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canopic jug writes:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has has commented on the a draft of an International Convention on Countering the Use of Information and Communications Technologies for Criminal Purposes:

EFF's Key Concerns

The Title of the Draft Convention is Misleading and Problematic: Cybercrime is a real issue but equating it with any crime involving ICTs is conceptually and practically harmful. Recent efforts at the domestic level to broaden its definition have led to the criminalization of legitimate activities, such as online criticism, religious expression, or LGBTQ support. In the proposed treaty, it encourages expansive interpretations that could lead to human rights abuses and transnational repression. Recommendation: Restrict the definition to "core cybercrimes" like technical attacks on computers, devices, data, and communications systems. Exclude human rights-protected activities from the scope of the treaty to prevent misuse and ensure these rights are not unjustly targeted due to equating cybercrime with any crime using ICT.

Expansive Scope and Over-Criminalization Risks: The draft Convention's criminalization chapter dangerously broadens its scope by including crimes like "grooming" and CSAM, not just cybercrimes. Its CSAM definition risks criminalizing consensual conduct between minors. Even worse, a proposed Protocol could add two more Ad Hoc sessions to discuss even more crimes, further expanding its broad scope. Recommendation : Criminalization must be limited to Articles 7 to 11. Narrow the scope of the CSAM article to target only intentional, malicious actions, exclude from criminalization consensual activity between minors, make exemptions for self-generated content by minors mandatory, ensure financing provisions target only those knowingly involved in illegal activities, and exclude the public interest use of such materials, such as evidence in crime investigations, and scientific or artistic materials.

The organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) already weighed in back in January with similar concerns.

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

US border agents must obtain a warrant, in New York at least, to search anyone's phone and other electronic device when traveling in or out of the country, another federal judge has ruled.

Judge Nina Morrison of the Eastern District of New York issued a decision [PDF] last week that Customs and Border Patrol ([CBP]) officials need a warrant to search citizens and non-citizens' electronics in all but the most exceptional of circumstances. 

"It is one thing for courts to give border officials the authority to briefly detain and question air travelers and search their physical belongings," Judge Morrison opined. "But it is an entirely different matter for courts to exempt those agents from the Fourth Amendment's probable cause and warrant requirements in the vastly more intrusive context of a cellphone search."

The case in question involved the detention and questioning of naturalized US citizen Kurbonali Sultanov at New York's John F. Kennedy airport in March 2022 on suspicion he was in possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). After being told by CBP officers that he had no choice but to give them access to his phone, Sultanov provided his password and allowed officers to search his device. 

Based on a cursory search, and comments Sultanov made to CBP, officers obtained a warrant to search two additional phones found in his possession, leading to his indictment on alleged possession of CSAM.

The judge's decision last week pertained to Sultanov's request to suppress both the contents of his phones found in the search and his comments to CBP. The former was a violation of his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure, Sultanov argued, while entering his statements into evidence violated his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination. 

Morrison decided that, while the government was wrong to perform its initial search of Sultanov's phone without a warrant, the evidence would be allowed to stand "because the search warrant was issued and executed in good faith." 

Because Sultanov is not a native English speaker who was unable to be properly informed of his Miranda rights, Morrison decided to strike his comments from evidence. 

hubie writes:

Elimination of most Next Generation Internet funding 'incomprehensible,' says OW2 CEO Pierre-Yves Gibello:

Funding for free and open source software (FOSS) initiatives under the EU's Horizon program has mostly vanished from next year's proposal, claim advocates who are worried for the future of many ongoing projects.

Pierre-Yves Gibello, CEO of open-source consortium OW2, urged EU officials to re-evaluate the elimination of funding for the Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative from its draft of 2025 Horizon funding programs in a recently published open letter. Gibello said the EU's focus on enterprise-level FOSS is essential as the US, China and Russia mobilize "huge public and private resources" toward capturing the personal data of consumers, which the EU's regulatory regime has decided isn't going to fly in its territory.

FOSS software, Gibello argued, is key to protecting European interests from the data-guzzling economy that's grown up elsewhere, which is why he's perplexed at the decision not to fund NGI.

