ABSTRACT FOR NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION WORKSHOP

The Broadband Act of 2011-12: Designing a Communications Act for the 21^st Century

July 15, 2010

GOALS NECESSARY IN ANY NEW COMPREHENSIVE FEDERAL, STATE & LOCAL REGULATORY REGIME FOR ALL PROVIDERS OF WIRELINE OR WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE DELIVERY OF VOICE, VIDEO AND DATA CONTENT

Some thoughts regarding how to survive and thrive through our latest challenge to the field of PEG Access/Community Media Centers management and operations, and their more recent iteration Community Multi-Media Broadband Centers and Community Networks, as we begin the legal and regulatory transition from our present telecom policy structure with it’s separate silos of service classifications and providers to a new broadband policy structure with it’s ‘One Global/Local Network Vision’ of no more borders, no more miles and no degrees of separation.

• All voice, video or data content bits and their delivery platforms should ride the interconnected communication network infrastructures’ entire electronic or photonic bit stream like a surfboard rides a wave or a lambda.

• All content services need to be delivered, whether using wireline or wireless networks, in a non-discriminatory and equal manner regardless of whether the content is a voice, video or data service affiliated with the owner of the communications delivery network infrastructure or non-affiliated with the infrastructure owner.

• In order to stimulate actual competition among content services and providers, there must in fact be a separation of the ownership of connectivity delivery infrastructure and its bit stream from the ownership of the content services and their transporting platform using a non-affiliated network infrastructure and its bit stream for the delivery of the content to its consumers or subscribers.

• Bandwidth allocated to the bit steam to be used by the content delivery platform to delivery the bits must be equal regardless of affiliation with the infrastructure owner.

• Providers of wireline and wireless content delivery infrastructure and its bit or photon steam delivery service must operate all signal communication networks as Open Platform and Open Access Networks.

• Rates for subscriptions to these networks and services shall be available at low-cost and without discrimination and shall be available to all subscribers in either bundled or unbundled packages of voice, video and data services.

• Since all providers of connectivity delivery infrastructure and its bit or photon stream either occupy or use Public Rights of Way (PROW) or the Public Spectrum (PS), all levels of governmental authorities have authority under the Public Trust Doctrine and its Fiduciary Responsibility Mandate to require them to manage these public communication assets in the public interest and thus require all connectivity providers to pay user fees for the use of these public assets, and, additionally, for subscribers to pay local, state or federal sales taxes on their use of these voice, video and data services.