Sascha's Comments Elsewhere
- Net Neutrality Spin Wars Ramp Up - Tech Daily Dose - Tech Daily Dose
- Wiretapping Facebook? | 89.3 KPCC
- Government steps up cyber spying efforts | PRI.ORG
- Detroit Digital Justice Coalition Awarded $2 Million to Enhance Local Information Economy | NewAmerica.net
- FCC Chief Concedes Slow Pace - WSJ.com
- FCC To Weigh In On 'White Spaces' : NPR
- Plains States Seek to Impose VoIP Tax - by Thomas Cheplick
- The Open Technology Initiative Helps Bring $11.8 Million for Broadband Adoption in Philadelphia | NewAmerica.net
- White Space Hype Machine Fires Up - Microsoft highlights potential with campus network - dslreports.com
- FCC's 'White Spaces' plan has critics - Kim Hart - POLITICO.com
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Dec
8
Originally from: Slate.com
The Internet’s Intolerable Acts
You should be very afraid of a pair of bills that threaten Internet freedom.
The United States of America was forged in resistance to collective reprisals—the punishment of many for the acts of few. In 1774, following the Boston Tea Party, the British Parliament passed a series of laws—including the mandated closure of the port of Boston—meant to penalize the people of Massachusetts. These abuses of power, labeled the “Intolerable Acts,” catalyzed the American Revolution by making plain the oppression of the British crown.
More than 300 years later, the U.S. Congress is considering bills that would lead to collective reprisals against online communities. The Senate’s PROTECT IP Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House are supposed to address copyright infringement and counterfeiting. In reality, they are so technically impractical that they do little to address these problems. They would, however, undermine participatory democracy and human rights, which is why these bills have garnered near-universal condemnation from both human rights groups and technologists.
The interconnected nature of the Internet fostered the growth of online communities such as Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook. These sites host our humdrum daily interactions and serve as a public soapbox for our political voice. Both the PROTECT IP Act and SOPA would create a national firewall by censoring the domain names of websites accused of hosting infringing copyrighted materials. This legislation would enable law enforcement to take down the entire tumblr.com domain due to something posted on a single blog. Yes, an entire, largely innocent online community could be punished for the actions of a tiny minority.
If you think this scenario is unlikely, consider what happened to Mooo.com earlier this year. Back in February, the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security seized 10 domains during a child-porn crackdown called “Operation Protect Our Children.” Along with this group of offenders, 84,000 more entirely innocent sites were tagged with the following accusatory splash page: “Advertisement, distribution, transportation, receipt, and possession of child pornography constitute federal crimes that carry penalties for first time offenders of up to 30 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, forfeiture and restitution." Their only crime was guilt by association: They were all using the Mooo.com domain.
SOPA would go even further, creating a system of private regulation to shut down websites that are accused of not doing enough to prevent infringement. Keep in mind that these shutdowns would happen before a site owner could defend himself in court—SOPA could punish sites without even establishing whether they are guilty of the charges brought against them.
In January 2010, Hillary Clinton launched the State Department’s Internet Freedom initiative, stumping for open access to information worldwide. Though Secretary Clinton has said that “there is no contradiction between intellectual property rights protection and enforcement of expression on the Internet,” PROTECT IP and SOPA create mutually exclusive trajectories for these two priorities. These bills are driven by technologically naive thinking that it’s possible to censor information without affecting freedom of speech. SOPA even goes so far as to make the key circumvention tools used by human rights advocates and democracy organizers throughout the Middle East illegal. While we’re certain that SOPA’s authors did not mean to craft a bill tailor-made to support the future Qaddafis and Mubaraks of the world, that is precisely what they’ve done.
Rather than blocking online copyright infringement, legislation like SOPA and Protect IP would instigate a data obfuscation arms race, making legitimate law enforcement efforts all the more difficult. If the United States decides that copyright infringement must be stopped at any cost, the required censorship regime will depend on ever more invasive practices, such as monitoring users’ personal Web traffic. This counterproductive cat-and-mouse game of censorship and circumvention would drive savvy scofflaws to darknets while increasing surveillance of less technically proficient Internet users.
Given that the Intolerable Acts sparked a revolution, it should be no surprise that this proposed legislation has generated a massive outcry in the United States. However, this attempt to unilaterally censor the Internet has spurred worldwide opposition, with several dozen international organizations signing a letter stating that “[t]hrough SOPA, the United States is attempting to dominate a shared global resource.” Last month, the European Parliament adopted a resolution underscoring “the need to protect the integrity of the global internet and freedom of communication by refraining from unilateral measures to revoke IP addresses or domain names.”
