FCC

In this last month, the fight to end the high costs of phone rates in the prison system got a major boost when the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Consumer Advisory Committee (CAC) held its spring meeting and decided to address the high cost of Prison Phone Calls—specifically the FCC’s role in increasing competition for different phone companies, so not one single phone carrier has the monopoly and free reign to inflate their charges that results in low-income families paying up to $6 a minute to call their loved once who are incarcerated.

NAMAC members have mobilized many times in support of strong net neutrality rules that would protect creators of content, as well as its consumers. Outspoken artists were a vital part of the campaign that led to the adoption of the first ever rules by the Federal Communications Commission in 2010. But the future of these net neutrality rules are in doubt, as is the question of whether the FCC can do anything to advance public interest Internet policy.

As I wind down my adventures at the South By Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas this week, I reflect on the fact that the most powerful and poignant moments didn’t actually take place in halls of the Convention Center. The Media Action Grassroots Network (MAG-Net), Brown Paper Tickets and Prometheus Radio Project co-hosted a Sunday brunch with a half a dozen local groups located in and around Austin who were interested in taking advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to start a low-power radio station thanks to the Local Community Radio Act that was passed back in December 2010.