Q: As a regional manager for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, you represent businesses that span a wide variety of industries in all four states that MCA serves.  In your opinion, how does broadband technology benefit communities across our region?

A: Broadband applications and services have the power to transform the American economy by spurring investment and innovation in e-commerce, education, health care, entertainment, government, and almost every other sector of the American economy. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce believes the nation’s position as a leader in technology and innovation depends upon the establishment of a clearly defined vision coupled with a commitment, both public and private, to invest in future infrastructure and applications of broadband technologies.

Q: Online commerce has quickly grown into a multi-billion dollar industry, allowing small start-ups and geographically challenged businesses to effectively compete with larger retailers and companies located in larger metropolitan areas.  What are your thoughts on how to continue this growth?

A: For e-commerce growth to continue, online retailers require assurances that barriers to doing business are minimal, and that any regulations that do exist are predictable and consistent. Disparate laws and regulations between jurisdictions can increase the costs of providing goods to consumers and prevent new ventures from forming altogether.

Q: What do you think is the biggest challenge for the continued growth of wireless communications technology, and how can we mitigate that challenge?

A: Wireless technology has transformed almost every aspect of American life. It has enhanced communication, improved productivity, and increased efficiency. Yet, with additional spectrum and improved spectrum policies, individuals and businesses could realize even greater benefits. Currently, U.S. spectrum policy has created an artificial scarcity of airwaves.

In addition to fuelling the growth of mobile phone voice networks, effective spectrum policies are necessary for wireless to become a viable broadband alternative to DSL and cable modems. Competition would drive down the prices of all three services, and would create billions of dollars in consumer savings. Thus, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce advocates for the allocation of additional spectrum for innovative wireless services. A conservative analysis reveals that just 200 MHz of additional spectrum would lower per-minute wireless charges by about 50% and would lead to a 95% increase in usage by wireless customers. Moreover, to ensure its global leadership in technology, the United States must increase the amount of available spectrum for wireless broadband. If it does not, then the United States will fall far behind its economic competitors.

According to a new study by the University of Missouri’s Community Policy Analysis Center (CPAC) Missouri’s digital divide is growing, a trend that threatens to leave farmers and agribusiness ventures at a severe disadvantage unless policymakers make concerted efforts to improve technology infrastructure in rural communities and small towns.

The study, entitled The Benefits of Expanded Broadband for Missouri Farms and Agribusiness, shows that Missouri is significantly behind national averages for overall statewide broadband access, a gap that may have serious implications for the future development of the State’s $12.4 billion agriculture industry.

Click here to read the study.

On August 10, 2011, MCA hosted “The Great Equalizer: High-Speed Mobile Broadband and Rural America” a roundtable forum held in St. Joseph, Missouri and co-sponsored by the St. Joseph Metro Chamber.  Brian Fontes of Mobile Future served as the moderator of the roundtable which featured 17 policymakers and business leaders from the Northwest Missouri area.

Topics of discussion included the need for greater broadband access in rural areas, how mobile broadband can be utilized to bridge the broadband access gap between urban and rural settings, and the benefits of having broadband access in rural areas including increased efficiency in public safety, better opportunities for economic development, and more productive methods in the agriculture, livestock, and educational industries.

Attendees included several members of the Missouri legislature, a representative from Congressman Sam Graves’ office, leaders from regional economic development and planning commissions, representatives from the St. Joseph School District, members of the agriculture and livestock industry, economic development executives from the St. Joseph Metro Chamber, and other business leaders.

Media coverage of the event included a :46 piece on the evening news of the local ABC affiliate and a story in the St. Joseph News-Press.

Mid-American Communications Alliance Releases Results from Statewide Poll on Kansas Telecommunications Issues

Majority of Kansans agree that current regulations should be updated to reflect modern technology and encourage investment.

Click here for full survey results

Click here for a two page survey summary

The majority of Kansans agree that current regulations should be updated to reflect modern technology and encourage investment, according to results of a statewide public opinion poll released today by the Mid-American Communications Alliance (MCA).

“The results of MCA’s recent survey clearly show that a majority of Kansans agree with Gov. Brownback and believe it is time to update the state’s telecommunications policy to better encourage future investment and innovation,” stated Todd Abrajano, MCA’s executive director. “Empirically, when states successfully promote pro-growth policies and regulatory regimes in the telecommunications sector, the business community responds with millions of new investment dollars. If the state legislature follows through on Gov. Brownback’s call for policy updates this year, Kansas consumers should expect new jobs and cutting-edge communications technologies are headed their way.”

Key findings from the survey show that the telecommunications industry enjoys a favorable image among adults in Kansas. Forty-six percent (46%) of Kansans’ express positive feelings toward the industry, and three out of four (73%) say they are satisfied with the options for communications products and services available to them in the state. In an environment where nearly all Kansans see wireless as the future, the appetite for increased government regulation of the industry is low. Over 90% of respondents agree that fostering cutting-edge communication technologies is necessary for Kansas to remain competitive with other states, and 87% believe regulations should not hinder such innovation. Notably, these attitudes cross partisan lines. Rural residents are among the least critical of the state’s performance in ensuring all are connected, and supportive of measures that allow the industry to innovate and invest in technology within the state.

