SubscribeOn June 17th, Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) introduced the Broadband Internet Fairness Act (HR 2902) in the U.S. House of Representatives. It’s the first piece of legislation introduced to put a stop to unreasonable Internet Overcharging.
This critical bill faces opposition from entrenched lobbying interests representing broadband providers who want to put a stop to pro-consumer legislation like this.
There is only one way to stop them and get this bill passed into law – Your Personal Involvement!
We need every person reading this message to take about 10 minutes of your day and protect your broadband service and wallet from unjustified overcharging. It’s simple, painless, and can be incredibly effective. If you don’t speak up for your interests, industry lobbyists will. Don’t allow that to happen!
Here’s how to make the difference:
1. Pick up your phone and call your member of Congress toll-free.
All of these numbers are toll-free and reach the U.S. Capitol switchboard. Simply ask to be connected to your member of Congress, and they’ll put you right through. These toll-free numbers come and go, so if one is disconnected, just move down the list to the next.
1-800-828-0498
1-866-338-1015
1-866-220-0044
1-877-851-6437
If you have forgotten who represents you, no problem. Simply visit Roll Call’s Congressional Directory. By entering your zip code and street address, your member of Congress will be identified. Then, simply pick up the phone and call them.
When you reach your representative’s office, you can ask to speak with them personally or ask to leave a message.
If you choose to leave a message, be sure to ask that your member of Congress become a co-sponsor of HR 2902, the Broadband Internet Fairness Act, and that they support the legislation in full.
Explain that you are deeply concerned about your broadband service pricing going up and that you are adamantly opposed to providers trying to place limits on your broadband usage and applying overlimit fees and penalties on your account. Explain that the broadband industry in the United States continues to enjoy substantial profits and providers earn more than enough to maintain their current flat rate pricing and upgrade their networks to provide better service.
Tell your member of Congress many broadband companies have a vested interest in controlling the amount of online video we watch, out of fear we might cancel our cable TV subscription and watch everything online. If they want to earn more revenue from subscribers, they should invest in their networks to create new premium speed levels and enjoy the revenues that come from subscribers who are more than willing to pay more for faster speeds.
Make sure your member of Congress knows that bandwidth costs are declining, not increasing, and suggest they read the financial reports of providers like Time Warner Cable, who tell shareholders that their profits are up as their broadband costs decrease. Remind them that Canadians have already been forced into usage based pricing schemes and the result was a rapid decline in that country’s broadband ranking. Prices increased while the level of service decreased, according to a report from the OECD. Usage limits are no better, and only discourage Internet growth, hurt our competitiveness and job growth, and stifle new innovative broadband services that help persuade people to sign up for broadband service in the first place.
Finally, explain that America should be a world leader in broadband, and that the current broadband marketplace is not competitive enough. You believe that moving away from flat rate pricing is moving backwards. At a time when telephone service, the most comparable service to broadband, is moving towards flat-rate long distance calling, it’s disheartening to see broadband providers trying to reap massive profits by taking away flat rate Internet service at reasonable prices.
Make sure you leave your name, address, and phone number, and request a written reply and/or phone call with the position of your representative and their willingness to co-sponsor the bill. Then visit our Contact form and let us know where your representative stands and we’ll keep a public accounting of who stands with us and who does not.
You may also write or fax your member of Congress. We recommend either over sending e-mail, which often carries less weight and can be lost in the sea of messages most Congressional offices receive.
Always remember to thank a member of Congress who supports the legislation. Above all, be polite, be persistent, and be persuasive! If you’ve been reading Stop the Cap! for any length of time, you’re already armed with the facts. Share them.
2. Use the Free Press Call to Action E-Mail Form.
The Free Press has a direct contact form online to send messages to your member of Congress. Do this only after you’ve made the phone call, sent the fax, or written a letter. Your phone call is about the most powerful message you can send to a member of Congress that you are intensely interested in an issue. But it never hurts to remind your congressman with an e-mail follow-up, and Free Press makes it easy!
3. Protect and defend those members of Congress that stand up for your interests.
Rep. Massa is a congressman with a telecommunications industry target on his back. You can be sure industry lobbyists and executives will do all they can to not only defeat this bill, but find a way to get the congressman out of office. Congressman Massa is a freshman member in a district that is in transition. Special interests are lining up waiting to write big checks to his eventual opponent, and those contributions will come from across the country. We must be willing to do our part, regardless of where we live, to keep representatives like Eric Massa where they are right now — representing the interests of consumers like you and I, and not simply taking industry money and letting them walk all over us.
You can make a contribution in any amount to Congressman Massa’s campaign fund, and he’ll know it came directly as a result of his hard work on behalf of our interests here on Stop the Cap! Everytime you get angry at big telecom companies trying to limit your broadband service or raise your pricing, or simply insult your intelligence with their public relations double-talk, consider contributing something to Congressman Massa’s campaign and have your revenge. We’ll have an online form up shortly to expedite that process, using a service that gives 100% of your contribution to the congressman.
4. Help us get the word out.
Some people believe this issue went away when Time Warner Cable “shelved” their Internet pricing plan experiment in mid-April and don’t think they have to stay vigilant and involved. We need to get them back into this fight. This issue is hardly “shelved” and it doesn’t simply involve Time Warner Cable. Once one provider establishes Internet Overcharging policies, the rest will quickly follow.
If you can afford to contribute a few dollars for Stop the Cap!‘s ongoing efforts to inform and educate consumers and legislators on these important issues, and help pay to keep the online “lights on,” you will find a Paypal link on the right side of your screen. Remember, our group does not receive a penny of industry or special interest money. We’re all consumers, by consumers, and for consumers.
5. Bookmark this site and visit us regularly.
You cannot persuade your friends, neighbors and colleagues about the merits of our case if you don’t understand the issues. You can’t participate in important Calls to Action to reach important legislators at critical moments if you don’t find out until it’s too late. You can’t counter the opposition campaign if you don’t know what their talking points are. Dropping by takes just a few minutes a day, and your participation and involvement helps build momentum we need to stand up to big telecom interests. If you value the Internet service you have and don’t want to lose it or pay substantially more for it, you’ll protect it.
This page will be updated as needed, so feel free to check back anytime. We last updated this page June 17, 2009.
