Massachusetts

Verizon CEO Seeks Pact on a State Cable License

Stevie Converse — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 06:10:57 -0700

Verizon's Ivan Seidenberg wants to cut a broadband deal with Massachusetts -- and Mayor Thomas Menino signaled yesterday he's willing to listen to his offers.

Comcast’s About-Face on BitTorrent

Josh Stearns — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 09:54:00 -0700

Late last year, the Associated Press exposed Comcast for cutting off access to legal file-sharing programs like BitTorrent. Since then, in the face of incredible amounts of evidence to the contrary, Comcast has insisted that it “does not block any Web site, application or Web protocol including peer-to-peer services.”

However, today the Wall Street Journal reported that Comcast, the nation's largest cable provider, and BitTorrent were announcing plans to collaborate to distribute large files over the cable company's broadband network.

Verizon's Fiber-Optic Rollout Leaves Massachusetts Cities Behind

Stevie Converse — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 06:27:14 -0700

If you’re wondering when your neighborhood will be graced with Verizon's new fiber-optic wiring, you might get a sense of the timing from just looking out your window.

Verizon’s $200 Million Change of Heart – Is it For Real?

Josh Stearns — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:26:00 -0800

I have to applaud Verizon for stepping up its investment in broadband deployment throughout Massachusetts. The new plans announced Thursday could mean that more people in more places will have access to economic opportunity, education and the information they need to participate in our democracy.

Video: Comcast Pays to Push Public out of Internet Debate

Ira Horowitz — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:00:00 -0800

SavetheInternet.com caught cable giant stacking a FCC hearing with paid (and apparently sleepy) seat fillers.

The hearing was set up to investigate Comcast's recent blocking of the Internet. But the cable giant filled the room with paid sitters so that the public couldn't get in to voice their support for a free-flowing Internet.

A View From Outside the Hearing

Josh Stearns — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:13:00 -0800

I want to take a moment and step back from all the news about the Boston FCC hearing that has emerged over the past 24 hours. In cases such as these, the rhetoric can get pretty heated and accusations, assertions and interpretations can get recast, reframed, and re-imagined as the story spreads across the Web. I’ll admit, as one of the people who sat for hours at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the FCC hearing, that it’s exciting to see the coverage of Comcast’s underhanded techniques. But in the back-and-forth, it’s easy to fixate on some minor detail of the story, picking apart Comcast’s statement or over-analyzing on-the-ground accounts.

FCC "Public" Hearing in Boston--Not So Public After All!

Willie T — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:18:00 -0800

Today I went to Harvard Law School to attend an FCC hearing on the future of the Internet that was supposed to be open to the public. I'd been waiting months for the FCC to come to the Boston area, and now here they were in my own backyard, so to speak, (a 5 min. walk from my office.) When I arrived at 11:30 AM, I was told that the hearing was closed, filled to capacity.

Comcast Blocking: First the Internet -- now the Public?

Josh Stearns — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 09:01:00 -0800

There is a huge turnout at today's public hearing in Boston on the future of the Internet. Hundreds of concerned citizens have arrived to speak out on the importance of an open Internet. Many people have taken the day off work -- standing outside in the Boston cold -- to see the FCC Commissioners.

Democracy Now! Saves $1,000 a month with bittorrent

deanjansen — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 22:04:00 -0800

In preparing for Monday's public FCC hearing, I decided to do a bit of research into how much money an organization can save by using bittorrent. It turns out that the savings are pretty amazing!

As you will see, Democracy Now! has a fixed cost of roughly $200 per month (the service is donated) for distributing their news program at full resolution. Compare that to a bill for serving direct HTTP downloads using Amazon's S3 service, which would currently sit at roughly $1200 per month and would increase with viewership.

Vuze, with SavetheInternet.com, will post FCC Hearing

aslee — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 13:57:00 -0800

For those of us who aren’t able to participate in the FCC
hearing on February 25, there is an available outlet to watch a recording of it
in our very homes. The video-sharing internet website, Vuze, is working with the

Boston: The Future of the Internet Is in Your Hands

Craig Aaron — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 06:31:00 -0800

OK, that may sound like an exaggeration. But next week the Federal Communications Commission is coming to the Boston area -- Cambridge, to be exact -- for an important public hearing on what the next generation of the Internet will look like.

