"Sir Tim Berners-Lee, generally credited with founding the World Wide Web, today used his Nokia World keynote address for outlining an agenda of increased global Internet access in a net-neutral setting. Berners-Lee called for everyone to have free or minimal-cost, low-bandwidth access to data and alluded that Internet access could be an equal, or perhaps more important investment, than hunger relief in emerging areas of the world."
- Michael R. Bernstein
from Bookmarklet
"Have you ever come across a web site that you could not access and wondered, "Am I the only one?" Herdict Web aggregates reports of inaccessible sites, allowing users to compare data to see if inaccessibility is a shared problem. By crowdsourcing data from around the world, we can document accessibility for any web site, anywhere."
- Michael R. Bernstein
"Today I bring you a story that has it all: a solar-powered, low-cost, open source cellular network that's revolutionizing coverage in underprivileged and off-grid spots. It uses VoIP yet works with existing cell phones. It has pedigreed founders. Best of all, it is part of the sex, drugs and art collectively known as Burning Man. Where do you want me to begin?"
- Michael R. Bernstein
from Bookmarklet
"In September, Free Press submitted a filing with the Federal Communications Commission in response to its inquiry into whether broadband is being deployed in a "reasonable and timely fashion." While preparing this filing, we dredged up some stunning numbers on the cable industry’s Internet windfall. [...] Let’s first look at cable operators’ obscene profit margins for broadband service. Some financial analysts and institutions have noted that the profit margin for cable Internet subscribers is on the order of 80 percent. In other words, your cable company charges you $40 for something that costs them $8 to supply. [...] In our research, we found that for the second quarter of 2009, Comcast had a profit margin for its cable Internet service of about 70 percent [...] Outrageous, right? Getting a little PO’d?"
- Michael R. Bernstein
from Bookmarklet
"AT&T and Verizon are up in arms about a "slanted" survey of global broadband practices done for the FCC which concludes that mandatory line-sharing rules produce better Internet speeds and penetration rates. Is it possible the US could (again) force ISPs to open their networks?"
- Michael R. Bernstein
from Bookmarklet
"So how do we get to somewhere near number one? The Federal Communications Commission's broadband task force has identified seven "gaps" or roadblocks along the path to the Holy Grail. The document doesn't offer any specific solutions to these problems. But the analysis offers clues as to where that National Broadband Plan the Commission has to crank out by February is going."
- Michael R. Bernstein
from Bookmarklet
"Attention all broadband stimulus grant shoppers: the good news is that the Obama administration says it's fast-tracking the schedule to fork out over seven billion dollars in high speed Internet stimulus money. The other news is that if you haven't applied for this windfall yet, you've only got one more chance. Instead of handing out that dough in two additional rounds, as originally intended, the new plan is to do it in just one more—and it's probably coming soon."
- Michael R. Bernstein
Down to the wire!!! If you see this in your FF stream and have not already voted -- please -- take 30 seconds to vote and take another 30 seconds to spread the word for Sacred Wind and the Navajo Tribe. Your minute can mean a lot more than you think. Thanks -- Jay
- Jay Cuthrell
from Bookmarklet
If you see this in your FF stream -- please -- take 30 seconds to vote and take another 30 seconds to spread the word for Sacred Wind and the Navajo Tribe. Your minute can mean a lot more than you think. Thanks -- Jay
- Jay Cuthrell
from Bookmarklet
Both CrowdFlower and SamaSource were at TechCrunch50 -- this is exactly the kind of mashup that moves the collective needle for good.
- Jay Cuthrell
from Bookmarklet