Gigabyte March on Washington

Monday's Supreme Court decision on NCTA v. Brand X will change the face of the Internet and marks a radical break from America's historic foundations. From the age of the telegraph, bedrock principles founded on competition, universal access and the free flow of information gave rise to flourishing communication systems, including the birth of the open Internet. Monday's decision may signal its death

 The 6-3 ruling reaffirmed the FCC's earlier contested decision exempting cable companies from common carriage laws. This unfortunate decision allows cable companies to close their wires to competitive services. In addition to creating monopolies and prohibitive costs for the average consumer, Monday's ruling may allow cable companies to control access to Internet content. As a direct result, what was thought to be an open market place of ideas may soon fragment into multiple walled gardens zealously guarded by big cable companies.

By choosing to protect Internet gatekeepers instead of consumers, the U.S. is moving in exactly the opposite direction from its technologically advanced competitors, such as Japan, Korea and Sweden. A recent International Telecommunication Union study ranked the U.S. 16^th in broadband Internet penetration, down from No. 3 five years ago. Monday's decision will only make matters worse by allowing cable companies to close their networks to healthy competition, and ignore low income urban and rural neighborhoods.

Instead, Congress should be considering network neutrality rules that keeps the wires open, encourages free-flowing information, and expands access to all Americans-which in turn will make the U.S. competitive internationally. Congress must pass legislation that protects the open infrastructure of the Internet and ensures network neutrality based on nondiscriminatory access for all. The American public demands it, and it is incumbent upon us to keep the Internet open, affordable, and accessible.

Last year, 36 million American homes, or 52% of all households with Internet access, used dial-up services. That percentage is expected to drop to 40% at the end of this year. At the same time, cable and phone companies are expected to add 8 million broadband subscribers
this year, bringing their total to 38.7 million. New York Times

Looking to stem the reported waste, fraud, and abuse that has plagued the eRate--the $2.25 billion-a-year federal program that provides telecommunications discounts to eligible schools and libraries--the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on June 14 said it would seek public feedback regarding its management, administration, and oversight of the Universal Service Fund (USF), the federal coffer from which the eRate draws its money. FCC: News Release NPRM 

FCC officials are exploring ways to simplify the process by which schools apply for and receive eRate funds. Among the potential changes the commission, which currently consists of two Democrats and two Republican members, is considering: A new management structure that would enable schools to apply for multi-year funding commitments on telecommunications services, rather than reapplying for the same services year after year, as is now the case.

Source: eSchool News

CHICAGO –The heads of SBC Communications, Verizon Communications and BellSouth -- during appearances at this week's SuperComm telecom conference -- said they are prepared to mount a legislative counterattack to what they characterized as cable industry efforts to thwart their entry into the pay-television market. And an SBC executive contended that Congress must aggressively regulate the rates that the cable industry charges for subscription video programming -- or allow the Bell companies to compete. National Journal