FCC Chairman Tom 'Dingo' Wheeler Confronted By NM State Senator Jacob Candelaria

[dsteve01]

From my blog at http://www.southwestmuckraker.com/?p=208



<strong>Below is a video I captured and edited from the meet-and-greet with residents who would really like broadband. Had to edit it down for time.</strong>

<strong>Monday Night</strong>. Going to a 'sit-down' with a certain FCC Chairman I affectionately refer to as 'el Dingo'. I was escorted by a small security battalion (no picture because I didn't want them to question my camera) into the main hall. It was a little frustrating at first. Youth coordinator got bogged down by technology problems, demanded the Dingo address the problem of 'What is the FCC', then made several high school students give a Websters definition of the FCC. After that, they turned down the lights--then I took out my camera.







Bush messed up the internet. He classified internet carriers as 'non-common', which was dramatic shift for normal telecommunications industry. I honestly see Mr. Wheeler as an extension of that dynasty. What we have, now, is a power-play for the collusion two (2) of the most disgusting corporations in North America: Warner Time Cable and Comcast--enabled by Wheeler.

Throughout the whole 'community advisement', he refused to answer the one adult question proposed to him by the 'adult' portion of the audience and several confrontations with State Senator Jacob Candelaria and members of the audience.

Or if the clip doesn't work, try these below petitions. That will give you something to do--if your internet is on.

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<blockquote>http://medialiteracyproject.org/blog/fcc-chairman-visits-new-mexico


<em>
Media Literacy Project and the Digital Justice Coalition of New Mexico in collaboration with the Center for Media Justice and Free Press are happy to announce that the Chairman of the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) will be visiting Albuquerque on Monday, June 30th. We will be hosting Nuestras Voces/Our Voices: A Youth Dialogue with FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler at the South Broadway Cultural Center from 6:30pm to 8:00pm that day.</em>

Nuestras Voces/Our Voices will be a space for youth and their families from across New Mexico to have an open conversation with the chairman on a wide range of media justice issues such as telehealth, net neutrality, prison phones, rural broadband access, improved internet in schools and libraries, the lifeline program, and the recent telecommunications mergers.

At a time when New Mexico ranks last among the 50 states in the number of people that can get online at home, last in child well-being and second in population living below the poverty line, it is critical that we share our stories and continue working for media justice in our state.</blockquote>

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<blockquote>http://act.freepress.net/sign/consol_comcast_twc/?source=website_topic_list



This merger would put more than a third of all cable-TV subscribers in Comcast’s hands and give it control over more than half of the “triple-play” services that combine TV, phone and Internet service. Don’t forget, Comcast already owns NBC, MSNBC, Universal Studios and tons of cable networks. That means that for most of America, Comcast could control even more of what you see and how you see it.

Putting this much power in the hands of one company is dangerous. This deal would lead to less consumer choice, less diversity and much higher cable bills.

<strong>This is a fight we can win. Tell the FCC and the DoJ to stop this merger.</strong></blockquote>

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<blockquote>southwestmuckraker.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/begging.jpg Only 2.6 million families of the 7.2 million families making under $35,000 in Comcast’s service area are eligible for the program, as it only applies to families with children eligible for federal free or reduced price lunch. Of that 2.6 million, a mere 300,000 families have applied," the City Council wrote. "Free or affordable access should also be provided to family and individual recipients of income-qualifying federal, state and city subsidies. Loopholes that deny 'Internet Essentials' to old customers, those who have missed bill[s] in the past, or those who have unreturned equipment must also be closed."

[. . .]

Comcast did get support from a couple of business consortiums. "[T]his merger will create a world-class media and technology company that will provide superior service to customers, and continue to deliver on the requirements set forth in the city's cable franchise agreement," according to the <a href="https://www.abny.org">Association for a Better New York</a>.

The http://pfnyc.org">Partnership for New York City</a>" argued that the merger "will bring the benefits of Comcast's industry-leading technologies to millions of New Yorkers," including faster Internet speeds and Wi-Fi access.</blockquote>

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<blockquote>http://www.freepress.net/blog/2014/02/12/online-equity-we-need-net-neutrality



The FCC simply needs to reverse a mistake it made in the Bush era and reclassify broadband Internet services.

If the FCC states that broadband should be treated as a telecommunications service, our problems are solved. Reclassifying would mean that our Internet service providers are common carriers, just like our phone companies are, and it would obligate them to treat the content that flows on their networks in a nondiscriminatory way.

But nothing will happen if we don’t speak up. Call on the FCC to do the right thing and fix this mess once and for all.</blockquote>

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