[CWN-Summit] more on our FCC friends

Stelios Valavanis stel at onShore.com
Wed Sep 1 21:35:47 CDT 2004


thought this was of interest to all.

>From telecom web:

Three Washington, D.C.-based consumer advocacy groups are harshly
criticizing the Bush Administration's decision to appeal the so-called
"Brand X" case requiring cable operators to open their networks to
competing Internet Service Providers, saying the decision to appeal the
case is a blow to competition and diversity in the telecommunications
industry.

"This is another dark day for competition and consumers in one of the most
vital sectors of our economy," chided Mark Cooper, research director for
Consumer Federation of America. CFA, Consumers Union and the Center for
Digital Democracy were public interest interveners in the Ninth Circuit
Appeals Court case.

Gene Kimmelman, senior public policy director for Consumers Union said the
Administration's decision: "is another example of the ... policies that
favor the major media and telecom companies at the expense of small
competitors who offer consumers the potential for more choices, lower
prices and greater diversity of viewpoints."

"This decision is a strong reminder of why the telecommunications sector
collapsed under the Bush Administration and the technology sector is
limping along," said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for
Digital Democracy.

The Administration's decision to take the matter to the Supremr Court
comes in the wake of an earlier decision by the White House in June to
side with the Bell Operating Companies' in their successful effort to
vacate the federal rules governing he way competitors gain access to the
BOCs' local networks. The consumer groups argue that the Administration's
action in that matter virtually ensure the destruction of the competition
and higher telephone rates for consumers as soon as the election is over.

A recent CFA paper, The Public Interest in Open Communications Networks
(http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/blogs/cooper/archives/OpenCommunicationsNetwork.pdf)
shows that open communications networks have been at the core of the
American economy for centuries. Nondiscriminatory access to transportation
and communications networks has always been essential to a thriving
economy, whether it was railroads, the telegraph or telecommunications. In
the digital age when communications and commerce converge, open
communications networks are even more important. The open environment of
the Internet was the source of dynamic innovation in the digital economy
in the 1990s, when nondiscriminatory access to telecommunications network
was guaranteed.

"The Administration's decisions have stifled innovation," Cooper said.
"The prospects for a significant recovery in the technology and telecom
sectors will not improve until the policy of open communications networks
is restored, providing an environment that promotes experimentation and
innovation by thousands of companies, not just a handful of giant
corporations."

It goes almost without saying that the head of the FCC, Michael Powell,
does not agree with the consumer advocates. He said the Administration's
decision to support an appeal of the case is about "ensuring that
high-speed Internet connections aren't treated like what they're not --
telephones.

"A successful appeal of this case would ultimately mean lower prices and
better service for American consumers." Powell said. "Applying taxes,
regulations and concepts from a century ago to today's cutting-edge
services will only stifle innovation and competition."

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stel valavanis  http://www.onshore.com/


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