NY AG report finds 18 million FCC net neutrality comments were fake
https://www-engadget-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.engadget.com/amp/new-york-state-report-fcc-net-neutrality-repeal-170517463.html
Before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to repeal net neutrality at the end of 2017, the agency collected public opinion on the policy. In all, it said it received nearly 22 million comments. Over the years, there’s been a fair amount of discussion surrounding where many of those came from, with a study from that same year suggesting that only six percent of the comments were unique.
a report found the “largest” broadband companies funded a secret astroturfing campaign to push the FCC toward repealing net neutrality. At the time, AT&T, Comcast, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon (Engadget’s parent company) were in favor of repealing the policy. The industry hired several third-party firms to build public support for their decision. Ostensibly, those companies were supposed to convince people to support the broadband industry with incentives like gift cards and prizes. Instead, they simply submitted 8.5 million fake comments. The attorney general has fined three of the companies involved in sending in those comments $4.4 million.
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more on net neutrality in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=netneutrality
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jan/18/free-fast-broadband-service-launched-in-uk-to-support-home-schooling
Thousands of families struggling with home learning are being offered free high-speed broadband following a partnership between internet provider Hyperoptic and dozens of local authorities across the UK.
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more on netneutrality in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=netneutrality
Comcast data cap blasted by lawmakers as it expands into 12 more states from r/technology
Comcast data cap blasted by lawmakers as it expands into 12 more states
Data cap harms poor people and isn’t needed to manage network, Mass. reps say.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/01/comcast-data-cap-blasted-by-lawmakers-as-it-expands-into-12-more-states/
Comcast charges an extra $30 per month for unlimited data, or $25 for the “xFi Complete” add-on package that includes the Comcast gateway device and unlimited data. Customers who don’t upgrade to unlimited data and exceed the 1.2TB cap must pay $10 for each additional block of 50GB, up to a maximum of $100 each month. Comcast is phasing in the charges gradually, so customers in newly capped areas could start getting overage charges for their April 2021 usage.
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more on netneutrality in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=netneutrality
I was trying to think of something to do with my spare pi zero… from r/raspberry_pi
https://www.pcworld.com/article/3027446/irate-comcast-subscriber-turns-raspberry-pi-into-a-watchdog-for-slow-internet-speeds.html
Irate Comcast subscriber turns Raspberry Pi into a watchdog for slow Internet speeds