FCC Hires Industry Shill to Develop US National Broadband Plan

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: dewayne () warpspeed com (Dewayne Hendricks)
Date: August 28, 2009 9:27:11 PM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <xyzzy () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] FCC Hires Industry Shill to Develop US National  
Broadband Plan

FCC Hires Industry Shill to Develop US National Broadband Plan
by: Chris Bowers
Fri Aug 28, 2009 at 16:28
<http://www.openleft.com/diary/14837/fcc-hires-industry-shill-to-develop-us-national-broadband-plan 
>

The FCC's broadband task force is tasked with developing our national  
broadband policy. This is a project that FCC Commissioner Michael  
Copps ranks of the highest importance:
"I'm enthused as I can be that this country is finally, finally going  
to develop a national broadband plan," Copps said Wednesday in an  
interview for C-SPAN's "The Communicators" series.(...)
"We're way behind in broadband," he said. "There is a need to do  
something now."

Copps said he is not underestimating the importance of the FCC's task:  
"It's the biggest thing that's come to the FCC since I've been there,"  
he said.

And so, because our government is run by corporations and for  
corporations even when it is controlled by Democrats, a telecom  
industry shill, Scott Wallstein, was named as economics director of  
that task force.  From a source close to the process, in the extended  
entry I proivde a thorough background on Wallstein's industry  
connections and long history of fighting against American consumers:

Wallsten is a guy who:
	• Has spent the last five years at three different coin-operated  
think tanks.
		• Most recently with the Technology Policy Institute whose  
supporters include AT&T, Comcast, T-Mobile, Time Warner Cable, Verizon
		• He previously worked for the Progress and Freedom Foundation whose  
primary funders include AT&T, Comcast, Cox, NCTA, Time Warner Cable,  
Verizon. (Source)
		• Before that he worked for the American Enterprise Institute/ 
Brookings Institution whose funders include AT&T, SBC, Verizon.  
((Source)
	• Doesn't believe there is a broadband problem in America . Point 1  
would explain this belief, Here's some of the industry and GOP- 
friendly positions he's taken
		• "... the U.S. does not have a broadband problem. The remarkable  
investment in broadband infrastructure and rapid increases in  
subscribership that have taken place suggest the market is working  
well. Any policy or regulation intended to further accelerate  
deployment should clearly identify and target the market failure it is  
intended to mitigate:" (Source)
		• "The wireless industry exhibits no evidence of a market failure,  
and regulations - especially sweeping ones of the type [Tim] Wu would  
like us to consider - are likely to impose significant costs on  
society and ultimately harm consumers." (Source)
		• He frequently uses long discredited FCC data to state the  
broadband market is full of competition and advocates for the fingers- 
crossed approach to competition. (Source and source).

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