Ted Responds To COPE Act Vote
Without comment
"On Wednesday, I voted for an amendment to the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Efficiency Act of 2006 (COPE) to ensure "net neutrality" which ultimately failed. I also voted for the final version of the COPE Act in committee.
"My vote for the COPE Act was an effort to facilitate competition in the video market so that consumers have more choices and can benefit from lower cable prices. This bill, despite the regrettable exclusion of net neutrality language, will provide consumers with choices and savings that were, to this point, very difficult to realize under current guidelines.
"I continue to strongly support efforts to ensure net neutrality, and would stand with any effort to ensure fair and comprehensive access to the internet. There is still time to fight and win this battle, and I will be a voice on the front lines fighting to preserve equal access to the internet for all consumers and content providers."
Gonna mull this over.
And the muni network connects to the telco backbone which could then throttle it back to real slow speeds so people use telco service instead of muni wi-fi.
and IMHO muni wi-fi sounds great in theory but is a bad idea in the long term.
You just made my head exploded.
There seems to be some dispute though, isn't there, about whether this bill defeats the FCC's net neutrality rules? I'm trying to get myself up to speed on this issue as the day has gone on, but there seems to be some dispute as to whether the net neutrality amendment was even necessary??
Of course, you're talking to a guy who thinks wi-fi is black magic. Ahhh the blight of the Amish blogger....
Net Neutrality in the bill has "guidelines" not laws or regulations- furthermore it PREVENTS the FEC from adding additional rules down the line to regulate. Without codifying Net Neutrality as law backhaulers would be free to limit bandwidth based on fees or competition or whatever they chose to do. the only reason they havent yet done this on a large scale is because of the massive outcry that wold ensue - killing their efforts to get this bill passed. Once this bill passes there is nothing holding them back. Congress has shown no desire to revisit crap laws such as medicare part D - this would be no different and the social and economic damage done is immeasurable.
Muni wifi - your city providing wireless internet access sounds like a great idea. where ever you go in the city you can connect to the internet - a service everyone would like no doubt.
However the problems lies in budgeting. When a city installs it's wifi it pushes out paid for services who cant compete - but then what happens when that city has a budget crunch and has to chose between offering internet access and fixed roads or laying off teachers? you lose your internet and there is no replacement.
I'm in favor of cooperative wi-fi as it eliminates the problems I mentioned above. But local government shouldn't be getting into providing more services when they can barely provide the services they are mandated to already.
Then outside of the net neutrality issue, how is this bill contrary to Strickland's broadband access plan? Doesn't it create government incentives to provide access that the market on its own would not provide?
This is starting to sound like "Formidable Opponent" on the Colbert Report....
the bill allows redlining of services - ie not having to provide services to rural or poor areas.
Ted would have to offer some pretty hefty incentives to get them to "build out". Reps. Solis and Dingell proposed a build-out amendment,it was defeated 33-22.
Without building out the network via cable to copper rural and poor folks aint getting broadband.
So the bill also prevent the FCC from enacting new rules to enforce the guidelines? I just sent you an e-mail as well about something I found in the committee's press release that is related, but I don't think is answered here, btw.
On city wi-fi, I understand your point, but wasn't there an effort to have Congress prohibit cities from creating their own wi-fi because the telcoms can't compete with government? Isn't it good to at least have a provision that allows cities to do this if they want rather than forcing commercial wi-fi on people?
I hate how these issues fly under the radar and then all of the sudden, it's the issue of day. I'm not surprised when I hear that most people in Congress don't really even know what they're voting on half of the time.
this is what gets codified in this bill
Although the Commission did not adopt rules in this regard, it will incorporate these principles into its ongoing policymaking activities. All of these principles are subject to reasonable network management.
It makes no mention of throttling bandwidth or restricting content by provider
It further stops the FCC making further rules
Raw data is always a nice thing......
Personally I like activist citizenship. No filter, you aren't learning things from the perceptions of another. I think that's how the Internet and blogs in particular have revolutionized information.
Look at some MSM websites for example. They've gotten much better about putting orginial documents relevant to their stories on-line for people to read, etc.
I'd much prefer to read a poll or campaign finance report myself than to get it spoonfeed to me through the prism of the MSM. Even if in the end, I have no different view or conclusion than they do.