Open Networks

Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, SW Washington, DC 20554

RE: Notice of Ex Parte Filing; WC Docket No. 08-7

Dear Secretary Dortch:

Public Knowledge, Free Press, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, EDUCAUSE, Media Access Project, New America Foundation, U.S. PIRG, Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky, and CREDO Mobile, Inc. (Public Knowledge et al.) submit this ex parte filing to respond to several recent filings by wireless providers that mischaracterize several aspects of the Petition for Declaratory Ruling to prohibit discrimination in… more

Google co-founder Larry Page made a rare trip to Washington this week. No, he wasn't lobbying for net neutrality or being grilled about Internet censorship in China. It was all about the white spaces -- and Google's growing fixation with wireless communications.

With opposition mounting, Page came to bolster Google's push to gain public access to these white spaces, slivers of wireless spectrum between the broadcast channels used by TV stations. . .

During his May 22 speech to the… more

COMMENTS OF PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE, FREE PRESS, CONSUMER FEDERATION OF AMERICA, CONSUMERS UNION, EDUCAUSE, MEDIA ACCESS PROJECT, NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION, U.S. PIRG, ASSEMBLYMAN RICHARD L. BRODSKY, CREDO MOBILE, INC.

Google's Schmidt named chair of think tank (CNET)

Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt has been named as chairman of the board to the New America Foundation, a non-partisan think tank in Washington, D.C. that focuses on issues like healthcare, education and foreign policy.

Schmidt joined the board 10 years ago when the centrist think tank was founded and before he joined Google. He will assume his new role June 1... more

Wireless carriers in the United States operate as regulated common carriers when providing basic telecommunications services, such as voice telephone service, text messaging and speed dialing to services and content. Remarkably, stakeholders debate whether this clear cut regulatory status requires wireless carriers to provide service to any compatible handset, subject to a certification process to ensure that such use will not harm carrier networks.

The past year witnessed an event unprecedented in modern U.S. telecommunications history. A relatively obscure telecommunications policy debate spilled outside the rarefied airs of Congressional Committees and the Federal Communications Commission’s eighth floor to rage across the Blogosphere, major newspapers, YouTube and episodes of The Daily Show. This contentious discussion centers on an issue known as “network neutrality,” defined broadly as the non-discriminatory interconnectedness among data communication networks that allows users to access the content, and run the services, applications,… more

The Assosciated Press published a review of the surge in loan elimination in private schools for middle- to upper-class income students, and quoted Michael Dannenberg, Education Program Director with the New America Foundation.

... Michael Dannenberg, a scholar at the New America Foundation, notes that's also approximately the figure Congress spent this year to cut student loan interest rates from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent -- for the whole country. ...

Ultimately, however, other factors will play a much bigger role… more

The undersigned members of the Public Interest Spectrum Coalition (PISC) renew their support for the Petition to Confirm a Consumer’s Right to Use Internet Communications Software and Attach Devices to Wireless Networks (“Skype Petition”) and respectfully ask the Federal Communications Commission to gather additional information concerning several recent developments in the marketplace regarding the openness of the wireless communications marketplace.

The wireless marketplace continues to be dominated by carriers that refuse to open their networks to competing telephones and software. None… more

...The federal government's decision to auction off this prime public spectrum next month could change the wireless world. It has the potential to make talking on a cellphone, surfing the Web on a mobile device and even watching television on your handset easier and cheaper.

Google Inc. said Friday that it would bid, and a slew of other companies were expected to file to join them by Monday's deadline. ...

"No matter which bidder ultimately prevails, the real winners of this auction… more

Verizon Wireless officials announced Tuesday they would open up their network to any devices and software customers want to use by the second half of 2008. Any device that passes a minimal connectivity test will be allowed on the Verizon Wireless network, officials said.

That announcement drew applause from a wide variety of groups. Public Knowledge, a consumer rights group that has pushed for open network regulations from the U.S. Congress or the Federal Communications Commission, said it was "cautiously optimistic"… more