MONTHS
MONTHS ABOUT HOW CERTAIN PARTS OF WESTERN NEW YORK
HAVE BEEN LEFT
BEHIND WHEN IT
COMES TO BROADBAND
INTERNET ACCESS.
AND THIS WEEK... WE
GOT A CHANCE TO ASK
SPECIFICALLY ABOUT
THE PROBLEM HERE...
IN A CONVERSATION
WITH THE CHAIRMAN OF
THE F-C-C.
OUR NATE BENSON HAS
ALL THE DETAILS ON
THAT IN THIS "2 ON
YOUR SIDE" ORIGINAL.
"SO
"SO FOR
"SO FOR THOSE AMERICANS WHO HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO
BENEFIT FROM IT, WE
WANT TO MAKE SURE
GOING FORWARD THAT
TO THE MAXIMUM
EXTENT POSSIBLE,
YOU'RE ABLE TO GET
ACCESS TO DO THE
SAME THINGS THAT WE
USE IT FOR IT WHETHER
IT'S DOING YOUR
SCHOOLWORK OR
STREAMING BLAST
DANCE OR TIGER KING,
ALL OF THESE THINGS
ARE ONLY POSSIBLE
BECAUSE OF
BROADBAND."
THAT WAS FCC
CHAIRMAN AJIT PAI ON A
WEBINAR THURSDAY .
HE WAS TALKING ABOUT
ACCESS TO BROADBAND
DURING THE PANDEMIC
AND EMPHASIZED THE
NEED TO ENSURE
EVERYONE IS
CONNECTED, BUT HOW
DO WE DO THAT? ONE
POPULAR IDEA IS
MAKING BROADBAND A
UTILITY.
NOW THIS IS A COMPLEX
ISSUE, AND I COULD GO
INTO THE WEEDS ALL
DAY ON THIS - BUT IN
THE SIMPLEST TERMS
THE ISSUE IS THIS:
SINCE DAY ONE, THE
FREE MARKET HAS
DICTATED WHERE AND
WHEN AREAS WILL GET
BROADBAND SERVICE.
AND HOW HAS THAT
WORKED? WELL THERE
ARE STILL POCKETS OF
THE UNITED STATES
THAT DON'T HAVE
ACCESS. EVEN IN OUR
OWN BACK YARD THERE
ARE HUG GAPS WHEN IT
COMES TO BROADBAND
ACCESS.
AND FOR DECADES IT'S
BEEN DEBATED
WHETHER BROADBAND
SHOULD BE
CONSIDERED A UTILITY,
LIKE YOUR GAS
COMPANY. WE ALL KNOW
HOW THAT WORKS, YOU
HAVE A HOUSE, A GAS
LINE IS RUN TO IT AND
YOU'RE GOOD TO GO.
WHY CAN'T BROADBAND
BE THE SAME TYPE OF
SYSTEM? WELL
BROADBAND
TECHNOLOGY IS
CONSTANTLY CHANGING,
WHEREAS THE GAS LINE
RUNNING TO YOUR
HOUSE WAS PROBABLY
INSTALLED 80 YEARS
AGO AND STILL
DELIVERS THE SAME
CONSISTENT SERVICE.
MARTHA SOT 6:49 - "IN
THE CHAIRMAN'S
STATEMENT TODAY, HE
TALKED ABOUT HOW
IMPORTANT HOW
CRITICAL THIS IS. AND
THEN HE WENT ON TO
SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW,
WE GOT TO, IT NEEDS TO
MAKE FINANCIAL SENSE.
HE DIDN'T SAY IT NEEDS
TO MAKE FINANCIAL
SENSE. BUT THAT WAS
THE IMPLICATION HE
NEVER SAID, THE MAGIC
WORDS OF PUBLIC
PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP.
THE UTILITY OR PRIVATE
PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP
MODEL DOES EXIST IN
SEVERAL HUNDRED
COMMUNITIES IN THE
THE U.S. CHATANOOGA,
TENNESSEE IS THE
POPULAR EXAMPLE. THE
COMMUNITY THERE
VOTED TO INSTALL A
COMMUNITY-OWNED
BROADBAND NETWORK
AND THEY HAVE ACCESS
TO 100MB SPEEDS FOR
ROUGHLY $30. THAT HAS
FORCED LARGER
PROVIDERS IN THAT CITY
TO PROVIDE BETTER
SERVICE AT CHEAPER
PRICES.
