No equity without a permanent broadband benefit
For America’s Latino community, education has long been the engine of generational advancement and prosperity. But the digital divide threatens to grind these gears of progress to a halt.
September 2021
Texas law would stop censorship of conservatives on Facebook and Twitter, GOP says (USA Today)
Submitted by grace@benton.org on Wed, 09/01/2021 - 14:09Google appeals against €500 million French fine in news copyright dispute (Guardian, The)
Submitted by grace@benton.org on Wed, 09/01/2021 - 14:07Hurricane Ida Spurs Calls to Bolster Mobile Networks After Phones Fail
As Hurricane Ida pummeled New Orleans, officials told residents needing help to flag down a police officer or go to a fire station. The city’s 911 emergency calling service, served by AT&T, wasn’t working. The failure, rectified on August 30, is helping to fuel calls for Washington regulators to demand greater resiliency for mobile phone networks in the face of storms, fires and other natural disasters.
Adopting a Mid-Band Spectrum Screen for 5G Leadership
There is broad consensus that American leadership in the 5G economy depends in part on smart spectrum policy. This includes a sharp focus on building a strong and competitive ecosystem in mid-band allocations, where wide bands can be coupled with capabilities such as edge computing and network slicing to enable 5G to act as a catalyst for transforming industries and economies.
Car owners' new gripe: lousy wireless service
JD Power's new study finds 1 in 4 problems cited by car buyers in the first 90 days of ownership involves infotainment. For the first time in a decade, voice recognition is not the top problem; instead, it's Apple CarPlay/Android Auto connectivity, which worsened significantly, especially for those trying to connect wirelessly. About one-third of new cars now come with a built-in WiFi hub, which may or may not be compatible with a phone's operating system.
FTC Chief Khan Faces New Pressure on Amazon Deal—From Progressives (Information, The)
Submitted by grace@benton.org on Wed, 09/01/2021 - 11:51A conspiracy theory spreading online says the whole internet is now fake. It’s ridiculous, but possibly not that ridiculous? (Atlantic, The)
Submitted by grace@benton.org on Wed, 09/01/2021 - 11:50
The Internet and the Pandemic
Results from a new survey of US adults reveal the extent to which people’s use of the internet has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, their views about how helpful technology has been for them and the struggles some have faced. The vast majority of adults (90%) say the internet has been at least important to them personally during the pandemic, the survey finds. The share who say it has been essential – 58% – is up slightly from 53% in April 2020.