Broadband

Broadband / News Briefs

Amazon Joins the Race to Offer Broadband Access from Orbit, Uncovered Filings Show

Reports suggest Amazon Inc. is planning to provide broadband internet access worldwide via 3,236 satellites in low earth orbit. more

Facebook Enters Wholesale Fiber Business, Plans to Sell Unused Capacity on New Fiber Routes

Facebooks says it intends to allow third parties - including local and regional providers - to purchase excess capacity on its fiber. more

High-Speed Fibre Makes Up One-Quarter of Fixed Broadband Internet Connections in OECD Countries

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reports that the share of high-speed fiber in fixed broadband Internet connections in its member countries has risen to 25%, up from 12% eight years ago. more

Microsoft’s New Study Reports Over 162 Million in US Lack Broadband, FCC Says Only 24.7 Million

A new study by Microsoft researchers suggests the actual use of high-speed internet across the US is quite different than those of from the FCC. more

SpaceX Wins FCC Approval to Deploy 7,518 Satellites for Broadband Communications

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is granted permission from U.S. regulators to deploy over 7,000 satellites. more

New Analysis by Web Foundation Shows Dramatic Decline in Internet Access Growth

A striking trend revealed in a report to be released next week by the Web Foundation, an organization set up by the inventor of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, indicates that the rate at which the world is getting online has fallen sharply since 2015. more

Entire Broadband Industry Sues California Over New Net Neutrality Law

Lobby groups representing U.S. broadband industry today filed a lawsuit against California to stop the state's new net neutrality law. more

Internet Society Partnering With Facebook to Develop Internet Exchange Points Throughout Africa

The Internet Society today announced that it is partnering with Facebook to develop Internet Exchange Points (IXP) throughout Africa. more

For the First Time in Recent Internet History a Subsea Cable Across South Atlantic Activated

For the first time in recent Internet history, a new submarine cable carrying live traffic across the South Atlantic was activated, directly connecting South America to Sub-Saharan Africa. more

Alphabet’s Loon Balloons Can Now Cover 1000km of Internet Connectivity via 1 Access Point

Loon, formerly a Google X project and now an independent Alphabet company, reveals that it successfully transmitted data over a 1000 kilometers (621 miles) via a network of 7 balloons. more

China Continues to Be at the Forefront of Fibre Adoption, Saw 26% FTTH Growth in Past 12 Months

China's fiber adoption constituted 80% of global FTTH growth in the past 12 months, according to the latest report from Point Topic. The country has reported a 26 percent annual growth in FTTH connections. more

Toughest State-Level Net Neutrality Bill in the US Approved by California Senate

The California Senate on Friday voted to approve the toughest state-level net neutrality bill in the U.S. and now with both legislative houses having approved the bill, California Governor Jerry Brown has until September 30 to sign it into law. more

China Has Reached 802 Million Internet Users, According to Country’s Internet Development Report

China's internet development has released a report stating the number of internet users in China reached 802 million at the end of June, an increase of 3.8 percent from six months ago. more

Google’s Loon Announces First Commercial Deal With Telkom Kenya to Provide Internet-by-Balloon

Google's sister-company Loon has announced its first commercial agreement with Telkom Kenya in order to deliver connectivity to the region using a network of giant balloons. more

Protests in Iraq Lead to a Two-Day Internet Shutdown by the Government

Widespread protests in Iraq against the government have lead to a state of emergency where the government has ordered disconnection of the fiber backbone of Iraq that carries traffic for most of the country. more