fiber-optic networks over the last three years.
The first neighborhoods in Ammon went live with fiber internet access in February 2017. The network now runs past about half the houses in Ammon and will be automatically provided for all upcoming neighborhoods and housing developments. The majority of residents who can hook into the fiber network have done so.
Ammon treats the fiber network as a public utility, which is a relatively new approach to internet service. Residents must opt in to begin receiving the fiber internet and the wires have been laid in the areas with significant early demand. Much of the extension has been made through local improvement districts  â an Idaho-specific method for expanding infrastructure where property owners pay a lower cost for improvements by joining the project in large numbers.
Executive Summary
Over the past year, governments have made unprecedented demands for online platforms to police speech, and many companies are rushing to comply. But in their response to calls to remove objectionable content, social media companies and platforms have all too often censored valuable speech. While it is reasonable for companies to moderate some content, no one wins when companies and governments can censor online speech without transparency, notice, or due process.
This year’s Who Has Your Back report examines major tech companies’ content moderation policies in the midst of massive government pressure to censor. We assess companies’ policies in six categories:
, a series from Future Tense in which experts suggest specific, forward-looking actions the new Biden administration should implement.
Let’s jump back to 1996 for a moment. We didn’t have Wi-Fi, touch screens, or smartphones. Ariana Grande was 3 years old. Diana, princess of wales, was all over the tabloids. And E-Rate was born.
What, you don’t know E-Rate? It’s the obscure little program run by the Federal Communications Commission that discounts the cost of internet access in schools and libraries. It was one of several landmark programs to emerge from the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which stated that “all schools, classrooms, health care providers, and libraries should, generally, have access to advanced telecommunications services.” At the time, that kind of access consisted almost entirely of computers connecting to an actual line (ethernet cable, phone line, or whatever it might be). And so it seemed reasonable that E-Rate discounts should apply to the costs
Mon, Dec 14th 2020 12:00pm
Joshua Stager
How much do consumers pay for internet service in the United States? The question might seem relatively simple, but the answer has stymied the federal government for years because no agency collects this data. Throughout 2020, my organization, New America’s Open Technology Institute, published the Cost of Connectivity series to crack open the black box of internet pricing. The collective takeaway of these studies is clear: the cost of internet service is alarmingly high, and there is substantial evidence of an affordability crisis in the United States.
Our research found that U.S. consumers pay some of the highest broadband prices in the world, at an average $68.38 per month. Most of these plans advertise a temporary promotional rate, after which the monthly cost jumps an additional $22.25, on average. Of the 760 plans we surveyed across Europe, Asia, and North America, U.S. plans are the most expensive. Prices are particularly high in