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If Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler gets his way, phone bills will go up by 16 cents a month, or $2 per year, as part of a plan to fund faster Internet access in schools. This would apply to the E-Rate fee that appears on phone bills, which is a program to fund Internet access to schools...
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President Barack Obama's first order of business this week was to post an open letter urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reclassify Internet service as a utility and implement strong rules in favor of net neutrality, such as disallowing the rental of premium fast lanes and banning the practice of...
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While the US Senate doesn’t seem to have a clue about net neutrality and the issues brought up in regards to the FCC, its “Fast Lanes” plan, and the issue of what the internet should be classified as, President Barack Obama seems to get it. The President announced his support that the internet be...
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As the FCC continues to debate the issue of net neutrality and fast lanes, while continuing issues with Internet Service Providers continue to plague internet users, 7 towns in Colorado have decided to branch out on their own. All 7 towns have voted to let their local governments offer internet service. About 20 states have laws, mostly due...
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On April 9, 911 services were interrupted for six hours which affected areas in California, Florida, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina while the entire state of Washington was affected. A 911 call-routing facility, located in Englewood, Colorado, had stopped directing emergency calls to 911...
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We've all been victims of inadvertent phone calls resulting from a phenomenon known as butt dialing or pocket dialing. It's funny when it happens, though it's not always a laughing matter. According to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Michael O'Reilly, 70 percent of 911 calls are made by wireless...
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Earlier this year, VPN provider Golden Frog (creators of the VyprVPN service) debuted front and center in the debate over net neutrality. One of their customers, Colin Nederkoorn, published a video showing how switching to VyprVPN increased his network performance by a factor of 10. Full Disclosure: I've run my own...
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This past Wednesday, several Republican senators argued before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the topic of Net Neutrality and the Federal Communications Commission. While a large amount of companies are asking that the FCC classify the internet as a utility, Republicans are arguing such a move would give the FCC...
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If you have been following the battle between cable companies and major online companies, you won’t be surprised when you notice a “Loading…” icon or banner on some of your favorite websites today. Proponents of the existing net neutrality rules have been encouraging everyone from individuals...
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On September 10th, several of the popular websites you visit may appear to have trouble loading content, but that won't really be the case. All those slow loading animations are actually widgets, banners, and animated images provided by BattleForTheNet, a coalition of companies, organizations, and people who have come...
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Verizon will pay a hefty $7.4 million fine as part of a settlement agreement with the Federal Communications Commission to end an investigation into the wireless carrier's use of personal consumer information for marketing purposes without their consent, the FCC announced today. In addition to the fine, Verizon agreed...
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On Wednesday morning, every single Time Warner Cable Internet subscriber found themselves without access to the World Wide Web. Internet downtime isn't entirely uncommon, of course, but it is when we're talking this kind of scale. The worst of it in this particular event is that the downtime wasn't caused by hardware...
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The battle for net neutrality is starting to feel like a never-ending one, but for the sake of having a truly fair Web, it's a battle of utmost importance. It's also a battle that you can help win, as the Federal Trade Commission seeks comments from the public on the proposed net neutrality rules. Originally, the FCC...
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Thinking twice on the matter, Comcast and Time Warner Cable (TWC) have both decided to withdraw significant donations totaling a combined $132,000 to a fundraising dinner honoring Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Mignon Clybrun, who is scheduled to receive a special "diversity advocate" award at...
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Earlier this week, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler penned an open letter to Verizon telling the wireless carrier that he's "deeply troubled" by its decision to throttle data for the top 5 percent of users subscribed to the company's unlimited data plans. The way Wheeler sees it, Verizon isn't trying to relieve network...
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While the FCC has come under fire for its stance on net neutrality of late, it has also been on the offense against ISPs. For example, the agency has stated that it will look into the bad service finger-pointing between Netflix and Verizon in hopes of adjudicating the dispute and discerning the underlying problems...
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As the war over net neutrality rages on, the Internet Association fired off the latest volley by supplicating the FCC with concerns and a mandate to take decisive action on the issue. The IA’s voice is bolstered by a chorus of major tech companies, including Amazon, Facebook, Google, Netflix, Yahoo!, and more...
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Although the FCC is drawing the ire of many for its new stance on net neutrality, it’s important to remember that the agency is also doing good work to get Internet access to people who will certainly benefit from it. The FCC is “modernizing” its E-rate program to increase broadband Internet...
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Ever since Tom Wheeler unveiled a plan last month that would allow Internet Service Providers to charge for paid content prioritization, accusations have flown thick and fast that the proposed rules would effectively kill net neutrality. On the side of "Scrap Wheeler's net neutrality plan" you have more than 100...
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In case you hadn’t noticed, ISPs and Netflix aren’t exactly friendly right now. In addition to bowing to Comcast and paying extra fees (that surely stuck in Netflix’s craw), the video streaming provider passive-aggressively accused Verizon of delivering substandard network performance, and Verizon countered by blasting Netflix...
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Is the FCC trolling ISPs (on our behalf)? The agency is considering raising the standard minimum speed for what is considered “high-speed Internet”, which would potentially force ISPs to work faster to roll out better service to more areas. Currently, broadband Internet speed is defined as 4Mbps, but according to an anonymous FCC...
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Back in 2011, the FCC put forth a plan that would convert some of the subsidies that bring telephone service to rural areas to Internet access. The idea is simple: Years ago, it was decided that rural areas needed the same access to current communications technology that more populated areas enjoy. Back then it was telephone service, and now...
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