Recommended Reading: The case for a ‘Tenet’ online premiere

Christopher Nolan should release Tenet onlineChaim Gartenberg, The VergeThis piece from The Verge was published before AT&T CEO John Stankey announced Christopher Nolan’s upcoming blockbuster Tenet wouldn’t skip theaters for an on-demand premiere...

‘Tenet’ won’t skip theaters for a VOD or streaming premiere

Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi/spy movie Tenet has been delayed several times due to the impact of COVID-19 on movie theaters. It’s back on the shelf for now and a new release date has yet to be confirmed, but don’t expect Warner Bros. to simply throw up...

Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’ has been delayed indefinitely

Tenet almost seems cursed at this point. Despite the best efforts of Warner Bros. and director Christopher Nolan to bring the movie to theaters this summer, coronavirus-related shutdowns have shattered those plans. The studio has delayed the spy/sci-...

Fortnite Party Royale will present Christopher Nolan’s new ‘Tenet’ trailer

So what’s next for the big event space in Fortnite? If you thought it would be another concert or DJ set, guess again. Starting tonight at 8 PM ET and repeating at the top of every hour, the Party Royale space will show a trailer for Christopher Nola...

Connecting Cape Town: Inside South Africa’s TV white spaces experiment

Connecting Cape Town Inside South Africas TV white spaces experiment

In 2011, a United Nations commission came to a powerful conclusion: access to broadband internet is a basic human right, matched by the likes of housing, sustenance and healthcare. Arguments can be made that widespread access has transformed entire economies while kick-starting others, with Finland even going so far as to command its ISPs to provide 1 Mbps connections to all homes regardless of location. Both the United States and the United Kingdom have similarly ambitious plans, and all three of these countries have one particular catalyst in common: funds.

The harsh reality, however, is the economies that stand to gain the most from sweeping internet adoption are also the least equipped to enable it. In early 2010, the European Bank estimated that a project to roll out passive optical fiber to 33 cities in the Netherlands would cost nearly €290 million. The mission driving such funding? "To stimulate innovation and keep Europe at the forefront of internet usage." It's the answer to a problem that could undoubtedly be categorized as "first world," but consider this: Internet World Stats found that 92.9 percent of The Netherlands' population routinely used the world wide web in 2012. Let's just say it's easier to invest in an initiative that you're certain nearly 9 in 10 citizens will use.

In the whole of Africa, just 15.6 percent of residents are connected to the internet, which is under half of the world average. It's also home to vast, inhospitable landscapes that are economically inviable to crisscross with fiber. All of that being said, nearly a sixth of the globe's population resides on the continent, representing a monumental opportunity for something -- anything -- to connect the next billion people. As it turns out, there are actions presently ongoing to make a significant mark in the course of history. Google, Microsoft, Carlson Wireless, Tertiary Education and Research Network of South Africa (TENET) and a host of other powerful entities are collaborating to bring high-speed internet to an underserved continent via TV white spaces -- a low-cost, highly adaptable technology that's poised to explode. For now, Cape Town, South Africa, is acting as a proving ground for what will eventually be a far larger experiment. The core goal is actually quite simple: to beam hope to a disconnected society, with unused bands between TV channels acting as the medium. %Gallery-slideshow67067%

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Distro Issue 103: Inside South Africa’s TV white spaces experiment

Distro Issue 103 Inside South Africa's TV white spaces experiment

In Africa, only 15.6 percent of residents have an internet connection and that figure clocks in below half of the global average. Google, Carlson Wireless and several other outfits are teaming up to employ Cape Town's unused TV frequencies, or white spaces, in order to bring high-speed connectivity to the masses. Darren Murph made the trek to South Africa get a behind-the-scenes look at the project and his account nabs top billing in this week's issue of our tablet mag. Eyes-On ogles Organic Transit's ELF; Weekly Stat tallies up the heroes of YouTube; and Modem World pleads the Hyperloop's case. Grab a copy from the source links below if your slate of choice hasn't already alerted you to do so and get comfy for another large dose of tech e-reading.

Distro Issue 103 PDF
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Source: iTunes, Google Play, Windows Store