Broadband Documents

The full filing is available in PDF format.

Before the
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20554

In the Matter of
Free Press, et al. Petition for Declaratory Ruling
Broadband Industry Practices
WC Docket No. 07-52

To: The Commission

REPLY TO COMCAST’S ARGUMENT WITH REGARD TO CBS v. FCC

Media Access Project, on behalf of Free Press, et al., files these further written ex parte comments in response to the written ex parte filed by Comcast on July 24, 2008.

The original filing is available in PDF format.

On June 3, 2008, Jef Pearlman and Ari Abramowitz of Public Knowledge, Harold Feld and Elizabeth Broomfield of Media Access Project, Ben Scott of Free Press, and Michael Calabrese of the New America Foundation met with Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, his legal advisor, Renée Roland Crittendon, and two interns. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss several issues regarding AWS-3 spectrum, particularly its service rules.

We covered four major issues in this meeting: prioritization of network capacity, the open devices and applications requirement, content filtering and restrictions on spectrum eligibility, and buildout requirements.

The original filing is available in PDF format.

On June 3, 2008, Jef Pearlman and Ari Abramowitz of Public Knowledge, Harold Feld and Elizabeth Broomfield of Media Access Project, Ben Scott of Free Press, and Michael Calabrese of the New America Foundation met with Chairman Kevin Martin and Brent Greenfield. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss several issues regarding AWS-3 spectrum, particularly its service rules.

We covered four major issues in this meeting: the negative consequences of a proprietary interface, prioritization of network capacity, the mechanisms of content filtering, and spectrum allocation.

This document is also available in PDF Format.

No. 07-1004

In The
Supreme Court of the United States

DIRECTV, Inc. and EchoStar Satellite L.L.C.,
Petitioners,

v.

Mark TREESH, Commissioner for the Department of Revenue for the Commonwealth of Kentucky,
Respondent.

On Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE
PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE,
CONSUMER FEDERATION OF AMERICA
IN SUPPORT OF THE PETITION

Jeffrey Pearlman
Public Knowledge
1875 Connecticut Ave. NW
Suite 650
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 518-0020

Counsel for Amici Curiae

This statement is also available in PDF Format

Before the
COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

In the Matter of
Communication on Creative Content Online in the Single Market

COM(2007) 836

COMMENTS OF PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE

Introduction

Public Knowledge submits these comments in reference to the Communication on Creative Content Online in the Single Market dated January 3, 2008. In that Communication, the Commission requested comments on eleven separate issues. Here, Public Knowledge limits its comments to issues 10 and 11, regarding measures to limit piracy, either according to the model of the French Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), or via filtering technologies. Public Knowledge believes that neither of these models is an effective means of combating piracy, and that each will result in negative unintended consequences for a large number of lawful users of the Internet.

This document is also available in PDF Format.

Testimony of

Chris Murray
Senior Counsel
Consumers Union

On behalf of

Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, Free Press and Public Knowledge

Regarding

“A Discussion Draft on Wireless Consumer Protection and Community Broadband Empowerment”

Before the

U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, Committee on Energy and Commerce

On

February 27, 2008

This letter is also available in PDF format.

November 13, 2007

Chairman Kevin J. Martin
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
445 12^th St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20554

Ex Parte Filing: WC Dockets No. 06-172; 07-97; 06-125; 06-147; 04-440

Dear Chairman Martin:

Improving the feeble condition of the U.S. broadband market is perhaps the paramount issue facing policy-makers in this country today.

The complete filing is available in PDF Format

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of

• Service Rules for the 698-746, 747-762, and 777-792 MHZ Bands (WT Docket No. 06-150.)

• Implementing a Nationwide, Broadband, Interoperable Public Safety Network in the 700 MHZ Band (PS Docket No. 06-229.)

• Implementation of the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act and Modernization of the Commission’s Competitive Bidding Rules and Procedures (WT Docket No. 05-211.)

• Development of Operational, Technical, and Spectrum Requirements for Meeting Federal, State and Local Public Safety Communications Requirements Through 2010 (WT Docket No. 96-86.)

To: The Commission:

Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, Free Press, Media Access Project, New America Foundation and Public Knowledge (collectively referred to here as the “Public Interest Spectrum Coalition” or “PISC”), file these ex parte comments urging the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) to condition the award of licenses for at least half of the 700 MHz band on the licensees’ compliance with open access principles. The auction of licenses in the 700 MHz band is a unique and critical opportunity to bring broadband to American consumers and open an avenue for competitive broadband providers. It is without question the best opportunity to open a legitimate “third pipe” for consumer broadband connectivity—long a goal of the Commission. Given the state of the market failure in US broadband and our unenviable position relative to international performance in broadband connections, a pro-competitive policy in the 700 MHz auction is imperative. The undersigned public interest groups urge the FCC to adopt our recommendations in order to maximize the opportunities for new, competitive entrants and promote greater broadband access in the United States. We recommend that the FCC require that a portion of the auctioned licenses be subject to a service condition of open access. This will create a competitive retail market for wireless broadband services in a national marketplace. It will bring innovative, competitive providers into the market that would otherwise never appear.