FCC Tweets and Blogs for National Broadband Plan
The Federal Communications Commission launched a Twitter account and Blogband - a blog that will chronicle the progress and development of the National Broadband Plan. Said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, "We want it to be a two-way conversation. The feedback, ideas and discussions generated on this blog will be critical in developing the best possible National Broadband Plan". Genachowski has until February 2010 to submit a plan for broadband deployment to Congress. Telecoms, net neutrality lobbyists, tech companies and regular citizens are tripping over themselves to weigh in.
Ever since the US found itself trailing behind a number of countries for internet access, federal regulators have been looking for ways to ante up. And according to a recent Leichtman Research Group report, this quarter's net broadband additions were the fewest of any quarter in the last eight years. This is incredibly unfortunate as broadband-related benefits include increased access to education, health care, jobs, government agencies, disaster relief and of course, communications. The race to improve broadband and speed up rural service is going to take a ton of work and with millions affected, it's not surprising how many citizens have already begun to comment.
If you think regular bloggers get trolled in their comments sections, the discussion on Blogband is likely to get heated. Comments will be moderated before being posted and any off-topic rants will appear on the Off Topic Comments page. While the page is currently empty, depending on the decisions made about fiber, ISPs and infrastructure, it's likely to light up like a Christmas tree and read like The Best of Craigslist.
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I think having the FCC provide broadband is a great idea, NOT. Then they can tax all online sales! They will be able to control content. All of you in the US reading this better hope the giant phone, cable, and satellite companies win this battle. I am usually first to bash Comcast, but in this case you certainly want non government agencies to win, even if it means paying for access.
Rob's right, the FCC is the last thing the internet needs mucking about. This is rather like a lose - lose situation.
I think this is a very good step of FCC.I think all authorities should involve in such activities and must launch modern way of communication.
This is an important issue and it's good to see that the new Chairman has moved to put Net Neutrality on the front burner of communications policy. His vision of an open Internet that preserves the "freedom to innovate without permission" is one that our organization, the Center for Democracy & Technology, shares; it's an idea believe all Internet users and innovators should vigorously support. The move to expand the basic Internet principles the agency laid out in 2005 by to include nondiscrimination and transparency addressed two areas where we thought the original principles fell short.
Ideally, the launch of FCC proceedings would prompt Congress to take up the matter too. CDT has long said that FCC activity on Internet neutrality would benefit from clear congressional guidance, authorization, and limits, so that the FCC's task and regulatory authority are not open-ended. You can read more about our thoughts on this by looking at our more inclusive comments we submitted to the FCC on its overall Broadband Plan. http://www.cdt.org/speech/20090608_broadband_comments.pdf