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By the Staff of BroadbandCensus.com

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2010 – The FCC launched its consumer broadband test today, enabling consumers to test the speed and other performance measurements of their broadband connections. Users will randomly be assigned to one of two speed and measurement tests when they visit www.broadband.gov. One of the tests will utilize the open source Network Diagnostic Tool (NDT) developed by Internet2, a consortium of researchers. BroadbandCensus.com has been using the NDT speed test since February 2008. The other test, uses Ookla, Inc.'s Speedtest.net, has been used by Communications Workers of America's SpeedMatters.org web site since 2007. “Transparency empowers consumers, promotes innovation and investment, and encourages competition,” said Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski. “The FCC’s new digital tools will arm users with real-time information about their broadband connection and the agency with useful data about service across the country," he said. "By informing consumers about their broadband service quality, these tools help eliminate confusion and make the market work more effectively.” The FCC also said that it did not endorse any specific testing application. In addition to the "Consumer Broadband Test," the FCC on Thursday also launched a mobile application -- a first for the agency...

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By Winter Casey, Reporter, BroadbandCensus.com

WASHINGTON, November 18, 2009 - The opening speaker of a summit focused on improving broadband penetration to minority and low-income areas of the country, and criticized advocates of Net neutrality for being out of touch with the needs of minorities as he attempted to enlist the mantle civil rights leader Martin Luther King into his cause. “[L]et us remember the worlds of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., ‘All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face-to-face with another problem,’” said Julius Hollis, the founder of the Alliance for Digital Equality, in prepared remarks. “If we fail to find common-ground on the issues before the U.S. Federal Communications Commission relative to the rulemaking governing broadband adoption, the financing of broadband infrastructure and the over-arching issue of net neutrality, the long-term socio-economic chaos that will be inflicted upon our society would be far too devastating to comprehend,” warned Hollis. Hollis delivered his remarks Wednesday during his group’s 2009 Minority Broadband Summit, which was held at the Newseum with roses on the table and a view of the Washington skyline. Hollis dove into the issue of Net neutrality or whether the FCC should step in and regulate internet access...

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By Winter Casey, Reporter, BroadbandCensus.com

WASHINGTON, November 17, 2009 - The consulting firm Empiris LLC joined a host of cable and phone broadband network related entities on Tuesday when it slammed a recent study from Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society on broadband policy. In July the Federal Communications Commission commissioned the Berkman Center to review the existing literature and studies on broadband deployment and usage throughout the world to inform the FCC’s development of a National Broadband Plan. The FCC is sought public comment on the study through November 16. Empiris held a teleconference with bloggers Tuesday to discuss its problems with the report. Empiris argues that the study failed to provide an accurate summary of broadband policies in other countries and advances “conclusions that conflict with the evidence found in existing research.” “The central question for developing broadband services and the infrastructure required to deliver them is how to provide the requisite incentives for carrier investment in such infrastructure,” noted Robert Crandall, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute and a senior expert for Empiris, in a statement. “The Berkman Study ignores this issue, focusing instead on a policy of intra-platform competition that has been thoroughly discredited in...

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By Winter Casey, Reporter, BroadbandCensus.com

November 16, 2009 - Speaking in a country known for its internet censorship policies and heavy-handed government involvement in communications technologies, President Obama repeatedly took the time to voice his support for an “open internet” in Shanghai on Monday.

“So I'm a big supporter of not restricting internet use, internet access, other information technologies like Twitter. The more open we are, the more we can communicate. And it also helps to draw the world together,” said Obama.

“And so I've always been a strong supporter of open Internet use. I'm a big supporter of non-censorship. This is part of the tradition of the United States that I discussed before, and I recognize that different countries have different traditions. I can tell you that in the United States, the fact that we have free Internet -- or unrestricted internet access is a source of strength, and I think should be encouraged,” he continued.

Obama delivered his remarks to four hundred-plus Chinese youth as well as thousands of others who attended the event virtually through events organized by the U.S. Embassy and Consulates. The question related to Internet use was delivered by U.S. Ambassador to China Jon...

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By the Staff of BroadbandCensus.com

The New York City Council Committee on Technology in Government plans to hold a public hearing to consider the Federal Communications Commission's proposed rules to regulate Internet access. The hearing will examine so-called Net Neutrality or open Internet principles and whether they “would effectively obtain the goal of maintaining a free and open Internet.” The council will also consider a resolution that asks the FCC and Congress to go forward with Net Neutrality regulations. The council said it plans to draft a letter to the FCC on the issue of net neutrality with citywide...

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By Winter Casey, Reporter, BroadbandCensus.com

WASHINGTON, November 6, 2009 - While the U.S. takes steps to make so-called Network Neutrality principles mandatory under official rules, the European Union moved forward this week with its own set of internet access requirements. Under the proposed EU rules, “national telecoms authorities will have the powers to set minimum quality levels for network transmission services" so as to promote Net neutrality or "net freedoms" for European citizens. In addition, owing to new transparency requirements, consumers must be informed – before signing a contract – about the nature of the service to which they are subscribing. Such disclosures must include traffic management techniques and their impact on service quality, as well as any other limitations (such as bandwidth caps or available connection speed),” according to a document posted Thursday on the portal web site of the European Union. The Net neutrality principles outlined above are part of a telecom reform package that members of the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers agreed upon this week following intense negotiations. The reforms were originally proposed by the European Commission in November 2007, though the sections to “reinforce the neutral character of the internet” and an internet freedom provision,...

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By the Staff of BroadbandCensus.com

A video posted last month on YouTube from Jesse Dylon of FreeForm in support of Net neutrality wants to touch your heart and has the music and images to boot. “This is a video we made about free and open web access. An Open Internet should be a right for all people, of all backgrounds, with all interests. Net Neutrality is for all of us,” reads the last moment of the screen with the sound of the piano. Starring in the video are Net neutrality advocates Lawrence Lessig, a professor at Stanford Law School, Gigi Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge, Vint Cerf, chief internet evangelist for Google, and Christopher Libertelli, senior director of government and regulatory affairs for Skype, among others. FreeForm says on its Web site that it gathered these individuals “to discuss the vast implications of limiting access” on the Internet. Currently, the Federal Communications Commission is considering proposed rules, so-called Net neutrality principles, to regulate Internet access. On its home page, FreeForm, a multimedia production company, has pictures of celebrities such as Cameron Diaz, Gweneth Paltrow, Brad Pitt mingled with political figures such as former President Bill...

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By Mercy Gakii, Reporter-Researcher, BroadbandCensus.com

WASHINGTON, November 3, 2009 - The Internet could provide vital links between people and institutions to keep government running and businesses operating during an outbreak of H1N1 influenza, said a report released in October by the Government Accountability Office. Maintaining a robust infrastructure that can handle a rise in the use of bandwidth-heavy applications that would be used during widespread pandemic-based telecommuting should be a top priority for network operators during times of heightened concern, the report said. "It is obvious that a functioning Internet will keep both government, private companies and individuals in contact, and people will be able to access information from wherever they are." The Internet would allow people to communicate effectively without coming together physically during an outbreak, GAO said. This would assist in creating “social distance” to reduce the potential for illness to further spread. Many other governmental agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, have been advocating that businesses and other enterprises consider increased use of telework by their workforce as a way to continue operations while maintaining physical separation from other workers during a pandemic. Doing so would typically involve employees working from home and accessing their business’s networks over an Internet connection. Some...

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