saschameinrath.com
FCC Should Move Quickly on Rural Broadband Access: Federal News Radio Interview.
From: Federal News Radio:
Click here to listen to or download the interview. Here's more:
The U.S. is falling behind when it comes to broadband usage and access.
This is according to Sascha Meinrath, Director of the New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative.
Meinrath recently testified at the FCC Workshop on Next Generation Wireless Technology.
He told the Daily Debrief more about why broadband is so important, why the FCC should do what it can to make sure everyone has access to wireless communications, and what broadband could do for federal agencies in remote locations.
"The FCC now, having realized that we are rapidly losing pace with a growing number of other countries, has decided it is time for us to develop a national broadband policy to, in essence, help spur broadband connectivity across the whole country. So, this would mean both faster speeds and better services in places that are already served and doing the necessary infrastructure development to ensure that those that have been unserved or underserved around the country are actually provided this incredibly important, mission critical resource."
Until the late 1990's, the U.S. was the leader of Internet connectivity.
Ten years later, however, there has been a dramatic shift.
Customers in the United States now pay more for worse services, slower speeds and more limitations than other countries around the world.
The federal government is trying to change this, Meinrath said, with a number of different plans.
"On the one hand, we have this broadband stimulus . . . and that's $7.2 billion, which sounds like a whole money on the face of it, but on the other hand, it's a tiny fraction of what we actually need to be spending as a country to really catch up to other countries around the globe to make a competitive infrastructure for next generation, 21st century economies."
Meinrath used the example of Australia for perspective, which has invested $ 31 billion and has a significantly smaller population.
"The U.S., with $7.2 billion, is spending about $24 per capita and Australia is spending $1,400 per capita. So, all of a sudden one can see that the investment that we're making is really just the tip of the ice berg in terms of what we actually need to be putting into broadband infrastructure."
The problem of getting technology out to rural areas is not new.
Meinrath said the same arguments being used today for broadband access were used at the beginning of the 20th century when the telephone first came into use.
"Today, people look at broadband connectivity as, in some ways, a luxury, because they don't see all of the add-ons that it makes possible -- as a resource, atop which all sorts of commerce and . . . efficiencies are made possible. Unless you keep that holistic view of what broadband makes possible, you fail to really take into account the real meaningful implications and ramifications that broadband connectivity makes possible for everyone."
In today's world, there are also detriments for those who are not connected, Meinrath added.
"As more people get online, those that do not have access to that resource face increasingly insurmountable odds, at everyone from developing and getting out their applications for jobs to accessing resources online to paying their bills -- a whole variety of different things that we take for granted now."
The FCC recently started a blog and joined Twitter to better inform the public about the issues surrounding broadband capabilities.
As far as implementing those changes, Meinrath said he is cautiously optimistic that the FCC Is on the right path.
"I haven't yet seen the plan and I haven't yet seen the meaningful changes being implemented that clearly need to be done. . . . I am quite willing to hold people's toes to the fire to ensure that the changes that need to happen, happen."
Meinrath said that the next three to six months will set a trajectory for the next decade of policies and regulations having to do with broadband.
---
On the Web:
New America Foundation -- Prepared Testimony of Sascha Meinrath Before the FCC Wireless Technology Workshop
FCC -- broadband.gov
FCC on Twitter -- twitter.com/fccdotgov
(Copyright 2009 by FederalNewsRadio.com. All Rights Reserved.)
IPv6 for Community Networks -- A Proposal Whose Time Has Come!
Please help spread the word!
My colleague, Josh King, and I have been working since 2005 to get IPv6 (Internet addresses) for community networks and everything may come down to the next few weeks. We're asking ARIN to create a process for allocating address space to local broadband networks and could use your support for this proposal. A brief e-mail to the ARIN list
Thanks,
--Sascha Meinrath
Director, Open Technology Initiative
New America Foundation
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [CWN-Summit] 2008-3 Needs Your Support!
