The Committe on Technology in Government of the New York City Council will have an open public meeting on
Bringing Broadband Net Access To All at 10 am Friday 10 June 2005 in The Committee Room, City Hall, New York City See below for more on this important meeting, which free software users, authors, and advocates should attend. Jay Sulzberger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Corresponding Secretary LXNY LXNY is New York's Free Computing Organization. http://www.lxny.org Note from Jay Sulzberger: Free Software is first a political movement. Our success has been, in part, enabled by the easy availability of low cost untrammeled computers and low cost untrammeled Net access. If we are to bring free software to those who most need free software, we must make available to all low cost untrammeled Net access. Please come to this meeting and let us work to make sure that whatever system is put in place, whether "free market", "socialist", or "mixed", it is really low cost and really untrammeled. The stakes are high, and our voices will count. But we must show up and we must listen and we must speak and work for both freedom and efficiency. Below please find two calls to attend the Committee on Technology in Government meeting on Friday 10 June 2005. The first call is from Dave Burstein and is not an official government call. The second is from Bruce Lai, and is the official call to attend from the CTG, chaired by Gale Brewer, New York City Council member. Jay Sulzberger member LXNY member NYFU http://www.lxny.org http://www.nyfairuse.org <blockquote what="Dave Burstein call to act"> Date: Wed, 08 Jun 2005 06:31:09 -0400 From: Dave Burstein <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: New York City considering muni and more Folks: The New York City Council on Friday is doing a major hearing on a bill that is squarely aimed at a muni build. I wrote it below a little optimistically - they could use all the support they can get, including people to testify. If that's practical for you, contact Bruce Lai <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> to be added to the speaker list. Dave Burstein "We're going to bring affordable broadband to all 8 million New Yorkers, and do it quickly. We're not going to fail on this." A New York politician, who may have the courage to make the statement true The New York City Council intends action, not just talk. Ten minutes' walk from the new Verizon headquarters, I'll be testifying Friday to a group that's darn serious about determining "how affordable broadband access can be made available to all New York City residents." A million New Yorkers still can't get DSL, and a million children in the city live in families for whom $35/month is unaffordable. Philadelphia is ready to prove they can deliver municipal wireless for $15/month or less, which is what DSL costs in much of the world. There's an alternative to a municipal build, however. I'll urge instead that Verizon, Time Warner or another commercial outfit lead the way, with direct municipal investment only if required. Imagine if New York put out an RFP for $15/month broadband to 8 million people, backed up with a full 50 Meg + fiber build to two million homes and offices. Internet delivery around the world would rapidly change; London, Los Angeles, Chicago and Rome would demand similar once they saw it works. So would Atlanta, San Antonio, and Denver. Verizon would have little choice but to quickly discover affordable broadband for all is quite practical - the alternative to bidding would be losing a million customers and stranding billions in investment. Similar for Time Warner, and don't be surprised if a dozen bids come in. The Brits considered similar, and BT decided to move quickly to 99.6% coverage to head off government action. Almost certainly, New York could get the network built and services delivered by an efficient private company. Erkki Liikanen, European Union Commissioner, recommended a similar strategy, of setting a goal (universal coverage) and soliciting bids. The results have been remarkable, including service in some truly hard to reach areas at a fraction of the suggested cost. 75 million people in Andhra Pradesh are getting fiber to every village. Indian multinational Tata bid a fraction of the telco's projected cost and won that contract. Results please, not rhetoric. Come to the open hearing, say hello to the round fellow with a beard, and consider joining us afterwards for the best French pastry and sandwiches in New York, Financier. If you'd like to speak, email me for who you should contact in advance. Friday, June 10th, 10 AM, Committee Room, City Hall, New York City. </blockquote> <blockquote what="official CTGNYCC announcement"> Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2005 19:53:50 -0400 From: Bruce Lai <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> < ... /> On April 20, 2005, the Committee introduced legislation (http://webdocs.nyccouncil.info/textfiles/Int%200625-2005.htm) to create a "a temporary task force to study how affordable broadband access can be made available to all New York City residents, nonprofit organizations and businesses." This is what the Council Member Gale Brewer, Chair of the Committee and prime sponsor of Int. No. 625, had to say about the legislation: "Ensuring the availability of affordable broadband is about more than providing access to essential Internet tools like job resources, online banking and continued job training and education," said Council Member Brewer, chair of the City Council's Technology in Government Committee. "It is obvious that within the next several years those that do not have access to the new generation of broadband-driven communications technologies, such as Internet telephony (VOIP), telemedicine and telecommuting will be at a distinct disadvantage. We