As he promised to do a couple of months ago, Congressman Eric Massa has introduced legislation to protect consumers from price gouging at the hands of Internet service providers (ISPs).
The bill is known as the Broadband Internet Fairness Act (H.R. 2902) and was inspired by what happened in the Rochester area with Time Warner Cable in April. In April, Time Warner Cable was set to begin "consumption based billing" trials in the Rochester area, as well as a handful of other regions across the country. After hearing from constituents and their outrage with this proposal by Time Warner Cable, Massa took on Time Warner Cable and after a lot of pressure was applied, Time Warner Cable eventually halted the trials.
But that did not stop Massa. He promised at the time that he would introduce legislation to address this issue and that's exactly what he did on Wednesday.
This is a summary from Massa that details what the Broadband Internet Fairness Act would do:
The Broadband Internet Fairness Act will prevent the monopolistic rate increases of broadband companies by promoting the interests of broadband customers. Specifically the bill:
- Requires internet service providers (ISPs) to submit plans to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in consultation with the FCC if they plan to move to a usage-based plan;
- Prohibits volume usage plans if the FTC determines that these plans are imposing rates, terms, and conditions that are unreasonable or discriminatory;
- Sets up public hearings for plans submitted to the FTC for public review and input;
- Only affects internet providers with 2 million or more subscribers;
- Imposes penalties for broadband ISPs that ignore these rules.
Time Warner Cable's consumption based billing would have charges customers who use the Internet frequently up to $150 a month for Internet usage. In that $150 a month is $75 a month for the "turbo" package that Time Warner Cable would have set up, which would give 100 GB of usage per month. But if you go over that, the overage fees max out at $75. Meaning, if you use your 100 GB for that month and go over the max amount, your Internet will cost you $150 for that month.
That is where Massa came in and decided that legislation was necessary to address this important issue.
"Access to the internet has become a critical part of our economy and we can't let corporate giants limit the public's access to this important tool," said Congressman Eric Massa. "The Broadband Internet Fairness Act is all about protecting consumers from outrageous internet overcharges and giving the public a voice in this process. I have taken lots of time to work on this bill and have consulted with my constituents and industry experts. Now the hard work of passing this bill begins."
"Cable providers want to stifle the internet so they can rake in advertiser dollars by keeping consumers from watching video on the Internet. But so long as Americans can't choose which cable channels they want to pay for, I don't think cable operators should be able to determine consumers' monthly internet usage. Additionally, charging based on a bandwidth usage is a flawed model when the cost of usage is totally out of line with the price. Consumers are much better served by plans based on the speed of the connection rather than amount of bandwidth used. Competition is crucial to our economy and I refuse to let monopolistic corporations dominate the market and gouge my constituents."
This bill is important, considering Time Warner Cable apparently hasn't given up on consumption based billing and similar plans could be utilized by other ISPs in the future. Glenn Britt, CEO of Time Warner Cable, said this at the time: "It is clear from the public response over the last two weeks that there is a great deal of misunderstanding about our plans to roll out additional tests on Consumption Based Billing. As a result, we will not proceed with implementation of additional tests until further consultation with our customers and other interested parties, ensuring that community needs are being met. While we continue to believe that Consumption Based Billing may be the best pricing plan for consumers, we want to do everything we can to inform our customers of our plans and have the benefit of their views as part of our testing process."
That was April 16. Nothing further can be found regarding consumption based billing on Time Warner Cable's website, which used to display information (at least in April) about consumption based billing prominently on its website.
Time Warner Cable has recently expanded its program of capping broadband internet usage, something it has been testing in Texas for some time now. The recent expansion includes some upstate markets like Rochester.
Web users, the meter is running. In a strategy that's likely to rankle consumers but be copied by competitors, Time Warner Cable is pressing ahead with a plan to charge Internet customers based on how much Web data they consume. Starting next month, the company will introduce tiered pricing in several markets.
