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from: MyDD

Closing the Gap with CWA on Net Neutrality

There's a tussle going on that Matt has been illuminating involving the Communications Workers of America's stance on net neutrality. The CWA is an AFL-CIO-affiliated union representing more than 700,000 workers, some at AT&T, NBC, the New York Times, and elsewhere. In a few cases now, CWA has objected to net neutrality provisions. What's frustrating is that in so much that involves telecom and media policy, the goal of some seems to be to obfuscate and fuzzy the picture until most normal people throw up their hands and move on to something else. We hear flatly untrue arguments, like the one about how Google doesn't pay for the enormous bandwidth it uses. We hear said that this is Goliath vs. Goliath, a fight between one giant corporation and another: Verizon's multimillionare CEO Ivan Seidenberg vs. Google's very rich executives "with their own agenda." It's almost as if some involved want us to just worry instead about who's going to win American Idol.

from: The Albany Project

The Brodsky Bill: Completely Clueless in Rochester

by: lipris
Fri May 11, 2007

I'm working on a long piece about Assemblyman Brodsky's Tellecommunications Reform Act that I hope to have up later today, but I just ran across this utterly clueless op-ed in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle that I just can't let slide. Though I will give the D&C credit for writing about the issue at all given the serious dearth of coverage statewide, the piece they published Wednesday is a train wreck. They start strong with a perfect title, Hold telecom hearings, Public knows too little about major reform legislation, it ends as a muddled, clueless mess.

from: Civil Defense Blog

Weighing the New York Omnibus Telecom Reform Act of 2007

May 11, 2007
By Joshua Breitbart

I’m heading up to Troy, NY, this morning for a “New York State Strategy Session for the Future of Community Media & Media Justice.”

Today’s get-together at the Sanctuary for Independent Media is a precursor to a larger event tomorrow called interAct Troy!, a community driven skill share and party. It’s a great chance to check out the Sanctuary, visit friends up there, and promote the Allied Media Conference.

from: PA House.com

Eachus proposal would allow consumers to choose their cable TV company

HARRISBURG, May 11 -- State Rep. Todd Eachus announced the introduction of legislation that would give consumers the power to choose their cable television provider, programming and service level, and protect consumers by providing state oversight of an industry that currently offers customers no independent arbitrators when disputes occur.

from: Capital Times

Cynthia Laitman: Fraud behind state's cable legislation is disgusting

A letter to the editor

Dear Editor: Today I received a glossy 8x10, full-color card in the mail from "TV4us." Emblazoned across a background photo of $100 bills were the words "You can help Wisconsin Families Save Millions on Their Cable Bills."

from: Callahan’s Cleveland Diary

SB 117 cruises through Senate; 11 of 12 Democrats vote to legalize digital redlining

Less than 24 hours after its approval by the Energy and Public Utilities Committee, Senate Bill 117 was passed by the full Ohio Senate 29 to 4.

The vote Wednesday afternoon was powerful testimony to the raw political power of AT&T, and to the total disregard of Senators of both parties for local home rule, democratic access to technology, consumer protection or rational analysis — at least where AT&T’s money is concerned.

from: Callahan’s Cleveland Diary

SB 117: An email to my State Representative