Tell Sen. Klobuchar, we want an Internet revolution!
"Letter to Editor"06/12/2007
Dear DFLers,
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will decide this month how to use a huge chunk of our public airwaves. Last week, a stunning 250,000 Americans urged the FCC to use these airwaves to revolutionize Internet access in our country.
Modern-day innovators are ready to create a vibrant national wireless market—with high-speed Internet signals beamed to every park bench, coffee shop, workplace, and home in America. But big phone and cable companies don't want this competition to their Internet service. They want the FCC to give them control of our airwaves, so they can block out wireless innovators.
This Thursday, Senator Amy Klobuchar has a key role to play in this fight. She sits on the Senate Commerce Committee, which will hold major hearings on this exact issue. We need her to use these hearings to send a strong public message to the FCC commissioners—who will definitely be watching.
Can you call Senator Klobuchar today about Thursday's hearing? Ask her to publicly demand that the FCC support "open networks" on our public airwaves and protect our airwaves from corporations like AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast who want to stifle competition and innovation in the wireless market.
Senator Amy Klobuchar
Phone: 202-224-3244
Help us track our progress. Report your call by clicking here:
http://civ.moveon.org/call?tg=FSMN_2&cp_id=531&id=10516-8299453-vlE66o&t=1
It's important to make clear that we're asking for a public statement—preferably spoken at Thursday's hearing and published on the senator's website—Senator John Kerry, who is on this committee, released a statement yesterday.1 We've seen in the past that this can have a major impact on the FCC's decision-making.
If your senator's office has specific questions about this topic, feel free to ask for an email address and send them this letter—sent to the FCC last week by over 40 technology and civic leaders:
http://civic.moveon.org/airwaves/fccletter.html?id=10516-8299453-vlE66o&t=2
Here is an excerpt, explaining what we are asking the FCC to do:
First, ensure new competition. Big phone and cable companies who have spent years laying wires in the ground have every incentive to stifle the growth of a competitive high-speed wireless market. Therefore, if America wants to bring high-speed wireless Internet to every community, the FCC needs to ensure that a significant portion of the newly available airwaves go to new market competitors. Such rules prohibiting incumbents from stifling competition and innovation in the marketplace have been used in the past, and numerous approaches can be used to achieve this goal.
Second, ensure "open networks." The FCC must set the terms of the auction so that whoever wins is prohibited from stifling innovation. For instance, wireless Internet providers must not be allowed to play gatekeeper over which websites their customers can access online—a power that phone companies exert right now to prevent handheld wireless customers from accessing Internet-based phone service. Wireless Net Neutrality will let the market decide which web-based services thrive instead of self-interested gatekeepers.
Also part of "open networks," the auction winners must not be allowed to blacklist new technology from entering the market. Companies must give consumers the right to attach any safe device to their own devices—the equivalent of the FCC's landmark 1968 Carterfone decision, mandating that phone companies let customers attach an answering machine to their landline phone. (Indeed, this "right to attach" paved the way for the dial-up modem, which sparked the Internet revolution.)
Your call to Senator Klobuchar today will make a big difference.
Thanks for all you do.
–Adam Green,
MoveOn.org Civic Action
Tuesday, June 12th, 2007
P.S. Many people haven't heard about this critical issue yet—so it's really important that we spread the word and get others involved. Invite your friends to sign the petition to the FCC by sending them this link:
http://www.civic.moveon.org/airwaves/?id=10516-8299453-vlE66o&t=4
P.P.S. Can you support this people-powered campaign today? As corporations like AT&T and Verizon spend millions to get public policy skewed in their favor, we will win these fights because of the power of regular people. A donation of $10, $20, or more would go a long way. You can donate here:
https://civic.moveon.org/donatec4/creditcard.html?id=10516-8299453-vlE66o&t=5
Sources:
1. "Sen. Kerry: Open the Airwaves for a Better Internet," SavetheInternet.com, June 12, 2007
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2657&id=10516-8299453-vlE66o&t=6