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NEWS ABOUT: Internet access

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Internet Is a Tool, Not a Right

Access enables rights, but is not a right itself: Vinton G. Cerf

(Newser) - With Facebook and Twitter fueling protests across the Arab world, many wonder: Is the Internet a human or civil right? No, declares Google VP Vinton G. Cerf firmly. Courts in various countries have declared it so, but the UN stopped short, calling the Internet "an indispensable tool for realizing... More »

Comcast Plans $10 Internet for Low-Income Families

Plan stems from NBC merger

(Newser) - Comcast is readying a discount Internet service for families whose kids receive free lunches by way of the National School Lunch program, the company announced on its blog . For $9.95 a month, families who live in one of the 39 states Comcast serves with at least one child participating... More »

Iran Plans to Unplug Internet, Create Its Own

Tehran aims to put all citizens on internal network

(Newser) - Iran is waging war on open Internet. Looking to limit the cyber-infiltration of Western ideas, Iran's telecommunications chief claimed that, in two years time, all Iranians would be forced to use a state-censored, fully-internal Internet. About 60% of the nation's homes and businesses are expected to be on... More »

Mubarak Fined $34M for Cutting Internet

He put Egypt's protesters offline temporarily in January

(Newser) - He faces far more serious charges, but this is a start: Hosni Mubarak has been fined $34 million for blocking Egypt's nation's Internet and mobile phone networks during protests in January, reports the BBC . Two other former high-ranking officials got hit with similar fines. The unprecedented action by... More »

Egypt Blocks Internet, Deploys Special Forces

Communication tools shut down ahead of 'day of rage'

(Newser) - As what is expected to be the biggest day of protests yet looms, Egyptian authorities have blocked Internet traffic and deployed an elite special operations counterterrorism force. Users are reporting major disruptions to Internet and text messaging services, and Cairo appears to be completely offline, the Huffington Post reports. More »

Calif. Cafes Unplugging WiFi

Coffee shops shouldn't feel like cubicle farms, say owners

(Newser) - California's coffee shops were pioneers in providing free WiFi, but a growing number are starting to pull the plug. Some complain that laptop users taking up space and nursing a single drink all day are killing profits, while others want to keep a friendly vibe in their establishments by having... More »

NYC Subway to Get Wireless, Cell Service

Australian company revives 3-year-old plan

(Newser) - A plan to bring cellphone and wireless Internet service to New York's subway is set to start after years of delay. The $200 million project was hobbled by the recession but has been made viable again by a large financial commitment from Broadcast Australia, Bloomberg reports. The firm bought a... More »

Finland Makes Broadband a Human Right

All Finns are now guaranteed a connection

(Newser) - Sure, here in the US we have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But the Finnish government is tossing in the right to speedy Internet access, reports the AFP . Today Finland became the first country in the world to guarantee the availability of a broadband connection for every citizen.... More »

AT&T Drops One-Price-Fits-All Plan for Smartphones

Other carriers expected to follow

(Newser) - In a sign of a coming industry shift, AT&T will next week stop offering new smartphone users a single price for unlimited Internet access. Under the new plan, customers can pay $15 per month for 200 megabytes of data or $25 per month for 2 gigabytes, instead of $30... More »

The Internet Actually Makes People Happier

Research links web use to well-being, especially in women

(Newser) - Turns out the hours you spend online might be helping, not hurting , you. Research from Britain's Chartered Institute of IT finds a link between internet use and well-being. "Put simply, people with IT access are more satisfied with life," one researcher tells Time . "IT has an enabling... More »

Google Explains Internet ... in Old-School Pamphlet

Search giant's leaflet designed to encourage Britons to get online

(Newser) - The Simple Guide to the Internet is a Google product with a difference: It's three-dimensional. The old-fashioned flier espousing the benefits of getting connected is the search giant's contribution to Race Online 2012, a push to have the whole UK online within 2 years. An estimated 10 million British adults,... More »

Most Believe Internet Access Is a Human Right

Varying attitudes on government oversight

(Newser) - Nearly four out of five people believe that access to the Internet should be universal right for all human beings. A BBC survey of more than 27,000 people from 26 countries found that 79% agree that Internet access is a fundamental right. But there are disagreements among that majority... More »

Google Will Test Hyper-Fast Internet in Some Markets

Speeds of 1 gig per second are 100 times what consumers normally get

(Newser) - Google plans to offer select cities broadband Internet access at 1 gigabit per second—100 times faster than usual consumer access—to demonstrate what ultra-high speed connections can do. The service will be available to between 50,000 and 500,000 people through a variety of providers at a “... More »

Space Station Astronaut: 'Hello Twitterverse!'

NASA rigs space station computer to control earth-bound one

(Newser) - The space station gained live internet access for the first time this morning, prompting one astronaut to send a historic message: “Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station -- the 1st live tweet from Space! :) More soon, send your ?s” Okay, Neil Armstrong... More »

McDonald's Will Offer Free Wi-Fi

Chain will drop $2.95 charge

(Newser) - McDonald's will stop charging for Wi-Fi starting early next year at most of its locations. The chain currently charges $2.95 to connect to the Internet for 2 hours, but will drop the fee at 11,000 of its 14,000 US restaurants. The chain is likely hoping to lure... More »

Iran Cracks Down Ahead of Rally

Internet access slows, foreign media warned on eve of annual event

(Newser) - An annual rally is shaping up as another battle between Iran's government and citizens, with Internet access in Tehran restricted and foreign reporters warned not even to go outside for the next 3 days. Dec. 7 is Students Day, marking the anniversary of the deaths of three student protesters in... More »

FCC Eyes Hiking Phone Bills to Expand Internet Access

Feds want to open networks, but would tax your phone bill to do it

(Newser) - Al Gore may think he created the Internet, but it's the FCC that's looking to make it available to all Americans—and it's considering taxing your phone bill to pay for it. Federal regulators will outline their case today for stepping up government control of Internet and phone services, the... More »

Free Holiday Airport WiFi From Google, Microsoft

Fight for market share finds willing fodder in snow-delayed fliers

(Newser) - There’s a new public option in town: free wireless from Google for the holidays. The search giant has partnered to provide WiFi gratis in 47 airports nationwide from now until the middle of January; the generosity even extends to in-flight access on continental Virgin flights, PC World reports. Google... More »

Internet Access Now a Legal Right in Finland

Telecom companies must bring speedy broadband to all

(Newser) - In Finland, broadband access isn’t a privilege, it’s a right. The Ministry of Transport and Communications has pushed through a law requiring telecom companies to offer speeds of at least 1 megabit per second to all of the country’s 5.3 million citizens. While 96% of Finland’... More »

Homeless Use Street Smarts to Stay Wired

Street, shelter dwellers feel compelled to stay connected

(Newser) - A growing number of middle-class Americans are being forced onto the streets, creating a homeless population that increasingly values an Internet connection, the Wall Street Journal reports. Big-city shelters have responded by adding computer terminals, and some determined people manage to keep their laptops with them despite the problem of... More »

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