1. Monthly archive
  2. September 2020

September 2020

Sponsor 

Federalist Society

Date 
Thu, 09/17/2020 - 17:00

Now six months into the COVID pandemic, the Internet has offered Americans a welcome economic, educational and sometimes even psychological lifeline to weather the crisis. Given Americans’ increased reliance on broadband, politicians on both sides of the aisle are now actively campaigning on the issue of expanding broadband deployment. Republicans are focusing on promoting private-sector deployment, while Democrats are pushing for the expansion of government-owned networks (“GONs”).


Verizon to Buy TracFone in Deal Valued at Up to $7 Billion

Verizon agreed to buy TracFone, a provider of wireless prepaid services, in a deal worth up to $7 billion in cash and stock, further consolidating the US cellular market. TracFone, a unit of Mexico’s América Móvil SAB, has about 21 million prepaid customers in the US under its namesake brand as well as StraightTalk and Net10. The company doesn’t run its own physical network in the US and instead rides on other cellphone carriers’ systems for a fee and then resells service under its own brands.

Sponsor 

Lincoln Network

Date 
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 19:00 to 20:00

In the wake of this summer's House Antitrust Committee hearings and the Federal Communication Commission's open public comment period on President Trump's proposed revisions to Section 230, the tech industry is certain to face continued scrutiny, regardless of the 2020 election's outcome.


Remote Schooling Out of Reach for Many Students in West Virginia Without Internet

Much of southern West Virginia had already been struggling with a drug epidemic and persistent poverty before the coronavirus pandemic took hold here. Now, as students return to school online, the region is coming up against another longstanding challenge: a lack of broadband internet access. Providing service in sparsely populated areas is typically more costly and less profitable than in suburbs and cities. In Appalachia, the terrain has made it difficult to install and maintain the infrastructure necessary for broadband.

Lack of Broadband Access Linked to Childhood Poverty

Lack of good broadband access is a strong predictor of childhood poverty. That’s the finding of Broadband Communities’ recent analysis combining county-level broadband data it has collected since 2010 with comprehensive, county-level poverty data compiled by the nonprofit organization Save the Children. We looked at overall poverty rankings, and, with sensitivities heightened because of the current need for distance learning, we also analyzed high school graduation patterns.

Will This Be a Lost Year for America’s Children?

As students across the country start school, education experts reckon with the long-term implications of remote learning, vanishing resources, and heightened inequality.

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