In April, Time Warner Cable will begin collecting information on its customers' Internet use in the Texas cities of Austin and San Antonio and in Rochester, N.Y. Consumption billing will begin in those cities later this summer. In Greensboro, N.C., the billing changes will begin sooner. Spun off from Time Warner this month, Time Warner Cable had been testing a plan to meter Internet usage in Beaumont, Tex., since last year.
By charging a premium to the heaviest broadband users, much the same way cell-phone providers collect fees from subscribers who exceed their allotted minutes, Time Warner would upend a longstanding pricing strategy among Internet service providers. Typically, phone and cable companies charge flat fees for unlimited access to the Web. "We need a viable model to be able to support the infrastructure of the broadband business," Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt says in an interview. "We made a mistake early on by not defining our business based on the consumption dimension." Time Warner Cable has 8.4 million broadband customers.
Congressman Eric Massa is having none of this and makes an interesting and I think effective argument against the practice. From an emailed press release:
Today Congressman Eric Massa announced his opposition to Time Warner's monopolistic plan to charge customers for broadband internet based on the amount of information they download. Time Warner's decision to make this move is part of an ill-conceived test marketing plan which will charge customers for internet usage much like cell phones. The problem is that by doing so, broadband internet users' usage will obviously take a steep decline or else middle income families will see outrageous internet bills.
"Just at a time when access to information is driving our economic recovery, Time Warner is moving to stagnate the 21st Century technology needed to rebuild America," said Congressman Eric Massa.
Additionally, now that the internet has become an essential communications tool used by most Americans, there are broad and sweeping First Amendment issues at stake as well.
"Internet access is as essential to our economy as water is to our survival," said Congressman Eric Massa. "With limited choices in broadband providers, and virtual monopolies in many market areas, I view this as nothing more than a large corporation making a move to force customers into paying more money. I firmly oppose capping internet usage and I will be taking a leadership role in stopping this outrageous, job killing initiative."
Killing such a plan legislatively will be a real tough undertaking, but it's one worth pursuing. Massa is correct that this is a bad plan and one that is especially unhelpful in the middle of a recession that is further depressing the upstate economy.
I wish Massa luck with this. He's going to need it.
The subject of broadband penetration is one we've been talking about for quite some time here at TAP. We tried our best to push Assemblyman Richard Brodsky's Telecom Reform Act and were supportive overall of Eliot Spitzer's broadband efforts as well. We've tried to point out that any plan to revitalize the upstate economy should absolutely incorporate broadband penetration as a large part of such a plan.
Those who have been reading this site for a while now know that many of us are in rural locales with limited, if any, broadband access. Many community members are on dial up even though they live in more urban settings.
There is a difference between available and accessible. In New York City, practically every household has at least one option for moderate-speed Internet service. Most have two: Time Warner and Cablevision connect to 98% of households and Verizon offers DSL to 87%.
Yet less than half of the city purchases the service. Broadband adoption rates in the Bronx rival those in rural America. Three quarters of low income households throughout the city do not have their own broadband connection. If you are a New Yorker reading this from your home, you are in a privileged minority.
Most efforts to address this problem focus on what's called "demand-side stimulation." That means trying to convince people to purchase a computer and an at-home broadband connection because, well, what crazy person wouldn't purchase an Internet connection when they could? The problem must be in the people who aren't on the Internet, rather than with the Internet itself. Of course, the people who have this idea all use the Internet every day and can't imagine life without it.
If we're going to make the Internet work for the other half of my city - and the other half of the country - we're going to have to ask the people who know the Internet's problems to help design the solutions.
Internet for Everyone has just launched a great series of videos titled "Five Days on the Digital Dirt Road" where they have traveled around the state of North Carolina. They've been talking to folks about their experiences and the many shortcomings of the broadband situation where they live. They are even organizing a Town Hall meeting that folks can attend in person or online.
This is one of the videos from NC, but I'm sure there are plenty of folks from around NY who can realte all too well to this man's experience.
I'd love to see such a campaign here in New York with Town Halls and the input of folks from across the Empire State. Maybe we could light a fire under the policy makers who continue to punt on this ever more important issue.
Eliot and Silda Wall Spitzer are announcing the formation of a new council to study ways to deliver high speed internet services to everyone in New York State. The announcement will happen at 9am and there is a webcast of it available here.
What, if anything, this means for the Brodsky Bill is unclear. From an emailed press release:
GOVERNOR ELIOT SPITZER AND FIRST LADY SILDA WALL SPITZER LAUNCH EFFORT TO ENSURE AFFORDABLE HIGH-SPEED INTERNET FOR EVERY NEW YORKER
State Forms Broadband Council to Support Key Component of "I Live NY" Initiative
Governor Eliot Spitzer and First Lady Silda Wall Spitzer today announced the formation of the New York State Council for Universal Broadband, which is charged with developing strategies to ensure every New Yorker has access to affordable, high-speed internet service. Additionally, a Request for Proposal will be released on Friday, December 7th, to begin the process of distributing funds that were allocated in this year's budget for competitive grants to research, design and implement accessible Internet for underserved areas of New York. Governor Spitzer made the announcement at the New York Farm Bureau's Annual Meeting, held this year at the Niagara Falls Convention Center.
Increased access to broadband service combined with digital literacy programs can dramatically improve social, cultural and educational opportunities that ultimately lead to increased job creation and economic development. This Universal Broadband initiative is a key component of the First Lady's I Live New York initiative aimed at attracting and retaining New York's next generation.
"As we build an Innovation Economy we must make New York the most connected and technologically advanced place to live and do business in the world," said Governor Spitzer. "Internet access is no longer a luxury. We must implement a strategy that leads to every New Yorker having access to affordable, high-speed Internet so that they may take advantage of the economic, social and cultural opportunities it provides."
Lieutenant Governor David A. Paterson said: "This new investment in the expansion of high speed internet access for our neglected urban and rural communities both narrows the digital divide and also moves us towards closing a long standing economic one. I am pleased that minority and women-owned enterprises, which have not gotten their fair shake at doing business with the state, will be required to take part in this work to make high speed internet available to more New Yorkers. The Governor and the First Lady, working together, are taking a significant step forward for real economic justice."
First Lady Silda Wall Spitzer said: "Developing innovative strategies and collaborative partnerships is at the core of our I Live New York initiative. At our September 18th summit, young people identified access to digital services as a key determinant in their decisions of where to live and work. I'm so pleased Dr. Mayberry-Stewart and the Broadband Council have taken the lead to expand broadband service across our state. Universal and affordable access to the tools of the 21st Century is paramount to keeping our next generation in New York and for our state's competitiveness on the global stage."
John Lincoln, President of New York Farm Bureau, said: "Farm Bureau has long recognized the need for broadband access in rural areas, where most of our members do business. Broadband is an essential business tool that our farmers require to compete in a global economy. We are grateful that Governor Spitzer is taking this initiative as part of a bigger effort to revitalize the Upstate economy."
More, including the members of the new council, on the flip...
There was yet another conference about upstate economic development yesterday. It was the last in a series of meetings and it apears they discussed pretty much what they discuss at all of these things. R&D tax credits, private capital for entrepreneurship. Blah, blah, blah.
But Gundersen and Foye also talked about some of upstate's infrastructure needs, from improved highways and wider access to broadband Internet connections to better air and rail service.
"Broadband is perhaps the best tool we have to connect our communities across upstate," Gundersen said.
Bingo. It's not as sexy (or corrupt) as yet another Empire Zone, but it's something that will actually work and impact the lives of regular folks.
Want to begin the revitalization of the economy upstate?
Remember my post about Net Neutrality and the Brodsky Bill?
