Open Spectrum: Press

FCC Gears Up for Massive Broadband Initiative | Broadcast Engineering

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:28:00 -0400

... 21st-century economies,” said Sascha Meinrath, director of the New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative, at a recent FCC hearing. ... and more »

Appropriate Roles for FCC and FTC Could Determine Fate of Broadband Consumers | BroadbandCensus.com

Cecille Isidro — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 11:44:00 -0400

Sascha Meinrath, director of the Open Technology Initiative at the New America Foundation, a “tech tank inside a think that that provide support for open ...

OTI Director, Sascha Meinrath, Testifies at FCC Workshop on Broadband Consumer Context

Erin Drankoski — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:34:00 -0400

Washington, DC -- "Policy-making has continued under a self-imposed veil of ignorance," challenged Sascha Meinrath, Director of the New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative at today's Federal Communications Commission workshop on Broadband Consumer Context. When we address the question "'What is the consumer context in the United States today?' The quick answer is that nobody knows."

FCC Workshop Comments on Broadband Consumer Context | 4G Wireless Evolution

Erin Drankoski — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 08:22:00 -0400

Service providers in the U.S. are intentionally keeping consumers in the dark about their broadband options, said Sascha Meinrath, director of the Open Technology Initiative at the New America Foundation and a speaker at today's FCC workshop titled Broadband Consumer Context. ... Orignial Article

Obama's Pick Brings a New Savvy to the FCC | The Hill

Cecille Isidro — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 05:31:00 -0400

... promised during the Obama campaign will never see the light of day,” said Sascha Meinrath, director of New America Foundation's Wireless Future Program. ... and more »

FCC Should Move Quickly on Rural Broadband Access | FederalNewsRadio.com

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:01:00 -0400

OTI Director, Sascha Meinrath, Testifies at FCC Workshop on Next Generation Wireless Technology

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:18:00 -0400

Last Thursday, Sascha Meinrath, Director of the New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative presented on the FCC Broadband Workshop on Technology and Wireless. The lone public interest voice on a panel dominated corporate representative, Mr. Meinrath argued:

A Comparison of Bandwidth Caps in the U.S. and Japan

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:02:00 -0400

Washington, DC—Today, the New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative released a report comparing bandwidth caps for high-speed Internet—including cable modem, fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) or fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP), and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks-in the United States and Japan. As the report documents, a large discrepancy exists between the two countries, suggesting that U.S. policy makers should investigate market conditions in Japan to determine why their network capacity supports far more per-customer throughput than U.S. broadband networks.

Strings Attached | Multichannel News

Cecille Isidro — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 07:16:00 -0400

New America Foundation research director Sascha Meinrath said the government also is encouraging a continuing dialogue — the NTIA has said it wants to hold ...

How to Apply for BTOP Broadband Funding

Communications — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:34:00 -0400

Today, the New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative (OTI) released application guides to aid communities, institutions, non-profits, and other entities interested in applying for funding from the Broadband Technology Opportunity Program for Public Computer Centers or Sustainable Broadband Adoption programs.

U.S. Spectrum: Who's Counting? | eWeek

Cecille Isidro — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:08:00 -0400

"The best available data suggests that the majority of federal spectrum capacity is left unused -- a situation that has gone largely unexamined," Sascha Meinrath, director of New America Foundation's open technology initiative, wrote in a June report.

White Spaces on Steroids and Free Spectrum for Everyone | Ars Technica

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:36:00 -0400

As New America's Michael Calabrese puts it, "the vast majority of frequency bands are not being used in most locations and at most times."

U.S. vs. Japan: Residential Internet Service Provision Pricing

Communications — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:21:00 -0400

Washington, DC - Today, the New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative released a report comparing residential high-speed Internet pricing in the United States and Japan. With broadband stimulus funding applications due soon and discussion over the creation of a national broadband policy heating up, this report sets a baseline for comparing the current state of Internet service provision.

Linking Broadband with Transportation Infrastructure: New America Foundation Applauds Klobuchar/Warner Bill

Communications — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 08:50:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar announced today that she will introduce legislation with U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) to promote more rapid, cost-effective expansion across the country of broadband networks that carry high-speed, high-capacity communications.

The Online Information Paradox | DaniWeb

Communications — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 09:47:00 -0500

In a recent video, Google CEO Eric Schmidt addressing The New America Foundation, discussed the wonder of having all of this information available to us and ...