need to ensure that the city has the infrastructure to provide our small businesses, non-profits and low-income residents with the tools they will need to compete and flourish." <> Below are links to some articles on the legislation: * http://www.muniwireless.com/archives/000656.html * http://www.corante.com/newyork/archives/2005/04/22/new_yorks_broadband_task_force.php The current plan is to hold a hearing on Int. No. 625 on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 10 AM in the Committee Room, City Hall. -- On Tuesday, June 21, 2005 at 1 PM, Committee Room, City Hall, the Committee will hold an oversight hearing on the development of the New York City information technology (IT) industry. More details on this hearing to come. -- Recently, for your information ... On Tuesday, April 19, 2005 at 1 PM in the Committee Room, City Hall, the Committee held an oversight entitled Review of the Integrated Human Services Project: Update and Future Plans. At the hearing, the Committee received an update on the progress of the system from the Mayor's Office and the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. The City is moving forward to two pilots projects; the first one slated for release at the end of 2005 and the second one for 2006. The Committee also heard testimony from representatives of the nonprofit sector about the necessity of the system and the importance of City government working with them on this project. Here is a link to the briefing paper: http://www.nyccouncil.info/issues/report_act.cfm?mtfile=T2005%2D0491. If anyone would like copies of testimony from this hearing, please contact me. Also ... The City of Philadelphia recently released its Wireless Philadelphia business plan. If you have not read it yet, below are links to it as well as the associated Request for Proposal to build their citywide wireless broadband network. * http://www.phila.gov/wireless/pdfs/Wireless-Phila-Business-Plan-040305-1245pm.pdf * http://www.phila.gov/wireless/pdfs/WP RFP 4-5-05 rev v4-CLEAN.pdf <http://www.phila.gov/wireless/pdfs/WP%20RFP%204-5-05%20rev%20v4-CLEAN.pdf> Here's what Council Member Brewer has to say about the City of Philadelphia's wireless initiative: "New York City has much to learn from the 'Wireless Philadelphia' initiative," Council Member Brewer said. "Our challenges are different and our process will likely yield a different solution. But, Philadelphia had the courage and foresight to tackle the most difficult issues surrounding telecommunications, and we must do the same. We must balance New Yorkers' right to the benefits that broadband access brings with responsible telecommunications growth and policy." ***** The following is an event you may be interested in attending. Building the Broadband Economy, June 13-14, New York City "Building the Broadband Economy" is the 2005 edition of the Intelligent Community Forum's annual conference and awards program. It explores how cities and town are coping with the challenges of a globalizing world and building vibrant local economies based on broadband and information technology. It brings an audience of leaders from business, government and the nonprofit sector to New York City to explore what it takes to compete in the fast-emerging "broadband economy," how broadband is changing our communities, and who will be the winners and losers of the Digital Age. Registration includes the Intelligent Community Awards of 2005. Produced in association with the Institute for Technology & Enterprise at Polytechnic University. For more information, go to the following link: * http://www.intelligentcommunity.org/html/building_broadband.html <http://www.intelligentcommunity.org/html/building_broadband.html%3E> Note: Council Member Gale Brewer will be delivering a keynote address at this conference. ***** About the New York City Council's Committee on Technology in Government The primary goals of the Committee on Technology in Government are (1) to expand digital equality by increasing access to broadband in underserved communities of New York City (2) to increase the strategic use of technology in government, thereby, increasing efficiency in government and enhancing the quality of public services, and (3) to promote the openness and transparency of government by making sure that public information is accessible to every New York City resident. Through its ability to hold oversight hearings over City agencies and introduce and hear legislation, the Committee on Technology in Government works to achieve its goals in partnership with the private, public and nonprofit sectors. More information about the Committee and the Chair of the Committee, Council Member Gale A. Brewer, can be found at the following link: http://nyccouncil.info/issues/committee.cfm?committee_id=106<sbdkey=5121 <http://nyccouncil.info/issues/committee.cfm?committee_id=106<sbdkey=5121>. All Committee briefing papers from the current session (beginning in January 2004) are also available at this link. ***** If you know of people who would be interested in the Committee on Technology in Government's activities, please feel free to forward this e-mail to them. If you know of anyone who would like to receive these e-mails, just have them e-mail me, and I will be put them on the list. Finally, feel free to post this information on any listserve you may belong to or on any website you are affiliated with. Thank you. I look forward to seeing you at one of our hearings. Regards, Bruce Lai -- Bruce Lai Legislative Policy Analyst, Committee on Technology in Government New York City Council 250 Broadway, 14th Floor New York, NY 10007 Work: 212.788.9109 Fax: 212.788.9168 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] </blockquote> _______________________________________________ Gnu-misc-discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/gnu-misc-discuss