As participants in the Internet community, we must defend against collective reprisals that undermine our rights to access, privacy, and freedom of expression online. SOPA and the PROTECT IP Act are fundamentally incompatible with a free society and with the founding principles of the United States. This truth should be self-evident: Human rights should never be subjugated to copyright.
Oct
6
Job Announcement
October 2011
Executive Assistant: Open Technology Initiative
The New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative (OTI) formulates policy and regulatory reforms to support open architectures and open source innovations and facilitates the development and implementation of open technologies and communications networks. OTI promotes affordable, universal, and ubiquitous communications networks through partnerships with communities, researchers, industry, and public interest groups and is committed to maximizing the potentials of innovative open technologies by studying their social and economic impacts—particularly for poor, rural, and other underserved constituencies. OTI provides in-depth, objective research, analysis, and findings for decision-makers and the general public. For additional information on the program, please visit http://oti.newamerica.net.
OTI Priorities and Goals:
- Gather top technologists and tech-savvy policy analysts to inform current policy debates.
- Build collaborations among community developers, entrepreneurs, academia, and industry.
- Study the social and economic impacts of open technologies and architectures.
- Implement real-world open technology pilot projects and proofs-of-concept prototypes.
- Expand the use of open source software, open APIs, and increased access of Free and Free Open Source Software (FOSS) technologies.
Position Description
The Executive Assistant provides critical support to OTI’s Director in all of his day to day activities, including: correspondence and general administration, proposal writing, editing and proofreading, preparing speeches and presentations, drafting memos, scheduling and travel arrangements, media relations, advisory committee relations, and fundraising. This fast-paced job also involves a considerable amount of inter-office coordination as well as occasional research projects.
Primary Responsibilities
- Handle a diverse array of administrative support duties including managing the Director’s calendar and schedule, arrange meetings, and travel
- Assist in various facets of the Open Technology Initiative’s day-to-day operations.
- Liaise with the Vice President of Finance and Operations and the Grants Manger to coordinate grant submission, reporting, tracking processes for the Open Technology Initiative, and notify the Director and relevant staff of all deadlines and requirements.
- Supervise the preparation of materials for meetings, as appropriate.
- Coordinate steering committee and advisory council meetings and assist in maintaining strong relations with key funders and advisors.
- Assist the Director in maintaining an effective working relationship with the staff and allied organizations.
- Assist the Director in the timely management of all communications.
- Handle the Director’s correspondences, including drafting, proofing, and prioritizing written material.
- Provide research support for the Director’s long and short term projects.
Ideal candidates will have the following qualifications:
- A bachelor’s degree with 1–2 years of administrative work experience.
- Outstanding writing, editing, and verbal communication skills.
- Excellent planning, organizational, and time management skills, as well as attention to detail.
- Proficiency in Open Office suite of applications and web-based research tools.
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, team-oriented work environment.
- Knowledge of, and/or interest in, technology and public policy issues is preferred.
- Talent for taking initiative and working independently when needed.
Application Process
Mail or e-mail resume and cover letter to: Human Resources, New America Foundation, 1899 L Street, NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036. Fax: 202-986-3696. E-mail: jobs@newamerica.net. Please state “Executive Assistant, Open Technology Initiative” in the e-mail subject line. No phone calls, please.
Generous salary package commensurate with experience; excellent benefits. The New America Foundation is an equal opportunity employer.
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. With an emphasis on big ideas, impartial analysis and pragmatic solutions, New America invests in outstanding individuals whose ability to communicate to wide and influential audiences can change the country’s policy discourse in critical areas, bringing promising new ideas and debates to the fore. Through its fellowships and issue-specific programs, New America sponsors a wide range of research, writing, conferences, and public outreach on the most important global and domestic issues of our time. Based in our nation’s capital, the New America Foundation currently has over 120 staff members and fellows. For more information, please visit www.newamerica.net.
Jul
1
How to Ignite, or Quash, a Revolution in 140 Characters or Less
The Promise and Limitations of New Technologies in Spreading Democracy
RSVP here.
Do the Internet and social media empower Big Brother or individuals in autocratic regimes, or do they offer a rare level playing field?
