Broadband

Google and ETECSA Will Agree to Exchange Internet Traffic Without Charge

Google and ETECSA have signed a memorandum of understanding agreeing to negotiate a peering agreement that would allow cost-free data exchange between their networks once an undersea cable physically connects them. Google has worked hard to establish a relationship with ETECSA and the Cuban government. In recent years, Cuba, not the US, has limited the Cuban Internet. This agreement telegraphs a change in Cuban policy. more

Australia Aborting Its Ambitious $44 Billion Broadband Project

Rodney S. Tucker reporting in IEEE Spectrum: "In April 2009, Australia's then prime minister, Kevin Rudd, dropped a bombshell on the press and the global technology community: His social democrat Labor administration was going to deliver broadband Internet to every single resident of Australia... So now, after three years of planning and construction, during which workers connected some 210 000 premises (out of an anticipated 13.2 million), Australia's visionary and trailblazing initiative is at a crossroads. The new government plans to deploy fiber only to the premises of new housing developments." more

Next Generation Telecoms: FttH and Trans-Sector Strategies

The deployment of Fiber to the Home (FttH) around the world is beginning to lead to exciting developments for the next generation of telecommunications. In particular, infrastructure based on FttH is providing the foundation for smart communities and cities where a number of technologies and services are combined to create an enhanced value proposition for residents. Smart homes connected to these networks can utilise services such as tele-health, e-education and e-government as well as access digital media and high speed Internet. more

Obama to Sign Executive Order for Streamlining Approval of Internet Networks

Currently, the process for approving broadband construction projects on federal property varies from agency to agency. Property controlled by the federal government includes roads, about 30 percent of the nation's land and more than 10,000 buildings. The order will require the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Interior, Transportation and Veterans Affairs as well as the Postal Service to develop a single process for approving Internet construction projects. more

The Wall Street Lesson for Net Neutrality

As the institutions of Wall Street continue to crumble one after another, there's a lesson to be learned for those of us who want to make sure the Internet remains as free and open in the future as it has been in the past. The collapse of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, AIG and the rest didn't happen overnight. The situation has been brewing for years. The subprime mortgage crisis may have precipitated the immediate tragedy, but underpinning the whole mess is a philosophy about business and government. more

Competing Processes Obfuscate Internet Policy-Making in India

Net Neutrality has become a hot topic in India, following a brief but high-profile national debate instigated by a consultation paper from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) that solicited views on what net neutrality is, and whether regulations protecting it are needed in India. The paper also hinted at possible regulation of all kinds of online services (like Skype, Uber, or Google) in the future. But no-one could have predicted what happened next... more

World Internet Statistics December 2025

Global internet use has surpassed six billion users, yet stark divides persist between regions, genders and urban-rural populations. Meanwhile, download speeds have surged and smartphones now dominate how people access the web worldwide. more

Supporting Rural Cell Towers

I work with a lot of ISPs that own rural fiber. Some rural network owners have been successful in providing fiber to cell sites near their networks over the last decade. A few sell directly to a cellular carrier, but most of these connections are sold to an intermediate carrier that bundles together cellular connections across a large geographic area. more

Facebook Proposes New Optical Detector to Enable Free-Space Laser Communication

Published today in a scientific journal, Facebook has proposed a new type of optical detector that could simplify the technology behind free-space laser communication and enable high-speed connectivity in areas where traditional infrastructure is difficult to build. more

Amazon Propels Into the Satellite Internet Race With New $120 Million Florida Facility

In an ambitious move, Amazon, in collaboration with state officials, has declared its plans to erect a high-tech satellite processing facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Backed by $120 million budget, this expansive 100,000-square-foot complex will be the keystone of Amazon's Kuiper initiative. more

Obama Administration Announces $400 Million Advanced Wireless Research Initiative

Obama Administration announced today a $400 million Advanced Wireless Research Initiative led by the National Science Foundation (NSF). more

An Unprecedented Look Into Utilization at Internet Interconnection Points

Measuring the performance of broadband networks is an important area of research, and efforts to characterize the performance of these networks continues to evolve. Measurement efforts to date have largely relied on in­home devices and are primarily designed to characterize access network performance. Yet, a user's experience also relies on factors that lie upstream of ISP access networks, which is why measuring interconnection is so important. more

Article Expresses Concern That Google and Other Tech Giants are Quietly Buying Up Undersea Cables

Big tech's ownership of the internet backbone will have far-reaching, yet familiar, implications, says Tyler Cooper, a broadband policy watcher, and editor at BroadbandNow. more

Evaluating Starlink Performance: Implications for Digital Equity and Regulatory Compliance

Despite its promise of universal access, Starlink often fails to meet broadband benchmarks across key markets. New data reveals fluctuating performance and raises questions about reliability, digital equity, and tiered service models. more

Will Broadband Go Wireless?

For years it's been impossible to go to any industry forum without meeting a few folks who predict that residential broadband will go wireless. This buzz has accelerated with the exaggerated claims that fast 5G broadband is right around the corner. I've seen even more talk about this due to a recent Pew poll that shows that the number of people that only use their cellphones for data has climbed significantly over the last few years – I'm going to discuss that poll in another upcoming blog. more