Broadband Workshops Viewable At Broadband.gov All discussions are being recorded and archived... Tipped by Duramax08 
Just a reminder that as the FCC moves forward with crafting our first ever national broadband plan, the Broadband.gov website is offering users free video of all of the workshops they're holding to discuss different aspects of the plan. All of the workshops are being recorded, and the website offers archived access to all webcasts and materials used by each speaker. According to the FCC, the workshops are designed to "promote an open dialogue between the FCC and key constituents on matters important to the National Broadband Plan." Interestingly, of the 51 "constituents" brought in for the 8 most recent workshops, just five don't work for a corporation -- and zero of them act as witnesses for consumer interests (so clearly, you've got your work cut out for you). Watch, read, discuss.
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 | | The FCC is still a captured Agency The panels yesterday were interesting, if only because the big companies sent their 4th-stringers, who are more likely to be honest.
And there was one consumer panelist yesterday, Dr. Mark Cooper from CFA, though he was added at the very last minute after several consumer groups sent letters to the FCC complaining of the one-sided nature of these panels. Kind of funny that Kevin Martin, who certainly was no friend to consumers, never held any events that were completely one-sided.
Just because the leadership of the FCC changed, that doesn't mean all the other captured people working there are any more inclined to listen to consumers. | |
|  | | | Re: The FCC is still a captured Agency the entire U.S. government is a captured entity.
we currently have government by the corporation, of the corporation and for the corporation. | |
| | jaminus
join:2004-10-14
Arlington, VA | Any agency is a captured agency. An entire school of economics called public choice theory explains the reasons behind this state of affairs. Fact is that the more power government has, the more power entrenched corporate interests have. | |
| |  funchordsHelloPremium,MVM
join:2001-03-11
Yarmouth Port, MA
kudos:5 | said by Bill Dollarz :
The panels yesterday were interesting, if only because the big companies sent their 4th-stringers, who are more likely to be honest.
Very well put! Agreed! | |
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| | SSDD Subject title says it all. | |
| |  Lark3poPremium
join:2003-08-05
Madison, AL
 ·Knology
| Re: SSDD And it will continue to be that untill the Revolution.  | |
| | | | | Re: SSDD Oh, 2217 just can't get here soon enough. | |
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| | | For those of you who are too young, SSDD stands for a Single Side Double Density 5.25 floppy disk. | |
| | | | | Re: SSDD I think he meant "Same shift, different day".
But yeah, no surprise here.
:| | |
|
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
kudos:2 | SuperWISP is there He's talking for five minutes sometime between 3:10 p.m. and 4:10. Yes, he's in the interest of business, but we're talking about a small bandwidth-starved WISP here, one focused n covering an underserved market. That's at least progress, right? | |
| | me1212
join:2008-11-20
Pleasant Hill, MO | Re: SuperWISP is there " That's at least progress, right?"
I think so.
And business is not bad, just the ones who are currently out to skrew costumers and nothing else. | |
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4 edits | said by iansltx:He's talking for five minutes sometime between 3:10 p.m. and 4:10. Yes, he's in the interest of business, but we're talking about a small bandwidth-starved WISP here, one focused n covering an underserved market. That's at least progress, right? Yes, I was there. And the interests of my business are aligned with those of my customers (Remember, it was founded as a co-op and has kept the same policies even after being taken private), so I was indeed supporting consumer interests.
So, (no surprise!) I made concrete suggestions to the FCC about how to help us reach unserved areas, give folks more choices in underserved ones, and give everyone more bandwidth for their money. Hopefully, the agency will listen.
Oh, and by the way, I'm not "4th string;" I'm "1st string." I own the ISP. (I had to leave my 2nd string in charge while I was making the long, expensive, and hot trip to DC in August -- no wonder Congress goes home then! In any event, I'm glad to say that my employees performed admirably in my absence.) | |
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| | Better than witnesses! "and zero of them act as witnesses for consumer interests"
Forget the witnesses! Go for the good stuff! Get a bunch of class-action lawyers to tell us what to think. | |
| WhatNowPremium
join:2009-05-06
Charlotte, NC | what to do We know what to do. The problem is where to get the money to do it. If we ever get pass the not me stage something will happen.
If a company put it in with their own money everybody wants a part of it or to regulate it and to give the service away. ie Net Neutrality. the poor, the schools, town gov offices, it will help my politcal career
If the government pays for it everybody screams don't raise my taxes for that I don't use it or need it. | |
|  jlivingoodPremium,VIP
join:2007-10-28
Philadelphia, PA
kudos:1 | Proud 4th stringer I guess I guess I'm proud to be a 4th stringer. I was on the 2nd fixed broadband panel this morning, which was pretty interesting. I've never been to the FCC before either. The Commission has quite a job ahead of them - not much time and a pretty aggressive sense of what they want to do in the National Broadband Plan.
In all seriousness, though, I don't think they wanted CEOs of companies on these panels.
As for the video quality on the web...
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JL
Comcast | |
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