The hearing is part of the FCC's ongoing investigation into Comcast's blocking of Internet traffic. But there's much more at stake. We are at a critical juncture where it will be decided whether we have a closed Internet controlled by a small handful of giant corporations, or an open Internet controlled by the people who use it.

P21: Corporate lobby for media literacy curricula

kamilla525 — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 14:42:00 -0800

I recently learned about the Progressive States Network.
I hear their general belief is that state policymakers often have
little experience with issue areas they are working on, so corporate
lobbyists can often come in and serve as a veritable “brain,” pushing
legislators to implement policies that favor big business. PSN was
created to counteract the corporate voice and create policy solutions
that better serve the public interest.

I mentioned the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) in my last posting.
Today, I want to go into greater detail about the group’s work — and
point to a place where we desperately need some serious PSN help. Like,
right now.

Boston FCC Hearing on the Future of the Internet

Jen Howard — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:28:00 -0800

The Federal Communications Commission is coming to Boston to hold a public hearing about the future of the Internet.

Get Rid of Big Media

snarlacarla — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:24:00 -0800

I think that the Telecommunication Act of 1996, pushed by Clinton and Gore, as much as I am a Democrat and have been all my life, is one of the worst things ever to happen to this country. It makes it possible for us to get no news except propaganda. It must un-enacted and I don't think any of the current candidates for the Presidency even has plans to do that.

Media shrinkage

snarlacarla — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 09:09:00 -0800

For Sen. Kerry and Rep. Slaughter--please fight the FCC with every bit of strength you have. They have tried to do this every time they've had a chance for years and it's got to be voted down every time. Why should the Bush Administration get everything it wants? For that matter, why should Cheney and Bush get anything other than impeached?

The Broader the Discussion the Better the Outcome.

Alfred — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 06:13:00 -0700

The nation cannot afford to allow a media conglomerate that silences the voices of all the people. This goes against the principles of democracy upon which this country was founded. All perspectives need to be heard, and they won't be if the FCC chairman has his way. There exists a diverse body of people opposed to the chairman's most recent move.

This Week on Media Minutes...

candace.jeanne — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 09:17:00 -0700

This week on Media Minutes: Public interest groups want to know why the DOJ submitted a filing to
the FCC against Net Neutrality – six weeks after the deadline. And
OneWebDay's founder talks about why we need to take time to appreciate
the Web.

Click here to listen to this week's episode.

War Made Easy

Mary Alice Crim — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 12:16:00 -0700

The new critically acclaimed film by the Media Education Foundation, War Made Easy, is now playing around the country.

Talk Back to Big Media in Boston

Josh Stearns — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 08:44:00 -0700

Have you ever wanted to talk back to Big Media?

Support of Affordable High Speed Internet for America and Internet Neutrality

ProgRock — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 14:24:00 -0700

Democrats,

On July 15th, 2007 the Executive Board of the California Democratic Party passed the following resolution in favor of Net Neutrality and affordable high speed Internet for America.

The adoption of this resolution was made possible by the unprecedented cooperation of both the Labor Caucus and the Progressive Caucus of the CDP. Working together over the months following the CDP convention in San Diego, representatives of both caucuses, led by Jim Gordon, chair of the Labor Caucus and Brad Parker, officer of the Progressive Caucus, were able to craft a resolution that addressed the concerns of both groups and Americans as a whole. Once again, after 100 years of organizing and political activism, Progressives and Union members have found common cause. Our hope is that this resolution will become a blueprint for legislation across the country that preserves Internet integrity with open, equal and impartial access and Net Neutrality. Further, that the build out of high speed Internet be undertaken as a public utility maintained by union members bringing affordable broadband Internet access to all Americans.

No issue of public governance is more critical at this time in our history than the immediate need for every level of government to pass and enforce legislation to embody the principles of this resolution. Therefore, we call upon every Democrat in America to send this resolution to every elected official across the nation and to insist that Net Neutrality and affordable high speed Internet become the law of the land.