03/11/10
From CNS News
Obama Appointee Says Price Hikes by Broadband Providers 'Raise
A Red Flag' for the FCC
By Susan Jones, Associated Press
(CNSNews.com) - Rich or poor, disabled or healthy, young or old – the Obama
administration says every American should have access to high-speed Internet in
their own homes, even if it costs American taxpayers billions of dollars to
accomplish that goal.
Universal broadband access is a key element of the Federal Communications
Commissions' national broadband plan, which will be delivered to President Obama
and the Congress on March 16.
On Wednesday, FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, an Obama appointee, frowned on
recent price hikes by broadband providers, calling it an “ominous” sign at a
time when the government hopes to give all Americans access to high-speed
Internet in their homes.
“This is an issue we must examine closely going forward," Clyburn said in a
statement posted on the FCC Web site. She noted that 36 percent of people who do
not have Internet service at home cite cost as a main reason.
"Across-the-board price increases, especially on those who can least afford it,
should raise a red flag for the Commission," Clyburn said. "When prices rise
across the industry, and where there are only a limited number of players in the
game, we have to ask ourselves whether there is any meaningful competition in
the marketplace."
Clyburn also objected to suggestions that broadband providers will roll out
faster speeds only in the few markets where they have competition. If that
happens, "our fears about whether meaningful competition exists should grow,"
she said. "If we fail to think deeply about these issues, consumers will suffer,
and low-income Americans in particular will be left long behind.”
According to the FCC, an estimated 93 million Americans currently do not have
Internet service (broadband) at home. The Democrat-passed stimulus bill charged
the FCC with developing a strategy to bring high-speed Internet to all
Americans.
Commissioner Clyburn said the national broadband plan will recommend the
creation of a National Digital Literacy Corps to help people on the wrong side
of the digital divide develop the skills they need to be comfortable on-line and
to take full advantage of all it has to offer.
In a speech on Tuesday, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski called broadband a
"major infrastructure challenge," just as roads, canals, railroads and
telephones were for previous generations. "Broadband is a platform for
opportunity and economic growth," he said.
Among other things, Genachowski said the national broadband plan will "recommend
the formation of an interagency working group to coordinate policies that
promote broadband adoption by people with disabilities."
Moreover, “Delivering on the promise of equal access to the broadband
infrastructure will require ongoing commitment and resources from both the
public and private sectors,” he said.
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Well, I certainly think this is a reasonable position. Everyone would agree that fast free internet service is a basic right and not just a privilege for those who can afford it. It's like the universal right to own a cell phone and the right to own the home of your dreams even if you can't afford the mortgage. Free healthcare for illegal aliens? - but of course, it's the right thing to do. Food and clothing should be free too, and music and drugs and tobacco and liquor. The only thing is...
Don't count on taxing me to pay for it with the money I sweated and sacrificed for all my life, you F**KING IDIOTS!!!