On May 12, House Democrats unveiled the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act. "We are presenting a plan to do what is necessary to address the corona crisis," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as she announced the legislation.
Lifeline is a Federal Communications Commission program that provides subsidized phone and internet services to low-income people and families. Those who use the program are provided with a landline phone, cellphone, or at-home broadband for free or at a discounted rate. But many lawmakers say the government is not promoting the service aggressively enough.
Facebook’s investment in an enormous underwater internet cable circling Africa will move forward with help from partners in China, Saudi Arabia and Europe. The 2Africa internet project, called Simba in its planning phase, would link 16 African countries with cable routes to Europe and the Arabian Peninsula. The 2Africa system would involve a massive investment even by Silicon Valley standards.
The Senate adopted a package of surveillance reforms its backers say will help rein in abuses, following an inspector general report that found fault with the FBI’s handling of an investigation into a former Trump campaign aide. The 80-to-16 vote paves the way for final House passage of the bill to renew the USA Freedom Act.
The latest Verizon Network Report shows Americans slowly falling back into old habits. On May 13, slightly over 760 million calls were made, falling well below the peak daily call volume during the COVID pandemic at over 860 million calls. Text messaging continues its week over week decline falling another 5% to just under 6 billion texts sent on May 13. That is compared to over 9 billion texts sent at the peak of the COVID pandemic. As call and text volumes fall back towards pre-COVID levels, working and schooling from home continues.
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