skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

FCC Votes Today on Rules to Regulate Internet

play audio
Play

Thursday, February 26, 2015   

SANTA FE, N.M. - A vote by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Thursday could affect the Internet in New Mexico and across the nation.

The five-member commission is considering rules that could regulate the Internet as a utility. Speaking earlier this month at the University of Colorado at Boulder, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, who supports the action, said his goal is to ensure the Internet remains "a level playing field."

"Where there is no choice, the market can't work," said Wheeler. "American families need to be able to shop for affordable prices and faster speeds, and the commission is committed to removing barriers to broadband investment and competition."

Under the proposed FCC regulations, broadband providers could not block or degrade access to legal online content, applications or services. They also wouldn't be allowed to favor some Internet traffic over others - in other words, no "fast lanes." Opponents argue the proposal is overreaching and would stifle investment and customer choice.

Wheeler says the rules seek to have impact in more than 20 states with laws that don't allow communities to start their own broadband networks. He says another goal is to expand broadband access in rural areas.

"Seventeen percent of households, that's one in six Americans, don't have access to 25-meg broadband," said Wheeler. "Rural and tribal areas are disproportionately being left behind."

Wheeler says the Internet has become a critical part of life, and cites research that projects future Americans may have up to 100 connected computing devices working for them.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …


Organizations fighting wage theft said it harms affected workers and surrounding communities because the money withheld is not being circulated through the local economy. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021