broadbandadoption
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Akamai: DDoS attacks tripled year-over-year in 2012, China ranks as biggest offender
Akamai's back with yet another snapshot of the state of the internet and, surprise surprise, it's reporting that DDoS attacks were up threefold last year versus 2011. That stat's just one slice of the sprawling cybersecurity picture painted by the company, which also ranks China as the foremost perpetrator of "observed attack traffic" in Q4 2012, numbering that country's share at 41 percent. To put that into better perspective, consider that the number two and three offenders -- the U.S. and Turkey, respectively -- are responsible for a shared 15 percent of that traffic, while former Cold War enemy Russia accounts for just 4.3 percent. On a continent-by-continent basis, the majority of these attacks originated in the Asia Pacific / Oceania region (about 56 percent), with North and South America accounting for 18 percent. On a much lighter note, global high-speed broadband adoption (defined as any speed equal or greater than 10Mbps) grew by 2.7 percent last quarter, with top honors going to South Korea where nearly half the population enjoys super fast internet access. For the mobile flipside, Akamai found that average global speeds hovered between 8Mbps to 345kbps down, with peak downlink speeds coming in at 44Mbps to 2.7Mbps. The bulk of mobile data requests sent to Akamai's platform saw Android's Webkit browser and Apple's Mobile Safari come in nearly neck-and-neck at 35.3 percent and 32.6 percent. Although when you expand that to overall network traffic, Safari reigns supreme with a 58.7 percent share. If you're keen to digest even more of these sobering statistics, we recommend you hit up the source for the full executive summary and even more infographics.
Comcast's Internet Essentials program expanding as digital literacy project soars
If everyone needs the internet, then poor kids need it more -- since so much learning material is dependent on technology. Comcast teamed up with the FCC to produce Internet Essentials: a $10 a month broadband plan and $150 computers to get the nation's poorest families online. Six months later, the program's been a colossal success, leading to the company adding some sweeteners: eligibility is being relaxed to include any family who qualifies for discounted lunches (swelling the catchment group by a further 300,000). It's also doubling the speed of the available connection: 3 Mbps down and 768 Kbps up and is allowing community groups to bulk-buy packages to directly supply the most impecunious households. It's also pairing up with the "connect to compete" initiative to reduce computer costs, enrich digital literacy materials and connect those outside of Comcast's core service areas. You can head on down to our source link to read the extended report and see how families are benefiting from a little corporate good deed.
FCC revamps Lifeline phone service, cuts the fat from carriers' bottomlines
With a site redesign freshly under its belt, the FCC's setting its recently honed eye for modernization on other, more pertinent areas of its jurisdiction -- like Lifeline. The universal program, a means of guaranteeing affordable phone service to low-income families, hadn't exactly kept pace with changes in the telecom industry, overlooking consumers' preference for wireless and the growing need for pervasive broadband access. That's all set to change with new measures adopted by the Commission today designed to curb carrier abuse of the antiquated system and automate the enrollment process by eliminating unnecessary duplicate accounts and subsidies. A pilot program to offer and potentially bundle discounted, high-speed internet to eligible participants is also underway, with potential ISP partners currently being solicited for inclusion. All told, the moves could wind up saving the federal agency over $2 billion in misdirected funds over a three-year span, leaving more money on the table to help your average Joe and Jane America step firmly into the 21st century.
Comcast's Internet Essentials offers $10 internet access to low-income families
Earlier this year, when Comcast bought up NBC Universal, the company made a promise to boost broadband access in underserved communities and, with the launch of its new Internet Essentials service, it looks poised to follow through on that commitment. Originally laid out as the Comcast Broadband Opportunity Program, the plan offers internet access for only $10 a month to families with children who qualify for free lunch programs. Taking its commitment even further, the outfit is offering a $150 voucher for the purchase of a computer, access to free digital literacy training, and a Norton Security Suite. Of course there are a couple of requirements -- one being that you have to have made good on previous Comcast bills -- but we're hoping this will help the old red, white, and blue climb a couple rungs on the broadband adoption ladder. Full details of the ambitious plan await you in the PR after the break.
US lags in broadband adoption and download speeds, still has the best rappers
U, S, A! We're number nine! Wait, nine? At least according to a recent broadband survey by the FCC, yes. The good ol' US of A ranked ninth (out of the 29 member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) in fixed broadband penetration on a per capita basis, and 12th in terms of pure percentage -- behind the UK, South Korea, Iceland, the Netherlands, and plenty of others. Though, granted, these nations lack the sprawling amber waves of grain that America must traverse with cables. The US also trailed in wireless broadband adoption, ranking ninth yet again, behind the likes of Ireland, Australia and Sweden. Worse still, even those with broadband reported slower connections than folks in other countries. Olympia, Washington had the highest average download speeds of any US city with 21Mbps (New York and Seattle tied for second with 11.7Mbps), but was easily topped by Helsinki, Paris, Berlin, and Seoul (35.8Mbps). Well, at least we beat Slovenia... if only just barely.
FCC will consider 'free or very low cost wireless broadband' service
Did you know there was a Digital Inclusion Summit going on? We already know the FCC isn't best pleased about the fact 93 million Americans are making do without access to home broadband, and this latest event was an opportunity for it to dish some more info on its forthcoming National Broadband Plan. The major obstacles to broadband adoption identified by the FCC were noted as cost, computer illiteracy, and a sheer lack of awareness about the benefits the web offers (outside of cute kitties). The big Plan will be delivered to Congress a week from today, and its suggestions will include the creation of a Digital Literacy Corps, who'll be performing missionary duties among the unenlightened, and the big whopper: a proposal to "consider use of spectrum for a free or very low cost wireless broadband service." Yeah, if you can't jump over the cost hurdle you might as well eviscerate it from existence. Quite naturally, such radical plans have been met with much grumbling opposition, and Business Week reports that it may be years before the full reforms are implemented ... if at all.
FCC redefines "broadband" to mean 768Kbps, "fast" to mean "kinda slow"
Quick, how fast is "broadband?" If you're wearing a gray suit and drove a sensible car to work this morning in Washington DC, you probably answered 200Kbps -- a pokey little number that the FCC's been using as a baseline for years now. But even bureaucrats have to get with the times every now and again, and regulators this morning voted to push the government's official broadband threshold to 768Kbps -- we'd say it should really be a full 1Mbps, but why make things simple when you can be the government? Between 768kbps and 1.5Mbps is now classified as "basic broadband," and providers are also required to break down both upload and download speeds in specific increments -- a move which should make it harder for companies like Comcast to throttle certain types of connections. ISPs also have to provide subscriber numbers broken down by census-block level, which should provide graduate students with hours of number-crunching dissertation fun in the future. The goal is to make sure the data regarding broadband adoption in the US is as accurate as possible -- it's time to reclaim the crown, people.
