wireless

Earlier today, the Government Accountability Office released a report, “Enhanced Data Collection Could Help FCC Better Monitor Competition in the Wireless Industry.”  A copy of the report is here.

The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:

When Federal Communications Commissioner (FCC) Michael Copps issued a brief, two-sentence reaction to the news of a policy agreement between Verizon and Google over Net Neutrality, he deliberately emphasized one word.  In bold face and italics, Copps said that a “decision” had to be made, to guarantee an open Internet.

"Some will claim this announcement moves the discussion forward.  That’s one of its many problems.  It is time to move a decision forward—a decision to reassert FCC authority over broadband telecommunications, to guarantee an open Internet now and forever, and to put the interests of consumers in front of the interests of giant corporations.”

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I occassionally suspect my colleagues in the Public Interest community lack a sense of humor -- although perhaps it is simply that I am in a more relaxed frame of mind after my annual vacation from the 21st Century. I am neither surprised nor outraged at the recent news that members of the Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC) are picking up where the FCC "secret meetings" left off and trying to come up with a net neutrality consensus framework. To me, it seems rather sad and funny. My only surprise is that even in Washington, the notion of an industry trade association working with its members is anything unusual or significant. I mean, that's what industry trade associations do after all.

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On this weeks PK In the Know podcast, we discuss the ramifications of the Google/Verizon announcement, the reemergence (again) of a fashion copyright bill, and what the FCC's AllVid proposal means for the future of video devices.

You can download and listen to the audio by clicking here (MP3) or stream it using the player below: