RSID: <<2026-03-06T00:31Z MFSK-32 @ 9265000+1500>>
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Welcome to program 439 of Shortwave Radiogram.

I'm Kim Andrew Elliott in Arlington, Virginia USA.

Here is the lineup for today's program, in MFSK modes as noted:

  1:41 MFSK32: Program preview (now)
  2:52 MFSK32: Light beams provide 25-Gbps internet around cities
  8:38 MFSK64: Smartphone-only internet access deepens inequality
13:07 MFSK64: This week's images
27:43 MFSK32: Closing announcements


Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net

And visit http://swradiogram.net

We're on Bluesky now: SWRadiogram.bsky.social

And X/Twitter: @SWRadiogram
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From New Atlas:

Google spinoff beams blazing-fast 25-Gbps internet around cities
using light

By Abhimanyu Ghoshal
February 28, 2026

Over the last few years, an ambitious moonshot project spun out
of Google has been developing fascinating technologies to deliver
connectivity across communities without the need for underground
cables. For its latest trick, Taara is now providing high-speed
internet access across cities using invisible beams of light.

The company's new Beam device uses an optical phased array
mounted on a silicon board with more than a thousand tiny
miniature light emitters. The system shapes and steers beams of
light between devices that are in line of sight of each other,
and up to 6.2 miles (10 km) apart.

Roughly the size of a shoebox and weighing 17.6 lb (8 kg), the
Beam is meant to be mounted high up on poles and atop tall
buildings for use in densely populated urban areas. Taara says
it's capable of fiber-like bidirectional data transfer speeds of
up to 25 Gbps, with ultra-low latency.

The firm envisions Beam devices being deployed in cities and
small communities, supported by its larger Lightbridge devices
that can enable connectivity over greater distances of up to 12
miles (20 km) across natural or man-made barriers that can't
easily be bridged with fiber, like difficult terrain or water
bodies. The company says Beam allows for far quicker setup than
fiber, because you don't need to secure permits to dig up streets
and install cabling underground. A Beam-equipped system can be up
and running in a matter of hours.

Beam follows the company's previous breakthrough from 2025, when
it unveiled its software-controlled chip that can steer light to
enable connectivity without the need for many other mechanical
moving parts. Its older Lightbridge infrastructure for data
transfer across remote areas is now in use in 20 countries, and
the company recently unveiled its Lightbridge Pro system for
carrier-grade throughput.

This suite of products should see Taara compete with the likes of
satellite-based connectivity services like Starlink and Amazon's
upcoming Leo. The company might have an edge over those with its
lower latency and quick setup, which it believes will
additionally come in handy to scale AI infrastructure around the
world.

Source: Taara

https://newatlas.com/telecommunications/google-taara-25gbps-internet-cities-light/

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Image: The Taara Beam shoots data at 25Gbps between pole-mounted
units using beams of light ...
 

Sending Pic:156x187C;

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Shortwave Radiogram now changes to MFSK64 ...



RSID: <<2026-03-06T00:38Z MFSK-64 @ 9265000+1500>>
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This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64

Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net
 

From TechXplore.com:

'Smartphone-only' internet access deepens digital inequality,
study finds

by Michael Parker, State University of New York at Albany
February 26, 2026

A new study examining digital behavior in Taiwan suggests that
simply having internet access is no longer enough to ensure
digital inclusion—a finding with growing implications for the
United States as governments, schools, and employers continue
shifting services online.

The research, led by UAlbany's Center for Technology in
Government (CTG UAlbany) and published in Transforming
Government: People, Process and Policy, finds that people who
rely exclusively on smartphones to access the internet engage in
significantly fewer online activities than those who use multiple
devices such as laptops or desktop computers. The gap is
especially pronounced in online transactions, including
interactions with government agencies, banking, and shopping.

While the study focuses on Taiwan—a country with near-universal
internet access—the authors say the findings highlight a quieter,
second layer of digital inequality that is likely present in
other high-connectivity countries, including the U.S.

"Access alone doesn't guarantee meaningful participation," said
J. Ramon Gil-Garcia, director of CTG UAlbany and professor of
public administration and policy at the Rockefeller College of
Public Affairs and Policy. "If people can only interact with
digital services through a smartphone, they may still face real
limitations in how fully they can engage with government,
education, and economic opportunities."

A hidden divide in a mobile-first world

For decades, discussions about the digital divide focused on
whether people had internet access at all. As connectivity
expanded through devices such as mobile phones, many policymakers
assumed the problem had largely been solved.

