What you need to about AB 375

Back in April, Congress sent proposed legislation to President Trump that wiped away the limit of how Internet providers use and sell customer data, Federal officials have now approved that Internet providers can sell your Internet history, app usage, mobile location data, financial information and email content/messages.

In California, lawmakers are trying to reverse the new Federal law by introducing AB 375.

Here’s what you need to know:

1.  Assemblymember Ed Chau (D-Monterey Park) introduced the bill last week.

2.  Assembly Bill (AB) 375 is also known as the California Broadband Internet Privacy Act, which will work in three ways:

• The bill would prohibit an Internet service provider from using, disclosing, selling, or permitting access to customer personal information, except as provided in that act.
• The bill would authorize a customer to give prior opt-in consent, which may be revoked by the customer at any time, to an Internet service provider to use, disclose, sell, or permit access to that customer’s personal information.
• The bill would prohibit an Internet service provider from refusing to serve or to limit service to a customer who does not provide consent or charging a customer a penalty or offering a customer a discount or another benefit based on the customer’s decision to provide consent.

3. AB 375 would require Internet Service Providers, such as Verizon, Comcast and AT&T, to get permission from customers before using, selling or permitting access to data about their browsing history.

4. California is the 20th state to introduce a bill that aims to restore privacy rules since the Federal ruling.

5. According to Assemblymember Chau, “The idea that a person should have some say about how their Internet Service Provider can use, share or sell their personal information is not a controversial question for everyday consumers – it is common sense. Congress and the Administration went against the will of the vast majority of Americans when they revoked the FCC’s own privacy rules in April, but California is going to restore what Washington stripped away.”

6. So far, more than 25 civil rights, consumer protection, privacy, technology, and non-profit organizations support AB 375, including: American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of California, Consumer Federation of California and Electronic Frontier Foundation

We at Race Communications, believe with full conviction that your information is private and should be disseminated at your own discretion.

Information sent to Race is regarded as private and is kept in the strictest confidence and it will not be sold to third parties for marketing or any other purposes, ever. Rest assured, you can always have the utmost certainty that Race will protect your private information.

For Kathy Zimbro of Phelan, CA, it was a 45 day process trying to receive service from an incumbent provider (Frontier), but after all of her exhausted efforts, she ultimately had to attempt to find another provider before moving her business location due to the lack of service.

In the same town, Kimberly Fetzer struggled with the same issues. She was not able to work from home due to constant service outages which resulted in her termination.

These are just some of the stories of people living in the “Digital Divide.”

While many Americans take the Internet for granted, people in rural America struggle to keep up with technology. Over the last decade, a dial up connection brought millions of them Internet access, but with the evolution of services such as: video-on-demand, online job applications, telemedicine and even Internet classrooms, the minimum standard for adequate broadband has been re-defined.

These advances in technology all require a high-speed connection that is almost exclusively available from select elite Internet Service Providers across the country, leaving many Americans in the dark.

Although a home broadband connection was once considered a “luxury” for many, today, as technology advances, the Web is a necessity.

The Digital Divide refers to the inequalities between individuals that lack access to modern information communications technology.

Nationally, approximately 11.5% of the total U.S. population did not have Internet access in 2016.

And in California, despite a robust technology economy, the Digital Divide has become a system for the haves and have nots.

Although the gap has somewhat narrowed, a 2016 survey conducted by the Field Research Corp found that in the state that practically invented the Internet, 30 percent of Californians (nearly 12 million people) do not have meaningful broadband at home.

Most strikingly, the promise of broadband Internet is still elusive for many low-income, elderly and rural Americans either due to high costs or poor to non-existent service in some areas.

Left unchecked, this divide will continue to drive disparities that will weigh on our economy.

At Race Communications, we have made it our company’s mission to provide reliable high-speed Internet. Our fiber optic networks empower our customers to “Gigafy” their daily lives through our Internet, TV and voice packages in areas that often go underserved/unserved.

Our consumers have used Race’s services ranging from starting their own businesses to building out their public safety’s communications in times of emergencies. At Race, we’ve worked with the California Public Utilities Commission and other advocacy groups to build and offer affordable gigabit Internet services to various communities throughout the state.

Call us at 1-877-722-3833 or visit us at Race.com to see if we provide our fiber optic services in your area.

Meet Danny, our newly promoted OSP Team member. He’s been a part of the Race family for two years now.  None of his days are alike. One day could consist of splicing fiber, or overseeing conduit runs. Read more about how Danny spends his time at Race.

How long have you been at Race Communications?

It will be two years in September.

What exactly do you do at Race?

When I was first hired, I was brought on as a field tech, but I just recently moved over to our OSP Team (Outside Plant) about a month and a half ago.

What’s your typical day like?

Since I moved over, I am still learning the basics as to what we are doing. But so far, I’ve plugged in panels for drops and installs. I’ve also done cross connects for splitters, and helped the installers with issues. Basically I am running around right now! I don’t have my daily duties as of yet.