"We find this transformation incomprehensible, moreover when NGI has proven efficient and economical to support free software as a whole, from the smallest to the most established initiative," Gibello said.

"Contrary to common perception, technical innovations often originate from European rather than North American programming communities, and are mostly initiated by small-scaled organizations," he added.

The NGI initiative has taken to its own defense as well, releasing an impact report on the program last week which aligns with Gibello's claims.

[...] The funding that Gibello is concerned about losing comes from the EU's massive Horizon program that kicked off in 2020 to fund technological and scientific research in the bloc, of which NGI is just a small portion.

Horizon funding has been doled out multiple times since the program began. NGI has received tens of millions of euros over the past few years under Cluster 4 of the program, which doles out cash for digital, industry and space projects.

Gibello told us that NGI is mentioned in two sections of the 2025 Horizon Europe Maine Work Programme, which is still being hammered out and isn't publicly available: Driving the evolution of the internet toward "open and interoperable Web 4.0 and virtual worlds," and support for the Virtual Worlds Partnership and Web 4.0 initiative.

"The new proposal says nothing about community building, commons, and civil rights. And has no ambition with regards to the overall internet infrastructure," Gibello said in an emailed statement. "It is just 'Horizon as usual,' with always the same large academics and companies obtaining grants - then pouring a few nuts to feed the ecosystem monkeys."

Those monkeys being "the ones who provide them their infrastructure software and collaboration tools," Gibello added.

[...] "Our French [Horizon national contact point] was told - as an unofficial answer - that because lots of budget are allocated to AI, there is not much left for Internet infrastructure," Gibello said.

Original Submission

Freeman writes:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/07/logitech-has-an-idea-for-a-forever-mouse-thatrequires-a-subscription/

Logitech CEO Hanneke Faber recently discussed the possibility of one day selling a mouse that customers can use "forever." The executive said such a mouse isn't "necessarily super far away" and will rely on software updates, likely delivered through a subscription model.

Speaking on a July 29 episode of The Verge's Decoder podcast, Faber, who Logitech appointed as CEO in October, said that members of a "Logitech innovation center" showed her "a forever mouse" and compared it to a nice but not "super expensive" watch.
[...]
Speaking with Faber, Decoder host and Verge Editor-in-Chief Nilay Patel suggested that a "forever mouse" could cost $200. While that would be expensive compared to the typical mouse, such a product wouldn't be the first software-heavy, three-figure-price computer mouse. Still, a price tag of around $200 would limit the audience to professionals or enthusiasts.
[...]
Alternatively, the price of the mouse's hardware could be subsidized by subscription payments.

In any case, pushing out software updates would require Logitech to convince its customers to use an app to control their mouse. Such software can offer a lot of programmability and macro support, but the need to constantly run peripheral software could be a nuisance that eats up computer resources. Earlier this year, users complained when Logitech added a ChatGPT launcher to its peripherals.
[...]
Faber said subscription software updates would mean that people wouldn't need to worry about their mouse.
[...]
Having to pay a regular fee for full use of a peripheral could deter customers, though. HP is trying a similar idea with rentable printers that require a monthly fee.
[...]
Logitech already sells parts for self-repairs of some of its mice and other gadgets through iFixit. This shop could be expanded to feature more parts, offer more guides, and support more products.

A "forever mouse" would also benefit from a design with self-repairability in mind. Features like hot-swappability for mouse button switches for upgrades/repairs; easily replaceable shells, wheels, and feet; detachable cables; and customization options—all accompanied by readily available parts and guides—could go a long way toward making a mouse that fits users' long-term needs.

Original Submission

NotSanguine writes:

US Senators are asking the FTC to look into the data-selling practices of several automobile manufacturers.

From the article in Fortune Magazine (archive link):

Two U.S. senators are calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate automakers selling customers' driving data to brokers who package it and then sell it to insurance companies.

In a letter to FTC Chairwoman Linda[sic] Khan, Democrats Ron Wyden of Oregon, and Edward Markey of Massachusetts allege that General Motors, Hyundai, Honda and perhaps others are sharing drivers' data, such as sudden braking and acceleration.

