If you can't access online services like Sony's PlayStation Network and Steam, as well as websites like Airbnb, you're not the only one. Starting at approximately 11:20AM ET, Downdetector began logging a spike in outage reports across a variety of online services and websites. Outside of PSN and Steam, some of the more notable platforms people can't seem to connect to include LastPass, TikTok and UPS. Visiting the PlayStation Store and other affected websites, they come back with a DNS error. 

Based on Twitter reports, the source of the problem is Akamai, one of the largest content delivery networks in the world. "We are aware of an emerging issue with the Edge DNS service," the company said in an update on its website posted at 12:09PM ET. "We are actively investigating the issue." As of the writing of this article, Akamai has not said what's causing the issue.    

Developing...

The many-gigabit internet speed records of a decade ago now seem downright inadequate. Motherboardreports that scientists at Japan's National institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) have smashed the internet transfer record by shuffling data at 319Tbps. For context, that's almost twice as fast as the 179Tbps a team of British and Japanese researchers managed in August 2020.

NICT managed the feat by upgrading virtually every stage of the pipeline. The fiber optic line had four cores instead of one, and researchers fired a 552-channel comb laser at multiple wavelengths with the assistance of rare earth amplifiers. While the test was strictly confined to the lab, the team used coiled fiber to transfer data at a simulated 1,864-mile distance without losing signal quality or speed.

As with many of these experiments, it could be a long time before this performance has a meaningful impact. While the four-core fiber would work with existing networks, the system could easily be very expensive. It's more likely to see initial use with internet backbones and other major networking projects where capacity matters more than cost.

That could still impact your internet usage, though. The NICT researchers envision their next-gen fiber making technologies "beyond 5G" (like 6G) more practical. You may see the benefits simply by moving to faster internet access that doesn't choke when there's a surge of users.

California might soon make it practical for small internet providers to deliver speedy broadband, not just well-heeled incumbents. Ars Technicareports that the state Assembly and Senate have unanimously passed legislation that will create a statewide open fiber network that promises truly fast internet access from smaller ISPs, particularly in rural or otherwise underserved areas.

The strategy will devote $3.25 billion to the construction of a "middle-mile" network that won't directly connect customers, but should make it much easier for ISPs to launch or upgrade their service. Another $2 billion will help those providers establish last-mile connections to users.

Governor Newsom has yet to sign the legislation into law, but that's considered a formality when he made agreements on details with legislators.

The network met resistance from larger ISPs that lobbied to block the reach of the open fiber network. It might have a significant impact on internet access in the state, however. While state and federal governments have pushed for improved rural broadband coverage for years, the focus has usually been on merely offering service rather than upgrading quality. This could bring truly competitive speeds to underserved areas and ensure they can access the same services as people subscribed to major broadband companies.

As protests continue in Cuba over the country’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the surrounding economic fallout, the Cuban government has moved to restrict access to social media and messaging platforms. According to NetBlocks, an organization that tracks internet access, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Telegram have all been at least partially blocked on the Caribbean island since Monday. As of Tuesday afternoon, it appears the restrictions are still in place, with Reuters reporting that people in Havana don’t have access to mobile data at the moment. We’ve reached out to Facebook and Telegram for confirmation on the outages, and we’ll update this article when we hear back from the companies.

Mobile internet access is relatively new to Cuba. It was only in late 2018 that the country’s socialist government started rolling service out across the island. At the time, President Miguel Diaz-Canel, the politician protestors are demanding resign, said greater internet access would help Cubans “defend their revolution.” However, Cuba to dissent is not new. We’ve seen governments in countries like Mynamar and Iran use similar strategies when they faced protests in the past.

Verizon (owner of Engadget's parent company Verizon Media) has expanded its 5G Home Internet service's availability, launching it in 10 new cities this month. Starting on March 18th, the service will roll out to parts of Cleveland, OH; Las Vegas, NV; Louisville, KY; Omaha, NE and San Diego, CA. A few days after that, on March 25th, the service will also be available in parts of Charlotte, NC; Cincinnati, OH; Hartford, CT; Kansas City, MO and Salt Lake City, UT.

The carrier launched its 5G Home internet service back in 2018, promising typical download speeds of around 300 Mbps and max speeds of up to 1 Gbps with no data caps. As the name implies, it doesn't need a cable or fiber hookup, just the company's "Internet Gateway" device that customers can set up on their own. It was only available in five cities for quite some time, because Verizon pushed back its broader rollout to wait for more powerful equipment to come in. The service costs $50 a month for current customers with eligible mobile plans or $70 a month for non-Verizon customers. 

Verizon has also recently announced winning between 140 and 200 megahertz of C-Band spectrum in every available market from the latest FCC auction. That'll allow the company to expand its 5G Ultra Wideband's availability, though only those with premium unlimited plans will be able to access C-Band's faster speeds.

A new bill aims to make high-speed internet more accessible everywhere in the US, including far-flung locations and underserved communities. House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn has introduced the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act (PDF), which will spend $94 billion to ensure that unserved and persistent poverty communities have access to affordable high-speed internet. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), co-chairperson of the Senate Broadband Caucus, has also introduced the bill in the Senate.

Out of its total budget, $80 billion will be spent on deploying broadband infrastructure nationwide, while prioritizing unserved and underserved rural, suburban and urban areas. Providers whose networks were built from that money will then be required to offer affordable plans to consumers. The bill will also authorize the spending of $5 billion over five years on a new program that would provide low-interest financing for broadband infrastructure build out projects. The Emergency Broadband Benefit, which provides a $50 monthly discount on internet plans for low-income Americans and $75 for customers on tribal lands, will get an additional $6 billion in funding. $2 billion will go to the Emergency Connectivity Fund for students that need internet connection, and a portion of the money will also go towards funding for WiFi on school buses. 

In the lawmakers' announcement, they said the legislation was a product of extensive collaboration between Clyburn's House Rural Broadband Task Force, Chairman Frank Pallone of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Senator Klobuchar. 

Clyburn said in a statement:

"Access to broadband today will have the same dramatic impact on rural communities as the rural electrification efforts in the last century. When I formed the Rural Broadband Task Force, our mission was to address the digital divide. The disparate effects of that divide have been amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic and exposed the urgency of ensuring universal access to high-speed internet. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate to enact the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act."