Date: Sat, 22 Aug 2009 00:21:29 -0500
From: Joshua King
Greetings,
For quite a while now, Acorn Active Media Foundation has been pursuing a IPv6 addressing policy change at the American Registry of Internet Numbers (ARIN). This policy proposal (numbered 2008-3) is to establish Community Networks as entities which can receive IPv6 address allocations. This policy was pursued for a few reasons:
1. To establish a niche for Community Networks to apply. When Acorn initially applied for an allocation, they didn't know what to do with us. It can be difficult for a disaggregated network to demonstrate the necessary subscribers to qualify as LIR (a Local Internet Registry, usually an ISP).
2. To allow Community Networks to future-proof their networks. Not many upstream providers currently support IPv6.
3. To simplify network architecture. IPv6 mitigates the need for NAT or even DHCP, and can support large single-subnet clouds without collision.
4. For Community Networks to experiment with unique mobile addressing between networks.
5. To try and establish lower fees. Although the policy manual can't contain anything about fees (fees are decided by a separate process), this gives something for the reduced fees to be applied to.
And last and I think most importantly:
6. This policy bucks the trend of just large ISPs having address allocations. There isn't any reason that there shouldn't be an allocation available for community networks, because IPv6 addresses are plentiful. This is the stage where, if we don't want the IPv4 situation of a few large institutions having most of the address space, we should carve out a niche for Community Networks to have their own spot on the Internet.
So if you think this is a good idea, please send a message to the ARIN Policy Proposal Mailinglist voicing your support. The proposal has gone into an comment period before it is decided on by the ARIN Advisory Committee in a couple weeks, so this is the time for the people in ARIN to be reassured that there are actual Community Networks out there who think this is a good idea. It's a small step, but may be a useful one for the greater community of Community Networks. Please forward this message on to anyone you think might be interested. Time is of the essence!
ARIN PPML Contact Address: arin-ppml@arin.net
PPML Archives: http://lists.arin.net/pipermail/arin-ppml
Full text and process background of 2008-3: https://www.arin.net/policy/proposals/2008_3.html
Prepared Testimony of Sascha Meinrath Before the FCC Wireless Technology Workshop
A bit late -- but have been slammed. I speak again on September 9th on the consumer issues panel. Should be a really interesting time of things:
- First, technological advances are creating a whole host of new platforms and hardware to better connect people, dramatically increasing the utility of communications tools.
- Second, consumers everywhere are clamoring for access to advanced services and new applications - driving multi-media production and information dissemination.
- Third, generational shifts amongst our country's key decision-makers are generating the potential for seismic changes in our country's regulatory environment.
Prepared Testimony of Sascha Meinrath Before the FCC Wireless Technology Workshop
By Sascha Meinrath, New America Foundation
August 13, 2009
I work for a DC-based think tank - holding down the technology arm of the foundation's work.
The Open Technology Initiative formulates policy and regulatory reforms to support open architectures and open source innovations; and facilitate 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.
***
Today we are living through a critical juncture in telecommunications history.
A trifecta of recent societal shifts are combining to create a "perfect storm" for advancing policies to better meet the needs of all U.S. residents.
Taken together, these factors should be driving a communications renaissanceakin to the introduction of the printing press, telephone, or the Internet itself.
Instead,what we are seeing is a systematic entrenchment of vested interests that are diligently:
1. working to prevent many of the most innovative technologies from ever seeing the light of day;
2. who are engaging in draconian attempts to limit media production and stifle information dissemination; and,
3. as Amy Schatz reported yesterday in the Wall Street Journal, launching unprecedented lobbying efforts to stagnate or prevent meaningful and much-needed reforms.
Here inside the Beltway, an epic battle is about to be waged between those seeking to create a participatory, distributed, and democratic digital public sphere and forces seeking to re-establish a command-and-control regime over next-generation telecommunications infrastructure.
As the populace shifts from wireline to mobile communications as theirconnectivity norm, wireless technologies are at the very heart of this battle.
