Minority, Women's Organizations Call on FCC to Ponder Net Neutrality Rules

Groups ask for workshop on possible negative impact on access to broadband

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/5/2010 11:36:17 AM

A group of minority and women's organizations have called on the FCC to think hard about the impact of proposed network neutrality rules on the digital divide.

In a letter and proposal to the commission Tuesday, the groups asked for a field hearing and workshop on the subject.

The groups are essentially the same ones that raised red flags early on about the possible negative impact on minority access to broadband of network neutrality rules, depending on how they were crafted.  They then took umbrage at the suggestion by some in the public advocacy community that the groups were carrying water for big media.

The group making the pitch include the Asian American Justice Center, the Hispanic Technology & Telecommunications Partnership, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, and the National Conference of Black Mayors.

In their proposal, they asked the FCC to drill down into issues like whether network neutrality issues should apply to search engines and content and application providers--the FCC has signaled it should be confined to the ISPs.

They also suggest that a number of "facially neutral, idealistic" social policies unintentionally widened social divides by race and income, citing Medicare and Social Security, for example. It also points to school desegregation and the FCC's own minority broadcast ownership rules as examples of programs that failed to close divides due in part to insufficient enforcement. "What can be learned from these experiences and how can that knowledge be applied to the design and implementation of potential network neutrality regulations?"

They ask whether the FCC should do more research into whether net neutrality rules would widen the divide or lengthen the timetable for closing it.

The groups are concerned that the rules, as applied, could inhibit investment, cost jobs, and actually delay build-outs to underserved populations, which tend to be disproportionately rural and minority.

They also ask whether there is a tension between the concept of neutrality and affirmative actions to prevent discrimination or remedy past discrimination.

In short, the groups want the FCC to fully vet the rules with an eye toward possible unintended consequences for minorities, and to do so through a field hearing and workshop. They want the FCC to look at each of its six proposed neutrality rules to gauge their effect on minority investment, deployment, adoption, and participation in the broadband economy.

The groups even suggest potential witnesses, which include National Cable & Telecommunications Association President Kyle McSlarrow, Rainbow/PUSH founder Rev. Jesse Jackson, NAB General Counsel Jane Mago, former FCC Chairman Michael Powell, Comcast lobbyist Joe Waz and AT&T lobbyist Jim Cicconi.