The findings were derived from a statewide survey of 503 adults across Kansas, conducted January 5 through 8, by Hart Research Associates on behalf of MCA. Out of all interviews administered over the telephone, 102 were conducted among adults who have only a cell phone. The results of the poll are statistically representative of the opinions of adults statewide and carry a margin of error of +/- 4.4%.

“Statewide and across party lines, Kansans understand that telecommunications policy can impact the state’s economy. We heard loud and clear that Kansans want lawmakers to embrace telecommunications policy that promotes investment and fosters innovation in the state,” said Abrajano.

Click here for full survey results

Click here for a two page survey summary

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently released their much ballyhooed National Broadband Plan

The plan outlines the following six goals which the FCC hopes to achieve moving forward:

• Goal 1: At least 100 million U.S. homes should have affordable access to actual download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second and actual upload speeds of at least 50 megabits per second.
• Goal 2: The United States should lead the world in mobile innovation, with the fastest and most extensive wireless networks of any nation.
• Goal 3: Every American should have affordable access to robust broadband service, and the means and skills to subscribe if they so choose.
• Goal 4: Every community should have affordable access to at least 1 Gbps broadband service to anchor institutions such as schools, hospitals and government buildings.
• Goal 5: To ensure the safety of Americans, every first responder should have access to a nationwide public safety wireless network.
• Goal 6: To ensure that America leads in the clean energy economy, every American should be able to use broadband to track and manage their real-time energy consumption.

After releasing the plan, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski sat down with PBS’ News Hour for an interview on the sweeping plan.

Initial reaction from some of the country’s largest broadband providers seemed cautious during a policy event at the National Press Club.

An editorial in the Washington Post found the FCC’s plan to be a bit more dubious and questioned whether government involvement in the Internet space is even necessary.

The next steps for the FCC plan will most certainly require Congressional action. Here’s an informative edition of C-SPAN’s The Communicators which explores what role Congress will have in the implementation of the plan.

On May 29th, a panel of national, state, and local technology experts led an educational seminar at Oklahoma Christian University to discuss how wireless technology is changing lives throughout Oklahoma and the rest of the world.

The seminar, hosted by the Mid-American Communications Alliance and co-sponsored by the Edmond Area Chamber of Commerce and Oklahoma Christian University, showcased the increasingly important nature of wireless technology in our lives and how Oklahoma is leading the nation in wireless technology adoption.

Click here to watch a video of the event on MCA’s YouTube channel.

In a landmark court decision handed down on April 6, 2010, a Federal appeals court ruled for Comcast and against the FCC on key Net Neutrality case

According to the above press report, the “unanimous ruling by the three-judge panel was a setback for the FCC because it questioned the agency’s authority to regulate broadband. That could cause problems beyond the FCC’s effort to adopt official net neutrality regulations. It also has serious implications for the ambitious national broadband-expansion plan released by the FCC last month. The FCCneeds the authority to regulate broadband so that it can push ahead with some of the plan’s key recommendations.”

In a radio interview on NPR’s Marketplace the day the court’s Comcast decision was released, Cecilia Kang, technology reporter for the Washington Post, discussed the consumer implications of the court’s decision and its effects on the FCC’s National Broadband Plan.

And in an article entitled, “Net Neutrality is Anti-Consumer,” the editors of the_National Review_ offered up a very thorough piece of analysis regarding the court’s Comcast ruling, explaining why efforts toward government regulation of the Internet will not benefit consumers. In order to overcome their loss in the courts, the National Review editors report that, “Net-neutrality backers, of whomFCC chairman Julius Genachowski is one, have suggested that the FCC should reclassify the Internet as a ‘telecommunications service’ rather than an ‘information service’ in order to gain the regulatory authority it currently lacks.”

Reclassification of the Internet under the FCC’s Title II provisions, however, presents its own set of problems for the Commission. Not only is reclassification legally questionable, but it would almost certainly put the brakes on innovation and future network investment in the Internet.

The FCC could continue to attempt to gain regulatory control of the Internet through reclassification and/or ask Congress to pass statutory changes which grant the Commission that authority, but that could end up being a case study in throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

The existing regulatory environment for the Internet has been working – innovation and new technology has flourished. Private investment coupled with entrepreneurial spirit has created a booming Internet industry – a success story in an otherwise troubled economy.

MCA believes that the FCC’S goal of seeking to connect all of America to the promise of high-speed Internet is a good one. But public policies and regulatory structures that distract from that goal could be barriers to future innovation, instead of encouraging and enabling more competition and increased access to the Internet.