Instead of building next-generation networks focused around lowering costs forconsumers and maximizing user control over the services and hardware we have bought, providers are architecting systems that maximize billable moments -commoditizing every new space and function possible.
Instead of fostering interconnectivity of networks and interoperability of devices, theforces of command-and-control seek new ways to capture market share and generate path dependencies to limit customer churn.
Handset exclusivity and the lockdown of cellular phones and PDAs are symptomatic of this business model; but so too are the myriad limitations we've already seen to prevent users from doing everything from streaming video, to Google Voice andSkype.
Historically,over the past 75 years, we have dramatically increased wireless capacity by opening up higher and higher frequencies as the technologies have made these bands viable. Allocations for new uses have paralleled these reforms.
However, assignments to license holders in years' past, being based upon the cutting edge technological capacities of their day, are remarkably in efficient by today's standards.
Today, cognitive and software defined radio technologies allows us to "in-fill"throughout the public airwaves - dynamically reusing empty or underutilized frequencies.
This opportunistic spectrum reuse - and its potential to dramatically decentralize and improve communications - is one of the most powerful tools available for breaking the current strangleholds we face over how we communicate.
Today's technological capabilities have far outstripped many current business practices- straining infrastructure that was built for the wrong purpose.
Tomorrow, this disruptive potential is certain to grow and - so long as current systems remain locked down and service provision fails to meet consumer needs - may achieve explosive proportions.
The question we must all face and answer, is "How do we transition to a moredistributed, participatory, democratic telecommunications system?"
After years of burying our head in the sand, a continuing failure to forthrightly address systematic shortcoming in our wireless communications infrastructure will dramatically increase the headaches (and economic costs) that we will eventually have to face.
Leadership from Congress, from private industry, and from the public interest sector is desperately needed to ensure that these necessary transitions are graceful instead of unmanageable and liberatory instead of harmful.
But most importantly, the onus lies with the FCC to ensure that the future of wireless communications lives up to its democratic potential.
The FCC, through incentives and regulatory fiat has the responsibility to ensure that the public airwaves serve, first and foremost, the best interest of the residents of the United States and leverage the capabilities of open hardwareand software; cognitive radio technologies; and peer-to-peer, distributed infrastructures.
I look forward to hearing how each of my co-panelists sees their company's rolein supporting this mandate and look forward to your questions.
What's the Open Technology Initiative up to These Days? Watch this Video & Find Out.
Recently, Public Knowledge visited with the Open Technology Initiative to discuss some of our recent projects. Here's the quick 5-minute video they pulled together -- they wanted to interview me, but I pulled in a whole bunch of my staff. Lots of fun!
Public Knowledge Presents Sixth IP3 Awards to Vaidhyanathan, Jackson, Meinrath
I got a surprise call from Gigi Sohn, President of Public Knowledge, yesterday evening that I'd been chosen by this year's judges for their IP3 award for "Internet Protocol". Very exciting stuff! You can swing by and hoist a pint in celebration at the October 15th award ceremony. More info is below:
Public Knowledge Presents Sixth IP3 Awards to Vaidhyanathan, Jackson, Meinrath
For Immediate Release:
August 4, 2009
Public Knowledge President Gigi B. Sohn announced that three winners have been chosen for the 2009 IP3 awards. In addition, a special President’s Award will also be presented. The name of that winner has not yet been disclosed.
This year, the awards will be given to Siva Vaidhyanathan, Karen Jackson and Sascha Meinrath. Awards are given to individuals who over the past year (or over the course of their careers) who have advanced the public interest in one of the three areas of “IP” –Intellectual Property, Information Policy and Internet Protocol. The awards will be presented at a ceremony Oct. 15 in Washington, D.C.