What skills have you gained since working at Race?

The biggest one would have to be splicing fiber. It’s mostly what I’ve been doing for OSP. Other than that, when I was installing, basically being able to install our equipment. So the router and knowing how fiber works. Different things like that, but the biggest has to be the fiber splicing.

What three words would you use to describe Race?

Productive, professional and efficient.

Bonus Question: What’s your favorite sport?

Football!

Any favorite teams?

Of course, the Oakland Raiders! (laughs)

 

 

 

 

The battle for net neutrality is on.

Now for those who aren’t really familiar with the term net neutrality, think of it as the basic rights Internet users have to access the Web. This means that Internet providers can’t favor certain websites over others and companies aren’t allowed to charge consumers a fee on popular sites.

Last month, the FCC voted to propose a new review of the rules, with the goal of loosening the regulations on the industry, which aims to slash Title II, the legal framework for net neutrality rules that protects online free speech and innovation.

The proposal also suggests repealing the “general conduct” rule that allows the FCC to investigate business practices of Internet providers that it suspects may be anti-competitive.

But with the new ruling, many of the Internet’s top companies are not in support of this move.

So far, tech giants such as Amazon, Etsy, Netflix and numerous others have all joined the fight—and are calling for a day of action.

Officially, July 12th will be deemed: Internet-Wide Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality.

According to Battleforthenet.com: “The FCC wants to destroy net neutrality and give big cable companies control over what we see and do online. If they get their way, they’ll allow widespread throttling, blocking, censorship, and extra fees. On July 12th, the Internet will come together to stop them.”

At Race, this vote isn’t something we’re for. We believe the Internet is a freedom that has incredible power to change our daily lives. We feel that consumers should be able to visit any site that they choose and use the Internet freely. Whether you decide to stream Netflix or shop on Amazon, consumers should be able to stream without the fear of having their speeds throttled or blocked from visiting certain websites.

If you wish to sign up, learn more information or join the movement, visit: https://www.battleforthenet.com/july12/

 

 

 

If there are any residents out there who are frustrated with the ongoing internet issues in Phelan, we urge you send your emails of personal stories and concerns about this to CPUC  with the subject line of Resolution T-17525. The only catch, this email has to be in by 9am on Wednesday, June 21st to make sure the Commission can view the comments.

Please send your emails to:

President Picker - mp6@cpuc.ca.gov
Commissioner Randolph - lr1@cpuc.ca.gov
Commissioner Guzman Acevez - mga@cpuc.ca.gov
Commissioner Peterman - cap@cpuc.ca.gov
Commissioner Rechtschaffen - cr6@cpuc.ca.gov

Phelan – We had such an awesome time getting to know you over the past few days and exploring some of the great things you have to offer. Let’s just say the Pizza Factory was one of our favorites!

You may have heard that Race Communications was in the area and we sure were! We spent several days in your community trying to garner support for our “Gigafy Phelan” project and some of you were even kind enough to let us into your home to show us how you’re currently connecting.

We met some of you at the local Farmers’ Market where we got to hear your firsthand interactions and frustrations with your current Internet situation in the community and learning how it affects your individual households.

We met with some local business owners who expressed their daily challenges about not having adequate Internet to handle vital transactions for the survival of their business.

We also heard about the outages at the local institutions around town, paralyzing everyone in the area.

We even met with community leaders to see how we can together and fix this problem for residents.

Hearing those, countless stories of many Phelan residents using hotspots to “light” their household, but they’re still not providing you with crucial speeds. The average hotspot a has about 5-10Mbps, that’s a fraction of the FCC’s minimum broadband speed of 25Mbps per household. Not mention, we heard the endless stories of how much you are overpaying for this service.

After our short time with you all, we genuinely have a better understanding of how complicated connectivity is in your community and the lengths you are going to get the best service you can. Being on the ground level and learning what obstacles stand in your way, truly gave us an account of how dire and severe things are for YOU.

This is why we have spent the last two years battling  to bring our fiber optic products to the area. This application has been in process for two years and shouldn’t be delayed any further and potential new legislation shouldn’t be a determining factor.

Back in April, things took a turn when Frontier Communications submitted a challenge that would jeopardize Race Communications’ efforts in Phelan. Although their challenge was rejected by the CPUC this did not stop Frontier from trying to submit further comments to persuade the Commission’s vote.

Frontier has told the CPUC that they do in fact provide sufficient and adequate coverage to Phelan, but we all know this is not the case.

The CPUC is going to vote on our proposed project for Phelan this June 29 at 9am. There is still time to have your voice heard about this issue.

Phelan, we seriously thank you for allowing us to come into your community with such excitement and open arms. We look forward to a long-term future with you and our products. We just have to make sure the CPUC makes the decision!