Access Providers

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.

U.S. Officials Asking Cuba to Speed Up Its Internet Infrastructure Build Out

A number of Senior U.S. officials and business leaders visited Cuba last week and urged the government to speed up its build out of Internet infrastructure and to make it more widely available, Mario Trujillo reports in The Hill.

WhatsApp Suspension Called ‘Sad day for Brazil’ by Facebook

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has called it a "sad day for Brazil" after a court there ordered a two-day shutdown of the popular messaging app WhatsApp, owned by the social media company.

Bangladesh Govt Orders Internet Shutdown on ‘Security Grounds’

Access to the internet was denied for about two hours in Bangladesh immediately after the Supreme Court upheld the death penalty for Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid.

Internet a Key Catalyst for Sustainable Development, Says ISOC CEO

Internet Society President and CEO Kathy Brown wrote about the critical role that the Internet has in enabling the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Neighbours Create Their Own Internet Service on Orcas Island

Faced with slow and outage-prone Internet access, residents of Orcas Island, one of the San Juan Islands in Washington state, decided to design their own network and built it themselves.

UN Broadband Commission: Global Broadband Growth in Decline, 4 Billion Still Offline

Broadband Internet is failing to reach those who could benefit most, with Internet access reaching near-saturation in the world's rich nations but not advancing fast enough to benefit the billions of people living in the developing world, according to the 2015 edition of the State of Broadband report.

SpaceX Files Application with FCC to Offer Internet Access Via Satellite Constellation

SpaceX, the private space company headed by Elon Musk, has filed an application with the US FCC (Federal Communications Commission) as part of a preliminary plan to launch a network of satellites providing Internet access around the globe. The application submitted last week (May 29th), outlines two satellites initially to be launched by Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX), and later expanding to 6-8 trial satellites that will be in orbit for 6-12 months.

Nepal Internet Connectivity Crucial for Coordination of Relief Efforts

Doug Madory writes to report: "Saturday's earthquake in Nepal, which claimed the lives of at least 4,000 victims and injured many more, took a toll on the country's Internet connectivity, which was already one of the least developed in the region. A recent evaluation of Internet infrastructure in South Asia commissioned by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) classified Nepal's international connectivity as 'weak' and its fixed and mobile infrastructure as 'limited'."

BT Announces 500Mbps to 1000Mbps Broadband Rollout to UK Homes

British Telecom has announced its plan to transform the UK broadband landscape from superfast to ultrafast. The company says it plans to deliver much faster broadband for homes and small businesses via a widespread deployment of “G.fast” -- a technology the company will test in two pilot locations starting this Summer. G.fast is aimed to help BT deliver ultrafast speeds of up to 500Mbps to most of the UK within a decade. Deployment will start in 2016–2017, subject to the pilots being successful, BT says.

Google Fiber Expanding to Four More Cities

According to news sources Google's fiber-to-the-home service is expanding to four additional cities: Atlanta; Nashville, Tennessee; Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. Google Fiber currently is available in Kansas City, Austin, Texas and Provo, Utah. At a price tag of $80 per month, the service offers speeds around 10 times greater than that of the average Internet connection.

Facebook’s Internet.org Delivers Free Internet to Colombia

Facebook's Internet.org has launched a free Internet application in Colombia as part of a drive to bring developing markets online. Colombia is the first nation in Latin America and the fourth in the world to receive the new Internet.org service, in partnership with local mobile phone provider Tigo, but the aim is to push the app globally. The mobile app, aimed at low income and rural users, offers more than a dozen tools via the Android operating system...

Elon Musk Confirms Satellite Plan for Global Internet Access

Elon Musk has announced plans for a space project to provide faster, cheaper Internet access around the globe. The $15 billion plan would use hundreds of satellites placed 750 miles above the Earth, far lower than existing communications satellites. Doing so would speed up the transfer of data and give better coverage to three billion people who do not have it.

Cuba to Provide Public Wifi for the First Time

According to various sources, Cuba is launching its first public wireless service in the city of Santiago de Cuba. However, at the reported cost of $4.50 an hour, it will be far too expensive for most Cubans with average salary of $20 a month. Last year, 3.4 percent of homes in Cuba had Internet access -- one of the world's lowest rates, according to international technology authorities.

A Survey of Internet Users from 24 Countries Finds 83% Consider Affordable Access Basic Human Right

A survey of Internet users in 24 countries has found that 83% believe affordable access to the Internet should be a basic human right, according to the "CIGI-Ipsos Global Survey on Internet Security and Trust." The results of the new survey, commissioned by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and conducted by global research company Ipsos, were presented today in Ottawa, Canada.