Communications - NY

Nets of Freedom creating mesh networks. Image: Strelka Institute / Flickr

wired.com - by Primavera De Filippi - January 2, 2014

The internet is weak, yet we keep ignoring this fact. So we see the same thing over and over again, whether it’s because of natural disasters like hurricanes Sandy and Katrina, wars like Syria and Bosnia, deliberate attempts by the government to shut down the internet (most recently in Egypt and Iran), or NSA surveillance.

After Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines, several towns were cut off from humanitarian relief because delivering that aid depends on having a reliable communication network. In a country where over 90 percent of the population has access to mobile phones, the implementation of an emergency “mesh” network could have saved lives.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio at a rally before his victory. (Photo: William Alatriste)

submitted by Megan Fliegelman

politicker.com - by Jill Colvin - November 20, 2013

Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio announced that 60 prominent backers will join his transition team to select the city’s next mayoral administration.

Among the names on the list are Sex an the City star Cynthia Nixon, former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Harold Ickes, and longtime de Blasio confidante Bertha Lewis, who once led the social justice group ACORN.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

publicknowledge.org - by Harold Feld - May 9, 2013

Verizon wants to replace copper landlines destroyed by Hurricane Sandy with a new fixed wireless service called Voice Link. But should victims of natural disaster be guinea pigs when fundamental basic services are at stake? Especially when it means losing access to broadband?

Ever since Hurricane Sandy destroyed huge pieces of its landline network last October, Verizon made it clear it did not want to rebuild its traditional copper network. Most folks assumed that meant replacing damaged copper with fiber. While some consumers have grumbled about being upgraded to a more expensive service, no one doubts fiber to the home represents a step up – especially on the broadband side. 

But what about those communities where Verizon does not want to spend the money upgrading to FIOS? Turns out, rather than an upgrade to fiber, these communities will play guinea pig for Verizon’s new, cheaper, more limited wireless alternative called “Voice Link.”