Phone and electric cooperatives may be best equipped to spread fiber broadband across rural America, but are often overlooked, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance reported Tuesday. USTelecom said deploying broadband in rural areas is a priority for its big ISP members and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said it’s best to support incumbent ISPs except in the most unserved areas. The Phoenix Center supported cooperatives deploying broadband so long as they don’t partner with municipal networks.

Nearly 91 percent of government websites don't meet at least one key performance measure, with a third falling short on security standards, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation reported Monday. Little progress has been made since ITIF's 2016 study (see 1703080055), said Vice President Daniel Castro, urging the Trump administration to "move quickly to address these failures." The report analyzed 469 of the "most popular" federal sites, building on a 2016 analysis of 297. Report rankings are based on metrics including page-load speed, mobile friendliness, accessibility and security. Vote.gov earned the highest ranking, 95.5, and federalreserve.gov scored lowest, 36.5. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's nist.gov ranked third with 87.2; fcc.gov had 81.7 and ftc.gov, 76.5. Recommendations include the government launching a website modernization sprint and requiring all federal agencies report site analytics.

Nearly 91 percent of government websites don't meet at least one key performance measure, with a third falling short on security standards, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation reported Monday. Little progress has been made since ITIF's 2016 study (see 1703080055), said Vice President Daniel Castro, urging the Trump administration to "move quickly to address these failures." The report analyzed 469 of the "most popular" federal sites, building on a 2016 analysis of 297. Report rankings are based on metrics including page-load speed, mobile friendliness, accessibility and security. Vote.gov earned the highest ranking, 95.5, and federalreserve.gov scored lowest, 36.5. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's nist.gov ranked third with 87.2; fcc.gov had 81.7 and ftc.gov, 76.5. Recommendations include the government launching a website modernization sprint and requiring all federal agencies report site analytics.

Massachusetts, California, Washington, Virginia and Delaware lead states in a globalized economy, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said. The lowest-scoring was Mississippi, preceded by Arkansas, West Virginia, Wyoming and Louisiana. Massachusetts ranked first in every ITIF index since 1999; Mississippi got last place in every one except 2007 when it was 49th. Nebraska and Tennessee each climbed eight places -- to 28th and 32nd -- since the last ranking in 2014, while Alaska dropped 10 to 42. States should invest in big firms that invest heavily in research and development, while rolling back policies that “stack preferences in favor of small businesses,” ITIF President Robert Atkinson said Monday.

Massachusetts, California, Washington, Virginia and Delaware lead states in a globalized economy, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said. The lowest-scoring was Mississippi, preceded by Arkansas, West Virginia, Wyoming and Louisiana. Massachusetts ranked first in every ITIF index since 1999; Mississippi got last place in every one except 2007 when it was 49th. Nebraska and Tennessee each climbed eight places -- to 28th and 32nd -- since the last ranking in 2014, while Alaska dropped 10 to 42. States should invest in big firms that invest heavily in research and development, while rolling back policies that “stack preferences in favor of small businesses,” ITIF President Robert Atkinson said Monday.

Massachusetts, California, Washington, Virginia and Delaware lead states in a globalized economy, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said. The lowest-scoring was Mississippi, preceded by Arkansas, West Virginia, Wyoming and Louisiana. Massachusetts ranked first in every ITIF index since 1999; Mississippi got last place in every one except 2007 when it was 49th. Nebraska and Tennessee each climbed eight places -- to 28th and 32nd -- since the last ranking in 2014, while Alaska dropped 10 to 42. States should invest in big firms that invest heavily in research and development, while rolling back policies that “stack preferences in favor of small businesses,” ITIF President Robert Atkinson said Monday.

To fight theft of U.S. intellectual property the Trump administration should create a public-private partnership to coordinate counterintelligence efforts with industry, said an Information Technology & Innovation Foundation report. Government "too often" investigates security breaches after they happen instead of responding to threat indicators, which would be more useful, ITIF said.

To fight theft of U.S. intellectual property the Trump administration should create a public-private partnership to coordinate counterintelligence efforts with industry, said an Information Technology & Innovation Foundation report. Government "too often" investigates security breaches after they happen instead of responding to threat indicators, which would be more useful, ITIF said.

To fight theft of U.S. intellectual property the Trump administration should create a public-private partnership to coordinate counterintelligence efforts with industry, said an Information Technology & Innovation Foundation report. Government "too often" investigates security breaches after they happen instead of responding to threat indicators, which would be more useful, ITIF said.

Giving consumers opt-in choice to have data collected, used and shared may not necessarily be the best model to protect privacy, said panelists during an Information Technology and Innovation Foundation event Thursday. The discussion on opt-in vs. opt-out consent followed a recent piece from ITIF research analyst Alan McQuinn saying privacy debates aren't about consumers vs. companies but about individuals having differing privacy preferences. "Opt-in laws are less efficient and costlier than opt-out ones," wrote McQuinn.