The Daily Show joined many others in being outraged at FCC Commissioner Baker leaving the FCC to work for Comcast-NBC a few months after approving the deal. That subject is toward the end of this four minute clip:
I would be seriously surprised if investigations turned up any quid pro quo in this situation. The real problem is the revolving door in Washington, DC. I doubt that Commissioner Baker knew she would go to work for Comcast specifically after leaving the FCC, but you can be damn sure she knew she would eventually make a lot of money working for one of the large corporate interests on whose behalf she tended to advocate while on the FCC.
There are very real reasons why many people have lost faith in the idea government. The actions of people like Commissioner Baker are a significant part of it. Free Press is drawing attention to this matter and has warned against the revolving door for years.
Whether people will be sufficiently outraged to force a real change in DC remains to be seen but seems unlikely. This is yet another reason we seek and promote ways for communities to build their own networks -- communities that own the networks on which they depend are less reliant on policymakers in DC "getting it right." Local governments are far more accountable to constituents.
So while we try to fix DC, let's remember why more decisions should be made locally.
Driven by past successes with city-owned fiber and Wi-Fi, Newark New Jersey has announced the city is significantly expanding the availability of $20/month broadband service to numerous Newark Housing Authority (NHA) apartment buildings. A partnership with Adrena leans heavily on Newark Fiber, a 288-strand city-owned fiber network that has been a cornerstone of the city’s efforts to revitalize and assist many lower income – and long neglected – Newark neighborhoods.
James (Jim) Baller’s trailblazing career was honored at the 50th Anniversary Gala of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) in Washington D.C. this week where he was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Mark your calendars for the April 30 Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) Rally and upcoming Building for Digital Equity Event focused on Pathways to Affordable Connectivity.
In a setback to efforts aimed at enhancing broadband access across Wisconsin, the state Senate this week dealt a blow to three key bills aimed at improving various aspects of broadband provision.
The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund was supposed to drive affordable fiber into vast swaths of long-underserved parts of rural America. But the program has been plagued with problems since its inception, putting both current and future broadband funding opportunities at risk. French-owned cable company Altice is the latest to announce it would be defaulting on 18 census block groups in Louisiana.
Massachusetts and New York officials hope to entice affordable housing property owners with new grant programs that would pay the retrofitting costs to expand high-speed Internet connectivity into decades-old affordable housing developments. Given that many of these multi-dwelling units (MDUs) were built before the advent of the Internet, a significant number of low-income tenants are living in buildings that are not wired to support reliable broadband connections or where residents can’t afford monopoly provider prices.