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Special to The Sacramento Bee
Published: Sunday, Jul. 18, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 5E
Last Modified: Sunday, Jul. 18, 2010 - 2:40 pm
Have you heard about the battle over the future of the Internet?
It's raging right now in Washington, D.C., where a court recently ruled that the Federal Communications Commission – the government agency that sets communications policy for the country – lacks authority over broadband networks. The agency is now deciding whether to reassert its legal authority over broadband, and it's no exaggeration to say that our online future rests on its decision.
The FCC must have the power to protect consumers, expand access and promote innovation on the Internet, the most important communications medium of our time. In just a few years, the Internet has evolved from the hobby of techies to an essential engine of free speech, civic participation and economic growth. Americans rely on the Internet to find jobs – or increasingly, to telecommute, get an education, access government services, find news and information, connect with family and friends, and engage politically. Now cable and phone companies like AT&T and Comcast want to free themselves from any and all rules, and find new ways to charge customers more for the right to communicate online.
Unfortunately, we can't depend on market competition to discipline their prices or actions either – more than 90 percent of homes in the United States have only two broadband providers to choose from.
So the FCC has recommended we start putting in place new creative policies to make sure this giant engine of wealth and growth continues to benefit the entire country and not just a few cable and telephone executives. But after an expensive legal battle, Comcast has struck a crippling blow to the FCC's ability to keep an eye on broadband communications infrastructure.
Read more: And here is the rest of it.