The automakers, the senators said in a statement Friday, used deceptive tactics to manipulate customers into signing up for disclosure of the data to brokers.

After reading a report in The New York Times, Wyden's office looked into the three automakers and found that they shared data with broker Verisk Analytics. In the letter to Khan, the senators wrote that all three automakers confirmed disclosure of the data. GM also confirmed that it disclosed customer location data to two other companies that the automaker would not name, the letter said.
[...]
"If the FTC determines that these companies violated the law, we urge you to hold the companies and their senior executives accountable," the senators wrote to Khan.

GM wouldn't say how many cars' data was sent to brokers or what it was paid, according to the letter. Wyden's office found that Hyundai shared data from 1.7 million vehicles and was paid just over $1 million, while Honda got just under $26,000 for data from 97,000 vehicles, the senators said.

What say you, Soylentils? Do you own a car or cars from any of the above manufacturers? If so, were you aware of the data sales? Will this (perhaps depending on the outcome of an FTC probe, if that actually happens) affect your auto purchase decisions?

Original Submission

canopic jug writes:

An increasing number of sites are reporting about increased bandwidth being lost to AI crawlers. The documentation sharing site, Read the Docs, has an analysis of the attacks against it by AI crawlers. Several examples are included.

We have been seeing a number of bad crawlers over the past few months, but here are a couple illustrative examples of the abuse we're seeing:

73 TB in May 2024 from one crawler

One crawler downloaded 73 TB of zipped HTML files in May 2024, with almost 10 TB in a single day. This cost us over $5,000 in bandwidth charges, and we had to block the crawler. We emailed this company, reporting a bug in their crawler, and we're working with them on reimbursing us for the costs.

[...] This was a bug in their crawler that was causing it to download the same files over and over again. There was no bandwidth limiting in place, or support for Etags and Last-Modified headers which would have allowed the crawler to only download files that had changed. We have reported this issue to them, and hopefully the issue will be fixed.

Many of the bots even ignore the robots.txt file and its contents.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

The NASA rover's accidental discovery challenges what we know about the region:

For the last 10 months, NASA's curiosity has been investigating a region of Mount Sharp that is of high interest. It has signs of a violent watery past and the chemical analysis has revealed the presence of many minerals including sulfates. And as the rover moved about it accidentally cracked open a rock. And inside it saw pure sulfur crystals.

Pure sulfur had never been seen before on Mars. And while sulfates have sulfur, there is not a clear relationship between the formation of those molecules and the pure crystals. Elemental sulfur crystals form only in a narrow range of conditions. And none of those have been expected for this region.

"Finding a field of stones made of pure sulfur is like finding an oasis in the desert," Curiosity's project scientist, Ashwin Vasavada of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement. "It shouldn't be there, so now we have to explain it. Discovering strange and unexpected things is what makes planetary exploration so exciting."

The region Curiosity is exploring is known as the Gediz Vallis channel. It is a groove across Mount Sharp that has been an area of interest since long before the rover began climbing the relief in 2014. From orbit, scientists could see the presence of large mounds of debris. But the cause of them was not apparent. Was it landslides or ancient floodwaters that shifted the material along the channel?

Curiosity has been able to provide an answer. A bit of column A and a bit of column B. Rocks shifted by water are smoother and rounded. Those shifted by dry avalanches are angular and sharp. Both types of rocks are found among the mounds.

"This was not a quiet period on Mars," said Becky Williams, a scientist with the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, and the deputy principal investigator of Curiosity's Mast Camera, or Mastcam. "There was an exciting amount of activity here. We're looking at multiple flows down the channel, including energetic floods and boulder-rich flows."

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Company after company is swallowing the hype, only to be forced into embarrassing walkbacks by anti-AI backlash:

Earlier this month, a popular lifestyle magazine introduced a new "fashion and lifestyle editor" to its huge social media following. "Reem", who on first glance looked like a twentysomething woman who understood both fashion and lifestyle, was proudly announced as an "AI enhanced team member". That is, a fake person, generated by artificial intelligence. Reem would be making product recommendations to SheerLuxe's followers – or, to put it another way, doing what SheerLuxe would otherwise pay a person to do. The reaction was entirely predictable: outrage, followed by a hastily issued apology. One suspects Reem may not become a staple of its editorial team.

