Will The FCC Finally Serve the Public Rather Than Private Interests?

The U.S. is very much behind Asia and Europe in offering high-speed broadband Internet access to the public. Now, the cable and telcos wanna hog all the new bandwidth for themselves so they can either use it for other purposes or make sure it does not fall into the hands of cheaper services that could compete with them on the high speed Internet market. Senator Kerry has the right idea. Give the access to the people, not the corporations.

clipped from www.mediachannel.org Sen. Kerry: Open the Airwaves for a Better Internet Sen. John Kerry joined the broad public movement for a better wireless Internet today when he urged the Federal Communications Commission to ensure that our airwaves be used to make the Internet “more competitive, affordable and widespread.” Last week, the FCC was flooded with more than a quarter-million letters from people who urged the agency to use soon-to-be-available public airwaves to connect more Americans to an open, neutral and accessible Internet. Senator Kerry cited recent reports showing the United States has fallen behind much of the world in broadband penetration. “Nearly 60% of the country does not subscribe to broadband service — in large measure because it is either unavailable or unaffordable,” Kerry wrote. “The 700 MHz auction could put this country one step closer to achieving ubiquitous Internet access throughout America.”