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Cable Lobby Tries To Make You Forget That It Represents Cable Companies (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: The U.S. cable industry's biggest lobby group has dropped the word "cable" from its name in a rebrand focusing on its members' role as providers of both Internet and TV services. The National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) will henceforth be called NCTA-The Internet and Television Association. NCTA will be maintained in the name as a nod to the group's past, even though the initials no longer stand for any particular words. "Just as our industry is witnessing an exciting transformation driven by technology and connectivity, NCTA's brand must reflect the vibrancy and diversity of our members," NCTA CEO Michael Powell (a former Federal Communications Commission chairman) said in today's announcement. The group's "mission to drive the industry forward remains the same," he said. This isn't the NCTA's first name change. The group began as the National Community Television Council in 1951 and then became the National Community Television Association in 1952, according to the Museum of Broadcast Communications. Despite dropping the word "cable," the NCTA's name change announcement makes reference to how cable companies are dominating the broadband market. Powell noted that the NCTA "represent[s] an industry that is America's largest and fastest home Internet provider." As it goes forward, the NCTA won't be the only telecom lobby group initialism that no longer stands for anything. The CTIA -- previously known as the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association and then the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association -- is now just "CTIA-The Wireless Association."
A pig in a dress is still a pig. The only real question is whether it's a cross-dressing pig.
Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
Doesn't know what it wants, doesn't know what it stands for, and doesn't realize that none of it matters at all anymore.
kind of like the kerosene lobby as the market contracted
changing the name won't change that basic fact
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
(NCTA) will henceforth be called NCTA-The Internet and Television Association
Just change the acronym to TITA, and get used to us all shortening it to "TIT".
'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
And also what really matters is what bathroom the pig goes into in North Carolina.
Cross-dressed pig or not, at least it's more dignified than Pat McCrory.
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BMO
TITS
Lobbyists get face time with politicians and funnel money via campaign financing. Do the citizens of the US get lobbyists to represent their needs on equal face time? No, of course not, therefore it should be illegal. Their only interest is profit and citizens interest is to affordable products and services. Sometimes there is a disconnect due to politicians only hearing one side of an argument. Not to mention conflict of interest such as an former FCC chairman working as a lobbyist (bought and paid for shill). The entire political process can be easily corrupted by either personal or industry driven greed.
I'd like to make them not exist, if they can help all the better.
is still a rose.
s/rose/screwing/g
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
This is like the "American Trial Lawyers Association" (ATLA) renaming itself to the "American Association For Justice". And it wasn't really trial lawyers to begin with, but specifically plaintiff lawyers.
their members disguise bogus fees on bill, among other things. it's what they do: lie, cheat and deceive the public..
damn almost sounds like politicians. i bet they could take over congress and we'd never know the difference.
The way politicians work is via quid pro quos. A large donor gives them (specifically a shell organization) money or other enticements, and they provide favorable legislation for the donor. I don't think there were entities large enough to rival countries back in the days of the Constituion, so this threat to the republic is a new one. There was that Oxfam study earlier this year which stated 62 people own as much wealth as the poorest half of the world. WalMart has more revenue than Norway's GDP, for example.
So, I don't think the Founders saw this coming. Might need a carefully crafted amendment to deal with this issue.
If they don't want to be associated with scumbag companies, then maybe the shouldn't lobby for scumbag companies.
they'll get great "pay-to-play access" to HRC and she'll have even more emails to delete and need more IT staff. Plus there will be more for Wikileaks to hack. HRC growing the economy, creating jobs.
Now my preference is FTTH, true FTTH, where the Fiber line goes back to my home and I OWN IT along with my HOUSE.
FACTS:
Since less than 30 cities have this in the USA, hint Verizon is not true FTTH, just becaue they say 'Fiber' does not make it the way it should be, just the way they did it....
Since less than 30 cities have FTTH in the USA and since 'they' use ALEC to pass anti-competitive legislation to prevent FTTH....to move away from CABLE requires DSL not controlled by a Cable company or TELCO...many locations just DO NOT HAVE even a decent DSL alternative.
DSL's unthrottled 786KBps upstream is better than any CABLE UP TO PROMISE that is throttled back. Always will be, that is why many of us dump cable...they throttle.
If you see a spinning symbol, indicating what you are attempting to watch is 'spooling' your UPSTREAM BANDWIDTH is being throttled to less than 768KBps period. To prove this is simple, purchase a WRT-dd, Tomato or OpenWRT firmware supported firewall/router and you can see your bandwidth in REAL TIME. Every day, every hour, all the time.
Every Cable company that I have had, throtlles bandwidth 99% of the time. The only time they do not throttle is when you run the SPEEDTEST, than that PIPE opens all the way up. The millisecond the speed test ends, you are immediately throttled. This proves a few things:
Locally owned Cable companies, owned by the town, or by a residential area, might be better, actually allot better than TWC, Comcast, Pioneer, etc..., but you are still throttled.
Thus when I cut cable, and I will in the near future, I WILL NOT WANT TO GO BACK, unless I have no other alternative...this they know, thus they use ALEC to pass anti-FTTH legislation in many states (14 US States and counting have outright bands).
You want freedom, jobs, improvements in your local economy, get FTTH. if you can not, well than your politicians are part of the problem, replace them or watch your area die economically.
This is the equivalent of the greatest marketing makeover in history: The re-branding of "The Department of War" to "The Department of Defense" in 1949.
The populace was sick to death of War, but everybody likes DEFENSE don't they?
Genius.
Our members are screwing over consumers on TWO fronts. Cable AND Internet!