Re: [WISPA] CPI suing FCC to get at real state of broadband competition in the US
And yet another point of view: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20061016/nichols Yes, there has been an Abolish the FCC movement alive for at least 10 and probably 20 years. FOMHR (For Our Many Happy Readers) here are two (of the many) points of view: http://news.com.com/2010-1028-5226979.html http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2005/05/b677863.html jack Peter R. wrote: You know that if they don't want to give up the raw data that they have fudged the heck out of it! It has been suggested by many folks, including Peter Huber, that it might be time to put the FCC out to pasture. - Peter -- Jack Unger ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) - President, Ask-Wi.Com, Inc. Serving the License-Free Wireless Industry Since 1993 Author of the WISP Handbook - Deploying License-Free Wireless WANs True Vendor-Neutral WISP Consulting-Training-Troubleshooting Newsletters Downloadable from http://ask-wi.com/newsletters.html Phone (VoIP Over Broadband Wireless) 818-227-4220 www.ask-wi.com -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] CPI suing FCC to get at real state of broadband competition in the US
You know that if they don't want to give up the raw data that they have fudged the heck out of it! It has been suggested by many folks, including Peter Huber, that it might be time to put the FCC out to pasture. - Peter -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] CPI suing FCC to get at real state of broadband competition in the US
yeah, this has been going on for quite a while now (this is the second round). So far the FCC has held up. I think we should contact the CTIA and see what we can do to lend support to them (and the FCC) on this issue. Anyone have any thoughts on the issue and/or know anyone? laters, marlon - Original Message - From: Dawn DiPietro [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: WISPA General List wireless@wispa.org Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 4:57 PM Subject: [WISPA] CPI suing FCC to get at real state of broadband competition in the US CPI suing FCC to get at real state of broadband competition in the US 1/22/2007 1:46:18 PM, by Nate Anderson The Center for Public Integrity (CPI) wants to find out exactly how competitive the US broadband market is. To do that, it needs access to the raw data collected by the FCC, but the agency has refused to turn it over on the grounds that it could give a competitive advantage to other companies. CPI now finds itself in a District Court battle against the agency, which is being supported by ATT, Verizon, and the three major industry trade groups: NCTA (cable), CTIA (wireless), and USTA (telephone). CPI wants the FCC database of Form 477 filings. These documents are filed with the FCC by every telecom company in the US, and they give the agency data on each company's line deployments, broken down by ZIP code (and generally unaudited by the FCC). The FCC then uses this data to generate reports about the state of broadband competition, usually arguing that nothing radical needs to be done. But the agency's methods for generating these reports have come under scrutiny, and CPI wants to take a look for itself. When talking about broadband deployment, for instance, the FCC says that any particular ZIP code has broadband access if even a single cable or DSL connection exists there. It also classes broadband as anything above 200kbps—a woefully low standard for any true broadband connection. The General Accounting Office, the federal government's internal watchdog agency, took the FCC to task (PDF) last May for the way it prepared these reports. The GAO's own examination of Form 477 data found that the median number of broadband options in a particular ZIP code was two, not eight as the FCC claimed. CPI filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the FCC on August 24. After the statutory 20 business days had passed without any word from the agency, CPI filed suit on September 25, 2006. That apparently got the FCC's attention; the FOIA request was officially denied the next day. The matter is now in the hands of a federal judge, and the FCC is trying to have the case dismissed. The agency argues that the material in the reports is confidential business information and that the release of it could damage the companies involved. In a court filing, Alan Feldman of the FCC tells the court how this might work. For example, he says, information about how a company's number of lines has increased or decreased in a particular area over time provides competitors with insights into how that company is focusing its investment and marketing efforts. He also notes that most filers requested confidentiality for their data. CPI hopes to add the Form 477 data to its Media Tracker, a web site that shows consumers the available broadband providers, cable operators, television and radio stations, and newspapers in the area. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070122-8674.html -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] CPI suing FCC to get at real state of broadband competition in the US
Killing the FCC would simply place the responsibility for the regulatory control of the spectrum in the US to another federal agency. Not sure I buy into the idea that one fed agency (even if created from scratch) can do things better than what we have now. Scriv Peter R. wrote: You know that if they don't want to give up the raw data that they have fudged the heck out of it! It has been suggested by many folks, including Peter Huber, that it might be time to put the FCC out to pasture. - Peter -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] CPI suing FCC to get at real state of broadband competition in the US
Sorry to answer my own post but some clarifications are in order. I am not trying to state that I am satisfied, in any way, with the FCC by my desire to keep them intact. I am only stating that I do not think it is within the power of our own government to produce a different regulatory framework that would do the job any better. In fact it could be even worse than it is now if built from scratch again by our own elected officials. I am guessing that a more negative result could be just as plausible if not more so. Better to keep the snake we know visible in the light with a firm grasp on his head than to wander around him in the dark wondering from where and how he may strike. Scriv John Scrivner wrote: Killing the FCC would simply place the responsibility for the regulatory control of the spectrum in the US to another federal agency. Not sure I buy into the idea that one fed agency (even if created from scratch) can do things better than what we have now. Scriv Peter R. wrote: You know that if they don't want to give up the raw data that they have fudged the heck out of it! It has been suggested by many folks, including Peter Huber, that it might be time to put the FCC out to pasture. - Peter -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] CPI suing FCC to get at real state of broadband competition in the US
Yes, there has been an Abolish the FCC movement alive for at least 10 and probably 20 years. FOMHR (For Our Many Happy Readers) here are two (of the many) points of view: http://news.com.com/2010-1028-5226979.html http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2005/05/b677863.html jack Peter R. wrote: You know that if they don't want to give up the raw data that they have fudged the heck out of it! It has been suggested by many folks, including Peter Huber, that it might be time to put the FCC out to pasture. - Peter -- Jack Unger ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) - President, Ask-Wi.Com, Inc. Serving the License-Free Wireless Industry Since 1993 Author of the WISP Handbook - Deploying License-Free Wireless WANs True Vendor-Neutral WISP Consulting-Training-Troubleshooting Newsletters Downloadable from http://ask-wi.com/newsletters.html Phone (VoIP Over Broadband Wireless) 818-227-4220 www.ask-wi.com -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
