Featured Blogs

Cable Companies Tout Speed Increases

Last month, NCTA -- The Internet and Television Association -- posted an article on its website touting the big increases in broadband speeds since the start of the pandemic. NCTA is the industry trade and lobbying association for medium-sized and large cable companies. The article touts that the average U.S. download speed has grown from 138 Mbps in March 2020, the first month of the pandemic, to 226 Mbps in June 2022. more

How to Secure Your Data During Coronavirus

Nobody loves a good crisis more than a hacker and, by anyone's definition, coronavirus is a big, fat stinking crisis that almost everyone on earth is sitting in the middle of. For most of us, a crisis brings out the best. First responders and the healthcare systems are replete with stories of superhuman sacrifice and commitment to others. Unfortunately, it is this commitment to the work at hand that puts cybersecurity on the back burner and increases the chance of a breach, break-in, or general mischief. more

Decoding Internet Governance Stakeholders, Part 2: Private Sector

The "Decoding Internet Governance Stakeholders" series of articles invites the community to ponder what underlies the labels that define our interactions, roughly 20 years after the "Tunis Agenda for the Information Society" called for the "full involvement of governments, business entities, civil society and intergovernmental organizations", as well as to "make full use of the expertise of the academic, scientific and technical communities". more

China Mobile Is Reporting 15M 5G Contracts, 8.7M Joined in February

5G is growing by millions per month in China, although the exact status is unclear. The telcos are reporting "contracts," which continue to be far higher than the separately reported 5G phone sales. more

Will the UN Step Up Transparency on the Tech Envoy Selection Process?

A few weeks ago, a new vacancy was added to the UN Webpage for Senior Leadership Positions, inviting applications to become the new Tech Envoy. This position has a long and unfortunate backstory. It was created in 2019 as a new role, as an outgrowth of the UN's High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation and the UN Secretary General's Roadmap for Digital Cooperation -- with a vague remit to "advise senior leadership of the United Nations on key trends in technology and... more

What’s Happening With Aug. 13 Applicant Auction to Resolve gTLD Contention?

The second Applicant Auction is coming up on August 13, and after a great round of workshops at the ICANN Conference in Durban, we've started to finalize all of the details. Any applicants who haven't indicated their intention to participate can still do so! more

Reflections on Joe Cannataci’s First Report

Joseph Cannataci recently submitted his first report as UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy - a brand new position, created in July 2015 in the wake of the German-Brazilian initiative for a UN resolution on privacy in the digital age. The report includes a description of Cannataci's working methods, a general overview of privacy-relevant topics, and a 'Ten point action plan' - described as a to-do list for the post holder, rather than a mere wish list. more

Are the Telcos Crying Wolf?

We recently have heard much complaining from the telecommunications companies concerning the margin squeeze they experience from NBN Co. While they certainly do have a point, it is also essential to look at the other side of the coin. Why have the telcos allowed this situation to happen in the first place? We have seen an explosion in the telecommunications industry over the last decades. This led to the arrival of internet companies which are currently amongst the largest corporations in the world. more

The Massive Cyberattack or Chronicle of a Strike Foretold

During the last Computer Law Conference organized by ADIAR (Argentina Computer Law Association) and the Universidad Nacional de Sur, I gave a conference on the Internet of Things, cybercrime and dangerous situation presented by the lack of proper regulation -- a topic in which I have one of my research projects. At the moment some people argued that I was talking about something that might happen in a relatively distant future, dissenting with my view that the possibility was imminent.. more

Moving the Multistakeholder Model Forward: Thoughts from The WSIS+10 Review Event

Ten years ago, global representatives assembled in Geneva in 2003, and again in Tunis, 2005, as part of the two founding phases of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). At the heart of proceedings, attended by representatives from across the spectrum of business, government, civil society, and the Internet technical community, was an acknowledgement that an inclusive approach was needed in all discussions pertaining to Internet governance and policy-making, to overcome the primary challenges in building this 'Information Society.' more

Independent Show 2015: Out-of-the-Box Lessons in the Digital Age

This year's Independent Show summer conference was held in Boston, a place where the accents are strong and you hear great quotes like... If I had to sum up this year's conference with one phrase, it would have to be: out-of-the-box thinking. The keynote speech was given by Professor Bharat Anand of the Harvard School of Business, whose expertise is in the areas of digital strategy, corporate strategy, and media strategy -- in other words, digital marketing. The title was "Lessons from the Digital Transformation of Media". more

Broadband and Food Safety

I recently saw a presentation that showed how food safety is starting to rely on good rural broadband. I've already witnessed many other ways that farmers use broadband like precision farming, herd monitoring, and drone surveillance, but food safety was a new concept for me. The presentation centered around the romaine lettuce scare of a few months ago. The food industry was unable to quickly identify the source of the contaminated produce and the result was a recall of all romaine nationwide. more

Virtualizing the Gateway - How CSPs Are Revolutionizing the Network Edge

Software-defined networking (SDN) itself represents a deconstructed view of current switching and routing architectures providing the abstractions of control from dataplane. With this newfound control, the industry is leveraging multiple virtualization strategies to build out public, private, and hybrid cloud architectures, delivering multiple new application services to the market. more

The Internet’s Two Bodies: Understanding the Multistakeholder Reign

The reports of multistakeholder Internet governance's demise are greatly exaggerated. This article explores the dual nature of multistakeholderism: its evolving, sometimes contentious practice as the "First Body," and its enduring principle of actor plurality as the "Second Body." Despite criticism and challenges, multistakeholderism remains crucial for a resilient, non-state-led Internet, underscoring the need to adapt and uphold its foundational pluralism. more

Who Is Driving Buzz and Engagement With NFTs?

Marketers far and wide have piled onto the non-fungible token (NFT) craze. To some great success and fanfare, NFTs are being used to promote and monetize media, goods, and services in almost every segment. Media, Fashion, Entertainment, Sports, Gaming, Art, Beverage, Consumer Goods, Financial, and even Enterprise Software companies are getting into the mix. This brief review examines why, how, and where marketers are using NFTs, how NFTs are being abused and gives high-level advice to marketers and brand protection professionals. more