In December, Mark Sullivan wrote an article that outlined the “most anti-tech organizations”. It seems he talked to policy wonks in DC to see whose names popped up most often in discussions that supported efforts that squelched the rights of technology companies and consumers.
It’s a very fun article to read. He covers a number of topics:
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The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
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The Pharmaceutical/Biotech Industry
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Big Telco Companies, Industry Group USTelecom (Net Neutrality)
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Verizon, AT&T, Progress and Freedom Foundation (Broadband Penetration)
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Large Wireless Carriers and… the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA); TV Broadcasters and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB)
While all of these topics are interesting, I thought I’d look further into the Broadband Penetration. In short the article points out that US policy has stayed out of broadband access letting the market dictate the access, which I think really means letting the vendors dictate access. This has not worked well as demonstrated in US’s spiral down the OECD broadband penetration rankings.
The vendors/telcos have been trying to discredit the OECD rankings. The author points out that the telcos are helped out by The Progress & Freedom Foundation, a think tank that sides with the telcos. He also points out that rumors indicate that a sizable part of PFF’s roughly $3 million annual budget comes from the big phone companies.
Sullivan was able to confirm his perspective this week at the Consumer Electronic Show where Jim Ciccione, AT&T head lobbyist claimed that AT&T poured $18 billion into souping up its network over the past year or so, but complains that the regulatory environment in the U.S. is making it hard to increase broadband speed and availability, and still make a profit. And Verizon VP of Public Policy Tom Tauke took issue with the OECD data I cited.