NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Re: FCC Hires Industry Shill to Develop US National Broadband Plan
----- Forwarded message from David Farber <dave@farber.net> ----- Date: Sun, 30 Aug 2009 09:27:18 -0400 From: David Farber <dave@farber.net> Subject: [IP] Re: FCC Hires Industry Shill to Develop US National Broadband Plan Reply-To: dave@farber.net To: ip <ip@v2.listbox.com> Begin forwarded message: From: "Bruce Kushnick" <bruce@newnetworks.com> Date: August 30, 2009 3:21:00 AM EDT To: <dave@farber.net> Subject: RE: [IP] Re: FCC Hires Industry Shill to Develop US National Broadband Plan > Richard Bennett > Research Fellow > Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Washington, DC Excuse me, but who funds ITIF? The position of ITIF has been corporate-friendly and ITIF doesn't disclose its funding sources -- though most believe it is the telcos. Please post a list of your funding sources. "Broadband is a natural duopoly," counters Robert D. Atkinson, president of the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank. Proposals to create a third competitor to take on the telecom and cable companies in most markets, he says, are "misguided." Excuse me, but the 'natural duopoly' was created through the misguided decisions of the Powell-Martin FCC. It has nothing to do with the building out the networks. In fact, there is now ample proof that it was the independent ISPs and CLECs who brought the Internet boom and the largest growth in telecom history. Neither Verizon nor now-AT&T were even in the top 10 of ISPs in 2000. DSL was first brought out by the competitors, like Covad and Northpoint. Telecom has the largest growth in its history because independent ISPS and CLECs sold lines, especially second lines. Then in the 'intermodal era', there was an attack on competitors, from offering them predatory pricing, sub-standard customers services, and finally eliminating their ability to use the networks for internet or even voice competition -- a telecom crash ensued. Or "ITIF comments discussing the economic and technological benefits that would result from the BellSouth-AT&T merger." === guess that didn't work out as planned. http://www.itif.org/index.php?id=96 I like what Free Press wrote: "It's hard to tell from ITIF's Web site or the group's financial disclosures exactly who's funding this operation. Whether Atkinson, Ph.D., is already on the industry payroll -- or just auditioning for the gig -- the beneficiaries of his efforts will undoubtedly be the biggest phone and cable companies." Who Funds ITIF? Who funds Teletruth? Teletruth is a for-profit advocacy group that loses money. The main income is from New Networks research and consulting -- there has been a grant from the California Consumer Protection Board to study phone bills, we perform phone bill auditing of small businesses where we get back monies because of telco mistakes, and class action suit settlements where we helped to create the cases and act as experts. ---Did you know that 10% of the special access lines customers are paying for are missing or that Verizon forgot to give discounts to 40% of small businesses in New Jersey? We take no money from corporations unless disclosed, and we are politically neutral as Tom Allibone, the main auditor, is a conservative republican. Who funds ITIF? Bruce Kushnick. ------------------------------------------- Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/ Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com ----- End forwarded message -----