Global internet speed is picking up. In 2017, world internet speeds increased more than 30%. Adriane Blum, Head of Communications at Ookla, a company specialized in broadband testing, network diagnostic applications, and data, was with us to discuss what's driving this improvement.
With the FCC rolling back net neutrality regulations, many questions about the future of the internet are beginning to surface. Internet speed is one of the factors that could potentially be impacted by the vote. Blum says the key takeaway is transparency of data, as we face new risks.
Despite improved global speed, Ookla says there were far too many countries and regions where internet speed decreased. Hurricane Maria put a dent in Puerto Rico's internet capabilities, contributing to the island's 39.8% drop in mobile download speed over the past year.
The price of Bitcoin hit a new all-time high last week following the Wall Street debut of ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF. Todd Cipperman, Founding Principal for Cipperman Compliance Services, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why ProShares' ETF got off to a hot start while Valkyrie's Bitcoin Strategy ETF, which debuted just days later, did not.
Edtech startup ENTITY Academy raised $100 million in its latest round of funding. The company's platform offers tech training to women via online courses, in areas like data science and software development. The courses include mentoring and career coaching from people working in the tech industry. ENTITY Academy's founder and CEO Jennifer Schwab joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to talk more about the company and the funding.
On Monday Microsoft reported that the same Russia-backed hackers behind the 2020 SolarWinds attack have been assailing the global technology supply chain and cloud services. The former White House CIO under President George W. Bush and CEO of the security consulting company Fortalice Solutions, Theresa Payton, joined Cheddar to discuss why cyberattackers are relentlessly focused on infiltrating tech companies and what the future holds in terms of combating them. "This will be an ever-present danger and a journey," she said. "Locking down your systems is not going to be something you do once, and then you set it and forget it. It's going to be an ongoing journey that we're all going to be on together."
Rishi Bharwani, the director of partnerships and policy for nonprofit Accountable Tech, joined Cheddar to discuss the hot button topic of regulatory oversight of social media giant Facebook. Bharwani discussed the bipartisan pieces of legislation already making their way through Congress and said the body should pass stronger data privacy laws, ban surveillance advertising, and require meaningful accountability and transparency from the company. "Now I think we've reached a boiling point where congressional action is needed and inaction is no longer acceptable," he said. Bharwani also called for a concurrent investigation into Mark Zuckerberg's company.
The United Nations COP26 climate talks are scheduled for October 31 to November 12 in Glasgow, Scotland. Heads of state will be joined by private sector leaders to once again discuss the shrinking window of time left to take action against global temperature rise. Barbara Humpton, CEO of focused technology company Siemens U.S., is also attending and spoke to Cheddar about what she hopes to see during the conference for both the public and private spheres. "What we are really urging is that there are large commitments made in Glasgow and that we really commit to this next decade of action," she said.
Hertz, the car rental giant, has placed an order for 100,000 Tesla Model 3s and sent Tesla's value soaring, pushing it into the $1 trillion club during the trading day Monday. Dan Ives, managing director of equity research for Wedbush, told Cheddar's 'Closing Bell', "It shows [electric vehicles] going to the mainstream." The move gives Hertz a leg up by differentiating itself from competitors and shows Tesla's dominance in the marketplace, He noted. And as for that trillion-dollar valuation? Ives said he could see it rising even higher down the road.
Zaire Wade and Jalen Newsome, Co-founders and Co-CEOs of 'YNG DNA' join us to talk about their new NFT collection available Oct. 25 on WAX NFT blockchain.
