Author Archives: Christopher Mitchell

Who makes the rules for how you use your Internet Connection?  Who decides whether it should upgrade the network speeds?  For most of us, private companies make these decisions and they are more interested in maximizing their profits than what is best for the community.  This is a major reason why broadband is slower and more expensive than other countries like Japan, Sweden, and France.

 The Economist takes on the cable companies and why they are not interested in bringing faster speeds to the U.S.

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 Public entities are increasingly recognized as important to expanding broadband access.

 A panel from the Freedom to Connect conference discussd the changing nature of broadband policy using the stimulus package as an example:

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The stimulus bill prioritizes public entities and nonprofits for grants to build broadband networks.

When Congress passed the stimulus package (ARRA), it included $7.2billion to build broadband networks to those who are unserved orunderserved (both terms that must still be defined).  In defined whatentities are eligible for grants, the statute expresses a preferencefor publicly owned networks.  States and political subdivisions arelisted first and nonprofit organizations second.  Listed third areother entities, including incumbent providers, which are only eligibleif they are found to be in the public good. 

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