The Week in Internet News: A Fight over Community Broadband in Missouri Thumbnail
Technology 21 October 2019

The Week in Internet News: A Fight over Community Broadband in Missouri

Grant Gross
By Grant GrossGuest AuthorTechnology Reporter

Broadband battle: Missouri law prohibits cities from launching their own broadband services, but some groups are pushing against that policy, reports The Salem News Online, a newspaper in the south central area of the state. More than half of the rural residents of the state lack broadband with download speeds of 25 Mbps. Several electric cooperatives are exploring ways to provide broadband service.

Connecting Africa: In recent years, Microsoft has focused on bringing broadband to rural areas in the U.S. through its Airband initiative, and the program, focused on providing wireless broadband through unused television spectrum, could also have great benefits for Africa, according to a column at Forbes.com. The company’s international effort aims to connect 40 million people to the Internet by 2022.

Shutdown fuels fake news: An ongoing Internet shutdown in the India-controlled region of Kashmir has created a “fake news battle” with neighboring Pakistan involved, the International Business Times says. Groups from India and Pakistan are spreading disinformation, with one side distributing old photos from Gaza as supposed evidence that Kashmir has turned into a “living hell,” and the other side spreading old photos of happy children to purportedly show that everything is great in “the new Kashmir.”

The Internet is for everyone. Learn more about community networks and join the global movement to help close the digital divide!

Disclaimer: Viewpoints expressed in this post are those of the author and may or may not reflect official Internet Society positions.

Related Posts

Technology 20 April 2022

Common Internet Network Interconnection and Charging Practices

The networks of the Internet charge their customers for access to the Internet regardless of the direction of the...

Technology 1 November 2021

The Week in Internet News: Facebook Rebrands After Controversies

Facebook Meta-morphosizes; high-speed hacking; Iberian Internet expansion; even more satellite broadband; Internet shutdown in Sudan

Technology 25 October 2021

The Week in Internet News: Snowden Warns of Anti-Encryption Efforts

Snowden speaks out at Global Encryption Day; Russia censors Internet comms; housing broadband issues; Facebook renaming?; Trump's Truth Social