Vaidhyanathan was recognized for his work in intellectual property. Now a professor of media studies at the University of Virginia, Vaidhyanathan for a decade has been one of the leading academic advocates for a more balanced copyright policy. He is the author of two books, His first book, “Copyrights and Copywrongs: The Rise of Intellectual Property and How it Threatens Creativity,” (New York University Press, 2001) and “The Anarchist in the Library: How the Clash Between Freedom and Control is Hacking the Real World and Crashing the System” (Basic Books, 2004), with a third scheduled for next year. He also has written numerous articles and appeared on TV making the case for access to information.
Jackson, the deputy secretary of technology for the Commonwealth of Virginia, was recognized for her work in information policy. She was recognized for her work in making information available to local governments about how to bring broadband to their areas, and for leading the Commonwealth’s broadband mapping project using state resources to complete the task ahead of many other states. She has worked with government and industry to become one of the preeminent broadband advocates in the country.
Meinrath was recognized for his work in Internet protocol. He is the creator of the Open Technology Initiative (OTI) at the New America Foundation. OTI is dedicated to using the potential of innovative open technologies by studying their social and economic impact, providing in-depth, objective research, analysis, and findings. He was also a principal in creating the Measurement Lab (M-Lab), an open platform designed to allow researchers to study traffic on the Internet. He also has a long history of building wireless community networks, and provides expertise on spectrum issues to the Public Interest Spectrum Coalition.
Judges for this year were:
Kenneth DeGraff, legislative director for Rep. Mike Doyle;
Parul Desai, vice president of the Media Access Project;
Jason Schultz, Acting Director, Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic, UC Berkeley School of Law;
Jonathan Taplin, professor at the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Southern California, and a member of the Public Knowledge Board of Directors.
IP3 winners in 2008 were Ben Scott, policy director at Free Press; Fred von Lohmann, senior staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Carl Malamud, founder of Public.Resource.org. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) received the special President’s Award.
Public Knowledge is a public-interest advocacy and education organization that seeks to promote a balanced approach to intellectual property law and technology policy that reflects the “cultural bargain” intended by the framers of the constitution. More information available at: http://www.publicknowledge.org
NTIA/RUS Grant Application Guides Released by Open Technology Initiative.
The Open Technology Initiative has released four application guides for those looking to apply for broadband stimulus funding.
The guides include general information on each of the four main broadband stimulus programs (BTOP and BIP broadband infrastructure, computer centers, and broadband adoption) as well as:
1. Primary sourcing to each application's requirements;
2. Check lists for the various records, written documents, budget items, etc. needed for the application;
3. Role breakdowns for building an application team; and,
4. Estimated timelines laying out the how long it will take your application team to fill out the application.
You can download the guides, along with the strategy memo and resource guide released by OTI and the Columbia Telecommunications Corporation from:
Or get the guides directly...
BIP BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE APPLICATION GUIDE:
BTOP BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE APPLICATION GUIDE:
SUSTAINABLE BROADBAND ADOPTION APPLICATION GUIDE:
PUBLIC COMPUTER CENTER APPLICATION GUIDE:
Harvard’s Berkman Center to Conduct Independent Review of Broadband Studies to Assist FCC.
About a half-decade ago I wrote up a piece for the Journal of Community Informatics, "Community Wireless Networking and Open Spectrum Usage: A Research Agenda to Support Progressive Policy Reform of the Public Airwaves". My focus was on spectrum policy, but the first key point I raised was valuable across the board -- to create a truly progressive telecommunications policy:
- "First, identify major research that has already been conducted and impacted (or been cited) in regulatory/policy debates, as well as the independent research labs that are most active in contemporary spectrum research areas. This assessment would survey the literature that "counts" -- encompassing technical, economic, social, and other domains that should be taken into account and help inform contemporary regulatory/policy debates. This literature could then be used to help set the agenda for future policy debates."
Now fast forward to today's press release from the FCC (and which happens to be put out by my friend and colleague, Jen Howard, who just started her new gig at the FCC last week):
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 14, 2009
NEWS MEDIA CONTACT
Jen Howard
(202) 418-0506
Jen.howard@fcc.gov
Harvard’s Berkman Center to Conduct Independent Review of Broadband Studies to Assist FCC
WASHINGTON – The Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University will conduct an independent expert review of existing literature and studies about broadband deployment and usage throughout the world. This project will help inform the FCC’s efforts in developing the National Broadband Plan.
