1. Monthly archive
  2. March 2018

March 2018

Closing the School Broadband Gap

[Commentary] Two-hundred forty-five days. School districts are waiting this long for the Federal Communications Commission to make decisions on the fate of funding to bring fiber connectivity to their classrooms. That’s 65 days longer than the average school year. And for Woodman School in rural Montana, it means another school year that students must be bused to a neighboring district for assessments because high-speed internet access is not an option. No school should have to wait that long to provide basic educational opportunity for its students.

Advocates for school internet access sound alarm over FCC program

A federal program intended to help school districts attain better access to the internet is under fire. Advocates for connectivity say the Federal Communications Commission is leaving many rural districts in limbo with long delays and denials. Most of the concerns surround applications for federal aid to connect rural schools to fiber optic networks through the E-rate program. “Red tape and bureaucracy… are causing huge delays in getting their projects reviewed,” said Evan Marwell, CEO of EducationSuperHighway, a nonprofit that has long advocated for school connectivity.

“Dig Once” rule requiring fiber deployment is finally set to become US law

A simple policy that could speed up fiber Internet deployment throughout the US is finally on track to become US law. A "Dig Once" measure that requires fiber conduit installation during many federally funded road projects was passed by the US House of Representatives via voice vote as part of a broader reauthorization of the Federal Communications Commission. 

Net Vitality 2.0

This updated analysis revisits the pioneering research approach first developed in 2010, which highlights countries that are leading on a global basis in their deployment and use of broadband applications and content; devices; and networks. In 2018, these top-tier countries are China, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Canada (listed by population size).

Russian Influence Campaign Extracted Americans’ Personal Data

Leveraging social media, Russians have collected data by peddling niche business directories, convincing activists to sign petitions and bankrolling self-defense training classes in return for student information. It isn’t clear for what purpose the data were collected, but intelligence and cybersecurity experts say it could be used for identity theft or leveraged as part of a wider political-influence effort that didn’t end with the 2016 election.

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