In its quest for solutions and partnerships, the New York City's Internet Master Plan is a sharp contrast to the Federal Communications Commission’s approach, which started with the idea that the primary tool for deploying next generation networks was deregulation, and that cities themselves were the major cause of most delays.
The digital divide means that a digital census raises new problems when it comes to counting correctly. Approximately 22 percent of households nationwide still don’t have home broadband, which means they’ll have a harder time responding to an online census. Even among those who have home broadband, people of color and low-income families are more likely to depend exclusively on mobile internet.
The challenge for those of us charged with regulatory authority over certain technologies is to explain, educate, and, to some degree, manage expectations. Added to that is the obligation to enable the proper environment for innovation, and only take regulatory action when absolutely necessary, and only to the extent that doing so produces greater benefits relative to costs. In other words, our concern about any potential downside cannot be an automatic bar to further innovation, lest we expect to return to the days of dwelling in caves without fire.
The US Department of Agriculture invested $4.4 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure. This investment will support the construction of 90 miles of fiber-optic infrastructure in Gilmer County. The service area includes 2,159 households, 25 pre-subscribed businesses, two critical community facilities, an educational facility and 24 pre-subscribed farms, including 22 poultry farms. This broadband investment will strengthen the poultry industry in north Georgia.
© 1994-2026 Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. All Rights Reserved.
