Breaking

9-Year-Old Boy Dies After Being Shot in Head in Croixville Housing Community; Police Detain 15-Year-Old

Concerned Residents Clean Christiansted Town Using Their Own Tools, Money, and Some Help from the VI Fire Service

Territory May See Veterans Cemetery Through DeGazon-Sponsored Bill

Credit and Debit Cards of WAPA Customers Were Compromised Since August 30th, WAPA Says, Authority to Finally Start Issuing Notification Via Mail and Email

Sports Tourism in VI Gains Momentum as DC United Team is set to Play Exhibition Soccer Game on St. Croix

Carnival Breeze Brings 3,700 Tourists to St. Croix During Maiden Call; Senators, Tourism Officials Want to See More

Limetree Bay Willing To Provide $10 Million To Help Add Life to a Dying G.E.R.S.

American Airlines to Serve St. Croix With New Flights Next Summer

The Sudden Death of Influential Roots Reggae Visionary, Vaughn Benjamin of Midnite Band and Akae Beka, Has Rocked the Virgin Islands and Reggae Community Around the World

Arthur A. Richards K-8 School Hosts Anti-Bullying Campaign

Come Out. Hang Out. Have Fun at The Meat Up, One of St. Thomas’ Latest Hot-Spot for Good Food with Friends and Family.

UVI Board of Trustees Approves $47.1 Million Fiscal Year 2020 Budget; Sets $3 Million Fundraising Goal

Man Dies During Early Morning Car Accident on St. Croix; Driver of Car Arrested (Updated)

'You Did Everything You Could to Prevent this from Happening': An Emotional Goodbye to Young Aaron Benjamin

Back in Business: Cost U Less on St. Thomas Opened its Doors Friday to Thousands of Customers 2 Years after Irma and Maria

Bill Aimed at Regulating Credit Use by Gov't Departments and Agencies Among Others Held in Committee

Juan Luis Hospital Announces Completion and Availability of Mobile Dialysis Facilities

Tractor Trailer With Tank Carrying Thousands Of Gallons of Liquified Gas Flips Near Cool Out Bar; Driver Injured But Alive

Credit and Debit Card Hack Through WAPA Appears to be Widespread in Virgin Islands; WAPA Says Support Services Will be Made Available to Affected Customers

Facing Life in Prison Without Parole, Mother and Boyfriend Plead Not Guilty in Murder of 4-Year-Old Boy

Net Neutrality Dies On June 11

Featured / News / Technology / Virgin Islands / May 21, 2018

Almost three years to the day when it was made law by the Federal Communications Commission (F.C.C.) under the Obama administration, net neutrality will die on June 11.

In recently issued release from the office of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, Mr. Pai reiterated his stance that the internet was never broken and expressed discontent with Title II rules as being “outdated” and “heavy handed.”

“On June 11th, we will have a framework in place that encourages innovation and investment in our nation’s networks so that all Americans, no matter where they live, can have access to better, cheaper and faster internet access and the jobs, opportunities and platform for free expression that it provides,” reads the release.

Mr. Pai, who was appointed by President Donald Trump to lead the F.C.C., is best known for his efforts to dismantle the net neutrality rules. Those regulations prohibited broadband providers from blocking websites or charging for higher-quality service or certain content. The federal government will also no longer regulate high-speed internet delivery as if it were a utility, like phone service.

It is not clear how the demise of net neutrality will affect the territory. The biggest communications firms in the USVI — Viya and Broadband VI — have not expressed their position on the matter, but their actions will be looked at closely as the June 11 date approaches, as well as moves made thereafter.

Mr. Pai recently visited the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, which coincided with an FCC proposal to spend almost $1 billion to restore the USVI’s and Puerto Rico’s telecoms after they were damaged and in some instances destroyed by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

“The people of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are still recovering from last year’s devastating storms. That means the FCC’s work is far from over,” Mr. Pai said when announcing the proposal. “After my previous visit to Puerto Rico, I publicly committed to ‘thinking creatively and doing proactively to help restore networks on the island.’ The plan I’ve proposed today would deliver on that commitment and extend that vision even further.”

Mr. Pai has been a strong advocate for the swift adoption of 5G, shorthand for fifth-generation wireless technology, which essentially brings ultrafast wireless speeds to people. The new technology sends billions of bits of data per second, up from peaks of hundreds of millions today, and could cut the time to download a movie to seconds. Other 5G features would allow autonomous cars and industrial equipment to reliably exchange short bursts of data at dazzling speed.

Mr. Pai and other FCC Republican chairmen have strongly encouraged weakening regulations to accelerate the deployment of new 5G technology. According to The New York Times, in late April another Republican F.C.C. commissioner, Brendan Carr, announced details of a plan to streamline the environmental and historic review process for 5G infrastructure, saying it could cut costs by 80 percent. The FCC plans to vote on the measure this month.


Tags:



Ernice Gilbert
I wear many hats, I suppose, but the one which fits me best would be journalism, second to that would be radio personality, thirdly singer/songwriter and down the line. I've been the Editor-In-Chief at my videogames website, Gamesthirst, for over 5 years, writing over 7,000 articles and more than 2 million words. I'm also very passionate about where I live, the United States Virgin Islands, and I'm intent on making it a better place by being resourceful and keeping our leaders honest. VI Consortium was birthed out of said desire, hopefully my efforts bear fruit. Reach me at [email protected].




Previous Post

Power Interruption Scheduled For 5 p.m. Today In St. Thomas To Facilitate Main Street Enhancement Project, WAPA Says

Next Post

Queen Mary Highway Paving Project Starts Today



Leave a Reply


More Story

Power Interruption Scheduled For 5 p.m. Today In St. Thomas To Facilitate Main Street Enhancement Project, WAPA Says

Approximately 44 customers on a portion of St. Thomas Feeder 6B will experience an electrical service interruption beginning...

May 21, 2018