Daily Digest 8/17/2022 (Service for Joe)

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society
Table of Contents

Broadband Funding

Benton Foundation
How You Can Partner With the FCC to Improve Broadband Adoption  |  Read below  |  Kevin Taglang  |  Analysis  |  Benton Institute for Broadband & Society
How an 81 year-old farmer helped residents in 3 North Dakota counties get high-speed internet  |  Read below  |  Tasha Carvell  |  KFGO

Data/Mapping

FCC Maps and Professional Engineers  |  Read below  |  Doug Dawson  |  Analysis  |  CCG Consulting

State/Local Efforts

Hamilton County Schools' free internet program increases parental involvement, research shows  |  Read below  |  Carmen Nesbitt  |  Chattanooga Times free Press
Broadband agreement will allow every home in New Kent County, Virginia, to get high-speed Internet  |  Read below  |  David Macaulay  |  Daily Press
DigitalC and Meta Bring High-Speed Internet to Affordable Housing Residents in Cleveland, Ohio  |  Read below  |  Press Release  |  DigitalC

Harmony Telephone Company bringing fiber internet to Harmony, Minnesota, amid federal, state push for broadband expansion  |  Post Bulletin

Hamilton Telecommunications to Bring Gigabit Broadband Services to Central Nebraska  |  DZS

Digital Literacy

The Public Library Association awards $1.1 million to 160 public libraries for digital literacy workshops   |  Read below  |  Press Release  |  American Library Association

Wireless

Verizon’s Koeppe says operator will have 'best' 5G network  |  Fierce

Platforms/Social Media

Oracle begins auditing TikTok's algorithms  |  Axios
TikTok preps for midterm misinformation chaos  |  Vox
What Happened When Twitter and Other Social Media Platforms Cracked Down on Extremists  |  ProPublica
Op-ed: Group Chat, the Last Place Left Online for Real Conversation  |  New York Times

Privacy/Security

FTC Releases Commercial Surveillance and Data Security Notice of Proposed Rulemaking  |  Read below  |  Public Notice  |  Federal Trade Commission
The American Data Privacy and Protection Act May Give Telecom Companies a Free Pass on $200 Million in Fines  |  Vice
In Post Roe v. Wade Era, Mozilla Labels 18 of 25 Popular Period and Pregnancy Tracking Tech With *Privacy Not Included Warning  |  Mozilla Foundation
SpaceX Invites Security Researchers to Hack Starlink  |  PC Magazine

Antitrust

Amazon Says FTC Is Harassing Jeff Bezos, Top Executives in Prime Probe  |  Wall Street Journal
Luke Hogg | Can the American Innovation and Choice Online Act get to 60 votes?  |  Hill, The

Education

How teachers are maximizing digital tools in today’s classrooms  |  USA Today

Government & Communications

State Department looks to strengthen public-private partnerships to create robust US digital infrastructure  |  Read below  |  Alexandra Kelley  |  nextgov

Stories From Abroad

Broadband bills could be cut for millions of low-income households under UK government plans to encourage social tariffs  |  UK Department for Work and Pensions
Are You a ‘Digital Nomad’? European Locales Want Remote Workers  |  Wall Street Journal
UK’s young adults spending more time on TikTok than watching TV  |  Financial Times
Google wins defamation battle as Australia’s high court finds tech giant not a publisher  |  Australian Associated Press
Today's Top Stories

Broadband Funding

How You Can Partner With the FCC to Improve Broadband Adoption

Kevin Taglang  |  Analysis  |  Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

To date, over 12 million low-income households participate in the Affordable Connectivity Program. However, a significant number of qualifying households have not yet enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program. The Federal Communications Commission believes that to achieve the program’s full potential and reach as many eligible households as possible, households must be clearly informed of the program’s existence, benefits, and eligibility qualifications, and how to apply. To accomplish this, on August 5, the FCC established the Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program, which will provide eligible partners grant funds to conduct outreach in support of the Affordable Connectivity Program. Although a good amount of work is still needed before Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program funds begin flowing to partners, here we look at the framework the FCC has adopted for this new effort.

