On March 4, The Communications Workers of America and three of its partner organizations released a report called Networking the Green Economy. The report found that new communication technologies are actually a critical part of making our energy-hungry economy more sustainable and energy-efficient. Read More »
The FCC recently released working recommendations for key priorities that will be part of next month's unveiling of the National Broadband Plan. The recommendations are meant to bring greater high-speed Internet availability to the health care, education, and energy sectors, and move the federal government into a new era of engagement and transparency. Read More »
Wondering how to solve the climate crisis and make America energy independent? A big part of the answer is broadband, says the co-author of the recent House climate bill. If implemented nationally, smart grid has the potential to mitigate some of our most pressing energy issues, Markey stated, and the expansion and upgrading of broadband infrastructure will accelerate its development and adoption. "Without the broadband revolution, you cannot have the revolution we’re talking about," he said Read More »
On August 25, the FCC held a National Broadband Plan workshop focused on broadband and the potentially transformative role that communications infrastructure could play in meeting our national energy, environmental, and transportation goals. Eric Lightner, the Director of the Federal Smart Grid Task Force at the Department of Energy, defined the smart grid as "an enabling platform that integrates the latest digital and information technologies into the nation's electric delivery network for enhanced operational intelligence and connectivity throughout all application areas." Read More »
A new research study reveals that many American households now consider broadband Internet access a necessity. Broadband at home, the study concludes, provides over $30 billion annually in benefits to consumers in the areas of education, health care, work, news, entertainment and civic affairs. Read More »
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples recently announced the creation of a state broadband task force that will bring broadband to rural parts of Texas. The task force will work with the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) and the Public Utility Committee (PUC) to maximize broadband penetration throughout the state. Read More »
Even after passing a stimulus package that invests billions in broadband, President Obama's administration reaffirmed its commitment to expanding high speed Internet access across America. Susan Crawford, Special Assistant to the President for Science, Technology and Innovation Policy recently declared that the United States is "definitely behind" our competitors in broadband adoption and deployment. She continued on to say, "the president cares deeply about broadband." Read More »
In comments submitted to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Communications Workers of America (CWA) commended the FCC for moving forward promptly to develop a national broadband plan. CWA recommends that the Commission hold a series of public hearings to solicit guidance for the plan, set specific benchmarks to increase broadband speeds to the home, establish tax incentives to encourage broadband build out and upgrades, and safeguard consumers and create quality jobs. Read More »
In his "rebuilding America" plan, President Obama pushed smart grid technology to the forefront - citing it as a way not only to eliminate power outages, but also as a mechanism for job creation and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. However, none of that will be possible without broadband Internet connections. Read More »
In a recent article, Telephony Online points out that applying Moore's Law to our nation's digital network and extending that network into new geographic areas could be a much-needed boost to our economy. Read More »
