telecom policy
The Awesome Power of Information Infrastructure—And You
The first great awakening that struck me when I took office as FCC Commissioner in 2001 was the awesome power of information infrastructure to propel America’s progress in the 21st century and to enhance our civic dialogue. As broadband took root, those with eyes to see quickly came to see that there was no problem confronting our nation—lack of jobs, inadequate health care, growing energy dependence, deteriorating environment, lack of equal opportunity—that did not have a broadband component as part of its solution.
Smart Spectrum Policy Could Open the Airwaves for Artists
For the last few weeks, Antoinette Conti has been staring down at me from the sky, and she’s giving me the creeps. The subject of a photograph by artist Zoe Strauss, Conti’s image looms large on a billboard titled “La Corona” in my neighborhood. It’s part of Strauss’ Billboard Project, in which 54 of her images are placed around Philadelphia, coinciding with an exhibit of the artist’s work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
NAMAC Policy News Roundup
Each month, NAMAC will look back at the last few weeks for a quick overview of some of the stories we've been watching. We hope you'll find them interesting, too.
September started off with a bang as the Department of Justice moved to block the AT&T / T-Mobile merger.
A Short Overview of Native American Telecommunications Issues
Tribal lands are among the worst served communities in terms of telecommunications in the United States. According to a 2006 GAO report, only about 69% of households on tribal lands had telephone service in 2000.1
Q&A: Alex Curtis, The Creators' Freedom Project
Earlier this month, I chatted with Alex Curtis from Public Knowledge's Creators' Freedom Project, a new initiative that is focused on helping artists promote themselves in the digital world. The Creators' Freedom Project is currently developing case studies that will serve as business models for other artists to follow. So far, Nashville-based Indie-Pop quartet Parachute Musical is the Creators' Freedom Project's first case study. I talked to Alex Curtis about how The Creators' Freedom Project got started and what they hope to accomplish.
One-Question Q&A: Vanessa Graber, Prometheus Radio Project
"If community radio geeks could have a holiday, it would certainly be celebrated with a barnraising."
Engaging with Net Neutrality
In the wake of Google-Verizon’s joint policy proposal, people are taking the battle of net neutrality to the streets in a way I haven’t seen before.
Public Space in Cyberspace: Library Advocacy in the Information Age
Changing the Channel: What the FCC’s Recent Decision on Media Ownership Means for Independent Producers...
Corporate Media and the Threat to Democracy
Where is the "public interest" in media now? Why has there been virtually no public debate about the 1996 Telecommunications Bill, one of the most important pieces of legislation of this generation? How are global corporate interests so ruthlessly and efficiently determining the course and discourse of our information and communications delivery systems?
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If so, send your updated info to Aggie Ebrahimi Bazaz at aggie [at] namac [dot] org!
