Access Providers

Satellite Broadband Rivals: Beyond Starlink’s Dominance

Starlink gets almost all of the satellite press in the U.S., which is fair since the company now serves many homes and RVs with broadband. The company currently has over 4,600 active satellites in orbit, and if it sticks with its original business plan, it will eventually have 30,000. But there are a few other satellite companies working in the broadband space that don't get the press. more

Facebook Announces Plan to Make Internet Access Available to All, Launches Internet.org

Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, on Tuesday announced the launch of internet.org, a global partnership with the goal of making internet access available to the next 5 billion people. more

Internet Connection Speeds Up by 11% Globally Since Last Quarter of 2008

In the "Sate of the Internet Report" released by Akamai for the first quarter of 2009, the company reports that, on a global basis, the average connection speed increased by approximately 11% and more than 120 countries had average connection speeds under 1 Mbps (report based on date Q4 2008 through Q1 2009). Through Akamai's view of the Internet traffic (reported at approximately 1 billion users per day), the company also notes that in the first quarter of 2009, Japan had the highest percentage of connections (57%) at speeds above 5 Mbps while South Korea fell to second place for high broadband connectivity in the first quarter. more

US Senate Gives Final OK to Ban Internet Taxes

The U.S. Senate today passed legislation placing a permanent ban on states' taxing Internet access, sending the measure to President Obama for signing into law. more

FCC Introduces Broadband Labels

The Federal Communications Commission has introduced new broadband labels in order to provide consumers of mobile and fixed broadband Internet service with an easy-to-understand information about price and performance. "These labels provide consumers clarity about the broadband service they are purchasing, not only helping them to make more informed choices but also preventing surprises when the first bill arrives," said Chairman Wheeler. more

Intentional Disruptions to Internet Access Cost Countries $2.4 Billion Last Year

Around the world, digital technology is seen as vital for economic development. In the U.S. alone, the Internet accounts for about six percent of the entire economy. Digital technology has expanded its role in the global economy in recent years, as both developed and developing nations have become increasingly reliant on the Internet. more

Apparently Legitimate Estonian ISP Operating as Large Cybercrime Hub Since 2005

An apparently legitimate ISP in Tartu, Estonian is reported to have been serving as the operational headquarters of a large cybercrime network since 2005 according to TrendWatch, the security research arm of TrendMicro. "An Estonian company is actively administering a huge number of servers in numerous datacenters, which together form a network to commit cybercrime. It appears that the company from Tartu, Estonia controls everything from trying to lure Internet users to installing DNS changer Trojans by promising them special video content, and finally to exploiting victims' machines for fraud with the help of ads and fake virus infection warnings..." more

Massive African Internet Outage and the Fragility of Undersea Cables

Eight countries in West Africa reported Internet outages after damage was reported to four different undersea fiber cables. The most affected countries are Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Benin, with additional problems caused in Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon. Lesser impact was felt in South Africa, Senegal, and Portugal. There has been no official word on what caused the problem, but it's likely due to the shifting of the seabed due to seismic activity. more

Google Praises Canada for “Keeping the Internet Awesome”

In response to Canada's recent decision to keep a hands-off approach to distributed content over the Internet and through mobile devices, Jacob Glick, Google's Canada Policy Counsel has highly commended the decision. In a blog post today, Glick writes: "If you've ever wondered about the power and popularity of user-generated content in Canada, consider this: if all three Canadian television networks began broadcasting Canadian content 24 hours a day, seven days a week, YouTube would still have more Canadian content than those three networks combined." more

The Big Questions Facing the Telecom Industry

I took a pause the other day to think about the big issues facing the telecom industry. When I've done that in past years, I always came up with a few major issues and more smaller ones. But we are in such turmoil right now that I rattled off the following list quickly. I can't remember a time when our industry was wrangling with so many major issues at the same time. The industry's performance over the next decade is going to depend upon how we handle these issues. more

Berners-Lee Urges Citizens to Comment: “Four Days to Save the Open Internet in Europe”

In an open letter released today, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Professor Barbara van Schewick, and Professor Larry Lessig are urging citizens, lawmakers and regulators, to speak up. more

A School Without WiFi: Learning in America’s Quiet Zone

There was an interesting article in the Washington Post that talked about an elementary/middle school in West Virginia that is finally going to get WiFi for students. The Green-Bank Elementary-Middle School is located within the National Radio Quiet Zone. more

Facebook Goes Live with Express Wifi in India

According to a new update on Facebook's Internet.org website on Monday, a service called "Express Wifi" has gone live and plans are in place to expand to other regions soon. more

It’s Time to Change the US’ Cuba-Internet Strategy

In a post last week, I advised Cuban President Díaz-Canel that investment in fixed broadband Internet would benefit both the Cuban people and his regime. This week, I've got advice for US President Biden -- don't try to out-pander the Republicans and call President Díaz-Canel's bluff by offering support for fixed broadband. What won't work... more

6 Reasons a Billing Solution Won’t Cut It for Service Fulfillment

You don't always need to dazzle consumers -- but you do need to deliver what they want, when they want it, or else risk being left behind. The crux of service activation is to provide requested services to the subscriber in the shortest possible timeframe. The rise in multi-play service offerings can sometimes make this goal difficult, with service fulfilment involving multiple back-end components, including billing, provisioning, activation, monitoring, and diagnostics, as well as different technology types. more