New Acting FCC Chief Jessica Rosenworcel Supports Restoring Net Neutrality from r/technology
https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7mxja/new-acting-fcc-chief-jessica-rosenworcel-supports-restoring-net-neutrality
Rosenworcel has long supported net neutrality, and opposed most Trump FCC policies, be it the steady dismantling of the agency’s consumer protection authority, or efforts to eliminate decades-old media consolidation rules designed to protect public discourse and smaller companies from massive media monopolies.
In 2019, Rosenworcel pressured telecom giants to come clean on their collection and sale of sensitive user location data to third parties, and consumer groups say she’s been a steady advocate of consumer rights throughout her tenure.
Roughly 42 million Americans—double official FCC estimates—lack access to any broadband connection whatsoever. Another 83 million only have the choice of one provider, usually Comcast or Charter. This lack of meaningful competition directly results in high US broadband prices, spotty coverage, and routinely terrible customer service.
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more on netneutrality in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=netneutrality
Across The Atlantic, Glimpse An Alternate Internet Universe
http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2014/04/09/301028037/across-the-atlantic-glimpse-an-alternate-internet-universe
a moment when the U.S. decided to go one way and the rest of the world went another
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more on Internet Access in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=internet+access
Why Is American Internet So Slow?
Antiquated phone networks and corporate monopolies do not produce fast Internet.
By Rick Paulas
https://psmag.com/why-is-american-internet-so-slow-98f4eeadb371#.q9v3rd42k
AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, and Time Warner have a “natural monopoly” since they’ve simply been at it the longest. While the Telecommunications Act of 1996 attempted to incentivize competition to upset these established businesses, it didn’t take into account the near impossibility of doing so. As Howard Zinn wrote in A People’s History of the United States, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 simply “enabled the handful of corporations dominating the airwaves to expand their power further.”
Chattanooga has somewhat famously installed its own. Santa Monica also has its own fiber network. The reason these communities have been successful is because they don’t look at these networks as a luxury, but as a mode of self sustainability.
The 19th century’s ghost towns exist because the gold ran out. The 21st century’s ghost towns might materialize because the Internet never showed up.
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more on Internet access in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=internet+access