High Tech Celebrates White-Spaces Victory | EDN.com

Communications — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:15:00 -0500

... the FCC approve the use of white spaces, according to Michael Calabrese, VP and director of the Wireless Future Program at the New America Foundation. ...

Michael Calabrese in Communications Daily | 'CTIA Campaign to Seek More Spectrum for Licensed Use by Carriers'

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:56:00 -0500

"We are very encouraged to hear that CTIA will join us in calling attention to the many bands of prime spectrum that are unused or grossly underutilized," said Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at the New America Foundation. "Actual measurements of spectrum use show that less than 10 percent of the 'beachfront' frequencies below 3 GHz are in use even at peak times in the largest cities. Unlocking this wasted public resource is what motivated our successful effort to reallocate the unused TV channels in each market for unlicensed access for providers of broadband and other new services." LINK (subscription required)

Michael Calabrese in Scripps News | 'Devices May Boost Rural Internet'

Cecille Isidro — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:18:00 -0500

"It was a tremendous waste of the very best airwaves," said Michael Calabrese, director of the New America Foundation's Wireless Future Program. LINK

Wireless Future Program in Ars Technica | ' A Lesson from the White Space War'

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:42:00 -0500

The white space battle has made progress in part because of the advocacy of groups like Free Press, Public Knowledge, the New America Foundation, and the Media Access Project. LINK

The Lobby that Cried Wolf: New America Foundation Releases New Paper on NAB's Predictable Strategy

Communications — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:32:00 -0400

Over the past week, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has bombarded Congress with a flurry of doomsday pronouncements, claiming broadcast television is under attack by the FCC and advocates seeking to open unused TV channels (TV white spaces) for wireless broadband and mobile Wi-Fi devices.

If all of this sounds a bit familiar, that's because broadcasters always scream "interference!" when faced with any new competition or use of the empty TV band spectrum they are hoarding. In 1974 broadcaster's tried to kill off a nascent TV service called cable television, claiming it would destroy "free" TV. And in 1998, when the FCC wanted to open up the FM band to low-power community radio stations, the claim was intolerable "interference" (later proved false). In 2001, when the first DVRs came out -- and now again in 2008, with TV white spaces -- broadcasters are predicting the imminent destruction of broadcast television.

The unfortunate reality is that NAB lobbyists will say just about anything to maintain their exclusive grip on the broadcast spectrum. As former New York Times reporter and author, Joel Brinkley, observed: "Above all else, [broadcasters hold] sacred the eleventh commandment: Thou Shalt Not Give Up Spectrum."

In "The Lobby that Cried Wolf," the New America Foundation provides a glimpse of broadcasters' lobbying path of deception, highlighting the repeated NAB campaigns to keep others out of their spectrum and providing parallels with the current campaign against white space devices.

For the past 50 years, broadcasters and their respective lobbies have relied upon a broken record of scare tactics, gross exaggerations and underhanded attacks to oppose some of the most important communication advances of the 20th and 21st centuries including cable TV, the VCR, the DVR, FM radio, satellite television and radio, and even cellular phones.

In 2000, the FCC approved low-power FM community radio stations to operate on the third-adjacent channel after thoroughly examining interference issues. In response, the NAB told Congress "this is a prescription for chaos on the airwaves" and flooded the Hill with copies of an infamous audio disc that simulated the supposed interference from low-power stations. Three years later, an independent study for the FCC by Mitre Corp., a military contractor, found no significant interference issues with the FCC's proposed LPFM service.

The NAB predicted similar interference nightmares in regards to low-power television stations and wireless microphones. Yet, today there are more than 836 low-power FM stations, 2,900 low-power TV stations and more than 400,000 wireless microphones operating throughout the TV band on an unlicensed basis.  Despite the NAB's pronouncements, neither chaos nor harmful interference ensued.

You can download a copy of the paper at http://www.newamerica.net/publications/policy/lobby_cried_wolf.

Michael Calabrese
Director, Wireless Future Program
calabrese@newamerica.net
202-986-9453

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New America's Wireless Future Program develops and advocates policy proposals aimed at achieving universal and affordable wireless broadband access, expanding public access to the airwaves and updating our nation's communications infrastructure in the digital era. For more information, visit http://www.newamerica.net/programs/wireless_future.

The New America Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute that invests in new thinkers and new ideas to address the next generation of challenges facing the United States. Headquartered in Washington D.C., New America also has offices in California.