“Advanced communications have the potential to enhance the lives of all Americans, improve public safety, create jobs, and support our economic recovery,” Chairman Julius Genachowski said. “As the Commission embarks on the important task of crafting a National Broadband Plan, better data will inform and animate the activities of the agency. The Berkman Center’s independent review of existing information will help lay the foundation for enlightened, data-driven decisionmaking. I appreciate the Berkman Center’s invaluable assistance and look forward to seeing the results.”
Yochai Benkler, the Berkman Professor of Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard, and faculty co-director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, said, “I am pleased that the Berkman Center can contribute positively to the process Chairman Genachowski has envisioned for developing a national broadband strategy by providing to the Commission, and thereby the public, the results of our compilation and assessment of the existing literature on this important and timely subject.”
“A comprehensive assessment of these plans will be enormously helpful given our short timetable,” said Blair Levin, who is coordinating the FCC’s National Broadband Plan. “We don’t want to reinvent the wheel. Knowing what has already been learned will improve our ability to deliver the best possible National Broadband Plan.” Consistent with Chairman Genachowski’s recent public statements regarding an open and transparent National Broadband Plan process, the results of the Berkman Center review will be made publicly available.
Awesome!
Closing the Digital Divide: WNPR Highlights Some of the Key Issues.
I spent my morning yesterday on Connecticut Public Radio (WNPR) discussing the digital divide. It was a fun show (I always enjoy the call-in formats since listeners often bring up the best questions and comments). Here's more along with a link to the Where We Live show archive:
WWL: Closing the Digital Divide | Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network
The internet might have been born here in the US, but we’ve fallen behind much of the industrialized world when it comes to making sure everyone can access the web. Non-white households, rural households, and low income households are still significantly less likely than wealthier, whiter, more urban populations to have fast, reliable internet at home. And that's a problem. Connectivity has consequences for the economy and for education, and increasingly, for democracy.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes $7.2 billion in stimulus funding for broadband deployment to under served areas—to be distributed by next summer. Many are calling this a golden opportunity to close the digital divide, a move towards internet access for all Americans. Coming up, Where We Live, a discussion with policy experts and activists.
How do we get affordable broadband into housing projects? Over mountain passes? Out to remote farms? And why does it matter? What do you think? Has internet access become more than a luxury…is it a right?
Words of Wisdom from Philly:
My friends and colleagues, Todd Wolfson and Hannah Sassaman, have a great OpEd in today's Daily News discussing the City of Philadelphia's open process for applying for BTOP grant funding. Strong leadership from City officials melded with active support from community organizers has been part of Philly's process from the get-go and is an exemplar for other communities. Here's more:
Posted on Wed, Jul. 8, 2009
The Internet for everyone
By TODD WOLFSON & HANNAH SASSAMAN
PHILADELPHIA is lining up for a race with a big prize - tens of millions in stimulus money to expand Internet access. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has authorized $7.2 billion for broadband programs, with everything from tricking out community centers with high-speed lines to mapping broadband availability already on the table as fundable programs.
The other day in Erie, Vice President Biden announced the guidelines, and set a 45-day window for the first round of applications, closing Aug. 14. That's especially exciting for us, since only about 50 percent of Philadelphians have daily Internet access and even fewer have access at home.
With all the economic problems the city and the country face, why has the administration prioritized the Internet? As Biden said, these grants are "a first step toward realizing President Obama's vision of a nationwide 21st century communications infrastructure - one that encourages economic growth, enhances America's global competitiveness and helps address many of America's most pressing challenges."
With Internet access, low-income families can access jobs, young people can create media about their lives and neighborhoods, small businesses can innovate and develop, and communities can take greater part in government. Access to broadband communication gives poor people power that they need more than ever.