How an 81 year-old farmer helped residents in 3 North Dakota counties get high-speed internet

Tasha Carvell  |  KFGO

In July 2022, the Biden Administration invested over 18 million dollars to expand internet access in remote areas of North Dakota. Now we’re learning about the 81-year-old farmer who got the ball rolling and is a big reason why over 1000 residents and nearly 100 farms are now poised to have high-speed internet for the first time. Cory Herman, a field representative for the Department of Agriculture, worked on securing the grant from the USDA’s ReConnect Program for almost two years after Joe Paulson contacted Senator John Hoeven’s office for help in getting internet at his farm. Joe Paulson was dogged in his determination to get service, calling Herman every time he saw an announcement of a new grant and asking if it might be for his farm. “I’m 81 years-old but believe me the internet is as extremely important to us older folks as it is to all the younger ones and I’m just so happy to hear that more schools and families are going to be able to participate in this,” Paulson said. “It was really a surprise when he (Herman) called and said that it was gonna happen.”

Mapping

FCC Maps and Professional Engineers

Doug Dawson  |  Analysis  |  CCG Consulting

When the Federal Communications Commission first adopted the new broadband data collection and mapping rules, the FCC had a requirement that broadband providers must get FCC mapping data certified by a professional engineer or by a corporate officer that meets specific qualifications to make the certification. The genesis of this ruling was fairly clear – the FCC has taken a lot of flak about broadband providers that have been submitting clearly inaccurate data about broadband coverage. To some degree, this was the FCC’s fault because the agency never reviewed what broadband providers submitted, and there was no feedback or challenge mechanism for outsiders to complain about the maps – even though the FCC heard repeatedly about the poor quality of the maps. The FCC now wants an engineer to bless the coverage area for every broadband provider that submits broadband mapping data. I know that the FCC is trying to avoid the blame it has taken over the years for producing dreadful broadband maps. But in this case, the industry told the FCC why its requirements can’t work, and the agency ignored what they were told. Unfortunately, the FCC didn’t hear directly from the small broadband providers – because it never does. These little companies don’t know what’s going on at the FCC and don’t make comments in dockets, even those that matter. 

[Doug Dawson is president of CCG Consulting]

State/Local

Hamilton County Schools' free internet program increases parental involvement, research shows

Carmen Nesbitt  |  Chattanooga Times free Press

Since the EdConnect program launched in 2020, more than 16,000 low-income students in Hamilton County, Tennessee, and 28,000 of their family members have received free internet in their homes. The effort works to close the digital divide and involves parents more in the education of their children. In providing universal internet access to students and parents, EdConnect effectively eliminated disparities between which families engaged with schools and which didn't. Parents have the option to enroll to EdConnect via phone, an online form, a paper form and other ways depending on the school. Eligible students include those receiving free or reduced-cost lunch, those who attend a school where every student receives free or reduced-cost lunch or whose family participates in federal nutrition programs or receives other economic assistance. Students are eligible for the EdConnect for up to 10 years, or the entirety of their time at Hamilton County Schools. 

Broadband agreement will allow every home in New Kent County, Virginia, to get high-speed Internet

David Macaulay  |  Daily Press

New Kent County (VA) voted to enter into a $16.1 million agreement with Cox Communications to provide a high-speed broadband connection to every home and business in the county. Approximately 3,053 homes in the county have limited to no broadband service and will be connected within 28 months of Cox receiving its permits, according to the County Administrator Rodney Hathaway. The County is leveraging $4.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding and other revenue to finance the project. The fiber optic network buildout should begin by the end of September 2022 with estimated completion in September 2024 for the unserved homes, and an upgrade for Cox customers on existing services is scheduled to begin in July 2023 and is projected to be completed by August 2026. Though, to connect all residents, the County anticipates a six-year period to do so.