This is just the latest in a long line of walkbacks of "exciting AI projects" that have been met with fury by the people they're meant to excite. The Prince Charles Cinema in Soho, London, cancelled a screening of an AI-written film in June, because its regulars vehemently objected. Lego was pressured to take down a series of AI-generated images it published on its website. Doctor Who started experimenting with generative AI, but quickly stopped after a wave of complaints. A company swallows the AI hype, thinks jumping on board will paint it as innovative, and entirely fails to understand the growing anti-AI sentiment taking hold among many of its customers.

[...] Some members of the anti-AI movement have reclaimed the name "luddites". I come from tech circles, where luddite is considered an insult – but this new movement is proud of the designation. As Brian Merchant, author of Blood in the Machine, points out, the original luddites did not immediately turn to rebellion. They sought dialogue and compromise first. The new luddites, too, seek dialogue and compromise. Most realise AI is here to stay; they demand not a reversal, but an altogether more reasonable and fair approach to its adoption. And it's easy to see how they might be more successful than their 19th-century counterparts. The apocryphal Ned Ludd did not have social media. Downtrodden workers used to be easier to ignore. The internet is the greatest tool for organising in history.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

With a unanimous 5-0 vote, the FCC says it is moving forward with plans that should make unlocking your mobile phone easier than ever. According to a new FCC announcement, the agency say it will begin crafting new rules that will require that wireless carriers unlock customers’ mobile phones within 60
days of activation.

At various times unlocking your phone was deemed downright illegal under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Things have eased some over the years; very often it’s now possible to unlock your device and change carriers if your phone is paid off and you’re no longer under contract.

But the FCC noted that the current guidelines surrounding unlocking are a mish mash of voluntary industry standards and more stringent unlocking requirements usually affixed to either merger conditions or the use of certain spectrum. The new rules should create some uniformity, and the FCC is contemplating whether they should even apply to users still under contract with their wireless carrier.

[...] The wireless industry only appears to have a few complaints about the order, suggesting it won’t be that dramatic of a shift for the industry. The industry already had to be dragged kicking and screaming out of an era where it not only tried to lock down devices, but tried to block consumer choice as it pertains to apps, software and services (remember when Verizon wouldn’t let you use competing GPS apps?).

Chiseling away at the draconian DMCA as well as merger and spectrum purchase conditions already did most of the heavy lifting, and if the FCC’s rules are well crafted, they should help finish the job.

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

Researchers have transformed guide RNAs, which direct enzymes, into a smart RNA capable of controlling networks in response to various signals. A research team consisting of Professor Jongmin Kim and Ph.D. candidates Hansol Kang and Dongwon Park from the Department of Life Sciences at POSTECH has developed a multi-signal processing guide RNA.

[...] The CRISPR/Cas system, often referred to as "gene scissors," is a technology capable of editing gene sequences to add or delete biological functions. Central to this technology, which is used in several fields such as treating genetic diseases and genetically engineering crops, is a guide RNA that directs the enzyme to edit the gene sequence at a specific location.

While advances in RNA engineering have spurred research into guide RNAs that respond to biological signals, achieving precise control of networks of genes to respond to multiple signals has remained challenging.

In this study, the team combined the CRISPR/Cas system with biocomputing to overcome these limitations. Biocomputing is a technology that connects biological components like electronic circuits to program cellular and organismal activities.

The researchers implemented a guide RNA gene circuit capable of decision-making based on inputs, similar to a Boolean logic gate, which is one of the fundamental representations of input-output relationships in digitized signal operations.

[...] This study is significant because it integrates existing systems and technologies to precisely control gene networks, enabling the processing, integration, and response to diverse signals within an organism. This goes beyond the role of guide RNAs in merely directing enzymes to specific locations.

Professor Jongmin Kim of POSTECH stated, "The research could enable the precise design of gene therapies based on biological signals within complex genetic circuits involved in disease. RNA molecular engineering allows for the simplicity of software-based structure design which will significantly advance the development of personalized treatments for cancer, genetic disorders, metabolic diseases, and more."