Net Neutrality is the realization of the First Amendment, except on the digital plane. Remember, Free Speech is government regulation. Imagine the ridiculousness of claiming that we don't need the Bill of Rights, because "the market will sort it out". Same deal with Net Neutrality.
In case the term Net Neutrality confuses you, Public Knowledge has crafted a quick three minute clip explaining the idea in an elegant and clean manner.
Really, watch it. It'll only take less than three minutes, and explains the whole deal very well.
(Sayhar has written a couple of great pieces about the Brodsky bill and net neutrality over at Rochester Turning. I asked if he would cross post and he has agreed. Thanks, Sayhar. - promoted by phillip anderson)
Most of the bill is concerned with giving great cheap broadband to most every New Yorker. I know it's a bit cliched to say it, but this really could be a modern-day analogue to the Erie Canal. Like the Erie Canal, however, it has to be used for the public good, and not for corporate short-sighted interest.
To that end, the bill also has Net Neutrality provisions. Let those good folks at the Save The Internet Coalition explain the concept:
National ISPs (like Verizon) can block your access to national sites (like Google), and stop any exciting new entrepreneur that threatens their grip on power.
Net Neutrality can affect you personally. Without it, there is no way to stop a rich local businessman from bribing roadrunner into censoring your competing website. For that matter, if we piss off the local Republican Party too much, they could bribe local ISPs to stop you all from accessing Rochester Turning.
I sat in on Eric Massa's weekly blogger conference call this morning and he greeted me with words of strong support for our effort to urge the Governor to support the Telecom Reform Act. The topic of this week's call was economic renewal in western New York and what he plans to do to help foster such a renewal. I think it goes without saying that any plan to spur the long depressed economy out there must surely include bringing broadband services to those populations. That said, let's not forget that all that fiber optic cable has to be laid and installed by real people, with real skills. The first wave of job creation to come from implementing Brodsky's bill will come from the very work of building out that much needed infrastructure and there is much, much work to be done.
The USA trails other industrialized nations in high-speed Internet access and may never catch up unless quick action is taken by public-policymakers, a report commissioned by the Communications Workers of America warns.
The median U.S. download speed now is 1.97 megabits per second - a fraction of the 61 megabits per second enjoyed by consumers in Japan, says the report released Monday. Other speedy countries include South Korea (median 45 megabits), France (17 megabits) and Canada (7 megabits).
"We have pathetic speeds compared to the rest of the world," CWA President Larry Cohen says. "People don't pay attention to the fact that the country that started the commercial Internet is falling woefully behind."
It's time for New York to take the lead. If you want broadband built out to a minimum of 85% of the state, if you want strong net neutrality protections, if you want cheaper rates for cable through real competition and if you want to do something real and concrete to breathe new life into the upstate economy, Please Call the Governor and ask him to support Assemblyman Brodsky's Telecommunications Reform Act.
Person I spoke with said this was not one of the issues they were currently tracking.
The governor's office isn't tracking upstate economic renewal? or internet freedom? or the most significant reform of telecom law in New York ever?
It is imperative that we put this issue on Mr. Spitzer's radar. If you haven't yet done so, Please Call The Governor and ask him to support the bill. You can reach his office at 518-474-8390.
If they tell you they aren't tracking this, tell them they should start!
(Bumped. Have YOU called the Governor yet? - promoted by phillip anderson)
The Legislature left Albany last week with much unfinished business. The Governor issued a statement expressing his disappointment with lawmakers for so abruptly abandoning a number of viatl pieces of legislation before leaving for home.
This record is totally unacceptable.
New Yorkers expect and deserve dedicated and aggressive action to revive the upstate economy and reform state government.
...
In the days and weeks ahead, I will be traveling the state to remind lawmakers of their obligation to address pressing issues.
