Press Release
Free Press Promotes Open Internet at Broadband Stimulus Roundtable
Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838
WASHINGTON -- In a roundtable discussion on broadband stimulus at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Free Press Policy Director Ben Scott proposed that policymakers attach strict open Internet conditions to taxpayer-funded networks.
The roundtable is part of a series of public discussions on how to allocate the $7.2 billion apportioned for broadband in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama in February.
The Recovery Act directs the NTIA and Federal Communications Commission to "publish the nondiscrimination and network interconnection obligations that shall be contractual conditions of grants awarded." In Putting the Angels in the Details: A Roadmap for Broadband Stimulus Success, Free Press proposed that the two agencies define nondiscrimination as follows:
Since Thursday, nearly 15,000 Americans across the country have signed a Free Press petition in support of strong Net Neutrality conditions for the stimulus funds. Scott delivered these signatures to the NTIA during his testimony.
Prepared testimony of Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press, included below:
As a consumer advocate, it is with great pride that I take part in this roundtable. Make no mistake, we are participating in a milestone event in Internet policymaking. For the first time since the misguided deregulation of the early 2000s, we now have clear instructions from Congress and the president to safeguard an open Internet for users. The NTIA and the FCC bear the burden of implementing this charge. They will do so by ensuring that broadband networks funded with taxpayer dollars are nondiscriminatory and interconnected.
My slide this morning does not contain a proposal for legal language. Free Press has published recommended text in our report Putting the Angels in the Details, which we have submitted for the record. I have chosen instead to focus on big picture principles -- the basic ideals that should guide our thinking.
First and foremost, we must have accountability. The federal government is not a charity for broadband providers. It is an investor. What's more, it is a socially responsible investor. Taxpayers put money into infrastructure only insofar as it serves the public interest. This is not a blank check. We are buying a public service from grant recipients with this investment.
That leads us to the two most common questions in Washington: What should we buy with taxpayer dollars? And what are getting back for our money?
So first: What are we buying?
The law says we are buying an open and nondiscriminatory Internet that is interconnected and interoperable. That may sound like a daunting legal framework; but it is familiar terrain for those of us who have been debating this issue for years in tortured detail.
When it comes to the open Internet, the voice of the consumer is clear and unequivocal. In the last week, almost 15,000 of Free Press members have sent letters to the NTIA calling for a strict nondiscrimination condition. I have brought their names with me today to demonstrate that support.
Perhaps only some of these 15,000 people understand the mechanics of the law. But they understand fully what it looks like in practice. First, interconnection means requiring all the networks that make up the Internet to be linked and interoperable -- including wireless. Second, nondiscrimination means that control over the content and services on the Internet should lie with the open market of consumers and producers, rather than with the monopoly of the network owner. There should be no unnecessary discrimination between different kinds of online content by the network owner. This is basic and fundamental and does not lend itself to half-measures.
Let me finish with the answer to my second big policy question: If we successfully support the deployment of these open networks, what are we getting for our money?
It is quite simple. The openness of the Internet is the core feature that has permitted this technology to become the greatest engine of free speech and commerce since the printing press. It fuels innovation, job creation and economic growth in our information society. It is not only fitting and proper that we should firmly protect the open Internet built with taxpayer dollars -- it is essential if we are to honor the dual goals of economic stimulus and public service required by the law.
This is the first opportunity for the new administration to set a new high water mark for consumer protection in this area. I urge you to act wisely and decisively.
Read Putting the Angels in the Details: A Roadmap for Broadband Stimulus Success: http://www.freepress.net/files/Angels_in_the_Details.pdf
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Free Press is a national, nonpartisan organization working to reform the media. Through education, organizing and advocacy, we promote diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media, and universal access to communications. Learn more at www.freepress.net
The roundtable is part of a series of public discussions on how to allocate the $7.2 billion apportioned for broadband in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama in February.
The Recovery Act directs the NTIA and Federal Communications Commission to "publish the nondiscrimination and network interconnection obligations that shall be contractual conditions of grants awarded." In Putting the Angels in the Details: A Roadmap for Broadband Stimulus Success, Free Press proposed that the two agencies define nondiscrimination as follows:
- Grant recipients must not provide or sell to Internet content, application, or service providers, any service that privileges, degrades, prioritizes, or discriminates against any lawful content transmitted over the grant recipient's Internet access service.
- Grant recipients must offer bandwidth for Internet service upon reasonable request, on rates, terms and conditions that are just, reasonable and nondiscriminatory. The nondiscrimination condition should not be construed to prohibit a grant recipient from engaging in reasonable network management consistent with the principle of nondiscrimination.
Since Thursday, nearly 15,000 Americans across the country have signed a Free Press petition in support of strong Net Neutrality conditions for the stimulus funds. Scott delivered these signatures to the NTIA during his testimony.
Prepared testimony of Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press, included below:
As a consumer advocate, it is with great pride that I take part in this roundtable. Make no mistake, we are participating in a milestone event in Internet policymaking. For the first time since the misguided deregulation of the early 2000s, we now have clear instructions from Congress and the president to safeguard an open Internet for users. The NTIA and the FCC bear the burden of implementing this charge. They will do so by ensuring that broadband networks funded with taxpayer dollars are nondiscriminatory and interconnected.
My slide this morning does not contain a proposal for legal language. Free Press has published recommended text in our report Putting the Angels in the Details, which we have submitted for the record. I have chosen instead to focus on big picture principles -- the basic ideals that should guide our thinking.
First and foremost, we must have accountability. The federal government is not a charity for broadband providers. It is an investor. What's more, it is a socially responsible investor. Taxpayers put money into infrastructure only insofar as it serves the public interest. This is not a blank check. We are buying a public service from grant recipients with this investment.
That leads us to the two most common questions in Washington: What should we buy with taxpayer dollars? And what are getting back for our money?
So first: What are we buying?
The law says we are buying an open and nondiscriminatory Internet that is interconnected and interoperable. That may sound like a daunting legal framework; but it is familiar terrain for those of us who have been debating this issue for years in tortured detail.
When it comes to the open Internet, the voice of the consumer is clear and unequivocal. In the last week, almost 15,000 of Free Press members have sent letters to the NTIA calling for a strict nondiscrimination condition. I have brought their names with me today to demonstrate that support.
Perhaps only some of these 15,000 people understand the mechanics of the law. But they understand fully what it looks like in practice. First, interconnection means requiring all the networks that make up the Internet to be linked and interoperable -- including wireless. Second, nondiscrimination means that control over the content and services on the Internet should lie with the open market of consumers and producers, rather than with the monopoly of the network owner. There should be no unnecessary discrimination between different kinds of online content by the network owner. This is basic and fundamental and does not lend itself to half-measures.
Let me finish with the answer to my second big policy question: If we successfully support the deployment of these open networks, what are we getting for our money?
It is quite simple. The openness of the Internet is the core feature that has permitted this technology to become the greatest engine of free speech and commerce since the printing press. It fuels innovation, job creation and economic growth in our information society. It is not only fitting and proper that we should firmly protect the open Internet built with taxpayer dollars -- it is essential if we are to honor the dual goals of economic stimulus and public service required by the law.
This is the first opportunity for the new administration to set a new high water mark for consumer protection in this area. I urge you to act wisely and decisively.
Read Putting the Angels in the Details: A Roadmap for Broadband Stimulus Success: http://www.freepress.net/files/Angels_in_the_Details.pdf
###
Free Press is a national, nonpartisan organization working to reform the media. Through education, organizing and advocacy, we promote diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media, and universal access to communications. Learn more at www.freepress.net
