Who's Building the Next Gigabit City?
The gigabit trend in the technology space has been hard to ignore as of late, and Comcast, Cox, Brighthouse, Suddenlink, Mediacom, GCI, and Midcontinent, among others, are leading the charge. More and more providers are deploying gigabit services, some even offering 2-gigabit connections, and reaching customers nationwide. But why do we need gigabit services, and how would this Internet speed improve our quality of life anyway? The answer to this came about in several different ways at the Gigabit Cities Live conference, hosted by Light Reading, earlier this week in Charlotte, N.C.. While we
Pivot TV: The Network Inspiring Millennials to Social Action
Earlier this year, a documentary called Codegirl aired on Pivot TV and showed the experiences of young girls around the world in their quest to design life-changing mobile apps. The program, however, seemed to serve a dual purpose. One was of course to inform viewers of the various social issues impacting different regions of the globe. The other was to mobilize the younger generation, particularly women, to effect social change around them through the pursuit of careers in what is usually a male-dominated STEM field. And therein lies what makes Pivot a network unique among the rest: the call
Take a Swim in the ‘Lobstah’ Tank at INTX
If you like taking a dive in the Shark Tank every week with Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner and fellow investors and hearing the latest innovative products from budding entrepreneurs, then you will want to give the Lobstah Tank a try. (That’s right, it’s Lobstah, not Lobster!) Coming to Boston in May, and produced in partnership with Streetwise Media’s BostInno, the Lobstah Tank is part of the INTX: The Internet & Television Expo this year, taking place at the Boston Convention & Exposition Center May 16-18. Companies in the greater New England area with an interesting idea and pitch are encouraged
Consumers Deserve Consistent Privacy Protections on the Internet
In a vibrant, fast-changing Internet economy, companies should be transparent about their data practices, provide consumers with choices on how their data is used, and work hard to keep data secure. Consumers also deserve consistent privacy protections across the Internet for the information they deem private and sensitive, no matter how or with whom they share it. Protections should be based on the type of information collected, not the type of business holding it. And privacy norms should apply uniformly so that consumers do not have to guess about their privacy protection depending on the
How El Rey is Diversifying Television, On and Off the Screen
Have you ever seen Lucha Underground? At a quick glance, you might mistake it for the WWE, but if you take a closer look you’ll come to realize the show stands for a lot more than just wrestling—it’s a mix of cultures, passionate personalities, multiple storylines complete with a bilingual fan base. Taking after the “lucha libre” wrestling style of Mexico while also combining elements of America pro wrestling, the show very much sums up what the mantra of its network, El Rey, is all about. Born three years ago and founded by filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, El Rey reaches over 40 million households
Who Has the Fastest Internet in the World?
The results from the latest Akamai State of the Internet report are in and once again, 10 U.S. states rank among the top 20 fastest Internet territories around the globe. Delaware cracked the top five with an average peak speed of 88.3 Mbps, next to Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea. Akamai's report from the last quarter of 2015 found that U.S. average connection speeds reached 14.2 mbps, which is a 29 percent increase year-over-year, while the average peak connection went up 25 percent and hit 61.5 mbps. Overall, the findings show that people in the U.S. are experiencing faster Internet
The State of My Industry: Telling the Story of a Live Democracy
Originally posted on LinkedIn Pulse on March 23, 2016 A year ago, I wrote about the state of my industry and proudly reported that while we faced challenges, we were fast at work changing stereotypes, meeting the needs of digital consumers, and playing a central role in the Internet revolution. These things are still true, but much has changed in the last year. Today, we’re working to re-define our relationship with the people who rely on us for entertainment, for business, and for information. We’re no longer allowing ourselves to be defined by the terminologies and memes of the past, but
NTIA Data: Internet Usage Is Up Among Unexpected Demographic Groups
Americans are making strides in Internet usage among groups of people who have historically been known for their offline status. According to the latest data from 2015 released yesterday by the National Telecommunications & Information Administration, senior citizens increased their Internet usage from 51 to 56 percent between 2013-2015, while children saw an even larger spike, jumping from 56 to 66 percent during the same time period. The digital divide is also shrinking, albeit slowly, for groups of Americans with education up to a high school diploma. African Americans, Hispanics, and
HBO Initiative Makes Hollywood Careers Tangible for D.C. Locals
The start of March was an exciting time in the nation’s capital for many Veep fans and Julia Louise-Dreyfus aficionados. The HBO Emmy-award winning series was in the District for a week-long shoot, and fans took to Twitter and local blogs to share stories of their celebrity sightings. But the show’s stint in D.C. added an additional layer of excitement for the city as several locals were afforded the opportunity to work on set through the network’s Production Assistant Trainee Program as part of a larger program, HBO & Cinemax Community Impact Program. The initiative is one that continues to
Are You Enjoying March Madness the Right Way?
You’ve broken out the brackets and dialed the trash talk to eleven because as of yesterday, you’re in full March Madness swing. In years long past all of this meant rushing home or out to the bar to catch big games. More recently, it’s meant loading up your DVR with piles of games and zooming through them as quickly as possible before going to bed. But this year, streaming TV users will be able to watch in whole new ways. First, there’s the all new NCAA March Madness Live app built by the NCAA, Turner Sports, and CBS, which is available on all of the major streaming platforms. NCAA says, “NCAA