At Supernova 2007, the assistant secretary for communications and information, John Kneuer, lost his temper and began shouting back attendees after taking flack for saying the free market - not government intervention - would protect internet innovation and access.
Kneuer, who previously served with a Washington DC law firm Piper Rudnick representing telecoms companies, fueled the crowd’s anger during a short Supernova presentation, according to The Register. Kneuer’s predecessor, Michael Gallagher, left the NTIA earlier this year to become a paid lobbyist for the cellular industry.
Identifying delegates as “application providers”, he said it was their responsibility to compete with broadband incumbents by offering their own service, founded initially on portions of the 700Mhz spectrum. This spectrum will be sold under auction once terrestrial TV providers complete their move to digital in February 2009.
He told delegates what they really wanted was for the government to mandate terms and conditions of internet service in the US.
“That’s absolutely what you are asking for!” he shouted to counter-shots of “no!” and “there is no market place!”, referring to the fact a handful of phone and cable companies control the lion share of broadband internet access and service in the US.
He ruled out government action on net neutrality, with measures such as safeguarding packet prioritization and quality of service.
“If there is a pro consumer benefit to open access and if consumers need and want that, the carrier that brings that to consumers will have a powerful need and advantage and bring competitive pressures on other access layer providers,” said Kneuer.
“I firmly believe market forces are going to provide even more open networks and access much, much, much better than I can do as a regulator,” he said.
Supernova, the brainchild of Kevin Werbach, assembles people and companies from the converging worlds of computing, telecom, and digital media to put decentralization issues into meaningful social and business contexts. Supernova speakers and sessions ran June 20-22 in San Francisco.
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. They created the first state-by-state report on internet speeds across America (pdf).
Australia this week launched the Australia Connected initiative to roll-out ADSL2+ and WiMax to 99% of Australia by 2009. Sydney-based Unwired, a WiMAX ISP, could be among the worst affected by Opel’s plan to use 3.4GHz spectrum in conjunction with the 5.8GHz band. The nation’s dominant telco, Telstra, is furious at losing the $958 million Broadband Connect funding, and wrote to all federal MPs last week, describing WiMAX as a `technology orphan’.
ConnectKentucky is being hailed in Congress as one model for federal high speed internet policy. Currently, 93 percent of Kentucky homes can access broadband, and ConnectKentucky expects every household to be capable of using high-speed Internet by the end of the year. Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) cited the program’s success when he outlined a national plan for universal high speed internet access.
Ethernet is already built into most computers and related equipment. A wide spectrum of providers now offer metro Ethernet services, and the largest providers are on the verge of introducing nationwide any-to-any service.
Related DailyWireless articles include; Congress: Measure Broadband Better!, Wireless Houston: Size Queen?, Statewide/Nationwide Wireless Broadband, State-wide Wireless Broadband Access, South Carolina Proposes Statewide Free Wireless, Rural Broadband Dying, and Statewide Wimax in Rhode Island.
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