Blog
Imagine committing billions of dollars to build a broadband network based in part on government promises of financial support. The possibilities excite your potential customers—rural Americans that lack broadband. But then, without warning, the government fails to follow its own rules and puts the promised support at risk. What would you do? According to economists [...]
Prominent regulators in the European Union and US contend that Big Tech is not paying enough for using broadband networks. Their preferred remedy is for governments to collect money from Big Tech and then disperse it to broadband providers, presumably to subsidize serving the poor and high-cost rural areas. This is an idea whose time [...]
Content moderation on social media sparks controversy. Arguments for greater restrictions or, conversely, more user liberty are often framed as matters of law, censorship of disfavored ideas, politics, or management of a public square. The social media platforms themselves sometimes approach it as issues of governance, fact-checking, or community response. These approaches are largely top [...]
Here & Now's Anthony Brooks speaks with PURC energy expert Ted Kury about how, after a spate of storms in 2004 and 2005, Florida utilities learned to work together to make the electric grid more resilient, and what work can be done to avoid power failures next time there's a big storm. This segment aired [...]
The Biden administration recognizes that semiconductors are critical technologies in which US leadership is an important national strategy. This raises the question of why the administration has put Nvidia—a US company and one of the world’s largest chip developers—in such a tough position by limiting its growth opportunities and then limiting its existing markets. It [...]