Additional Information on Net Neutrality

Press release from the Institute for Policy Innovation opposing net neutrality regulations

Neutering the ‘Net

Is the FCC neutralizing innovation?

Network neutrality? How about FCC neutrality?

The Day Internet Freedom Died

On March 11, after weeks of getting bombarded by thousands of letters, phone calls, and e-mails from Oklahoma consumers, the Commission unanimously voted to postpone consideration of the statewide toll-free calling plan. The vote effectively “Axes the Wireless Tax” for now. MCA supporters who contacted the Commission deserve full credit for helping the Commissioners realize the proposal needed to be more carefully examined. Congratulations for making sure your voices were heard!

Axe the Wireless Tax Campaign Timeline

In mid January, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC), the state agency tasked with regulating utilities across the state, began a process to study whether a statewide toll-free calling area would be a good idea.

After the process began, The Oklahoman ran an article about the proposal that looked at arguments both for and against the plan. The next day, the Tulsa World ran an editorial which pointed out that the OCC’s “toll-free” plan would not really be free – after all, someone would have to pay for it, right?

Soon after, The Oklahoman reported what the Tulsa World editorial writers had already guessed – that the plan would cost consumers roughly $2.00 per month per line in additional fees. This new fee would be for ALL phone lines, regardless of whether they are landlines, cellular lines, or Internet phone lines. The $2.00 figure was only an initial estimate from the OCC staff, which meant the additional monthly fees could end up being even higher.

Well, it didn’t take long for the Commission staff to revise their initial estimate. On February 22nd, Commission staff released a supplemental economic analysis which showed a new estimate of $3.19 per month per line, which was quickly reported by The Oklahoman.

The media initially reported that the OCC had until April 1st to send their proposal to the state legislature. Once it became clear that the OCC plan was a serious possibility, opinions started rolling in about whether statewide toll-free calling made sense for Oklahoma consumers.

Leading off those opinions was the Hughes County Times in Wetumka, (PDF), and it wasn’t good news for the OCC’s plan.

On February 19th, Mid-American Communications Alliance filed an official comment with the Commission opposing the plan and began a statewide grassroots effort to convince the OCC to scrap the proposal.

On February 24th, the Tulsa World published an editorial publicly opposing the Commission plan, calling the proposal a “waste of time” and “a bad deal for most telephone users in Oklahoma.”

On February 25th, the Oologah Lake Leader published an editorial in opposition of the OCC proposal, (PDF) calling the plan “a child of Satan that should be strangled in its cradle before it can get any bigger and cause Oklahoma irreparable harm.”

On February 26th, The Oklahoman, the state’s largest newspaper, published an editorial opposing a statewide toll-free calling plan and urging the Commission to “hang up on this idea.”

On March 4th, The Oklahoman reported that debate surrounding the OCC proposal was raging and that there were questions about whether the Commission even had the legal jurisdiction to implement the plan.

On March 5th, the Tulsa World published a letter to the editor from MCA’s Executive Director urging the Commission to scrap the toll-free calling plan.

On March 11, after weeks of being inundated by thousands of letters, phone calls, and e-mails from MCA supporters and other Oklahoma consumers, the Commission unanimously voted to postpone consideration of the statewide toll-free calling plan. The vote effectively “Axed the Wireless Tax,” putting the brakes on a rushed and ill-conceived proposal.

In a 3-2 vote along party lines, the Federal Communications Commission began moving forward with open-Internet regulations.

The FCC proceeding to consider net neutrality rules is the culmination of contentious lobbying by the telecom industry and an intense exchange of letters from members of Congress.

With Thursday’s vote, the five-member panel began the process to move forward with open-Internet regulations announced last month by the agency’s chairman, Juilus Genachowski. His proposal would formally codify the FCC’s four principles intended to prevent Internet service providers from giving preferential treatment to certain content and services and therefore deciding which applications consumers have access to. He also proposed two additional principles, one to ensure providers do not discriminate between applications and another to require Internet companies to disclose their network management practices to consumers.

Genachowski had the full support of Democratic Commissioners Micheal Copps and Mignon Clyburn, as expected. Republican Commissioners Robert McDowell and Meredith Atwell Baker dissented on the idea that government regulation is needed to keep the Internet open, but supported the beginning of a fact-finding process to learn more about the technical and legal questions surrounding net neutrality.

Click here to read more

Adults with little Internet experience show changes in their brain activity after just one week online, a new study finds.

The results suggest Internet training can stimulate neural activation patterns and could potentially enhance brain function and cognition in older adults.

As the brain ages, a number of structural and functional changes occur, including atrophy, or decay, reductions in cell activity and increases in complex things like deposits of amyloid plaques and tau tangles, which can impact cognitive function.

Research has shown that mental stimulation similar to the stimulation that occurs in individuals who frequently use the Internet may affect the efficiency of cognitive processing and alter the way the brain encodes new information.

Click here to read more