This year’s Arab Spring resurrected exuberant claims for the role of new technologies in spreading democracy. At the same time self-proclaimed “cyber-realists” were quick to point out that President Mubarak’s problems seemed to grow after he unplugged the Internet. Now, summer’s deadly stalemate in Syria has given pause to anyone peddling absolute theories about the interplay between new information technologies and revolution.
If not a panacea, how can social media and the Internet be deployed to maximize civic engagement in autocratic societies? Does the U.S. policy of supporting Internet freedom amount to a policy of regime change in some countries? When Big Brother does unplug the Internet, what can, or should, the rest of us do about it?
Please join us at a Future Tense event on July 13 to grapple with these issues.
A reception will immediately follow the event.
Agenda
2:00 pm - Reflecting on the Tunisian Hair Trigger
Sami Ben Gharbia (from Tunisia)
Co-founder, nawaat.org
Advocacy Director, Global Voices
President
New America Foundation
2:20 pm - Internet Freedom and Human Rights: The Obama Administration's Perspective
Michael H. Posner
Assistant Secretary of State for Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
U.S. Department of State
Moderator
Jacob Weisberg
Chairman and Editor-in-Chief
Slate Group
2:50 pm - Friending Revolutions: Social Media and Political Change in Egypt and Beyond
Merlyna Lim
Professor, Consortium of Science, Policy and Outcomes and the School of Social Transformation - Justice and Social Inquiry Program
Arizona State University
3:10 pm - How the Arab Spring Begat a Deadly Summer
Ahmed Al Omran
Blogger, Saudijeans.org
Ammar Abdulhamid
Executive Director, Tharwa Foundation
Blogger and Human Rights Activist
Oula Alrifai
Syrian Youth Activist
Moderator
Schwartz Fellow, New America Foundation
Contributor, New York Times
4:00 pm - Myths, Realities, and Inconvenient Truths of the Internet
Senior Schwartz Fellow, New America Foundation
Co-founder, Global Voices Online
4:30 pm - The View from Havana
Yoani Sanchez (via video)
Blogger, desdecuba.com
Human Rights Activist
4:45 pm - Internet Freedom's Next Frontiers?
Mary Jo Porter
English Translator for Yoani Sanchez and other Cuban bloggers
Co-founder, hemosoido.com and translatingcuba.com
Marcus Noland
Deputy Director, Peterson Institute for International Economics
Author,
Witness to Transformation: Refugee Insights into North Korea
Moderator
Co-Director, Future Tense Initiative
Director, Bernard L. Schwartz Fellows Program, New America Foundation
5:20 pm - Bypassing the Master Switch
Director, Open Technology Initiative
New America Foundation
Ian Schuler
Senior Program Manager, Internet Freedoms Program
U.S. Department of State
Moderator
Future Tense Fellow, New America Foundation
Author, Nonzero, The Moral Animal, and The Evolution of God
Mar
9
Thanks to Kristijan Fabina, many of the talks from the 2010 International Summit for Community Wireless Networks are now online. You can check out the video list either at:
http://www.youtube.com/kikodw (tagged as IS4CWN)
or take a look at the individual videos below.
*The Serval project*
1/5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yk1FdFsQUA
2/5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3SUWE5F7SM
3/5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGXoe424t5M
4/5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_YIJXq-BzY
5/5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrgvkSzdZ2E
*BGWireless Serbia Freemium Model*
1/2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJZ-Cl8ggj8
2/2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hTw677X5-Y
*Next Steps for Community Wireless Networks*
1/5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bDoARBaIuA
2/5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bkm8i7XQSUs
3/5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsNGEOhBrls
4/5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGhloXSOW78
5/5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pm4TYGQ8dc
*Wireless Toronto*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtGSuAopOII
*Village Telco*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EsctLSG5dI
*FunkFeuer*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUMUnMkVm_w
*WLAN Ljubljana, Slovenia*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKFgWZO6Inw
*Athens Wireless Metropolitan Network (AWMN)*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5krFJ8nNpY
*Austin Wireless Freemium model*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC-U_IfV_hQ
*Freemium model - Brough Turner talk *
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbEnl6fdBBo
*Tribal Digital Village*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYXCCN-yxds
*Chambana Wireless*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKBdRt2xxWg
*BGWireless, Serbia*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI3MufT9ZAE
Nov
1
Today's interview (along with Susan Crawford) in Marketplace Tech Report here's the background and synopsis along with link so you can listen to the radio feed:
-
Election Day is tomorrow. By all indications we're going to be getting a very different, much more Republican Congress this time around. But before they come in, let's remember one of the last things the old, more Democratic Congress did. Or attempted to do, unsuccessfully.
