Information Week and MarketWatch both covered the state-by-state survey compiled by Communication Workers of America after 230,000 Internet users took the Speed Matters test. Alaska's rate was .08 megabits per second (mbps) while Rhode Island's was the fastest at 6.8 mbps. The nation's rate as a whole puts us well behind internationally.
The best available estimates show average download speeds in Japan of 63 mbps, in South Korea of 49 mbps and in France of 17 mbps.(1) That means the same multimedia file that takes four minutes to download in South Korea would take nearly an hour and a half to download in the U.S.
The report says it will take the U.S. 100 years to catch up to Japan's current Internet speed.
"This isn't about how fast someone can download a full-length movie. Speed matters to our economy and our ability to remain competitive in a global marketplace," said Larry Cohen, president of Communications Workers of America. "Rural development, telemedicine and distance learning all rely on truly high-speed, universal networks."
Cohen says the U.S. is the only industrialized country without a policy promoting universal, high-speed Internet access.
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Two Alaska Native corporations could lose sole-source advantage on federal contracts. The inspector general of the Small Business Administration recommends that construction firm APM of Yorba Linda, Calif., and Goldbelt Raven of Chantilly, Va., be terminated from the agency's 8(a) small business set-aside program, reports the Washington Post.
In both cases, the SBA says, the firms, established by Native corporation parent companies, hired managers who gained ownership in the companies. These managers then hired other companies they personally owned and padded them with money from the set-aside contracts, according to the audit.
From 2003 to 2006, the two firms secured contracts totaling $833 million.
All 8(a) companies are being evaluated by the SBA after the Government Accountability Office and Congress expressed concern that Native corporation-owned firms may be serving as conduits for large businesses
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If you have to buy an airline, consider Alaska. Volcanos, canceled flights, high ticket prices ... the airline news seems to be mostly bad lately. But a Forbes.com report says Alaska Airlines is getting attention for a smart move on gas prices. An airlines business analyst says Alaska has the second-best hedge in the U.S. industry against high oil prices.
The report says the airline hedged 50 percent of its projected fuel consumption at $78.03 and $76.74 per barrel for the third and fourth quarters of 2008. Despite recent volcano-induced cancellations, the airlines' stock rose 6.3 percent to close at $21.18.
"They are doing a lot of good things, and if I were going to buy an airline, it would be my second or third choice," said analyst Ray Neidle of Calyon Securities. His top two choices were Delta and Northwestern.
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"I'm for earmarks, always have been, always will be, because you've asked me for them." So said Rep. Don Young in a debate among U.S. House candidates in Fairbanks on Tuesday, reports the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
Republican challenger Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell also came out in favor of earmarks in the Interior city. "If we are willing to say yes to earmarks, which I am willing to say, we have to clean up the process," he said.
Roll Call says Young is slightly behind Parnell in the polls, calling it a "statistical tie." Real Clear Politics says a poll conducted for Parnell's campaign has him up 4 points. Yet another poll, slightly earlier, shows Young with a narrow lead on the Republican side and State Rep. Ethan Berkowitz with a big lead on the Democratic side.
The Fairbanks Daily News Miner and the Alaska Politics blog both covered the GOP picnic at Kincaid Park, where party regulars said they remain optimistic over their chances in the fall election.
Pumping the hands of well-wishers at the picnic was Rep. Don Young. "I'm good at this stuff," he said. "That's something people don't give me credit for."
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Prediction: Exxon Valdez will be back before the Supreme Court. The high court ruled this week that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals should decide whether plaintiffs will get interest on their $507.5 Exxon Valdez settlement. But the Wall Street Journal says that won't be the end of it.
Call us crazy, but we'd bet we see this back at the Supreme Court in a year or two, after whichever party loses at the 9th Circuit appeals. The wheels of justice grind, though sometimes slowly.
American Lawyer.com calls attorneys the latest Exxon Valdez victims, citing deaths and divorces among the legal teams and a billing rate as low as $187 an hour for some plaintiffs' attorneys. Exxon's stock dipped 55 cents a share at the news, reports Bloggingstocks.com.
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Alaska National Guard rescues injured climber. An HH-60 Pavehawk helicopter, an HC-130 Hercules and a team of pararescuemen from Kulis Air National Guard Base whisked a 57-year-old man off Root Glacier Wednesday afternoon in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, reports the Alaska National Guard. The man had fallen 50 feet and fractured his leg.
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America's next top model could be from Alaska. Tube Talk reports that the 14 finalists in the next cycle of the series includes an Alaskan, Hannah, age 19, a student living in Fairbanks. No last name. She'll start the battle when the show returns September 3.
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John McCain says Putin wants Alaska back. OK, the source is dubious. It's the D.C. gossip columnist Wonkette, but a girl's got to have fun.
She quotes McCain: "I think it's very clear that Russian ambitions are to restore the old Russian empire. Not the Soviet Union, but the Russian empire." By her staff research, she's determined that the Russian-American empire included our fair state. The Political Ticker at CNNPolitics.com is also paying attention to our fate.
Important warning about e-mails purporting to be from the adn.com staff.