[WelMac] Broadband is a Luxury?

[Jo 'Mangee' Booth]

Some of you may be interested in this seminar... The best thing your  
Mac can have is a high speed internet connection these days, and  
often it is treated and priced as a luxury...

-Jo.

Seminar : Josh Silver, Free Press (USA )  "Broadband as a Public
Utility instead of a Luxury "

Date: Friday Dec 16 2005
Time : 4:30 pm
Location: POD Cnr Victoria & Willeston Sts , Wellington

Josh Silver is Executive Director of the largest "media reform" NGO
in the USA.  , Free Press
( www.freepress.net)  .

Josh  is currently visiting NZ to enjoy some spectacular scenery but
has agreed to hold a seminar sponsored by InternetNZ to share some of
his experiences  with Free Press and developments in the States
regarding municipal broadband initiatives

Josh in his comments regarding the upcoming seminar has noted

" There has been a remarkable movement in the US over the past three
years. Three million people rose up to protest efforts to let the
largest media conglomerates get bigger. Our organization has grown
from just me three years ago to 16 staff and over 250,000 online
activists. We are finding success in organizing around four central
media issues:

* ownership,
* public broadcasting (the extreme right is trying to neuter it),
*propaganda (we have a problem with government and corporate video
news releases posing as local TV news), and
* community internet, as battles are emerging in three primary areas:

1) will municipalities be allowed to compete with cable and telcos to
offer broadband;
2) will there be "network neutrality" so that online content
providers can be assured ready access;
3) will there be adequate set-asides of unlicensed spectrum for
wireless broadband and devices.

These issues enormously important, but along are virtually impossible
to present in a simple and compelling manner that inspires citizens
to pressure legislators. We're finding in the US, that by creating a
broad "media reform" movement, we can exert pressure by aggregating
concern and using smart tactics to manipulate inherent points of
conflicts between the big guys: namely major online content providers
like Microsoft, Yahoo and Google against established cable and
telephone providers. "

In April 2005 Free Press along with Consumer Federation of America,
Consumers Union, Media Access Project  published  a white paper
entitled Connecting the Public: The Truth about Municipal  Broadband
. The report states

" At the end of the day, local governments, accountable to local
citizens understand their own needs and should have the freedom to
find local solutions to local problems.  We should not require
citizens to beg big corporations to deploy systems when these
citizens have the power to take matters into their own hands."

IF you are interested in attending please  RSVP
isabel at internetnz.net.nz. Note seating is limited


Simon Riley
InternetNZ Councillor
021 213 2050

For Press inquiries please contact  Simon Riley



Reference :

1. Connecting the Public: The Truth about Municipal Broadband. Consumer
Federation of America, Consumers Union, Media Access Project and Free
Press, April 2005.
http://www.freepress.net/docs/mb_white_paper.pdf

2. " Broadband as a public utility instead of a luxury. "
Community Internet : Broadband as a Public Service
http://www.freepress.net/communityinternet/