Gigi Sohn

About

Gigi Sohn is a Distinguished Fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy and a Benton Senior Fellow & Public Advocate. She is the host of the "Tech on the Rocks Podcast." Gigi sits on the Board of Directors of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Gigi is one of the nation’s leading public advocates for open, affordable and democratic communications networks. For thirty years, Gigi has worked across the country to defend and preserve the fundamental competition and innovation policies that have made broadband Internet access more ubiquitous, competitive, affordable, open and protective of user privacy. Most recently,…

News

Vice Motherboard: Libraries Want to Turn Bookmobiles into Free WiFi Trucks During Coronavirus Lockdown

As millions of Americans hunker down to slow the spread of coronavirus, the lack of affordable broadband access has become a far more pressing problem. The FCC’s 2019 Broadband Deployment Report states that 21.3 million Americans lack access to any broadband whatsoever, be it cable, DSL, fiber, or wireless. Recent studies suggest…

Posted on March 24, 2020March 24, 2020 by Kip Roderick

News

Bloomberg: 5G Won’t Help Rural Americans Shelter in Place

While the U.S. government and telecommunications industry have been engrossed in the race to 5G, much of the country is still in a slow crawl to regular home internet service. It’s a mistake with economic consequences, and unfortunately the coronavirus pandemic could provide the harshest evidence of that. Americans all around the…

Posted on March 23, 2020March 24, 2020 by Kip Roderick

Media

WNYC: Working Remotely Is Harder If You Only Get Internet On Your Phone

COVID-19 is forcing New Yorkers to become more reliant on the Internet for work and school. But that could be a problem for people whose main way of getting online is through their phones. Most people get internet service in two ways: through a wired, broadband connection, or through their…

Posted on March 20, 2020March 21, 2020 by Gigi Sohn

Media

CNBC: Why the coronavirus pandemic may fast-forward 5G adoption in the US

n March 2020 everything that could be moved online already has, from elementary schools to college classes, from entire company workforces to shareholder meetings. Whole cities have emptied under the coronavirus threat as businesses tell employees to work from home, students are sent indoors to learn online and every type of entertainment—…

Posted on March 20, 2020March 21, 2020 by Gigi Sohn

News

USA Today: Working or learning from home: Telecoms give boost in bandwidth to keep us online.

As Americans hunker down at home while schools and offices shutter in an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, many of them will lack something besides human companionship: sufficient bandwidth for full-time telework or remote learning. In some cases, the problem is a data cap that once seemed painless but…

Posted on March 16, 2020March 17, 2020 by Kip Roderick

News

CNBC: Government leans on tech and telecom firms to help students forced to stay home.

The federal government wants technology companies’ aid in helping students continue their education, as more are asked to do so from home amid the coronavirus outbreak, putting unprecedented pressure on America’s network. Representatives from companies including Amazon, Google, IBM and Cisco met at the White House on Wednesday with officials who asked the firms…

Posted on March 14, 2020March 17, 2020 by Kip Roderick

Media

Gigi Sohn Statement on FCC Chairman Pai’s Keep America Connected Pledge: Broadband Industry and FCC Must Do More

Today, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced that he has asked the nation's broadband Internet access providers to take the Keep Americans Connected Pledge, under which the companies make a number of promises with regard to keeping customers connected during the COVID-19 public health crisis. In addition, the Chairman urged providers to…

Posted on March 13, 2020March 13, 2020 by Gigi Sohn

News

Vice Motherboard: Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon Should Suspend Data Caps Because of Coronavirus

For years, US broadband providers have taken advantage of a lack of US competition by imposing arbitrary and expensive broadband usage caps and "overage fees." With the country facing a massive surge in videoconferencing and home learning thanks to the coronavirus epidemic, experts say it’s time for broadband providers to suspend these…

Posted on March 12, 2020March 13, 2020 by Gigi Sohn

News

Forbes: AT&T Becomes First To Lift Fees For Going Over Data Caps Ahead Of Coronavirus Quarantines

Topline: After pressure today from the United States Senate toward eight Internet Service Providers, AT&T announced it would lift its broadband data cap overage fees temporarily as the COVID-19 coronavirus forces people to stay in their homes. The letter, signed by 18 U.S. Senators including Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Cory…

Posted on March 12, 2020March 13, 2020 by Gigi Sohn

News

Vice Motherboard: The Coronavirus Will Shine a Bright Light On Crappy US Broadband

In the weeks and months to come, a growing number of US citizens are going to be forced to work from home in a bid to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. In the process they’re going to run face-first into a US broadband market that has consistently failed…

Posted on March 24, 2020March 24, 2020 by Kip Roderick

Posted on March 23, 2020March 24, 2020 by Kip Roderick

Posted on March 20, 2020March 21, 2020 by Gigi Sohn

Posted on March 20, 2020March 21, 2020 by Gigi Sohn

Posted on March 16, 2020March 17, 2020 by Kip Roderick

Posted on March 14, 2020March 17, 2020 by Kip Roderick

Posted on March 13, 2020March 13, 2020 by Gigi Sohn

Posted on March 12, 2020March 13, 2020 by Gigi Sohn

Posted on March 12, 2020March 13, 2020 by Gigi Sohn

Posted on March 10, 2020March 13, 2020 by Gigi Sohn