State launches interactive broadband map

After nearly a year of research and development, the Commonwealth has launched an interactive map to detail broadband access across the state in an effort to support broadand stimulus projects.

Mapping was part of $7.3 million federal broadband stimulus grant to show wireline, cable and wireless networks and to identify anchor institutions like schools, hospitals and government buildings, as we reported in January.

The information will be used to help business owners and residents identify places to locate their operations or families, according to a press release. It will also be used in a national map to be launched in February, which will additionally serve to inform broadband accessibility projects funded by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

The maps compliment unreleased prelimary documentation efforts performed by the City of Philadelphia when it applied for several broadband grants last year, a process we detailed in our Digital Philadelphia series.

The City applied for more than $35 million in federal opportunities, as we reported last September.

In July, the City was awarded a $6.4 million grant to fund public computer centers in the city, which will bring 800 new computers to 48 centers at city rec centers, homeless shelters, public housing and community-based organizations.

In coming months, Technically Philly will be investigating the economic impact of broadband accessibility in three distinct Philadelphia neighborhoods, as a winner of a grant provided by J-Lab’s Enterprise Reporting Fund, a William Penn Foundation-funded endeavor.

Hispanic community’s distance from the web will affect voting Nov. 2: Guest Post

Hispanic voters and their use of the web will both have an impact on Tuesday's election, says Tek Lado magazine Editor Liz Spikol.

This is a guest post by Liz Spikol, Editor of bilingual Tek Lado magazine, as part of our Guest Contributor Week. Want to have an op-ed or feature you’ve written to appear on TP, now or in the future? Drop us a line.

One way you can tell it’s election time: Latinos are in the news.

President Obama is reaching out, first by highlighting Latino kids at the White House’s first science fair, and then—one day later—revealing a broad plan to encourage educational achievement among Latino children. He’s also suggested, in ways big and small, that voting on Nov. 2nd should be a priority for the Hispanic community.

He’s not wrong to push for those votes, particularly in such a hotly contested battle.

CBS News reports that in some states, the battles may be decided by Latinos —and Latinos tend to vote Democratic. The country’s fastest growing minority has a lot of power, and Obama knows it.
Right now about 19 million Latinos nationally are eligible to vote.

There are implications on both sides of the aisle for Latinos, and to understand where each party stands can be of significant value when pulling a lever behind that flimsy blue curtain.

Understanding that those 19 million voters don’t necessarily vote in lockstep, how Latinos get their information about each party — on the web or through mobile devices — can be just as crucial to that understanding.

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Verizon preps local LTE network, Comcast launches WiFi offering

Updated, 10/13: Comcast communications rep Charlie Douglas writes to correct us that Comcast’s Xfinity WiFi is not related to its 4G Xfinity 2go service, which launched last year. “The [Xfinity WiFi] devices are located directly on our existing hybrid fiber-optic coaxial cable network,” Douglas says.

Philadelphia is no stranger to being a mobile testground for telecommunication companies, and two announcements last week have not broken that trend.

Verizon Wireless has announced at a CTIA mobile conference in San Francisco that Philadelphia will be a part of the company’s initial 4G Long Term Evolution mobile technology launch. The fourth generation tech, which will be available before the end of the year, will allow devices average downloads of 5 to 12Mbps and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps.

Comcast, too, officially launched its new entered the 4G mobile market Xfinity WiFi network last week, PC Mag reports. Comcast’s residential broadband customers in Philadelphia and some parts of New Jersey are able to access the hotspots at no cost. Users can locate hotspots for the service here.

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Gigabit Genius Grant winners announced

It’s one team from Baltimore and a technologist from the other side of the globe that will be benefiting from a Philadelphia-based fund to spur innovation around gigabit ultra-high speed broadband connectivity.

This morning, Philly Startup Leaders announced the two winners of its Gigabit Genius Grant, a contest put together by several businesses and organizations in the region. The bulk of the funds, $7,500, will go to a teleradiology technology in Maryland and $2,500 to an education innovation initiative in Israel. That money will help specialists collaborate on radiology scans in real-time from around the globe, and it will help enable technology to improve the virtual classroom experience.

The Startup Leaders’ grant came together in April as the City of Philadelphia was preparing an application to become a pilot for Google’s Gigabit ultra-high speed Internet connectivity. Then PSL President and Founder Blake Jennelle pushed the startup organization to donate a charter $5,000 which was followed by additional investments from the community.

