Slashdot Mirror
San Jose Mayor Quits FCC Advisory Committee, Says It is Dealing ISPs a 'Very Favorable Hand' (axios.com)
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo resigned today from a panel that advises the Federal Communications Commission on broadband deployment, alleging that the committee is dealing internet service providers "a very favorable hand" of policy recommendations, Axios reports. From the report: The Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee is a key element of Republican FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's priority of making sure broadband internet reaches all Americans. "It has become abundantly clear that despite the good intentions of several participants, the industry-heavy makeup of BDAC will simply relegate the body to being a vehicle for advancing the interests of the telecommunications industry over those of the public," said Liccardo, a Democrat, in his resignation letter. He told Axios that he thought that the committee's draft recommendations were trying to "steamroll cities" in favor of industry access to infrastructure. He pointed to a draft model law that would give states power over permitting for wireless broadband infrastructure at the expense, Liccardo says, of cities' interests.
As was predicted during his campaign, it's not so much Trump, but the goons he installed as his lieutenants. Even if you cut out the associates of the Shadows, the tentacles remain and continue to grow throughout the body causing more problems.
slashdot: A failed experiment.
Nice straw man you've knocked down there. How about we look at the actual issues cited by the Mayor?
1) "Over the holiday break, despite nine months of deliberations, a single industry representative completely rewrote a draft municipal code at the 11th hour, leaving municipal representatives scrambling with insufficient time to vet the hundreds of changes. That rewritten version closely resembled legislation that the industry pushed in 20 states across the country."
2) "The BDAC has focused on reducing municipal fees, and eliminating local control and discretion over where and how broadband infrastructure is deployed in the public right-of-way.
3) "The industry’s claim that reducing municipal lease rates on public infrastructure will help it better serve the 34 million Americans without broadband access bears little resemblance to patterns of industry investment in low-income neighborhoods and rural areas."
4) "[the industry] has sought to create a set of rules that will provide it with easy access to publicly-funded infrastructure at taxpayer-subsidized rates, without any obligation to provide broadband access to underserved residents."
5) "Below market rates and by-right access to public infrastructure also strip cities of the ability to hold companies accountable for building out networks to serve all areas of a city."
From where I sit, it sure looks like Liccardo has some valid points - points that are highly unlikely to be addressed at the state level.