I live in a very politically mixed neighborhood; I’ve learned to keep silent or prepare to be lectured. So, I haven’t really been looking forward to writing about the candidates on broadband but I thought I probably should. Well, I thought I should at least compile what others have said since I lasted trakced their opinions on rural broadband in August.

Annenberg has tracked the candidates on a few technology/media issues, including Universal Broadband and America’s Digital Decline and Network Neutrality.

Here’s the summary on Universal Broadband:

Both candidates express support for the general goals of universal broadband access and enhancing the country’s international standing in broadband development. Where the two candidates differ is in what problems are acknowledged and the assumptions as to what will stimulate broadband deployment. Obama’s platform notes the virtual duopoly many Americans face in broadband provision, if they even find that. McCain recognizes no such problem, largely offering further calls for letting ‘the market’ (such as it is) lead in stimulating growth and deployment. McCain favors continued spectrum auctions to commercial providers; Obama explicitly seeks to investigate new uses and standards for spectrum utilization, perhaps even opening up swaths of government-controlled spectrum for use, something McCain’s platform does not address. Both express interest in “public-private” initiatives, a common (and largely meaningless barring further details) trope in broadband policy today. (Certain public-private initiatives as ‘Connected Nation,’ a popular model in Congress, have come under fire for primarily seeming to buttress the powerful positions of the largest broadband giants in the US.)

McCain’s policies look a great deal like those of the last two decades, with emphasis on private industry to solve deployment and access problems, perhaps with new tax incentives. This seems potentially problematic, as massive consolidation in the telecom and cable sector has occurred during this time, changing the landscape considerably; this remains unaddressed in his platform even as he stresses ‘protecting consumers’. Obama’s platform remains vague as well, to be sure, but points to a nuanced understanding of present dynamics, as well as a seemingly fuller understanding of the role federal policy can play in providing space for new wireless initiatives that hold much promise for getting the unconnected online.

Here’s the summary on Net Neutrality:

Perhaps the best way to summarize this area is to examine what problems the campaigns acknowledge, since both stances remain vague on details. Obama’s stance on network neutrality indicates that he sees a twofold problem. First, it reflects that Americans have a dearth of choices when it comes to broadband access—generally, the telecom provider or the cable provider, a situation quite unlike that of the dial-up era, in which several ISPs were on offer no matter who provided telecommunications services to the end-user. Second, Obama recognizes and seeks to address preemptively the possibility that with such a hold over the market, providers might seek to profit from the resulting scarce access to users in favoring certain services or content over others, either by policy or for a fee. Such a fear appears justified, as “deep packet inspection” has come to the fore as an issue (in that certain ISPs teamed up with marketing firms to collect user data with the barest of opportunity for users to opt-out) as well as Comcast’s willingness to thwart access to BitTorrent.

McCain’s statement, in contrast, admits to none of these issues or worries. He assumes away issues of market power users face in the ‘last mile’ and leaves the solution to “the market” such as it is. In sum, McCain sees the duopoly many Americans experience as ‘competitive enough’ to prevent the type of discrimination advocates of network neutrality fear. He offers “tax breaks” for further deployment of facilities; as much as these could be part of a solution, past policy decisions themselves have been much larger drivers in determining the online environment in which the US finds itself today than build-out incentives. With Comcast’s explicit blocking of applications in full view in the BitTorrent case, McCain still has nothing to say on the matter. While Obama offers few specifics as to the mechanics of a network neutrality regime-in-practice, it seems that the lack of consideration given the concerns that could generate the need for a preemptive network neutrality policy of some stripe is a serious omission in McCain’s platform.

Here are some highlights from the Christian Science Monitor:

For cable and phone companies, connecting scattered populations in rural areas doesn’t make financial sense. Mr. McCain favors encouraging private companies to build out the Internet infrastructure by providing business tax incentives. But if a hands-off, free-market approach fails, he supports letting local governments step in to take over the job.

Mr. Obama gets there a somewhat different way. He wants to redirect the Universal Service Fund, fed by fees collected from telecommunications companies, so that instead of mostly promoting better phone service for rural and low-income Americans, it helps pay for affordable broadband.

Both candidates say they will look at underused portions of the wireless spectrum that could be tapped to provide low-cost broadband. Neither one seems tethered to hardened positions, however. That flexibility bodes well for a wired America, no matter which candidate wins.

For fun I checked out one of my favorite political sites, Tech President, which gauges which candidates seem to be best using the Internet based on their number of YouTube videos, Facebook friends and other factors. (Completely unrelated but so great is a story on their blog about an electronic billboard in Los Angeles where citizens could text their questions – Governor Palin was in the area. I don’t know that the billboard was Palin’s idea.) Anyways, Obama’s campaign seems to be much bigger technology users – based on Tech Pres’ factors. A recent BBC article (US Candidates Employ Tech Power) tracks some of the ways each campaign is using the Internet.