News of the movement for January 9, 2013 |
Is Broadband Internet Access a Public Utility?
Should broadband Internet service be treated as a basic utility in the United States, like electricity, water and traditional telephone service? That’s the question at the heart of an important and provocative new book by Susan Crawford. Crawford argues that the Internet has replaced traditional phone service as the most essential communications utility in the country, and is now as important as electricity was 100 years ago. How the TV Business Got Rich Off the Thing That Was Going to the Kill It: The Internet
Surely you've heard the news: The cable business is broken, the end of TV is nigh and it's only a matter of time before the Internet does to television what it's done to music and newspapers -- obliterate the old business models and leave something shiny and new in their place. Maybe. Some day. For now, the dinosaurs still rule the world. West Virginia's Broadband Incompetence Balloons
West Virginia is one of the worst connected states in the nation, something that was supposed to be helped by a $126.3-million federal stimulus grant intended to improve state broadband. Instead state leaders doled out most of that money to Verizon, which convinced state officials to spend it on ridiculously overpriced, overpowered and unused routers, and ridiculously overpaid consultants who haven't actually accomplished anything. Free Wi-Fi in New York City, Thanks to Google
Google is starting free Wi-Fi in New York City, beginning with the district of Chelsea, in the west side of Manhattan.
Will 2013 Be the Year Copyright Reformers Hit Back?
It's a post-SOPA world. But the question is, what does that mean for the future? Vint Cerf: Internet Competition Has 'Evaporated' Since Dial-Up
Vint Cerf, co-creator of the Internet, said he is troubled by the prospect of companies like AT&T avoiding government regulation after the transition from traditional phone technology to all-IP networks. Already, he said, competition was decimated when the Internet moved from dial-up providers to cable companies and telcos. Pakistan Authorities Promise to Lift YouTube Ban Once Firewall Is in Place
Pakistani censorship issues that have been dogging firms like YouTube and Facebook over the past few years may soon be a thing of the past, says the country's leader. Pervez Ashraf has promised that the ban that has affected YouTube will eventually be lifted.
The Telephone Network Is Obsolete: Get Ready for the All-IP Telco
Two months ago, AT&T petitioned the FCC to plan for the retirement of traditional phone networks and transition to what AT&T sees as an inevitability: the all-IP telco. Oregon Senator Introduces Bill Requiring ISPs to Justify Congestion-Related Usage Caps
Sen. Ron Wyden has introduced legislation that would force Internet service providers to prove usage caps are designed to manage network congestion and not monetize consumer data usage. Emergency Responders Ask FCC to Expand Broadcasts
The devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy and the shooting in Newtown, Conn., is renewing a push by emergency responders to expand a low-power AM radio service used to give travelers traffic information. From California to New Jersey, public-safety officials are urging the FCC to allow them to expand the information they can broadcast on the stations beyond the congestion and traffic stories that are the staple of the service. Women's Org Urges Obama to Name a Woman as Next FCC Chair
The Women's Media Center, co-founded by Jane Fonda, is urging President Obama to nominate a woman as the next chair of the FCC.
Tentative Deal Reported in Chinese Censorship Dispute
A tentative agreement to defuse a newsroom strike by Chinese journalists over censorship controls in this southeastern provincial capital had been reached, and some reporters working for Southern Weekend, the newspaper at the heart of the dispute, were told that the paper would publish as usual on Jan.10, one journalist in the newsroom said. Standing Up for Freedom of the Press in Kazakhstan
Yevgeniya Plakhina, a young media activist from Kazakhstan, is asking supporters of free and independent journalism to sign a petition on behalf of her former newspaper, Respublika.
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Register today for the 2013 National Conference for Media Reform! Join thousands of activists, media makers, journalists, technologists and artists flocking to Denver for this can't-miss event. In Other News..Happy Birthday Richard Nixon -- RIP Campaign Finance Reform? U.S. Spy Law Authorizes Mass Surveillance of European Citizens Aereo Is Expanding to 22 More Cities: Are You Ready to Watch Broadcast TV Online? Google Withdraws Patent Claims Against Microsoft OETA Chief: Vote Could Threaten PBS Network Apple Working on a Less-Expensive iPhone Who Has the Worst Web Presences in Politics?
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