PRICES. SO WHY ISN'T THIS HAPPENING
EVERYWHERE - WELL,
IT'S A FUNDAMENTAL
ARGUMENT ABOUT FREE
MARKETS AND BIG
GOVERNMENT.
JOEL THAYER AND
MARTHA BUYER ARE
TWO
TELECOMMUNICATION
TWO TELECOMMUNICATION REGULATION EXPERTS I
SPOKE TO AND THEY
PROVIDED THEIR
THOUGHTS ON
BROADBAND AS A
UTILITY AND PRIVATE-
PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP
THAYER IS AN
ATTORNEY FOR PHILLIPS
LYTTLE AND OPERATES
OUT OF WASHINGTON
D.C.
THAYER SAYS A UTILITY
SYSTEM WOULDN'T BE
THE SAME AS THE
ELECTRIC OR GAS
COMPANY AND THE
EASIEST WAY FOR
BETTER SERVICE TO GET
DEPLOYED IN
COMMUNITIES IS FOR
LOCAL AND STATE
GOVERNMENTS TO GET
OUT OF THE WAY.
- "FROM MY FROM MY
PERSPECTIVE, THE
BIGGEST BARRIER TO
EMPLOYMENT HAS TO
BE WHAT YOU'RE SEEING
AT THE STATE AND
LOCAL LEVEL.
WE'RE ACTUALLY
SEEING IN TERMS OF
DEPLOYMENT IS SOME
OF THE ADVERSE
REACTIONS TO A LOT OF
THESE SEC
PROCEDURES OR LAWS,
SEC ORDERS AT THE
STATE LEVEL AND
PARTICULARLY ON THE
PERMITTING SIDE OF
THINGS"
WHICH IS TRUE - WE
REPORTED BACK IN
OCTOBER ABOUT SOME
OF THE
INCONSISTENCIES THE
CITY OF BUFFALO
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC
WORKS WAS HAVING
WITH REGARDS TO
PERMITTING FEES. SOME
COMPANIES WOULD BE
CHARGED DIFFERENTLY
THAN OTHERS. AND THE
INCONSISTENT
PERMITTING FORCED
COMPANIES TO AVOID
COMING TO BUFFALO,.
BUT ATTORNEY MARTHA
BUYER IS A PROPONE NT
OF T PUBLIC-PRIVATE
PARTNERSHIPS FOR
BROADBAND, SIMILAR TO
THE ELECTRIFICATION
OF RURAL COMMUNITIES
IN THE 20TH CENTURY -
PRIVATE BUSINESSES
ALONE WON'T DO IT.
"A PUBLIC PRIVATE
PARTNERSHIP IS THE WAY TO GO. NOBODY IS GOING TO PAY TO BUILD
TOWERS TO SERVE A
FEW PEOPLE, WHEN
THEY CAN MAKE MUCH
MORE MONEY SERVING
COMMUNITIES THAT ARE
ADEQUATE, AND WHERE
THERE'S WHERE
THERE'S A MAJOR
DEMAND.
DEMAND. SO WE THINK WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT
CREATING AND
SUSTAINING DEMAND.
AND WE NEED TO
FIGURE OUT HOW WE'RE
GOING TO PAY FOR IT
AND AND PRIVATE ALONE
ISN'T GOING TO DO IT"
BUT WE'VE HIGHLIGHTED
PROBLEMS WITH THAT
THAT BEING SAID, WHEN
THE NEW YORK STATE
IMPLEMENTED ITS
BROADBAND PROGRAM
WITH PRIVATE
PARTNERSHIP THERE
HAVE BEEN CONSISTENT
PROBLEMS AND BROKEN
PROMISES.
SO WHY IS THIS STILL A
FIGHT? BECAUSE THE
ANSWER ISN'T CUT AND
DRY, AND EVEN THOSE
WE WENT RIGHT TO THE
TOP OF THE FCC KNOW
THERE IS A
BROADBANDDO? KEEP
MESSAGING ME WITH
YOUR ISSUES GAINING
ACCESS AND
CALL/EMAIL/TWEET AT
YOUR LOCAL
LAWMAKERS AND
DEMAND ACCESS AND
OPTIONS. REPORTING IN
BUFFALO NATE BENSON
DEMAND
DEMAND ACCESS AND OPTIONS. REPORTING IN BUFFALO NATE BENSON
CH
CH 2
CH 2 NEWS. 5:56