FCC takes first step towards Universal Service Fund reform
The Federal Communications Commission issued a notice of proposed rulemaking -- taking the first step towards transitioning the Universal Service Fund from funding for telephones to broadband.
Alliance for Digital Equality moving forward in 2010
The Alliance for Digital Equality has appointed former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin as Senior Adviser and announced a Digital Empowerment Summit which will be held in Newark, NJ on April 23.
FCC's Proposed 2010 Key Broadband Initiatives Available
The FCC announced its key broadband agenda items for the coming year — outlining the steps it plans to take to strengthen high-speed Internet availability in the United States.
Broadband stimulus funding raises concerns
As the federal government announces its plans to award the second round of broadband stimulus funding, telecommunications companies are concerned that it targets duplicate projects, instead of expanded high-speed service for unserved areas.
FCC's Levin outlines plans to get more older Americans online
FCC National Broadband Plan Executive Director Blair Levin recently spoke at the National Press Club on the need for expanded funding for programs aimed at getting more older Americans online.
Emergency response professionals need technology overhaul
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers may be better off using their cellular phones to communicate than the systems that EMS agencies provide them, according to a February report to Congress.
Advisory board to the FCC: Designate funds for high speed Internet access
For the first time, a federal advisory board has recommended that $300 million of the Universal Service Fund be dedicated to high speed Internet support. While this is an important breakthrough, $300 million is not enough to address the problem of rural high speed Inte...
House committee is unanimous: Speed matters
Encouraging news out of Washington: The House Energy and Commerce committee unanimously approved the Broadband Census of America Act (HR 3919), which would require the FCC to collect more thorough and more detailed data on current high speed Internet deployment in the U...
Senator Inouye Introduces Broadband Data Improvement Act
Yesterday Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) introduced the Broadband Data Improvement Act (S.1492). The bill would force the FCC to collect better data on broadband deployment in the United States that would be used to help craft policy that would make our country a world le...
Fighting Back Against Verizon's Sneak Attack on Virginia
Virginia's communications consumers are at risk of losing one of their most important protections. The Communications Workers of America is standing up to try and stop this corporate attack on consumer rights.
Rep. John Dingell's Strategic Vision for Internet policy
As the new chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) is among the most important political leaders in Washington when it comes to improving our nation's Internet policies. A recent article in The Hill shows he's out front on these issues, poin...
FCC Takes America's Broadband Pulse
Speed Matters has long urged the FCC to report on actual, as opposed to advertised, broadband speeds. On August 1, 2011, the FCC released, Measuring Broadband America, a first-ever comprehensive report on U.S. residential wireline broadband service.
FCC gives $417 million in grants to connect rural clinics with telehealth
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced it will distribute $417 million over three years in grants to 69 rural telehealth organizations in an effort to connect rural health clinics with high speed Internet. About 6,000 hospitals, research centers, univ...
Getting serious about the underserved
Sen. Daniel Inouye, chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Technology, held a hearing March 1 to discuss reforms to the Universal Service Fund, the multi-billion dollar program to expand phone service to underserved areas.
2008 Report on Internet Speeds in All Fifty States
The second annual speedmatters.org survey of actual Internet speeds of users nationwide shows that the United States has not made significant improvements in deploying high-speed broadband networks in the past year. Our nation continues to lag behind other industrial n...
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CWA Lauds FCC Decision To ?Stop The Clock? On Verizon Wireless/Big Cable Proposal
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Communications Workers of America supports the decision by the Federal Communications Commission to "stop the clock" on its review of a proposed deal between Verizon Wireless and large cable operators, noting the action is an important step forwa...
Apple aside, Foxconn?s got ?tons of issues?
Apple is investigating worker abuses at its Foxconn plants, and Foxconn is buying good will with raises. But will conditions improve?
Senators air concerns over proposed NBC Universal - Comcast merger
Senate lawmakers recently pressed both the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice on the proposed merger between NBC Universal and cable television giant Comcast.
Senate Stimulus Passes with $7 billion broadband investment plan
Today the Senate passed its version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan,
including $7 billion in broadband investment. While this represents a
$2 billion cut for broadband from the original Senate proposal, it is
still more generous than the $6 billion in the...
Report shows U.S. high speed Internet deployment still lags behind
Akamai Technologies has released its second quarterly State of the Internet report, which ranks countries and states based on the percentage of their population who connect to the Internet at a speed greater than 5 mbps. By this measure, the U.S. comes in sixth place, w...
Mapping bill raises hope for quick action by Congress
The House of Representatives Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee has approved legislation to improve data collection on high speed Internet deployment. The bill incorporates key provisions supported by CWA's Speed Matters campaign and is another important s...
Community Petition For High Speed Access Gets AT&T's Attention
Fed up with slow dial-up speeds, residents along the North Shore of Lake Tahoe have taken matters into their own hands to get better access to high speed internet. Citizens in Carnelian Bay area began circulating a petition last month aimed at convincing telecom compani...
New Report: Speeding Up Our Internet and Our Economy
Technology has been a driving force behind the United States' ascension to the top of the global economy. But as the 21st Century unfolds, we are seriously lagging when it comes to high speed internet access. Americans pay far more for much slower speeds than most other...
Speed Matters! Read all about it!
CWA has just released a detailed policy paper which explains why the U.S. needs a national policy for universal high speed broadband.