Computer Activism: Community Internet Under Attack

[welshTerrier2]

the war is on ... most are unaware of it ... what's at stake here is the future of the internet and who will "own" it ... what corporate America is trying to get away with on "the information super-highway" is nothing short of private ownership of the nation's roadway system with tollbooths wherever they want to put them ...

this is a big deal ... we can't let the battle continue to be fought outside the public eye ... let's make sure our local, state and federal governments are looking out for us for a change instead of greedy corporations that want to own the "super-highway" ...

source: http://zmagsite.zmag.org/Images/szczepanszyk0905.html

Who might control the future of high-speed Internet? Will it be municipalities and communities that can make the Internet into a widespread and affordable public service like electricity or running water or big cable and telecommunications companies, like SBC, Comcast, and Verizon, who would redline communities and inflate prices to maximize profit?

On the one hand, citizens across the United States can now set up their own affordable municipal Internet initiatives where entire communities can achieve high- speed Internet connectivity at relatively low cost, thanks to increasingly affordable technologies like under-the-ground copper wiring and wireless connections. On the other hand, in the wake of a 2004 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, major cable and telecommunications companies have been lobbying state legislatures to make such initiatives illegal, or legal only under highly constrained conditions. These companies rally under the banner of “telecom reform” in order to gain captured markets for themselves.

As of July 2005, big telecom and cable companies, armed with battalions of lobbyists, have pressured state legislatures with dubious arguments involving “lazy public utilities” and “unfair competition” to get anti-municipal Internet laws passed in 14 states. But also in 2005, communities have rallied against these corporate Goliaths to preserve their rights to establish community Internet infrastructure on their terms and costs—and they have been winning.

As of mid-2005, seven states have successfully repelled attempts at blocking or maiming community Internet initiatives and other communities have made considerable strides.

more ...

[wli]

1. the blogosphere will not survive fascism unchecked n/t