By that, I mean net neutrality, the idea that Internet providers should be prevented from giving some Internet traffic priority over other Internet traffic. So if your provider decided you would get videos from YouTube really fast but websites from somewhere else really slow, they would be legally prohibited from doing so.
We talk to Sascha Meinrath, director of the New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative, and Susan Crawford, professor at Cardozo Law School in New York. They say not to expect much to come out of Congress this time either but that the ball has been placed clearly in the court of the Federal Communications Commission.
Late this year or possibly early next year, FCC Chairman will likely assert his agency's authority over internet communications. From there it's a question of whether whatever they do holds up in court.
Also in this show, a new software program lets employees of a company know where all their co-workers are physically located at all times. Which comes as a relief to people who hate privacy and never want to be left alone.
Sep
14
The Open Technology Initiative Helps Bring $11.8 Million for Broadband Adoption in Philadelphia
Second “Freedom Rings” Broadband Stimulus Award will Support Internet Access, Computers and Training
Today, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration awarded an $11.8 million grant to an 11 member coalition of community organizations lead by the Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition, the second “Freedom Rings” proposal to be awarded in the City from the federal Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. Compounding the $6.4 million awarded in June to the City of Philadelphia for 77 computer centers, this grant supports sustainable broadband adoption programs that will:
- Generate 5,000 new broadband household subscribers;
- Distribute over 5,500 computers to public housing residents and formerly homeless youth;
- Support 50 businesses to adopt broadband;
- Provide over 100,000 hours of hands-on training to 15,000 people; and,
- Create over 75,000 new broadband users through a viral social marketing campaign.
"The New America Foundation has been engaged in the assessment and evaluation of Philadelphia broadband initiatives since 2007," stated Sascha Meinrath, Director of the New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative. "OTI utilized the knowledge we've gleaned over the years to help develop the Philadelphia Freedom Rings Initiative – supporting an innovative collaboration to bring digital excellence to the city's residents."
Sharmain Matlock-Turner, President and CEO of the Urban Affairs Coalition, said, “we thank our friends at the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Initiative for helping us connect Philadelphia’s communities to broadband technologies. Most people know that broadband is essential for their daily lives. We know that long-term adoption strategies must be thoughtfully tailored to community needs and delivered through trusted, neighborhood-level organizations, like the Urban Affairs Coalition and Philadelphia’s Freedom Rings Partnership, in order to be effective and sustainable. New America is going to help us do just that.”
In Philadelphia, the Open Technology Initiative continued its on-the-ground support beyond the 2007 analysis of Philadelphia's Municipal wireless project The Philadelphia Story with strategy, grant writing, technical consulting, and guidance for the grants offered through the U.S. Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Building on expertise in Philadelphia, OTI has committed to evaluate the impact of the project through both quantitative and qualitative metrics.
"We are excited because this project prioritizes placing resources and skills training in the hands of those most in need, and will put Philadelphia at the forefront of cities building towards a digital future for all residents," explained Todd Wolfson, a co-founder of Media Mobilizing Project, a partner in the proposal.
“Today's announcement is another example of Philadelphia's deep history to lead and spur innovation through community engagement,” added Dan Meredith, Technologist and OTI's lead in Philadelphia. “This project's priorities move past typical dump and run technology efforts with an attempt to stymie the digital divide by bringing broadband adoption programs directly to Philadelphia residents.”
The Open Technology Initiative has supported efforts to direct broadband stimulus funding to community-focused projects across the country, through both on-the-ground efforts and providing expansive application resources.
A fact sheet on the Freedom Rings: Sustainable Broadband Adoption is available here: http://www2.ntia.doc.gov/files/grantees/factsheetpaurbanaffairscoalition.pdf
Please contact Kate Brown with media requests at 202-596-3365 or brown@newamerica.net.
