For Immediate Release

This release is being sent on behalf of the signers of the letter we mentioned.

Contact:

• Art Brodsky, Public Knowledge
  202-518-0020 (o) 301-908-7715 (c)

  abrodsky@publicknowledge.org

• Harold Feld, Media Access Project
  202-232-4300

In a strong showing of unity, a group of high-tech companies and public-interest organizations today sent a joint letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging that the rules for the upcoming auction of spectrum include provisions that would require a comprehensive "open access" policy to create new competition.

For Immediate Release

In its reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission's Notice of Inquiry (NOI) into broadband Internet network operator's practices, the Open Internet Coalition calls on the FCC to take three key steps to ensure the Internet remains open to innovation and continues to promote consumer choice. A copy of the reply comment is attached.

"The record of the Commission's proceeding demonstrates that there is now a significant imbalance between the anti-competitive investment expectations of network operators and the desire of consumers, application developers and content providers to keep the Internet open," said Markham Erickson, Executive Director of the OIC.

"We are disappointed that the network operators declined to respond meaningfully to the questions posed by the NOI and instead rehashed their arguments that there is no problem in the broadband industry. The Commission should act now to address the structural problems presented by today's broadband access duopoly," added Erickson.

For Immediate Release

Eleven public-interest and consumer groups, led by Public Knowledge, today asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reject calls by NBC that broadband providers be required to filter material on their networks.

In addition to Public Knowledge, other groups signing the reply comments in the proceeding dealing with "broadband industry practices" were: Consumer Federation of America; EDUCAUSE; Electronic Frontier Foundation; Electronic Privacy Information Center; FreeCulture.org; Free Press; Knowledge Ecology International; Media Access Project; New America Foundation and U.S. Public Interest Research Group. A copy of the filing is here:
https://www.publicknowledge.org/pdf/pk-etal-fcc-07-52-20070716.pdf.

The proposed merger of XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio should be approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) only if the deal passes antitrust scrutiny and only if the Commission imposes conditions "that will result in greater program diversity, increase consumer choice and keep prices in check," Public Knowledge told the Commission in comments filed today.

Public Knowledge said in its filing: "If the proposed merger survives the scrutiny of an antitrust analysis, the only pertinent questions are 1) whether the merger would benefit the public interest, and 2) whether denying the merger would harm consumers. Absent a merger, the two companies would likely avoid investing in programming that meets the needs of underserved communities. In contrast, a merged company could provide more diverse programming at better prices." The conditions Public Knowledge recommends are:

For Immediate Release

It appears as if the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will not be able to write a treaty this year granting new intellectual property rights to broadcasters. The latest report from Sherwin Siy, director of Public Knowledge's Global Knowledge Initiative, is posted here.

The following is the statement of Gigi B. Sohn, president of Public Knowledge:

"It is good news for consumers and for innovators that the talks on a new broadcast treaty appear finished for this year. Broadcasters are seeking a new copyright-like right on material they do not own, but which they only broadcast. Such a right would only hurt consumers who want to transmit TV shows from a set-top box to different TV sets around their house. Such a right would only hurt innovators, like Sling Media, who want to help consumers use their TV content lawfully.

"We are well aware that the broadcasters have been trying for this treaty for nine years, and that they won't give up. They should. Broadcasters have every right to prevent signal theft, but the proposed treaty and the new rights they seek are not necessary.

"This welcome result is due to the diligent efforts of the U.S. delegation to WIPO as well as to the work of many non-governmental organizations and technology companies. They are to be commended."

For Immediate Release

The Los Angeles Times reported today that AT&T will announce plans to develop technology on its network to screen transmission of copyrighted works. The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:

"We hope AT&T recognizes the difficulty of what it is trying to do. By attempting to act as the copyright police, the company is going to make its customers angry, even in a market in which customers have little choice of providers for high-speed Internet service. The technical challenges to the proper finding and taking down of copyrighted material are substantial.

Nine public-interest and consumer groups today asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to limit the ability of cable operators to stifle competition through the set-top box.

The groups said that the cable industry, working through its CableLabs organization, is creating standards for two-way cable operation that will limit innovation and reduce consumer choice. Through its use of proprietary "OpenCable Application Platform" (OCAP) standard, cable companies are "giving the cable industry undue control over the customer's equipment." The letter asked for more opportunity for non-cable companies to create CableCARD devices allowing consumers more control over their two-way cable services.

Consumers should have the benefits of a new convenient way to record programs from a cable TV system, Public Knowledge and 10 other groups representing a cross-section of industry and public-interest organizations said late Friday in a brief filed with the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in New York City.

The groups asked the appellate court to reverse a lower-court decision in March finding that a digital recording service provided by the Cablevision cable company through its network makes the cable operator liable for copyright infringement even though it performs the same functions as a more conventional set-top box.

For Immediate Release

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI) earlier today introduced the Broadband Data Improvement Act, with cosponsors Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Mark Pryor (D-AK), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). The bill would, among other provisions, require the FCC to collect data annually on the deployment of high-speed broadband services.

The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:

For immediate release May 23, 2007

A group of public-interest organizations today told the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that the auction early next year of desirable and useful spectrum should be structured to foster the development of high-speed wireless services to compete with the telephone and cable companies.

The groups filing as the Ad Hoc Public Interest Spectrum Coalition were (in alphabetical order): Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, EDUCAUSE, Free Press, Media Access Project, New America Foundation, Public Knowledge and U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

In its comments on the 700 MHz auction, the coalition said that the Commission should act "both to ensure that new spectrum is offered on an open and nondiscriminatory basis and to bring in new entrants interested in challenging the current cozy wireless oligopoly and broadband duopoly."