1. Monthly archive
  2. December 2017

December 2017

From Neutrality to Inequality: Why the FCC Is Dismantling Equal Access and What It Could Mean for Education

[Commentary] Faculty members who teach face-to-face may imagine that the vote by the Federal Communications Commission to dismantle net neutrality doesn’t touch them, since their instruction is exclusively on campus, not plugged in to the web. Unfortunately, they’re mistaken. Online or off, teaching and doing research in today’s immersive digital environment makes it almost impossible for anyone—even technophobes—to hide from the web. These days hardly a class exists at any college or university that operates without logging onto a learning management system.

Why Tech Giants and Telecoms Should Join to Build an Internet for All

The need for competition and for affordable access to broadband remains. Rather than fight over net neutrality, the large internet companies and telecoms should take a cue from what happened to big financial institutions after the financial crisis of 2008-2009. Seen as the culprits for millions losing homes and retirements savings, banks were subject to draconian regulations, civil suits and hefty fines. If the public perceives that those companies are reaping disproportionate rewards at the public’s expense, it will act swiftly and punitively.

The Attack on Net Neutrality Is Just One Small Part of a Much Bigger, Dumber Plan

Internet users have been justly outraged by the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to ignore the public and repeal net neutrality rules. But few media outlets or internet users seem to understand that the net neutrality repeal is just one small part of a massive, larger plan to eliminate nearly all meaningful federal and state oversight of some of the least-liked and least-competitive companies in America. To be clear: the net neutrality repeal itself is awful policy that ignores both the will of the public and the people who built the damn internet.

AT&T, CenturyLink, Frontier’s rural wireline, wireless expansions could benefit from FCC’s $2B CAF auction

AT&T, CenturyLink, Frontier and other providers that want to further expand rural broadband will soon be able to bid in the Federal Communications Commission’s $2 billion additional Connect America Fund II auction. The FCC has identified nearly 1 million homes and small businesses that will be eligible for broadband deployment support over the next 10 years. A large majority of the rural areas the FCC identified do not have access to broadband internet service. Given the low density of these areas, service providers are unlikely to expand service without federal support. 

FCC Chairman Pai Names Six Members to USAC Board of Directors

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai appoints the following individuals to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) Board of Directors:

Representative for schools that are eligible for discounts under to section 54.501 of the Commission’s rules: Joan H. Wade, Ed.D., Executive Director, Association of Educational Service Agencies;  Representative for low-income consumers: Ellis Jacobs, Senior Attorney, Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc.;

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