Mr. Spitzer lists many of the issues left unresolved by the legislature including Wicks law reform, paid family leave and power plant siting legislation. But, one of the most significant bills introduced in Albany in years didn't seem to make his list, Assemblyman Brodsky's Telecommunications Reform Act of 2007, a bill that would certainly qualify as "dedicated and aggressive action to revive the upstate economy" by requiring the buildout of high speed broadband infrastructure to a minimum of 85% of the state, something desperately needed by under served and economically depressed communities upstate. It would also protect net neutrality, bring cheaper cable and telephone rates through increased competition and allow New York to once again be a progressive, innovative model for other states to follow.
Quite a coalition of support has coalesced around the bill since its introduction including NYS Rural Advocates, NYPIRG, Common Cause, Jobs With Justice, Citizen Action, Rural Opportunities Inc, New York State Alliance for Retired Americans, Consumers Union and ACORN among others. Much of the credit for assembling this coalition goes tp Pete Sikora at the Communications Workers of America who has done a fantastic job of building support for the bill against its only known opponents, namely the cable companies and Verizon (and by extension, Joe Bruno and the Republican state Senators who represent those upstate New Yorkers who stand to benefit most from passage of the bill.)
I've written about the bill here several times and want to explain again why I and so many others believe it to be the "gold standard" in state telecom legislation (or as Pete Sikora put it, "the best thing since sliced bread") but first I want to ask you to do something to get this bill back on the governor's radar. Please call Mr. Spitzer's office and ask him to support this bill. You can reach his office at 518-474-8390.
We know that the Governor has a long history of supporting consumers over corporations. He also campaigned on expanding broadband infrastructure to underserved upstate communities and has often expressed his vocal support for net neutrality such as when he wrote to Senator Ted Stevens (.pdf) last year:
Net neutrality embodies the principle of open access and nondiscriminatory treatment of all internet users and content providers. Net neutrality has made the internet a powerful promoter of public discourse and commercial exchange, affording to users throughout all parts of the nation and the world and unlimited array of information, news, opinion and entertainment. Net neutrality has also fostered robust competition by content providers, without regard to ownership of the backbone facilities over which Internet traffic travels.
We need to let the Governor know that not only do we want what this bill provides (and he has repeatedly advocated for) but that there is a constituency of support for him when he takes on this fight. Call him at 518-474-8390 and ask him to support this bill.
Just saw this over at Noel's place. I'm reposting it in its entirety and not just because he gives us a shout out.
THIS IS HUGE... After spending a week discussing with the global south about the digital divide, I find my self back in NYC, amazed at Council Member Brewer's staff bridging our own digital divide. The Council Member's office is not using a multi-million dollar communications platform developed by a government contractor, but by a simple blogspot blog.
New York City Broadband Advisory Committee will hold its first public hearing on Friday, March 30, from 10 am to Noon, in the Gould Memorial Library Auditorium, Bronx Community College, University Avenue at W. 181st Street. (Directions).
Council Member Gale A. Brewer, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr. and Bronx Community College President Carolyn Williams will all make opening remarks. The Committee will then hear testimony from members of the general public, including concerned citizens and senior citizens from Bronx senior centers. After the official testimony period, anyone from the audience is invited -- and encouraged -- to speak.
If you cannot make it to the hearing on March 30, we still want to hear from you! You can comment about the issue of broadband in New York City by going to the Advisory Committee's blog (http://nycbroadband.blogspot.com/). Comments will then be posted on the Committee's blog for public consumption. Or you can mail any questions or comments to Colleen Pagter, Policy Analyst for the Committee on Technology in Government, New York City Council, 250 Broadway, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10007.
As a former NY State Senate Staffer to Senate Minority Leader Paterson, now Lt. Governor, I feel the pain of the most populous City in America. Even though New York is the third populous state in America and New York City is larger than Los Angeles and Chicago combined, our Municipal and State governments still don't have the tools to communicate WITH it's constituents. If you can't make it to the Bronx, post a comment and by all means pay attention to the Albany Project.
