Robins Global News & Noticias 
Consumer Daily Reports
Consumer News: About half of U.S. consumers lack access to broadband
- Details
- Category: Consumer Daily Reports
-
06 Dec 2018
- Last Updated: 06 December 2018
- Published: 06 December 2018
- Written by www.ConsumerAffairs.com News
Although the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has said it’s working on closing the digital divide, new research finds that almost half of the U.S. population doesn’t use broadband service.
Researchers from Microsoft determined that 162.8 million people don't use broadband service. Of that figure, 19 million live in rural areas. The new findings were delivered on Tuesday at a company event by Microsoft’s President Brad Smith.
Previous estimates by the FCC put the figure of U.S. consumers lacking access to broadband internet at about 24.7 million. The new findings show that the disparities in internet access are most dramatic between rural and urban areas.
Expanding access
Microsoft says it’s aiming to shrink the digital divide by expanding its Rural Airband Initiative. The company hopes to reach 3 million people by July 4, 2022, which is more than the 2 million goal it announced in 2017.
"Without a proper broadband connection, these communities can’t start or run a modern business, access telemedicine, take an online class, digitally transform their farm, or research a school project online," Smith wrote in a blog post.
He cited numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that the highest unemployment rates are often found in regions with the lowest broadband availability.
“By this time next year, we will expand our Airband Initiative to reach 25 states,” Smith said. “In these states we will both pursue Airband infrastructure projects and expand the work we are doing to offer skills training in rural communities. We will also continue to advocate for public policies to accelerate the investment in TV white spaces technologies that are needed.”
Microsoft is also pushing for larger broadband subsidies from the FCC and Department of Agriculture.
Underestimating availability
Some advocates and policymakers say the FCC overestimates how many consumers have access to broadband, partially due to the fact that the agency relies on surveys that don’t paint a complete picture of broadband availability.
Microsoft said its recent research provides a more accurate representation of broadband use, which Smith said indicates that “the problem is bigger than we thought it was.”
Posted: 2018-12-06 14:52:55
Listen to this article. Speaker link opens in a new window.
Text To Speech BETA Test Version.
Embed
Related News Stories From The Web And More
Related Bing News
Consumer News: About half of U.S. consumers lack access to broadband | Consumer Daily Reports | Special News Reports - Newscast
Microsoft expands rural broadband push to include 1 million more people
Tue, 04 Dec 2018 16:31:00 GMTRoughly 39 percent of rural Americans lack access to high-speed broadband ... for internet service providers and consumers. It's been supporting ISPs by providing some funding for upfront capital cost...
Paper or Digital? Keep Me Posted North America Launches to Protect the Consumer’s Right to Choose
Tue, 04 Dec 2018 03:06:00 GMTMillions of North American consumers are currently disenfranchised by increased digitization and need to receive bills and statements on paper due to reasons such as: lack of internet ... households d...
Leveling the broadband playing field
Sat, 01 Dec 2018 11:24:00 GMTand limited ambitions for fixed broadband in Malaysia are driven by a lack of market competition in the industry. With high prices and low coverage, it is no surprise that it has been reported that on...
Digital divide
Sat, 01 Dec 2018 10:22:00 GMTMixed signals from the FCC: The agency said this year that more than 24 million Americans still lack fixed service that meets the FCC's broadband speed benchmark ... rural communities will be able to ...
Rural Pa. demands broadband access; providers cite logistical difficulties
Thu, 05 Apr 2018 20:31:00 GMTGillio is one of 800,000 Pennsylvanians that lack access ... and consumers. The FCC’s broadband estimates may actually undersell the extent of the issue, Denk noted. According to the FCC, if one perso...
Related Bing Web Search
2016 Broadband Progress Report | Federal Communications ...
(Thu, 06 Dec 2018 01:35:00 GMT)While the nation continues to make progress in broadband deployment, many Americans still lack access to advanced, high-quality voice, data, graphics and video offerings, especially in rural areas and on Tribal lands, according to the 2016 Broadband Progress Report adopted by the Federal Communications Commission.
2018 Broadband Deployment Report - fcc.gov
(Thu, 06 Dec 2018 12:55:00 GMT)Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires the Federal Communications Commission to report annually on whether advanced telecommunications capability “is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion,” and to take “immediate action” if it is not.
Home Broadband 2015 | Pew Research Center
(Mon, 21 Dec 2015 15:33:00 GMT)The share of Americans with broadband at home has plateaued: It now stands at 67%, down slightly from 70% in 2013. At the same time, more Americans rely only on their smartphones for online access.
Dial-up Internet access - Wikipedia
(Tue, 04 Dec 2018 14:02:00 GMT)Dial-up Internet access is a form of Internet access that uses the facilities of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to establish a connection to an Internet service provider (ISP) by dialing a telephone number on a conventional telephone line.The user's computer or router uses an attached modem to encode and decode information into and from audio frequency signals, respectively.
National Broadband Plan (United States) - Wikipedia
(Tue, 04 Dec 2018 12:22:00 GMT)Connecting America: The National Broadband Plan is a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plan to improve Internet access in the United States.The FCC was directed to create the plan by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and unveiled its plan on March 16, 2010.. The act did not give the FCC specific jurisdiction to carry out a national broadband plan or to amend the ...
Broadband & Sec 706 - Cybertelecom
(Tue, 27 Nov 2018 12:23:00 GMT)"The Telecommunications Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-104) addressed the issue of whether the federal government should intervene to prevent a “digital divide” in broadband access.
Trump's infrastructure plan offers no funding for rural ...
(Mon, 12 Feb 2018 14:44:00 GMT)Lawmakers and broadband providers from rural areas were hoping for dollars aimed specifically at solving the digital divide. They instead got money states can use how ever they want on infrastructure.
U.S. Smartphone Use in 2015 | Pew Research Center
(Wed, 01 Apr 2015 13:58:00 GMT)The traditional notion of “going online” often evokes images of a desktop or laptop computer with a full complement of features, such as a large screen, mouse, keyboard, wires, and a dedicated high-speed connection.
Peak Cable | Asymco
(Wed, 14 Mar 2018 23:55:00 GMT)Paying for TV has been a curious consumer phenomenon. There was a time when TV was free to consumers. It was delivered as a broadcast over-the-air and paid for either by commercials (US mostly) or by taxes on viewers (Europe mostly).
Cooperatives Build Community Networks | community ...
(Wed, 05 Dec 2018 22:00:00 GMT)Why Rural Cooperatives? Cooperatives are part of the fabric of rural America. The member owners control the cooperative: each person receiving service is a member of the cooperative and can directly vote in elections for the Board of Directors or even become a member of the Board.
Related News Story Videos From Youtube
Level1 News September 18 2018: Please Present Your License To Make Additional Online Friends
Related Videos On: Level1 News September 18 2018: Please Present Your License To Make Additional Online Friends
ISP Caught Funding Astroturf Campaign Against Public Broadband
Related Videos On: ISP Caught Funding Astroturf Campaign Against Public Broadband
To fix net neutrality we need competition of broadband providers | Local Loop Unbundling explained
Related Videos On: To fix net neutrality we need competition of broadband providers | Local Loop Unbundling explained
TalkTalk takes on BT with cut price broadband deals ahead of Black Friday 2018
Related Videos On: TalkTalk takes on BT with cut price broadband deals ahead of Black Friday 2018
Breaking News - India launches big internet satellite
Related Videos On: Breaking News - India launches big internet satellite
Blow Us A Whistle
Comments (Whistles) Designed By Disqus
