A New Age Of Communication In An Obama Administration

Barack Obama put out some good government and internet freedom proposals yesterday that were so transformative that longtime critic Matt Stoller all but endorsed him. Obama does seem to value transparency and the importance of broadband development in capturing civic engagement and bridging the digital divide. The FCC needs a radical restructuring. The current chief is trying to practically eliminate media ownership rules. An Obama Administration would encourage community and citizen-based media development by ensuring net neutrality and expanding toward universal access, in addition to goo-goo things like putting bills on the White House website (with comments enabled!) for five days before signage.

In the plan, Obama also calls for more aggressive government support of broadband access. Specifically, he says subsidies for phone carriers should be given only to those offering both regular phone service and Internet broadband to rural areas. To date, carriers offering merely phone service have been able to claim subsidies from the so-called Universal Service Fund, giving them little incentive to roll out out broadband.

Obama also calls for reviewing the decision by the Federal Communications Commission to open the wireless spectrum for competition. He thinks the FCC may not have gone far enough with its recent ruling, according to campaign managers who asked not to be named. He wants to conduct a multiyear review but is leaning toward pushing for the opening of some spectrum on the 700 MHz band so third parties can lease it on a wholesale basis.

This is to ensure that the winners of a pending auction for the spectrum - expected to be large phone carriers like Verizon - don't just sit on the spectrum and not use it. Some fear they may do that to block others from competing with them.

Obama's proposals are supported by Google, which is expected to bid on the wireless spectrum.

The candidate also is in favor of network neutrality, a policy that would prevent Internet service providers from charging companies like Google extra to ensure the speedy transfer of data over the Internet.

This really points to how an Obama Administration would be committed to change on these kinds of issues, which are at the root of our democracy. It should be noted that Edwards has been at the forefront of spectrum and media ownership issues as well.