More information: Hansol Kang et al, Logical regulation of endogenous gene expression using programmable, multi-input processing CRISPR guide RNAs, Nucleic Acids Research (2024). DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae549

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

Tesla is warning users about a popular "charging hack" that can allegedly result in shorter wait times at select Supercharger stations. The trick, which has been circulating within the Tesla community for at least a few years now, involves wrapping a damp towel around a Supercharger handle when charging. The idea is that the wet rag acts as a cooling agent, tricking temperature sensors inside the handle into thinking the system is running cooler than it actually is.

Some claim the hack can increase the charging rate, especially on hot summer days, resulting in a faster charge and less waiting around. Now, Tesla has issued official guidance on the matter.

According to the official Tesla Charging account on X, placing a wet cloth on a Supercharger handle does not increase its charging rate. In does, however, interfere with the system's temperature monitors and could lead to overheating or damage. Tesla advises against the towel trick to help ensure their systems can operate correctly.

[...] Inside EVs points to several instances that seem to refute Tesla's claim that the trick does not work, at least with older V2 Supercharging systems. One Tesla user put a damp cloth over the charging handle on a V2 Supercharger, which increased the charging rate from 60 kilowatts to 95 kW on a hot day. Another user plugged in at two percent stage of charge and reached 147 kW before thermal throttling kicked in at 34 percent and slowed the rate down to 58 kW. Applying a wet rag reportedly drove the charging rate up to 119 kW.

V3 and newer Superchargers utilize active cooling. According to Inside EV, the towel trick does not really help at all on these systems unless you are charging a Cybertruck.

Tesla owners would probably be best served to take the company's advice and not fool with the trick. Saving an extra few minutes simply is not worth the risk of damaging your vehicle or Tesla's equipment.

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

A recent report by Ireland's Central Statistics Office (CSO) highlights the explosive growth of energy consumption in data centers. The electricity required by data center operators increased by 20 percent between 2022 and 2023, and the total metered energy consumption equaled 21 percent of Ireland's capacity in 2023.

Data centers now exceed the energy needs of both urban and rural households, which accounted for 18 percent and 10 percent of total metered electricity consumption, respectively. In 2023, the CSO recorded a truly unprecedented increase in power required by Ireland's data centers, rising from 290 gigawatt hours in 2015 to 1,661 gigawatt hours, a staggering 473 percent increase.

[...] A recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned about the growing global energy demand by data centers, which could double in just a couple of years. By 2026, Ireland may be forced to reserve almost a third of its entire energy supply (32 percent) for data center operators alone.

[...] Energy consumption by so-called "AI data centers" could double by 2030, recent reports estimate, putting unprecedented stress on energy grids and potentially leading to widespread blackouts and reliability issues. However, some in the IT industry remain optimistic. Bill Gates has suggested that AI could reduce energy consumption, and Google is hopeful about AI's ability to mitigate its own environmental impact.

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

Archaeological findings at the renowned Mesolithic site of Star Carr in North Yorkshire suggest that hunter-gatherers maintained an ordered living space by designating specific ‘zones’ for various domestic activities.

The research team from the University of York and the University of Newcastle looked at microscopic evidence from the use of stone tools found inside three structures – potentially cone-like in shape or domed – dating to over 11,000 years ago at the Star Carr site.

They found that there was a range of activities that were likely to have taken place inside the ‘home’, including wood, bone, antler, plant, hide, meat, and fish-related work. The researchers then plotted out spatial patterns for these activities to pinpoint where within the dwelling these activities might have occurred.

Dr Jess Bates, from the University of York’s Department of Archaeology, said: “We found that there were distinct areas for different types of activity, so the messy activity involving butchery, for example, was done in what appears to be a designated space, and separate to the ‘cleaner’ tasks such as crafting bone and wooden objects, tools or jewelry.

“This was surprising as hunter-gatherers are known for being very mobile, as they would have to travel out to find food, and yet they have a very organized approach to creating not just a house but a sense of home.

