10 Ways Being Online Saves You Money
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Don’t like the thought of sending even more of your hard-earned money to the government for corporate welfare? Then take notice: the Federal Communications Commission is considering a bipartisan proposal that would tax your Internet connections and fill the pockets of our nation’s phone companies, even the ones that earn billions in profits while getting their own tax rebate checks from Uncle Sam.
Comcast is giving free Internet-speed upgrades — but only for certain high-paying customers (i.e. the 1%) …
So what about the rest of us?!
Comcast needs to increase speeds and decrease prices for all of its customers — especially for low-income and working people, who are often stranded on the wrong side of the digital divide.
Sign this petition if you’re sick and tired of being pushed around by Comcast!
How to Get America Online
The proliferation of new smartphone owners, including Americans without home broadband access, has not been enough to close the most significant gaps in the digital divide, according to a new Pew Research Center study.
“The Smartphone Difference,” released this week, shows that smartphone owners relying on the technology as their only link to the Internet are more likely to use it for a job hunt or to access other vital services. They’re also more likely to have their smartphone service cut off due to financial hardship.
And that momentary inconvenience could be “the difference between hearing back from a job and being able to apply for a job,” said study coauthor Aaron Smith. “This could affect their financial situation in a meaningful way.”
Net Neutrality rules prevent broadband Internet access providers, such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon, from unreasonably discriminating against or blocking lawful content and applications. This principle has always governed the Internet, ensuring a robust Internet economy and a level playing field for all voices online.
In February 2015, after a year-long rulemaking process that drew a record-breaking number of public comments, the FCC voted to protect Net Neutrality by restoring it to the solid legal foundation improperly abandoned during the Bush administration. The vast majority of Americans — spanning the political spectrum — support these rules.
But some in Congress are trying to use the appropriations process to undermine Net Neutrality by burying three riders in Sections 628–630 of the financial services appropriations bill that funds the FCC. These sections would prohibit the FCC from protecting the open Internet.
“There’s no longer any question that Tom Wheeler has the political support to do the right thing. And the right thing is reclassifying broadband access providers as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act. Senator Reid makes clear that when Wheeler reclassifies that the Senate leadership will have his back.”
What do an environmental group in Ohio, a small military radio program, and a network of rural hospitals in Texas all have in common? They appear on a list of coalition members for a group pressuring the government to abandon net neutrality—rules to prevent broadband providers from creating Internet fast and slow lanes—but claim they did not intend to sign up for any such advocacy.
Read more here.
The government’s US Ignite partnership aims to push the growth of next-generation broadband networks, teaming up with over 100 start-ups, universities and existing tech companies like HP, Comcast and Verizon for the project. The President is set to sign an executive order today that aims to cut the cost of broadband construction across federal roadways and properties by up to 90 percent.
HUGE NEWS: Democrats in Congress have introduced new legislation that would restore Net Neutrality!
Tell Congress: Keep the Internet WEIRD — and SAVE NET NEUTRALITY
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