Report card of American telecoms: They flunk out

The few remaining American telecoms want American consumers to focus only on options that they want to offer us. But we know how to use our slow American Internet to check out how other developed countries are developing their broadband coverage and speed. At Alternet, David Rosen and Bruce Kushnick have issued a devastating report card to the American telecoms. Here's the bad news:

  • America is now 15th in the world in broadband. While Hong Kong and other countries are rolling out 1 gigabit speed services, America's average is a mere 5 mbps (i.e., 1,000 mbps = 1 gigabit).
  • Americans paid over $340 billion for broadband upgrades that never happened; by 2010, America should have been completely upgraded with fiber optic services to every home.
  • The FCC approved Comcast's acquisition of NBC-Universal, foreshadowing a likely wave of integration of transport or carriage and content.
  • Together, AT&T and Verizon control 80 percent of all wireless services and AT&T is now attempting to close down one of the only remaining competitors, T-Mobile.
What should we do about this? Rosen and Kushnick often many dramatic solutions--including divestiture--if only members of Congress would listen more to good ideas than to wads of cash handed to them by the telecoms.

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An excellent primer on net neutrality

Net Neutrality is not about government takeover of the Internet.   This claim of a government takeover is a lie being spread by Republicans who have taken steps to give the big telecoms control over the kinds of programs you can make use of over the Internet and the kind of content that is freely accessible. Please, take a only a minute or two, to join me and take action on this critical issue. Your voice is needed to counteract AT&T's annual $15 Million in campaign contributions, and 93 full-time lobbyists. In this video, Senator Al Franken explains net neutrality, using YouTube as the perfect example. I've been following this issue closely for several years, but I've never before heard net neutrality explained more clearly than Senator Franken explains it here:

Continue ReadingAn excellent primer on net neutrality

Climate Denial Meltdown

As we seem to be discussing conspiracy theories here lately, let's take a look at Climate-gate, the oft repeated Fox News banner of climate change denialism. This video is a good and detailed look at not only the emergence and initial rallying cry of Climate-gate, but also how a thoroughly disproved lie emerges again later as a new rallying cry. It is a pity that this video does not even bother to go into the criminal activity used to gather the misleading information. The forces of anti-reason are tireless, and this is just one of many subjects in which it manifests.

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Net neutrality upside down

Today the Republican-dominated House voted to keep the government's hands off of the Internet or, at least, that is the story that is being widely promulgated. For example see here: House Republicans adamant that the government keep its hands off the Internet passed a bill Friday to repeal federal rules…

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Net neutrality threatened by U.S. House Resolution of Disapproval

From Free Press press release issued March 9, 2011: Today, the U.S. House passed a “Resolution of Disapproval” that would strip the FCC of any authority to protect our right to free speech online. This resolution will bar the FCC from enforcing its already weak Net Neutrality rule and from acting in any way to protect Internet users against corporate abuses. Following the vote, S. Derek Turner, research director of the Free Press Action Fund made the following statement:

“We are deeply disappointed that Congress has chosen to move forward with this dangerous overreach that would hamstring the FCC and leave Internet users unprotected from discrimination online. If this resolution becomes law, companies like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon will have free rein to censor free speech or block access to any website. “There may be much to dislike about what this FCC did and how it did it, but the fundamental point here is we cannot simply set up a false choice between what the FCC did and no policy at all.”
It is possible for the Senate to kill the resolution by getting 51 members to stand up for online freedom. Go here to take action. Note that this "take action" was first published when there was a danger that the "Resolution of Disapproval" would pass the House. Today, however, the Republican dominated House has actually passed the Resolution of Disapproval.

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