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Comcast Roundup: Calls critics of NBC deal ‘self serving,’ @ComcastCares leaves and More

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

DEFINITE READS

• LA Times reports that Comcast told the FCC that critics of its deal of NBC are ‘self-serving.’
• The New York Post reports that in a court filing Comcast calls itself the fourth largest media company in terms of advertising and affiliate revenue if the NBC deal would go through.
• Variety reports on the filing saying that Comcast portrays its acquisition of NBC as an opportunity to stimulate, not stifle, competition.

Below, the man behind @ComcastCares is leaving, Google bumps its lobbying budget to fight on net neutrality and more.

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Broadband stimulus grant to provide $6.4 million for public computer centers

Federal broadband stimulus dollars will bring 800 new public computers to Philadelphia, the same number currently available throughout the Free Library‘s 54 regional branches.

On Friday the Division of Technology announced that it will receive $6.4 million in federal dollars to fund public computer centers, new and old, throughout the city, according to a press release.

Twenty-five existing computer centers will be improved and 48 centers created at anchor institutions that include city recreation centers, homeless shelters, public housing and community-based organizations. Hours of access at the existing public centers will also be increased, providing for 14,000 more people per week.

The project—led by DOT—includes partnerships with the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Free Library of Philadelphia. Philadelphia FIGHT, the People’s Emergency Center, Philadlephia OIC and Media Mobilizing Project will also be involved.

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$2.1 billion in state technology spending at an all-time high, boosted by stimulus

Current state technology investments are budgeted at an all-time high, due in part to federal economic stimulus dollars and an increased interest in government technology that promises reduced costs and improved services in Pennsylvania.

According to a report from market research and professional services firm pjmathison, which assists clients with procurement, grants and loans, state government technology-related spending is estimated to exceed $2.1 billion this year.

The firm’s founder, Paul J. Mathison, whose background has been in both technology and government relations, has led the preparation of the company’s state technology forecasts for 10 years.

Mathison says that as federal economic stimulus money is awarded and depleted, the state will face a technology shortfall in future fiscal years. “That money is going to be drying up after this year and beneficiaries and recipients of that federal stimulus money are going to be scratching their heads,” he said in an interview with Technically Philly on Tuesday.

But the firm predicts that the state will continue investing in technology as the economy turns around and as tax revenues readjust.

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Comcast Roundup: FCC loses court appeal on net neutrality, could NBC just be a start and More

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

DEFINITE READS

• The New York Times reports on a federal appeals court decision that says the FCC has no authority to keep cable companies from blocking or slowing specific sites and charge high-volume video sites to have their content delivered faster.
• Bloomberg reports that at least five states are involved in the regulatory review of the Comcast acquisition of NBC, in addition to an independent inquiry from the Florida attorney general.

Below, a radio interview on net neutrality, could Comcast want more content than NBC provides and more.

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Comcast Roundup: Cutting internet to the island, Al Franken doesn’t get what he wants and More

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

DEFINITE READS

• Comcast has reversed a decision to cut its cable internet to one man on the tiny Massachusetts island of Cattyhunk, who, according to the Vineyard Gazette, had established a system in which he shared a wireless network with much of the island’s population. H/T Philly Tech News
• A U.S. appeals court upheld a FCC rule that forbids cable companies that also own programming channels from keeping those channels from competitors, as reported by the New York Times, a major issue affecting regulatory approval of the Comcast-NBC Universal deal. Comcast won’t appeal the decision, Multichannel News reports.
• Several major cable operators, including Comcast, have put their weight behind a coalition seeking $52 million in federal broadband stimulus dollars, as Light Reading reports.

Below, Sen. Al Franken doesn’t get the promises he asked for, the most expensive real estate deal in Southern California and more.

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FCC plans to increase Internet speeds in national broadband plan

In partnership with Temple University’s Multimedia Urban Reporting Lab, the university’s capstone journalism class, students Chelsea Leposa and Jared Pass will cover neighborhood technology issues for Technically Philly and Philadelphia Neighborhoods through May.

The Federal Communications Commission will push on telecommunication companies to make the Internet 25 times faster through its National Broadband Plan.

One of the major goals of the unprecedented agenda is to provide broadband access to all Americans. The plan also intends to provide 100 million American homes with 100Mbps (megabits per second) broadband service in 10 years. The current average household Internet connection speed is 4Mbps.

“This is very possible,” said Justin Shi, an associate professor and associate chair at Temple University’s College of Science and Technology. This advancement in communication technology will eventually change social and economic systems, Shi says. The seemingly large feat of increasing Internet speeds by 25 times can be accomplished by improving the current packet-switching system used for the Internet.

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