Omnibus Telecommunications Reform Act of 2007

Hmmm. Sounds good. (4.00 / 1)

There's a structural hurdle for upstate in the patchy broadband service up there. Eliot campaigned on changing that and ensuring universal statewide broadband, so my guess would be that this is the legislative vehicle to achieve this.

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by: Michael Bouldin @ Wed Apr 11, 2007 at 00:49:28 AM UTC

Spitzer Budget (4.00 / 1)

set aside $5 million for rural and inner city broadband access. They will already be trying to do that through ESDC, so I'm not sure if Brodsky's effort is coordinated with Spitzer or not.  Brodsky did propose a less wide-sweeping bill in 2006.

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by: bankbane @ Wed Apr 11, 2007 at 03:04:33 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Great concept... (4.00 / 2)

It is, interestingly enough, not just an upstate thing, either.  I was amazed to learn that cable/broadband access is unavailable in some very dense, urban areas-- for the same reason that there are no banks or grocery stores: residents there are poor (and may not buy services), and the companies have concerns about theft of services and/or vandalism. So, they invest in infrastructure elsewhere, where their business models tell them profits will be higher. 

Brodsky, of anyone, knows the dangers involved in setting up yet another NYS Authority.... but, they were, as they say, "Robert Moses's power tool" for accomplishing mega-scale public works.  Maybe this is a job for that kind of entity.  I wonder how this bill works in conjunction with federal telecommunications laws-- it seems that, over the past several years, municipalities have been losing clout with the cable companies, due to weaker federal laws...

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by: robinia @ Wed Apr 11, 2007 at 02:00:03 AM UTC

It covers all bases (4.00 / 2)

This bill is VERY comprehensive. It makes sure all areas are covered and no area is "redlined" and left out of high speed deployment; it allows statewide video franchising while preserving Local rights (including revenues, services to municipalities, and more); it has important service quality provisions and other consumer and worker protections.  High speed broadband is no longer a luxury. It is a necessity like electricity and highways.  There must be public policy to make sure it gets built, and gets built right.

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by: Laura Unger @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 15:24:44 PM UTC