[...] Star Carr provides the earliest known evidence of British dwellings and some of the earliest forms of architecture. One of the structures found was believed to be shaped like a cone and was constructed out of wood from felled trees, as well as coverings possibly made from plants, like reeds, or animal hides. There is still very little known about why hunter-gatherers would build such structures and continued to throughout the Mesolithic period.

Dr. Bates said: “Not only do we now know that hunter-gatherers were constructing these dwellings, but they had a shared group understanding of how to organize tasks within them.

“In modern society, we are very attached to our homes both physically and emotionally, but in the deep past communities were highly mobile so it is fascinating to see that despite this there is still this concept of keeping an orderly home space.

Reference: “Spatial organisation within the earliest evidence of post-built structures in Britain” by Jessica Bates, Nicky Milner, Chantal Conneller and Aimée Little, 15 July 2024, PLOS ONE. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0306908

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

Space photo of the week: A cosmic 'fossil' holding some of the oldest stars in the universe.

The Hubble Space Telescope zooms in on a dense ball of millions of stars within a galaxy orbiting the Milky Way. Its ancient origins raise big questions about how galaxies form and grow, [known as ] Globular cluster NGC 2005

It is 162,000 light-years away, in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, and visible in the constellation Dorado

This new image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows an object with mysterious origins that's commonly seen in the Milky Way: a globular cluster, a densely packed and gravitationally bound group of tens of thousands or millions of stars. However, NGC 2005 is actually located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a dwarf galaxy close to the Milky Way, and can be easily seen at night from the Southern Hemisphere.

Globular clusters are thought to be billions of years old. About 150 are known to exist in the halo of the Milky Way. They orbit its center in the opposite direction as most other objects in our galaxy, providing evidence for a theory that they were captured while the Milky Way was merging with other galaxies, according to NASA. That's how astronomers think galaxies evolve and grow. Another clue is that globular clusters host some of the oldest stars in the universe.

NGC 2005 is the perfect test case because it exists outside the Milky Way but is close enough to be studied carefully. It's about 750 light-years from the heart of the LMC, the biggest of about 40 dwarf galaxies near the Milky Way. Many of these dwarf galaxies are thought to orbit the Milky Way, though recent data from the Gaia spacecraft suggest that many of them may just be passing by.

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

Internet service providers are eager to get money from a $42.45 billion government fund, but are trying to convince the [US] administration to drop demands that Internet service providers offer broadband service for as little as $30 a month to people with low incomes.

The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program was created by a US law that requires Internet providers receiving federal funds to offer at least one "low-cost broadband service option for eligible subscribers." The [US] administration says it is merely enforcing that legal requirement, but a July 23 letter sent by over 30 broadband industry trade groups claims that the administration is illegally regulating broadband prices.

The fund is administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The NTIA is distributing money to states, which will then distribute it to ISPs. Before obtaining money from the NTIA, each state must get approval for a plan that includes a low-cost option. Nearly half of US states have already gotten approvals.

Although the law requires ISPs receiving grants to offer a low-cost plan, it also says the US may not "regulate the rates charged for broadband service." In the letter sent to US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, ISPs claim that the NTIA's demands for specific prices violate the ban on rate regulation:

We have also heard from stakeholders of specific instances in which certain State broadband offices have faced the prospect of political pressure unless they acceded to a $30 rate for the low-cost service option. This contravenes the clear language of the Infrastructure Act, which states that "[n]othing in this title may be construed to authorize [NTIA] to regulate the rates charged for broadband service."

Funds like BEAD are intended to help ISPs build broadband networks in areas where it would otherwise not be economically feasible. In other words, the government giving money to ISPs directly lets the telcos make a decent profit on network-construction projects in areas where subscriber fees alone wouldn't be enough.

ISPs receiving funds don't have to offer the low-cost broadband plan to everyone. They only have to offer it to eligible subscribers who meet low-income requirements, as detailed in the NTIA's Notice of Funding Opportunity.

Despite that, ISPs claim that prices for the low-cost option should be calculated based on "the economic realities of deploying and operating networks in the highest cost, hardest-to-reach areas." The letter said: