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from: Bitch Slappin'

Connect Tennessee and the Battle over State Franchising

There’s another AT&T sponsored Cable Franchising Bill in Tennessee, this one being pushed by the Telecom Astroturf group “Connected Tennessee“. It’s not the only Tennessee Cable Franchise bill, but it is the one getting the most press and attention, probably because of the dough that’s being slung around, and now that telecom money is being handed out to Democrats, much to the chagrin of the Repuglycans, who seem to be running on a budget these days.

from: Riedel Communications

Friday, February 29, 2008
Blind Alleys

There are people who have contributed greatly to your personal welfare that you will never hear about. One of those is Marston Bates. He studied mosquitoes in South America and his work improved the understanding of yellow fever. You gotta like a guy like that, somebody who does original and actual research. Bates didn’t take himself too seriously either. He is attributed with saying “Research is the process of going up alleys to see if they are blind.”

from: Huffington Post

GOP To Telecoms: Give Us Cash For Advocating Wiretaps
Roll Call/WaPo | February 28, 2008 10:10 AM

With the House Democrats' refusal to grant retroactive immunity to phone companies -- stalling the rewrite of the warrantless wiretapping program -- GOP leadership aides are grumbling that their party isn't getting more political money from the telecommunications industry.

from: Open Left

Comcast Manipulating NAACP on Net Neutrality

By now you've probably heard that Comcast hired a crowd to sit in an FCC hearing on net neutrality so interested citizens couldn't get a spot to speak. The gist of Comcast's excuse is that they hired people to hold spots for Comcast employees, though those people accidentally fell asleep and stayed in their seats throughout the entire hearing. Nuts.

from: Daily News journal

Kimbrell: AT&T bill holds key to future
By ED KIMBRELL

For the past few weeks, behind closed doors at the state Capitol, American Telephone and Telegraph, Comcast cable, the Tennessee Municipal League, and selected legislators have been trying to forge a tortured compromise about the Internet's future in the state.

from: Drew Clark

In Comcast vs. Verizon, Comcast is Down Two Counts
February 27th, 2008 · No Comments

By Drew Clark

Dominance in the broadband market is a battle of both technology and politics. Right now Comcast, America’s leading cable company, is losing on both counts.

Note: A little corporate tit for tat, AT&T alleges false advertising on the part of cable providers in regards to network speeds Meanwhile Comcast, who engages in throttling user traffic and then lying about it, promises a massive upgrade to their last mile . . . in the future.

from: Boradband Reports

from: Broadcasting and Cable

They're Back! Prometheus Asks Court to Vacate Ownership-Rule Change
Group Says Decision Was Arbitrary and Capricious and Beyond the FCC's Authority
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/26/2008 4:27:00 PM

As promised, anti-media consolidation activists asked a federal court to throw out the Federal Communications Commission's recent media-ownership decision.

Note: We hear it's common practice for corporations and lobbyists to hire line waiters and seat warmers for Congressional hearings too - this is why you only see suits in the front rows of major hearings. Apparently democracy has a price . . .

from: Wet Machine

For the Clueless Among Us: Why Comcast Paying Folks to Attend FCC Hearing Is Wrong. I can't believe I actually need to explain this.

from: Media - Space - Place - Network

FCC En Banc: Annals of the Battle for the Last Mile
February 26th, 2008
Fred Johnson

Harvard Law School was “Markey Country” today as Massachusetts Congressman Ed Markey defended net neutrality in his opening remarks before the FCC’s Public En Banc Hearing on broadband network management practices in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Markey declared the US “no country for old bandwidth” and hung around to observe, with the rest of us, the FCC, “en banc” and securely enclosed in Harvard space droning through a tedious day of testimony and q&a, comfortably surrounded by an audience packed with polite but bored Comcast employees trained to provide applause on cue.