China Unveils Broadband Strategy, Aims to Provide Access to All Urban, Rural Areas By 2020

China aims to provide broadband access to all urban and rural areas by 2020, according to the State Council. It is the first time for the country to announce a specific timetable for the development of broadband as "a national strategy," according to the announcement. By 2015, half of the Chinese households are expected to use fixed broadband, 3G mobile coverage rate is expected to reach 32.5 percent, and fiber-to-home services will cover all urban areas. more

ICANN Initiates First Cycle of Its Grant Program

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has unveiled the first cycle of its Grant Program, earmarking up to $10 million for projects aimed at enhancing Internet resilience and global interoperability.  more

Answering Additional Questions about Ethos’ Acquisition of Public Interest Registry (PIR)

A few good questions have circulated in response to my recent blog post seeking clarity around the following: 1) what we mean with respect to adhering to Public Interest Registry's (PIR) historic practices on pricing, and 2) our interpretation of how the new co-operative proposal would reward speculators. With regard to Ethos' pricing commitments: we are not saying that we will raise prices 10% every year -- our commitment is that any price increase would not exceed 10% per year on average, if at all. more

Governments Accused of Trying to Bypass ICANN Policy Making Process

"ICANN faces first post-transition test of UN power (for real this time)," reports Kevin Murphy today in Domain Incite. more

ICG Seeking Public Feedback on Key Internet Governance Proposal

The IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG) on Friday released for public comment the proposal for the transition of the stewardship of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions from the U. S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to the global multistakeholder community. The ICG is encouraging the public to review the proposal and share their reactions and comments during the public comment period here. more

New Research Reveals 56% Rise in Cost of Cybercrime

New research indicates cyberattacks increasingly plague businesses and government organizations, resulting in significant financial impact, despite widespread awareness. Conducted by the Ponemon Institute, the Second Annual Cost of Cyber Crime Study revealed that the median annualized cost of cybercrime incurred by a benchmark sample of organizations was $5.9 million per year, with a range of $1.5 million to $36.5 million each year per organization. This represents an increase of 56 percent from the median cost reported in the inaugural study published in July 2010. more

Libya Using a Different Internet Strategy than Egypt

In a Renesys blog post, James Cowie writes: "Why did Libya put its Internet in 'warm standby mode' instead of just taking it down, as Egypt did? Perhaps because they're learning from Mubarak's experience. Cutting off the Internet at the routing level (powering down the Internet exchange point, going after the remaining providers with secret police to enact a low-level shutdown) was a technically unsophisticated desperation move on Egypt's part." more

The Future of AI in Broadband: Impacts on Network Demand and Power Consumption

AI technology seems to be a hot topic in every industry, and broadband is no exception. It seems inevitable that AI will be used to help monitor and control complex broadband networks. It looks like the biggest ISPs are already phasing AI into the customer service process. Nobody seems to be able to answer the big question of whether AI will change the amount of broadband the average household uses. more

Why Did It Take a Pandemic to Be Able to Use Telehealth?

In early April, I had a routine consultation with my electrophysiologist at Nuvance Health via telehealth. Nuvance uses telehealth technology from American Well. In preparation for the consult, I took my blood pressure with a Qardio cuff and my iPhone, weighed myself on the Fitbit scale, and took a 30-second ECG with the Apple Watch. A nurse called 15 minutes before my appointment and took the information for input to the Electronic Health Record. more

U.S. Court Urged to Reverse Net Neutrality Rules, FCC Chair Says Petition ‘No Surprise’

Several wireless, cable and broadband trade associations today called on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to reverse the net neutrality ruling that passed last month in a 2-1 decision by a three-judge panel. more

Bangladesh Faces Total Internet Shutdown Amid Violent Student Protests

Bangladesh is experiencing a complete internet shutdown and severe mobile service disruptions due to escalating student protests that began earlier this week. more

The 50th Anniversaries of the Moon Landing and First ARPANET Message

The anniversaries of these milestones remind us of the economic and social returns we have seen from ambitious Federal research and development programs. These events were milestones... the manned spaceflight program and the development of digital telecommunication networks from Morse's telegraph to early electronic digital computers and telemetry experiments, the SAGE early-warning system and eventually the ARPANET and the Internet. more

ITU Putting Global Cyber Security on Top of Its Agenda

Lisa Schlein of the Voice of America reports: "A new system for tackling the growing number of Global Cyber Attacks has been unveiled at ITU Telecom World 2009, a mammoth exhibition, which showcases the latest advances in ICT or information and communications technology. The International Telecommunications Union, which is sponsoring the event, has put global cyber security at the heart of its agenda. 'As you well know, the next world war could happen in the cyber space and that would be a catastrophe,' said ITU secretary-general, Hamdoun Toure." more

The European Commission Proposes Charging Data-Heavy Streamers for Telecom Upgrades

The European Union has launched a consultation on a proposal that would require technology companies, such as Netflix and Alphabet Inc., who use the most bandwidth to help pay for the next generation of internet infrastructure. more

Small Computers Will Connect Everything

Size and cost have always been restraining factors to the utilization of computers. The first computers occupied whole rooms. When personal computers arrived, they were still rather bulky. Today, we have slim ultrabooks and compact small form factor PCs. Computers are not only getting smaller in this age, they're also becoming cheaper. And single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi are taking cost and size down a step further. These units bring compact and affordable processing to the masses. more