1. Monthly archive
  2. July 2020

July 2020

Internet access is both a human right and a business opportunity

Access to the internet is a basic human right, the United Nations declared in 2016. But, as the Covid-19 crisis has highlighted, it is a right that is still denied to billions of people at a time when connectivity has never been more important. For professional classes in rich countries with good internet access and the ability to work from home, the crisis has been made infinitely easier thanks to Zoom video calls and Amazon deliveries. It has been a far more precarious existence for those who have manual jobs and children at home with no internet access.

Georgia Launches Broadband Availability Map

Georgia’s Broadband Availability Map is a new tool that will bring more transparency about the internet marketplace and clarify which Georgia households do not have access to high-speed internet.

T-Mobile deactivates Sprint’s legacy 2.5 GHz 5G ahead of re-deployments

Sprint’s legacy 5G service using 2.5 GHz has been deactivated as T-Mobile continues work to reconfigure, test, and re-deploy the coveted mid-band spectrum into its new integrated 5G network. Sprint’s 5G service is no longer available, except to customers who have a Galaxy S20 5G that works on T-Mobile’s 5G network. The 2.5 GHz Sprint network deactivations, while necessary, do present a change for some legacy Sprint 5G users. Namely, it's those who were early adopters and purchased first-generation 5G smartphones from the carrier, including a Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, LG V50 ThinQ, or OnePlus 7

Somerset County to use some CARES funding for rural broadband initiative

The COVID-19 outbreak has magnified troubles many rural areas face without high-speed broadband. With more than $6.6 million in federal CARES Act relief funds allocated to Somerset County, officials said they plan to use half of the total toward their broadband initiative, which has been a top goal for years. President Commissioner Gerald Walker said extending high-speed coverage to 85% of the county is expected to cost more than $8 million. Board members said their $3.5 million would go a long way toward that.

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