National Broadband Plan: Competing Internet Speeds

 The US has always been competitive, and in the technological age internet speeds are seen as a very important battleground. The United States internet speeds are not the highest in the world, promoting the FCC to come up with a plan to bring high speed broadband to everyone nationwide.

Ranking-wise, the US is in 26th place in internet speeds.The countries with the highest speeds are South Korea, Romania, and Bulgaria, in that order. CEO of Pando Networks Robert Levitan said the fastest speeds were found in areas like Eastern Europe, where “focus on infrastructure development and favorable geography promote an incredible level of connectivity."

The National Broadband Plan is supposed to bring high-speed broadband internet to nearly all households in the US, with a connection speed of 100 mbps. In the executive summary of the plan it states, "The United States should lead the world in mobile innovation, with the fastest and most extensive wireless networks of any nation." Obviously the FCC wants to be on top of the food chain in their department, but it is showing to have issues concerning privacy for its tests. These issues are from the National Broadband Plan's website. They are supposed to take your location and use it to map out low points of the broadband in the country. Ryan Radia, Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Associate Director of Technology Studies, wrote in a statement that the FCC“appears to be collecting more personal information than necessary, failing to fully disclose what it is collecting, and providing this information to law enforcement without any due process or judicial scrutiny." If this plan is going to be effective, it needs to not give signs of using any underhanded tactics to get support.

Sources:
http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/21/a-look-at-whos-winning-the-global-internet-speed-race-infographic/
http://news.yahoo.com/privacy-implications-fcc-broadband-test-called-030206271.html

The Communicative Government

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The use of e-government for the private sector is not a recent phenomenon. Since the early1990s, state and local governments used electronic mail and the web to communicate with groups of people. But e-government projects have not only been used for the private sector, they have also required federal agencies to use electronic procedures in their daily process and procedures.

There are benefits for adopting a web based human service on states and local governments, such as efficiency gains, cost savings, and service improvements. E-government can be seen as a way to organize internal processes, for example and automated workflow can reduce the amount of time people spend inputting and processing information. It also allows numerous individuals to access data at the same time.

The reduction in cost is a big reason why state and local government decide to implement e-government. For example, people spend much time filling out applications in person, and the process and production of paper also adds to the cost. Online applications have made this process easier for everyone because functions are now automated. Governments also reduce cost by posting information on the web, instead of printing and distributing advertisement or mail. In numerous states the web is used to accept applications and to decide eligibility of the customer and in some cases applications can be downloaded from their websites. Some systems not only verify if customer will receive benefits, but also review if customer is qualified for other programs.

States where service is web-based, customers will also benefit. Customers reduce traveling time, time of personal interaction, and time spent waiting for the government’s response. Web technology gives customers rapid access to documents and information, enabling the staff to have more time to give service to clients with special needs. E-government also collects data and enables states to improve their services.

E-government projects cost millions of dollars to put into action and years to plan. One option to consider before implementing e-government is to develop a return on investment analysis, because it determines the cost and benefits of applying an e-government project. Once a decision has been made to develop an operation of e-government, there are different ways to fund a project. Productivity funds, share in savings agreements, leasing funds, and private sponsorship are ways to initiate a process. Some states prefer commercial advertisement and transactions fees to finance for these projects. 

Sources: http://76.12.61.196/publications/servicedeliverychallengese-govIN.htm

Is The Government Spying On You?

 

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The Internet has opened the doors for so many opportunities that were not easily available in the past. For example, research is now easier to do with the Internet available. Instead of going to the library and reading books for information, the Internet speeds up the process and the user can search millions of sources with the needed information. However, although the Internet is widely used all over the world, many people do not feel safe using the Internet because they feel that their activity online is being tracked by another person or organization. These people may have a point. 

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the US, with assistance from major telecommunication carriers, including AT&T have engaged in a massive program of illegal dragnet surveillance of domestic communications and communications records of millions of ordinary Americans since at least 2001.  (Electronic Frontier Foundation) There have been several news reports in December 2005 that have revealed that the National Security Council (NSA) have been tracking several phone calls and Internet communications from Americans. EFF has also obtained other whistleblower evidence from former AT&T technician Mark Klein showing that AT&T and the NSA work together to track email, web-browsing, and other Internet activity from AT&T customers.

The Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) also grants many federal agencies to track online activity of American citizens. The original Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act dates back to 1978; it was expanded during the Bush administration in 2008, to allow both foreign and domestic surveillance without a warrant, as long as the intent is to gather foreign intelligence. (Chappell, 2012) President Obama recently signed a FISA extension in December 31, 2012, which would allow federal agencies to track American citizens online activity until 2017. 

The EFF is currently fighting in court to stop this activity. EFF is currently representing victims in the Jewel v. NSA case, which was filed in September 2008, and it is seeking to stop the warrantless wiretapping and hold the government officials behind the program accountable. EFF also represented victims in the Hepting v. AT&T case, which was filed for invading a customer's privacy. The case was dismissed by the US Supreme Court. Many amendments have also been passed to limit the activity of FISA but they all failed to become ratified.

Sources:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/12/28/168220266/congress-extends-fisa-wiretapping-act-to-2017-awaits-obamas-signature

https://www.eff.org/nsa-spying

National Hacking Event: Opportunity for Government Collaboration

Asheville, NC

Technology and most importantly the internet has improved the ability for people to communicate and exchange information. 'E-government' is the idea of government using the internet and technology to better communicate and interact with its citizens. The National Hacking Event taking place June of 2013 nationwide is an event supported by federal agencies such as the Census Bureau and NASA which will bring together citizens, software developers, and entrepreneurs to use government data to help deal with issues that local neighborhoods, cities, and states face. This event is a great way to create a more personal relationship between government agencies and its citizens by promoting transparency and collaboration. Citizens are encouraged to be part of the community to realize the needs of society and how to best benefit society as a whole. Even with technology there are so many government agencies both local, state, and federal which leads to government information difficult to access and such information may help solve a problem a community may face. A neighborhood that sufferers growing poverty and crime is such a common issue with any country around the world. Society then must face this problem with the idea that there are such numerous issues and factors that contribute to this problem, but there is information and solutions out there that can help manage the situation. Relying on just a few people or a few government agencies to solve the problem is not sufficient or possible and that is why the government realizes that collaboration between itself and all citizens is necessary for the good of society as a whole. Do you believe that the government should promote citizens to become more aware and participate in local affairs? In our society do you believe that the youth of the country is more disconnected to societal affairs than say adults? If so how do you believe is will affect the future when the youth become the leads of the this world?

Sources:

http://www.govtech.com/e-government/White-House-Drums-Up-Support-for-National-Hacking-Event.html

http://hackforchange.org/

Political Campaigns being pushed forward with the use of Technology

The use of the internet and other technologies has influenced political campaigns in a radical way over the past few years.  ‘E-Government’ has encouraged citizens to become more involved with social issues and has kept them informed with up-to-date information available to anyone with internet access.  As we saw in the last election in November 2012, social networking sites played a huge role in the election.  E-Government has perhaps increased voter awareness and is helpful with reaching younger adults who are constantly on social media or other websites to begin with.  The Internet is a great tool for politicians to use since they know that they can reach a large amount of people with relatively low cost.  According to the Pew Research Center, the number of online US adults who use social networks has increased from 37 percent in 2008 to 69 percent in 2012.  This is why it is becoming such a huge platform and opportunity to promote political campaigns.  Another finding was that 22 percent of registered voters on social media sites shared their vote publicly  which in turn could influence friends or acquaintances of this voter on the websites.  Another way that E-Government has surfaced during an election is by the use of cellular phones to retrieve information regarding the politicians and their views.  27 percent of registered voters took advantage of this according to Pew Research.  Politicians are also able to accept online donations, which creates a convenient way for voters to support the candidates.  The very top link on Barack Obama’s website directs voters to a site where they can donate money.   There are also many videos and posts about current issues on Obama’s website.  There are currently 35 million+ followers of Barack Obama’s Facebook page and on the days leading up to the election, there were many posts encouraging citizens to vote, with some of the posts being shared over 200,000 times.  Using technology to reach more people has obviously played a huge part in the structure of political campaigns and has helped empower citizens to become more involved and express their views.  What has been your experience with political campaigns on the Internet/social media sites?  Do you think it is having a large impact on the elections in the US and the ability to persuade citizens to vote for a particular candidate?

Sources:  http://pewinternet.org/Infographics/2012/Digital-Politics.aspx

http://www.govtech.com/e-government/Web-20-Powers-Political-Campaigns--.html