Encouraging news...
"Last week's rebuke of the FCC by the federal appeals court here was far from unusual -- and is unlikely to be the last." This comment appeared in the New York Times in 2002 - 17 years ago - but can also be applied to the FCC's latest deregulation court case in the US.
Last week the attempt by Ajit Pai, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to eliminate regulation of 5G deployment was overturned by a federal panel of 3 judges.
The judges wrote that Pai's order "does not justify the Commission's determination that it was not in the public interest to require review of small cell deployments.
In particular, the Commission failed to justify its confidence that small cell deployments pose little to no cognizable religious, cultural, or environmental risk, particularly given the vast number of proposed deployments and the reality that the Order will principally affect small cells that require new construction.
"The FCC also failed to "adequately address possible harms of deregulation and benefits of environmental and historic-preservation review," which means the commission's "deregulation of small cells is thus arbitrary and capricious," judges concluded...
arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/08/ajit-pai-loses-another-court-case-as-judges-overturn-5g-dereg... ... See MoreSee Less
This sculpture by British artist Gali May Lucas, designed for Amsterdam's light festival at the end of last year, highlights society's obsession with mobile technology.
This is what Lucas had to say about her piece (entitled "Absorbed by light"): “Cycling to work in the mornings, I see people lost in the light of their mobile phones. On park benches, on the tram, in restaurants – no one talks to each other anymore. The white light and white noise is a bit eerie if you look at it in a certain way – and you’ll see this come through strongly in the final work...”
How much time will you spend online this weekend? And how are you accessing this post - through a cabled connection or wirelessly? Is there room for improvement?
www.boredpanda.com/mobile-phones-light-festival-amsterdam-gali-may-lucas/ ... See MoreSee Less
How could our cities really be made more smart? A clear example of ill-conceived city infrastructure is Los Angeles with its 12 lane highways at the expense of a workable public transport system, thanks to powerful lobbying by the Automobile industry in the last century. When it comes to communications and online activity in our own “smart cities”, South African urban planners need to learn from mistakes like this and insist on more forward-thinking solutions for the benefit of all.
In case you missed it last year, this 2018 report by the Institute for Science, Law & Public Policy recommends maximizing the use of wired communications technology for a more sustainable and just future. Here is an extract from p80:
• Build-out local FTTx Internet access nationwide.
• Re-think the entire digital network architecture for a sustainable future by addressing all of the issues identified in this report (e.g., access, security, privacy, dependency on advertising, dominant interests, monopoly/antitrust, net neutrality, IoT, public health and safety, etc.).
• Use wireless only where appropriate (e.g., for things that move).
• Commit fully to the principle of network neutrality and equal access for all.
• Challenge the traditional obsession with privatization concealing what are actually “taxes” behind arcane utility rate structures or “public-private partnership” ventures.
• Critically reconsider the notion that public goods can effectively be built by private for-profit business interests who have conflicting financial incentives.
• Develop policies, guidelines, and incentives for innovators that encourage development of information and communication infrastructure and applications that serve the long-term public interest
electromagnetichealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/ReInventing-Wires-1-25-18.pdf ... See MoreSee Less
Unpacking the implications of prematurely pursuing the Fourth Industrial Revolution for SA…."Let’s learn to walk before we try to fly..."
In this article published yesterday in Business Maverick, Giraffe's CEO Anish Shivdasani offers cautionary warnings in the face of President Ramaphosa’s dream of embracing the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in order to solve South Africa’s chronic poverty, unemployment and inequality problems. Certainly these problems demand urgent attention but over-reliance on AI, 5G and other technologies to solve societal issues is problematic and dangerous.
Especially given our government’s track record to date when it comes to service delivery & corruption, an unstable energy grid, the fact that only 15% of households currently have fixed broadband and our country's dismal education levels (particularly in the areas of maths & science which are critical for creating and managing 4IR technologies). Adding coding to the national curriculum "is all well and good, but pointless if students cannot even do basic sums."
“If left unmanaged, 4IR could dramatically increase inequality, whereby the riches flow to the owners of capital and technology while the poor become even poorer as they lose their jobs to machines. If that happens, there is a real risk of increased social unrest and societal implosion….” ... See MoreSee Less
A base station for an 8m mast was recently erected on the Matroosberg mountain without permission from CapeNature.
"CapeNature is in the process of conducting an in-field investigation into alleged trespassing on CapeNature-managed land as well as the illegal construction. A Western Cape Internet service provider allegedly gained illegal access to the area and then transported equipment and building material to the top of the mountain and seemingly bulldozed a new piece of road as well."
However --- as you may have guessed --- the province’s environmental affairs department has said the base station was “technically legal” because it “was just small enough not to trigger provisions of the National Environmental Management Act”. (Due to environmental legislation changes a number of years ago...) ... See MoreSee Less
