm

Accusations that Google has tampered with search results are not uncommon and date back to the earliest days of its search engine. But they are taking on new life amid concerns that technology behemoths are directly — or indirectly — censoring controversial subjects in their response to concerns over so-called fake news and the 2016 presidential election.

In April, Google announced an initiative called Project Owl to provide “algorithmic updates to surface more authoritative content” and stamp out fake news stories from its search results. To some, that was an uncomfortable step toward Google becoming an arbiter of what is and is not a trustworthy news source. “They’re really skating on thin ice,” said Michael Bertini, a search strategist at iQuanti, a digital marketing agency. “They’re controlling what users see. If Google is controlling what they deem to be fake news, I think that’s bias.”

Most Americans think the government could be monitoring their phone calls and emails

Seven-in-ten U.S. adults say it is at least somewhat likely that their own phone calls and emails are being monitored by the government, including 37% who believe that this type of surveillance is “very likely,” according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in February. Just 13% of the public say it is “not at all likely” that the government is monitoring their communications. These views are prevalent across a number of different demographic groups, but there are some differences based on age, gender and education.

Sen Corker Won't Seek Re-election, Rep Blackburn Expresses Interest in Seat

Sen Bob Corker (R-TN), chairman of the influential Foreign Relations Committee, will not seek re-election in 2018. He is the first senator to announce retirement plans ahead of 2018's election cycle. "I believe the most important public service I have to offer our country could well occur over the next 15 months," Sen Corker said, "and I want to be able to do that as thoughtfully and independently as I did the first 10 years and nine months of my Senate career." Minutes after learning that Sen Corker won’t seek reelection, House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said she’s considering running for his Senate seat in 2018. “Yes,” Blackburn said when asked if she's taking a look at the Senate race.

DHS planning to collect social media info on all immigrants

The Department of Homeland Security has moved to collect social media information on all immigrants, including permanent residents and naturalized citizens. A new rule published in the Federal Register the week of Sept 18 calls to include "social media handles and aliases, associated identifiable information and search results" in the department's immigrant files. The new rule could also affect US citizens who communicate with immigrants on social media by making their conversations the subject of government surveillance.

Homeland Security's inspector general published a report earlier in 2016 concluding that DHS pilot programs for using social media to screen immigration applicants "lack criteria for measuring performance to ensure they meet their objectives." "Although the pilots include some objectives, such as determining the effectiveness of an automated search tool and assessing data collection and dissemination procedures, it is not clear DHS is measuring and evaluating the pilots’ results to determine how well they are performing against set criteria," the report reads.

Public Knowledge Responds to FCC Report Claiming “Effective” Wireless Industry Competition

It is ironic that at the very moment the public is debating whether reliance on four-firm competition is enough to protect small businesses and consumers, the Federal Communications Commission declares "mission accomplished." We shouldn’t ignore how four-firm competition, data roaming rules, spectrum screens and other regulations adopted by previous Administrations continue to benefit consumers. At the same time, we cannot ignore the continuing problems of concentration -- particularly in rural markets and for low-income Americans. The purpose of the Competition Report is to provide an important tool for Congress and the American people to understand the wireless market. It is not intended to put a happy face on an industry that remains concentrated by conventional antitrust metrics.

OTI Submits FCC Comments on Broadband Deployment

On Sept 21, the Open Technology Institute filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission about the availability of broadband across the United States.

In its comments, OTI explained that mobile broadband is not a substitute for fixed broadband—they are complements. Mobile services are generally more expensive, less reliable (particularly in rural areas), slower, and are also subject to restrictive data caps and expensive overage fees. Consumers also typically access mobile broadband on portable devices with smaller screens and limited computational abilities that cannot complete the full range of functions of a desktop or laptop computer for work, entertainment, and educational purposes. OTI also urged the FCC to continue steadily increasing its speed benchmarks to reflect the changing nature of fixed broadband.

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