The new study challenges that assumption.

Using nationally representative survey data from more than 9,500
Taiwanese residents, the researchers compared "smartphone-only"
users with "multimodal" users who access the internet through
multiple devices. After controlling for factors such as age,
income, education, and digital skills, smartphone-only users
consistently engaged in fewer types of online activities.

That pattern held across both everyday internet use and digital
government services.

"Smartphones are incredibly powerful tools, but they're not
functionally equivalent to having access to a computer," said
Zong-Xian Huang, a graduate researcher with CTG UAlbany and Ph.D.
student at Rockefeller College. "Tasks that involve forms,
transactions, or complex navigation are simply harder to complete
on a phone. That shapes what people end up doing or avoiding
online."

Why Taiwan offers lessons for the U.S.

Taiwan provides a useful test case because its digital
infrastructure mirrors conditions found in many advanced
economies. Internet access there reaches roughly 90% of the
population. Government services, banking, and education are
widely digitized.

If meaningful gaps persist under those conditions, the authors
argue, they are likely to exist in the United States and other
highly connected nations as well.

In the U.S., millions of adults rely primarily on smartphones for
internet access. This particularly includes lower-income
households, older residents, and some rural populations. Prior
research has shown that smartphone-only access is more common
among groups already facing economic and social disadvantages.

The new findings suggest that mobile-only access may
unintentionally limit people's ability to fully participate in
civic and economic life, even when services are technically
"available online."

"This is not just a Taiwan issue," Gil-Garcia said. "As
governments move more services online, we need to be careful not
to assume that one form of access works equally well for
everyone."

Transactions pose the biggest barriers

Not all online activities showed the same gaps. Smartphone-only
users were nearly as active as multimodal users on social media
and internet calling—areas where mobile platforms are well
optimized.

The largest disparities emerged in transactional activities,
including online banking, shopping, and interactions with
government agencies.

"These are exactly the kinds of activities tied to financial
stability, economic participation, and access to public
benefits," Huang said. "When people are less able or less likely
to complete them online, it can reinforce existing inequalities
rather than reduce them."

The study raises important questions for policymakers who view
digitalization as a universal solution for improving efficiency
and access.

Expanding broadband access remains critical, the authors note,
but may not be sufficient if device limitations and usability
barriers are ignored. Designing mobile-friendly government
platforms, providing access to additional devices, and offering
targeted digital skills training could help narrow the gap.

The findings also suggest that digital services can sometimes
shift administrative burden rather than eliminate it. Citizens
may face new burdens, including the need to have suitable devices
and learn new digital skills to use online services.

"Digital transformation has enormous potential," Gil-Garcia said.
"But if we don't pay attention to how people actually access and
use these systems, we risk creating new barriers while trying to
remove old ones."

https://techxplore.com/news/2026-02-smartphone-internet-access-deepens-digital.html
 

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This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64

Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net

 

This week's images ...
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The "Blood Moon" lunar eclipse over the Mediterranean Sea in
Limassol, Cyprus, March 3. tinyurl.com/27lgoz8l ...

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Sunrise with pigeon in Nairn, Scotland. tinyurl.com/2b2hh6p5 ...

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Checking out the snow in Bethesda, Maryland, probably the last
for this season, March 2. tinyurl.com/266qllkf ...

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Sunrise at Baltimore Washington International Airport, March 1.
tinyurl.com/24rdd7vk ...

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Crocuses, early sign of spring, in Prince George's County,
Maryland. tinyurl.com/27ndcwza ...

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An Eastern Bluebird at the Adkins Arboretum in Ridgely, Maryland,
February 28. tinyurl.com/2bdfl34g ...

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His & Hers Restaurant & Bar in Philadelphia during the late
February snow. tinyurl.com/29s6hc38 ...

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Our painting of the week is "Bunter Mitklang" (1928) by Wassily
Kadinsky (1866-1944). tinyurl.com/2yx8jfbt ...

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Shortwave Radiogram returns to MFSK32 ...


 

RSID: <<2026-03-06T00:58Z MFSK-32 @ 9265000+1500>>

This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK32 ...


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I'm Kim Elliott. Please join us for the next Shortwave
Radiogram.



 

RSID: <<2026-03-06T11:30Z MFSK-64 @ 15770000+1500>>

♫
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Arthur Lee of Love was born on March 7, 1945.
He died in 2006.


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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Lee_(musician)

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