Apr
8
Hoo-ray, it's time for the International Summit for Community Wireless Networks! The call for proposals is now officially open -- this is our first time hosting the Summit outside the U.S., so we're expecting a whole bunch of new folks from overseas. Here's more:
-
CALL FOR PROPOSALS -- Accepted April 1 - June 1, 2010
International Summit for Community Wireless Networks
August 12-15, 2010
Vienna, Austria
Propose panels online at www.wirelesssummit.org
Since the first National Summit for Community Wireless Networks in 2004, tens of thousands of community and municipal broadband initiatives have been deployed around the globe. The 2010 International Summit for Community Wireless Networks offers panelists to help shape the future direction of this thriving global movement. Over the course of three days, panels and workshops provide a significant opportunity for thinkers, developers, and stakeholders to swap notes and produce substantial recommendations supporting the continuing development of community wireless networks. By gathering leaders from across this field to exchange of strategies, stories, and best practices, the Summit is a key place to help shape the future of this global networking movement.
Interested presenters should propose innovative panels and workshops focusing on the three themes for the Summit: technology, policy, and implementation. The International Summit for Community Wireless Networks distinguishes itself from typical technical and academic conferences by engaging all participants in an ongoing dialog that encourages a strategic approach to community wireless network development and telecommunications policy reform. Panelists do more than present their work and opinions -- they facilitate a process that records lessons learned and help produce a comprehensive "to-do list" of action items for the coming months and years.
We invite your panel proposals and participation in this year's International Summit for Community Wireless Networks to discuss and exchange ideas on how to make universal broadband access a reality. Demonstrations of software innovation, success stories of network deployment, presentations of ongoing research and discussion of municipal and governmental collaboration, on both the national and transnational levels, are welcome. Panelists are encouraged to convene panels that look at specific issues from multiple angles and perspectives. Panel ideas will be accepted on a rolling basis and must be received no later than June 1, 2010. Please send panel proposals of 250 words or less to: summit at chambana.net. Travel stipends are available for speakers with financial need.
Past panels can be reviewed at http://wirelesssummit.org.
Feb
24
I'm hosting an exciting event today over at the New America Foundation -- if you can't make it in person, you can watch the stream live online:
The Open Technology Initiative of the New America Foundation will host Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski on February 24, 2010 at 11am. Chairman Genachowski will preview working recommendations in the National Broadband Plan for advancing U.S. mobile broadband leadership.
Recognizing the importance of broadband for ensuring America’s economic development and leadership, Congress and the President tasked the FCC with developing a National Broadband Plan to connect all Americans to affordable, world-class, high-speed Internet. The FCC’s National Broadband Plan, which the agency will deliver to Congress on March 17, 2010, will create jobs and spur economic growth; unleash new waves of innovation and investment; and improve education, health care, energy efficiency, public safety, and the vibrancy of our democracy.
Chairman Genachowski will preview working recommendations for spectrum reforms incorporated into the National Broadband Plan. A distinguished panel of industry representatives and the public interest advocates will respond to these proposals.
This event will be webcast live, and questions will be taken via Twitter. Send your question or comment to @newamerica with the hashtag of #NAFevents.
Welcome
Steve Coll
President, New America Foundation
Keynote
Julius Genachowski
Chairman, Federal Communications Commission
Moderator
Sascha Meinrath
Director, Open Technology Initiative
New America Foundation
Panelists
Ben Scott
Policy Director, Free Press
Chris Guttman-McCabe
Vice President, Regulatory Affairs
CTIA-The Wireless Association
Julie Kearney
Vice President for Regulatory Affairs
Consumer Electronics Association
Matt Wood
Associate Director, Media Access Project
Feb
8
SAVE THE DATE!
August 12-15, 2010:
International Summit for Community Wireless Networks
Vienna, Austria
www.wirelesssummit.org
The New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative, Tech Gate Vienna, the CUWiN Foundation, and the Acorn Active Media Foundation are pleased announce that the annual International Summit for Community Wireless Networks will take place in Vienna, Austria from August 12-15, 2010.
Internet access is increasingly important to all facets of civil society. Since the first National Summit for Community Wireless Networks in 2004, tens of thousands of community and municipal broadband initiatives have been deployed around the globe, but many communities are being left out of this communications revolution. "The global coalition of developers, communities, industry, and advocates working together over the past decade has created one of the most disruptive and far-reaching technological innovations of our generation, yet few know about it and fewer still have taken advantage of this opportunity," says Sascha Meinrath, director of the Open Technology Initiative and the Summit's founder. "The International Summit for Community Wireless Networks is the nexus around which this movement swaps notes, strategizes, and organizes its agenda for development and implementation of ubiquitous, affordable broadband networks."
