Jon,

The effort for the re-defining of broadband telecommunications is to
allow the local telephone companies to restrict who can offer DSL service
like the cable companies do.  Currently, if broadband is delivered
through telephone lines, any company can offer DSL, including selling the
telephone company's own service bought by FCC order at wholesale prices
to consumers at retail prices.  The current rules also require the local
telephone company to open its facilities to employees of competitors
under the same conditions that the telephone company's own employees
have.  Currently in the united States, there are thousands of dial-up
Internet providers.  the biggest change for this regulation would be that
there likely would emerge only a very small number of broadband
providers, as access to existing cable and telephone networks will be
controlled by the companies that own the networks.  Cable television
companies can restrict and limit which Internet companies, if any, can
provide service on their networks.  The telecoms argue that they need a
level playing field not for the consumer but to compete against cable.

Kelly


----- Original Message -----
From: "John Nissen" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 3:39 PM
Subject: Re: News notes from the national office


Hello Peter,

I'd like to quote one sentence from the news notes:

>The dangerous aspect to this whole issue is
>that the redefining of telecommunications to information could
>place at risk many protections we have come to enjoy under
>previous laws and regulations.

If that they are redefining telecomms to information, it could be
a disaster for all the good work by TRACE and others.  There needs
to be a clear distinction kept between content and delivery.
Thus sites have to be accessible, and the means of gaining access
(using browsers or other agents) has to be accessible.
What were you meaning by "many protections we have come to enjoy"?

Cheers from Chiswick,
where the fall is autumnal..

John
--
In message <[log in to unmask]> [log in to unmask]
writes:
>Hi:
>
>I generally don't forward this weekly announcement of ACB activities,
but
>tI thought several items might be of interest.
>
>Peter
>
>
>
>                NEWS NOTES FROM THE NATIONAL OFFICE
>
>For the week ending September 20, 2002.

[snip]

>      *  Broadband breakfast great!  Next day not so good?
>
>      It's been an interesting week in the world of Washington
>trying to deal with broadband high speed internet deployment and
>accessibility.  ACB Executive Director Charlie Crawford spent one
>morning at a stimulating breakfast in which we were treated to
>mostly free market speeches and scenarios on the issue of what
>may ultimately be the national policy on getting broadband out to
>the people.  Unfortunately the talk with respect to disability
>access seemed to center on subsidies rather than rights to
>information access.  this trend was compounded the next day when
>we attended a strategic meeting at the Federal Communications
>Commission in which there was not a whole lot of urgent talk
>about accessibility, but more concern raised for the technical
>and legal issues.
>
>      While we remain optimistic that broadband will get what it
>needs in the not too distant future from either the FCC or the
>Congress, our need to make sure that the contents delivered by
>broadband and the equipment used in getting that content  will
>have to be advanced through more advocacy than we would have
>otherwise preferred.  The dangerous aspect to this whole issue is
>that the redefining of telecommunications to information could
>place at risk many protections we have come to enjoy under
>previous laws and regulations.

--
Access the word, access the world! -- Try our WordAloud software!!

John Nissen, Cloudworld Ltd., Chiswick, London
Tel:   +44 (0) 845 458 3944 (local rate in the UK)
Fax:   +44 (0) 20 8742 8715
Web:   http://www.cloudworld.co.uk


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