It's great that we have a chance at money to build a communications system that serves everyone. But the feds are being very careful about how that money gets used. "Service" can't just mean that Verizon will come to your home and install a line for a monthly fee many can't afford. It will mean training, hardware and the leadership to get people online in real ways.
That's why the National Telecommunications and Information Administration is looking hard at the applications. It isn't just big corporations or shiny ideas that will walk away with these dollars - the more community engagement the NTIA sees, the better the chances of getting the cash.
But Philly is ready. Our chief information officer, Allan Frank, deserves credit for leading the most open process in the country when it comes to designing the city's application for broadband stimulus. A series of conversations with community groups and institutional leaders, launched with an all-day meeting on June 23, will lead to an application designed by everyone from high school students to shelter managers and community organizers.
The results from that meeting will be used by the city and a partner coalition of digital-inclusion specialists to design a winning bid. The communities who need the broadband connectivity are working with the city to design the plan to get it - this is bold thinking Mayor Nutter should fully support.
Only a few things can trip up the city now. Philly is standing at the starting line with other national competitors for this money: city and county governments, tech companies, community groups. The city will win big if it keeps its plan to solve the problem of the digital divide for low-income and disenfranchised communities.
To do that, the city must keep community groups at the table in a real way and the grantwriting process transparent. Other cities (San Francisco, Seattle, Boston) are building networks to conduct major city services and business, to provide public safety and help poor people get online. Now it's our turn.
We have a chance to build a city where everyone has Internet access. If we keep communities at the table and support our CIO, we can change how Philadelphians communicate, for good. *
Todd Wolfson represents the Media Mobilizing Project and Hannah Sassaman the Digital Justice Coalition.
The End of Spectrum Scarcity: Opportunistic Access to the Airwaves.
Here's a fun event that I'll be speaking at on the 25th. Should be a lively discussion of what's possible (yet not happening) in terms of 21st Century spectrum licensure.
The End of Spectrum Scarcity:
Opportunistic Access to the Airwaves
As the FCC begins its year-long process to recommend a National Broadband Plan, one starting point is to unlock publicly-owned assets that can facilitate ubiquitous, affordable broadband access. Wireless spectrum remains the most cost-effective and rapid means to deliver broadband access to rural and unserved urban residents. But as mobile broadband use continues to increase exponentially, demand for spectrum will rapidly outpace availability under current spectrum management policies.
Public policy seems stymied by the myth that spectrum is scarce. In reality, only government permission to access the airwaves (licenses) is scarce – spectrum capacity itself is barely used in most locations and at most times. This underutilized spectrum represents enormous, untapped, public capacity for high-speed and pervasive broadband connectivity. It is vital to a national broadband plan to consider policies that will encourage more intensive and efficient use of the nation’s spectrum resources.
What combination of technologies and policy reforms can open the airwaves and enable an era of pervasive connectivity? Our panel includes technology and policy experts who believe dynamic, opportunistic access to underutilized spectrum – especially federal government bands – is feasible if we can only muster the political will. One promising mechanism for making substantial new allocations of spectrum available for wireless broadband deployments and other innovation is to leverage the TV Bands Database that will be certified by the FCC for unlicensed access to vacant TV channels. Several papers describing this and other ideas to achieve more shared, dynamic spectrum access will be released at this event.
Start: 06/25/2009 - 12:15pm
End: 06/25/2009 - 1:45pm
New America Foundation
1899 L Street NW, 4th Floor
Washington, DC 20036
United States
See map: Google Maps
Participants
Kevin Werbach
Assistant Professor of Law, the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Co-lead on the Obama Administration's FCC Transition review
Preston Marshall
Director, Information Sciences Institute,
Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California
Former Program Manager, DARPA
Next Generation Communications
Michael Marcus
Principal, Marcus Consulting
Tom Stroup
CEO, Shared Spectrum Company
Sascha Meinrath
Director, Open Technology Initiative, New America Foundation
Michael Calabrese
Vice President and Director, Wireless Future Program, New America Foundation