2010 marks the first year that this group of technologists, entrepreneurs, government officials, academics and engaged citizens will convene outside the United States, a critical step to broaden and deepen international involvement in what truly is a global movement. Participants will learn from each other’s examples, exchange strategies and anecdotes, and build partnerships that strengthen alliances among projects.
Vienna possesses a rich and diverse mix of established technology companies and start ups, new media organizations, researchers and cultural producers as well as a remarkable number of institutions of higher learning. Not only is Vienna well positioned among the top international leaders in the information economy, the city is also home to FunkFeuer, one of the most advanced community wireless networks in the world. FunkFeuer is highly respected internationally for its technical and social innovations, its many collaborations with university researchers and artists, and the scale and scope of its network. The Summit will provide an opportunity to expand upon FunkFeuer's successes and spread best-methods for developing sustainable metro-scale wireless mesh networks.
The International Summit for Community Wireless Networks focuses on how wireless networks can better serve their target populations, the policies needed to support broader deployment of community wireless systems, and the latest technological and software innovations in the field.
More information on the International Summit for Community Wireless Networks, including a call for proposals, registration, and other logistical information, will be available in the coming weeks at www.wirelesssummit.org.
We look forward to seeing you in August!
About the Acorn Active Media Foundation: The Acorn Active Media Foundation engages in software, website and technical development in support of the global justice movement. Acorn's commitment to its work stems from a foundational philosophy that its projects should align with the Foundation's goals to support social and economic justice. More information is available at: www.acornactivemedia.com.
About the CUWiN Foundation (CUWiN): CUWiN is a world-renowned coalition of wireless developers and community volunteers committed to providing low-cost, do-it-yourself, community controlled alternatives to contemporary broadband models. Its mission is to develop decentralized, community-owned networks that foster democratic cultures and local content. Through advocacy and through its commitment to open source technology, CUWiN supports organic networks that grow to meet the needs of their community. More information is available at www.cuwin.net.
About the Open Technology Initiative: Part of the New America Foundation, a non-partisan, non-profit, public policy institute in Washington, D.C., the Open Technology Initiative (OTI) formulates policy and regulatory reforms to support open architectures and open source innovations and facilitates the development and implementation of open technologies and communications networks. As an independent non-profit initiative, OTI provides in-depth, objective research, analysis, and findings for policy decision-makers and the general public. More information is available at: http://oti.newamerica.net.
About Tech Gate Vienna: Tech Gate Vienna is Vienna's first Science and Technology Park. For several years Tech Gate Vienna has provided a common location for research facilities, technology orientated companies and supportive advisory services. Vienna's focus on high-tech development is right here. Concentration on specific topics has ensured its effectiveness, and created an important requirement for developing synergies. More information is available at: http://www.techgate.at.
Dec
17
An interesting proposal from Senators Warner & Snowe. Reading between the lines, this is to solve the problem that technical expertise is too often sorely lacking across a number of different areas within the FCC (which has prioritized legal expertise over technological):
-
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Julia Wanzco (Snowe)
December 8, 2009 202.224.1304
Kevin Hall (Warner)
202.224.2425
Snowe, Warner Announce Bill to
Boost Technical Resources for FCC
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) today announced bipartisan legislation to bolster access to technical resources for the Commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The Snowe-Warner initiative will update current law to allow each Commissioner to hire an additional staff member—an electrical engineer or computer scientist—to provide in-depth technical consultation.
“Given the rapid advancement of technologies and innovation within the telecommunications industry, it is essential that Commissioners have in-house technical expertise to make well informed regulatory decisions,” said Senator Snowe, a senior member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, which has jurisdiction over the legislation. “This legislation is a common-sense initiative that will guarantee each Commissioner has a technical expert on staff to provide detailed analysis on some of the most cutting-edge issues affecting the communications industry today.”
“Easing restrictions on the number of experts a commissioner can hire will provide the FCC with more tools and information it needs to decisions,” said Senator Warner. “This will give commissioners access to the best information possible, from all relevant disciplines, and in a timely manner – which is critical in making well-informed decisions.”
Under current law, each Commissioner is permitted to appoint only three professional assistants and a secretary. Historically, these professional assistants have been legal advisors covering the wireline, wireless, and cable/media sectors. The Snowe-Warner bill complements this structure by ensuring Commissioners have access to expertise involving the technical aspect of the issues, which is fundamental to developing sound regulatory policy related to the nation’s communications industry.
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