Brian Kemp, Governor of Georgia: Gov. Kemp: DCA Launches New Resources for Georgians to Access High-Speed Internet. “To support social distancing requirements, broadband providers are offering various options for Georgians to connect to the internet. By visiting broadband.georgia.gov, Georgians can find locations to which they can drive for accessing WiFi around the state, made available from telecommunications cooperatives and government agencies. While many public libraries are currently closed, some are still offering limited services such as WiFi outside their buildings.”
internet access
New York Times: Surging Traffic Is Slowing Down Our Internet
New York Times: Surging Traffic Is Slowing Down Our Internet. “… last week, as a wave of stay-at-home orders rolled out across the United States, the average time it took to download videos, emails and documents increased as broadband speeds declined 4.9 percent from the previous week, according to Ookla, a broadband speed testing service. Median download speeds dropped 38 percent in San Jose, Calif., and 24 percent in New York, according to Broadband Now, a consumer broadband research site.”
AlticeUSA: Altice USA Brings Free Broadband to K-12 and College Students During Coronavirus Pandemic
AlticeUSA: Altice USA Brings Free Broadband to K-12 and College Students During Coronavirus Pandemic. “Altice USA is committed to helping schools and students stay connected during this unprecedented time. For households with K-12 and/or college students who may be displaced due to school closures and who do not currently have home internet access, we are offering our Altice Advantage 30 Mbps broadband solution for free for 60 days to any new customer household within our footprint.”
Digital Trends: Coronavirus exposes digital disparities between students as learning goes online
Digital Trends: Coronavirus exposes digital disparities between students as learning goes online. “With universities across the country closing their campuses, canceling classes, and moving everything online, the coronavirus pandemic has complicated learning for many students and faculty, despite the wide use of technology to keep classes going. Perhaps the most basic issue is what students will do when they do not have reliable high-speed internet access.”
The Diplomat: Pakistan’s Government and Military Are Crushing Dissent on Social Media
The Diplomat: Pakistan’s Government and Military Are Crushing Dissent on Social Media. “Even before the new rules, the digital situation in Pakistan was already quite authoritarian. That can easily be conveyed by the ranking given to Pakistan in the Freedom on the Net report compiled annually by Freedom House. For many years, the country has been ranked among the worst countries of the world on that index; Pakistan was among the 10 worst countries of the 65 surveyed in the 2019 Freedom on the Net report.”
The Verge: As COVID-19 pushes classes online, some students are caught in the broadband gap
The Verge: As COVID-19 pushes classes online, some students are caught in the broadband gap. “As COVID-19 spreads within the United States and across the globe, public health officials are calling for fewer public gatherings — which is pushing many activities online. The issue is particularly severe for schools, where the risk of spreading the disease is high. But as many US schools try to shift to online lesson plans, they’re running into the limitations of our threadbare broadband networks, which leave many students unable to connect to their new online classrooms.”
New York Times: No Cell Signal, No Wi-Fi, No Problem. Growing Up Inside America’s ‘Quiet Zone’
New York Times: No Cell Signal, No Wi-Fi, No Problem. Growing Up Inside America’s ‘Quiet Zone’. “Welcome to Green Bank, population 143, where Wi-Fi is both unavailable and banned and where cellphone signals are nonexistent. The near radio silence is a requirement for those living close to the town’s most prominent and demanding resident, the Green Bank Observatory, home to the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope. To protect the sensitive equipment from interference, the federal government in 1958 established the National Radio Quiet Zone, a 13,000-square-mile area near the state’s border with Virginia.”