DigitalC and Meta Bring High-Speed Internet to Affordable Housing Residents in Cleveland, Ohio

Press Release  |  DigitalC

DigitalC has teamed up with Meta to make high-speed internet available to residents of four public housing developments in Cleveland. The partnership includes the funding, installation and delivery of fixed wireless internet services that will support more than 1,000 households with low-cost, high-speed internet. As part of DigitalC’s mission-driven, fixed wireless internet service, EmpowerCLE+, and Meta’s efforts to help expand and improve connectivity, more than 1,530 Cleveland households have been connected to broadband service across the Cleveland metro region. 

Digital Literacy

The Public Library Association awards $1.1 million to 160 public libraries for digital literacy workshops 

Press Release  |  American Library Association

The Public Library Association (PLA) has selected 160 public libraries to host digital literacy workshops across the country. Supported by $1.1 million, the PLA Digital Literacy Workshop Incentive, supported by AT&T, is designed to support public libraries in their efforts to boost digital skills for all members of their communities. The site’s digital literacy offerings cover everything from technology basics to how to avoid online scams. Libraries were able to apply for funding in two tiers: $4,000 for a minimum of three workshops and related supports, or $7,000 for a minimum of five workshops and related supports. Across both tiers, 160 libraries in 44 states were selected to receive funding. The complete list of libraries is available here. Workshops funded by the PLA Digital Literacy Workshop Incentive will be conducted online and/or in person at participating libraries across the United States before March 31, 2023. Workshop schedules will be announced this October.

Privacy/Security

FTC Releases Commercial Surveillance and Data Security Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

Public Notice  |  Federal Trade Commission

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is asking the public to weigh in on whether new rules are needed to protect people’s privacy and information in the commercial surveillance economy. Commercial surveillance is the business of collecting, analyzing, and profiting from information about people. Technologies essential to everyday life also enable near-constant surveillance of people’s private lives. The FTC's Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) asks a series of questions about practices related to commercial surveillance and data security. This ANPR has alluded to only a fraction of the potential consumer harms arising from lax data security or commercial surveillance practices, including those concerning physical security, economic injury, psychological harm, reputational injury, and unwanted intrusion. Anyone from the public can submit a comment weighing in on the rulemaking, the general topics, or a specific question. The link to submit comments to the Federal Register will be posted as soon as it is available.

Government & Communications

State Department looks to strengthen public-private partnerships to create robust US digital infrastructure

Alexandra Kelley  |  nextgov

Senior Official at the State Department's Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy Jennifer Bachus is working with private sector leaders in an effort to strengthen the public-private technology partnerships, a key tenant in the Biden Administration’s plan to create a robust digital infrastructure in the US. The key policy initiatives being addressed include internet connectivity, data policy and its impacts on cybersecurity, cyber workforce development, and free expression and safety online. The agency intends to address a variety of tech policy issues through frequent collaborative efforts. Bachus and the agency's Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy work to advance “digital diplomacy” by coordinating a state response to national tech policy programs and needs. Multiple federal agencies are enthusiastic about forming new and strengthening existing partnerships between public and private organizations. The Government Accountability Office and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency voiced their support for more strategic partnerships, and lawmakers included private cybersecurity partnerships as a paramount feature in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2022.

Submit a Story

Benton (www.benton.org) provides the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest that curates and distributes news related to universal broadband, while connecting communications, democracy, and public interest issues. Posted Monday through Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments, policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are factually accurate, their sometimes informal tone may not always represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang (headlines AT benton DOT org) and Grace Tepper (grace AT benton DOT org) — we welcome your comments.


© Benton Institute for Broadband & Society 2022. Redistribution of this email publication — both internally and externally — is encouraged if it includes this message. For subscribe/unsubscribe info email: headlines AT benton DOT org


Kevin Taglang

Kevin Taglang
Executive Editor, Communications-related Headlines
Benton Institute
for Broadband & Society
1041 Ridge Rd, Unit 214
Wilmette, IL 60091
847-328-3040
headlines AT benton DOT org

Share this edition:

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society All Rights Reserved © 2022