Internet access

Netflix is streaming in Africa, betting on a booming middle class. The benefits include a push for higher bandwidth throughout much of the continent.

Haifa El-Zahawi, a Libyan who lives in New York City, has given kids in her home country access to education for the first time in months thanks to a Skype connection.

The inventor of the term “net neutrality” says government involvement is key to great Internet service, and the FCC looks set to agree. The regulatory agency will vote next on a plan to make the Internet a public utility, allowing the government to block service providers from creating “fast lanes” for content.

The biggest beneficiary of Netflix’s move into Internet-challenged Cuba may have nothing to do with the service on the island. It will be the ability to feature some of Cuba’s best filmmakers to a global audience.

Net neutrality has been the battle cry of many people who fear that business interests will take over what they consider a public tool supporting freedom and democracy. The FCC chair has finally come around to that view. His newly-announced plan, though, may not end the battle over control of the Internet.