Media Policy in Congress
Gizmodo
(cc)
Since
1991, marketing robocalls in the U.S. have been as tightly regulated
as medicine, meth and murder. But if HR 3035 makes its way through
Congress, it's going to be open season for the automatons to call
your cellphone. Do not let this happen.
Brian Barrett, Gizmodo
Save the
Internet
Google
knows it. Viacom knows it. The Chamber of Commerce knows it.
Internet democracy groups know it. BoingBoing knows it. But the
Internet hasn't yet been told that we're going to get blown away by
the end of the year. The worst bill in Internet history is about to
become law.
Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing
In
the Net Neutrality debate, Internet Service Providers like AT&T
and Verizon have said they need to charge content providers for
prioritization so they can invest in improving infrastructure:
faster Internet service for all, they say. But placing a price on
prioritizing content creates an inherent disincentive to expand
infrastructure.
Dr. Hsing Cheng, Shubho Bandyopadhyay and Hong Guo,
GigaOM
During
the recent Senate debate on overturning the FCC's Net Neutrality
rules, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) called the threats to Internet
freedom from bandwidth throttling "ridiculous." He went on to list
some recent indications of growth in the Internet despite the
sagging economy, citing these things as evidence that the FCC's
rules aren't necessary. The problem with Rubio's argument is he uses
Bayesian logic, essentially claiming that what we have seen in the
past indicates what we can expect in the future.
Craig Blaha, Technorati
Future of the Internet
A
lawsuit against the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents,
Wiscnet and others over a broadband Internet project in four
locations around the state was dismissed in court last week. The
suit was over the Wisconsin Broadband Project, which aims to partner
Community Area Network with the private sector to enhance broadband
connectivity via a statewide infrastructure, according to the UW
Extension website.
Selby Rodriguez, Badger Herald
Louisiana
is losing an $80 million grant intended to expand broadband service
in the state. The grant was intended to help in deploying 900 miles
of fiber to anchor institutions -- including universities, schools,
libraries and healthcare facilities -- with residential expansion
down the line. However, the project fell too far behind schedule to
meet the conditions of the grant, and the grant has been revoked
without a chance for appeal.
Karl Bode, Broadband Reports
If
the Massachusetts Broadband Institute fulfills its mission,
high-speed, high-volume Internet service will be in every corner of
northern Central and Western Massachusetts in the next few years.
Lynne Klaft, Telegram & Gazette
Seven
years after it began pursuing a city broadband network, Seattle's
trying again -- sort of. Mayor Mike McGinn and other dignitaries
will announce a new and smaller effort in South Lake Union. The plan
is to offer city infrastructure to lure phone or cable companies
willing to build ultra-fast broadband in one or two neighborhoods.
Brier Dudley, Seattle Times
Two
recent news headlines highlight the challenges of getting what you
wish for, especially if what you wished for is a gigabit network.
From Chattanooga, Tenn., we learn about a contest to build a startup
in 48 hours using the city's gigabit broadband network, while over
in Kansas City, soon to be home to Google's fiber-to-the-home
gigabit network, people are unsure how they want to use it.
Craig Settles, GigaOM
Journalism and Beyond
For
nearly every news organization, Twitter has become a regular part of
the daily news outreach. But there are questions about how those
organizations actually use the technology: How often do they tweet?
What kind of news do they distribute? To what extent is Twitter used
as a new reporting tool or as a mechanism for gathering insights
from followers?
Jesse Holcomb, Kim Gross and Amy Mitchell, Pew Research
Center
The
top-level British inquiry into illegal eavesdropping and bribery by
journalists will start formal hearings this week, days after a
lawmaker accused News International chief James Murdoch of presiding
over a Mafia-like organization.
Richard Allen Greene, CNN
NBC
announced that it has hired Chelsea Clinton to become a full-time
special correspondent for NBC News.
Bill Carter, New York Times
