Senator Ted Stevens Indicted! Maybe NOW the "Tubes" Can Stay Neutral?

Why So Serious?

I try not to get TO political here on this audio blog, but big surprise that Senator Ted Stevens, the former chairman of the Senate's Rules Committee, Appropriations Committee, Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Governmental Affairs, and Senate Ethics would be indicted (SEVEN COUNTS) in a Federal corruption probe.

Yes Mr. Hissy-Fit Mc'Bridge-to-NO-WHERE, the longest serving Republican in the Senate, is being taken down for failing to disclose gifts from private corporations valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I'll always remember him best for his staunch opposition to Net Neutrality, and for delivering us the popular meme about the internet not being a big truck but a series of tubes that movies can get stuck in.

I'm very happy about this. Aside from the obvious schadenfreude, this is a quiet yet big step for protecting communications technologies. I know his indictment alone doesn't radically change the landscape of the debate, but removing any opposition can only be a good thing in my opinion, especially a committee chairman.

America is already behind EVERY other industrialized nation on the planet [to be fair,Q1 2007 we did increase to 24th out of the top 25 countries in terms of broadband penetration barely edging out Australia, but still WAY behind countries like Hong Kong, South Korea, Iceland, and Monaco LINK, Ed.]. We need to maintain neutrality. We're already seeing ISP's toying with data caps, monitoring private traffic, and engaging in other fairly anti-consumer activities. Anyone who would have us commercially divide, or tier, the internet needs to be considered a grave threat to the future of America's telecommunications prowess (the future of our ability to communicate, our commerce, and our competition), and will be someone I will vote against in a heartbeat (McCain I'm looking in your general direction).

We invented the damn thing. We should be guiding it's future. We should be leading it.

More on Ted Steven's indictment.

700MHz Auction Starts Today!

Say "goodbye" to TV over the air, and hopefully "hello" to a faster, more competitive, easier to use data environment.
It all depends on who wins this auction, and the FCC will be posting info on their site.
With the USA falling farther and farther behind every other industrialized country in terms of broadband reach AND speed of our network (coupled with the fact that with no true competition in the ISP arena thanks to a collusive market, we pay more for less), it's getting more and more depressing to think that we invented the damn thing (the internet that is ... I know I know CERN and all that other mess... but come on).
This auction could be a watershed moment in the history of telecommunications. It could radically change how we consume data, how we pay for it. It could help spread fast cheap access to even the most disadvantaged or rural.

Or it could get gobbled up by some mega-corp and we'll continue to pay more for less, subsidizing these industries with tax dollars, paying for horrible service, and languishing behind the rest of the world.

I'll push it even farther. This could seal our irrelevance to the rest of the world. There, I said it.

Anywho, check out the auction at the FCC site, and if you really want to learn more about the players involved, and what impact this could have on us Amuricans, Gizmodo had a great write up that you should check out.

FTC Nixes Net Neutrality

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has turned thumbs down on net neutrality. In a report on broadband availability and connectivity, the FTC found little reason to protect consumers and content providers from attempts by large telecommunications providers to charge more for faster delivery.
someaudioguy some audio guy ftc federal trade voice over demo voice acting production copyright
read more | digg story