In a welcome turn of events, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), which has routinely turned up as a member of Big Telecom-backed astroturf campaigns and takes money from AT&T, has come together with Latinos for Internet Freedom to issue a joint statement calling on the Federal Communications Commission to adopt equal Net Neutrality policies for wired and wireless broadband services.

“Although we disagree on some of the components of the proposed network neutrality regulations, there is one point on which we are in lock step: the FCC’s network neutrality rules must apply equally to wireline and wireless internet access.  Of course we understand that what is ‘reasonable network management’ may be slightly different over different types of connections.  Cost is the primary barrier to broadband adoption, and Latinos are turning to their mobile phones as their only onramp to the internet.  We are committed to finding ways to lower broadband costs by increasing competition through wireless access and other means.  It is therefore essential that the FCC ensures that users of wireless and wireline services are protected by its openness rules.”

Of course, broadband providers’ demands for deregulation and unified opposition to Net Neutrality have never delivered and will never provide cheaper Internet service to anyone.  In fact, the court ruling that eliminated the FCC’s authority over broadband gave providers nearly a year of a wide open marketplace, yet many providers are now sending out notices they are -increasing- broadband prices for subscribers.  Net Neutrality has never been enforced against wireless networks either, and as a result most either usage cap, throttle, or charge enormous overlimit fees for users deemed to be “using too much.”

Increased competition can bring lower prices, but only if it extends well beyond today’s duopoly.  In areas where one provider is likely to maintain a de facto monopoly, effective oversight is required to ensure consumers receive adequate service at fair prices.

Still, it is a surprising and welcome change to see LULAC recognizing the true nature of broadband access for many economically-challenged Americans, especially in minority communities where unemployment continues to be catastrophic.  Some consumers are finding prepaid wireless broadband service to be one way onto the Internet, yet Big Telecom has sought to keep those networks exempt from any Net Neutrality consumer protections.  That cannot be allowed to happen.

[flv width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Verizon vs. Latinos for Internet Freedom.flv[/flv]

Watch these two competing spots from Verizon and the Latinos for Internet Freedom.  One is self-serving and a tad condescending, the other calls for a free and open Internet where individuals get a level playing field to tell their own stories and live their own lives without fear or special favor.  (2 minutes)

It's a three hour drive down Interstate 81 from Utica to Wilkes-Barre.

WKTV-TV Utica is off Time Warner Cable's lineup in parts of central New York this morning.

Viewers across Oneida, Herkimer, and other adjacent central New York counties lost their local NBC station early this morning after another retransmission consent dispute led Time Warner Cable to drop WKTV-TV in Utica, N.Y., from the lineup.

The fact Time Warner dropped a station is hardly unprecedented, but the cable company managed to replace the station almost immediately.  Away went WKTV, in came Nexstar-owned WBRE-TV, an NBC station serving Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Penn.

This morning, Mohawk Valley viewers woke up to watching local news and weather for the Susquehanna Valley — 187 miles away to the south.

While Time Warner’s apparent agreement with WBRE keeps NBC shows rolling, the loss of local news and weather represents a major blow for area subscribers, many enduring a western and central New York winter that has brought more than 50 inches of snow in just the last two weeks in some areas.

Utica city officials expressed concern about the loss of the local Utica station because important snow emergency alerts were often delivered over the station.

“They might as well have imported a station from Florida, because there is very little in common between Herkimer County, New York and Luzerne County, Pennsylvania,” writes Steve, who lives in Herkimer.  “You would have thought they would have just grabbed an NBC station from Syracuse.”

...replaced with WBRE-TV, a station in Wilkes-Barre, Penn.

Apparently, Time Warner has permission from Nexstar to import the distant signal of the Pennsylvania station for impacted subscribers.  The effective reinstatement of network programming may make it more difficult for WKTV’s owner, Smith Media, to negotiate the station’s return to Time Warner’s lineup anytime soon.  That one NBC affiliate may have granted permission to replace another station during a contract dispute may become a point of contention on the network level.  Traditionally, broadcasters have not been quick to undercut other stations with such carriage agreements.

Smith’s other stations were also affected.  Time Warner dropped WFFF (Fox) AND WVNY (ABC), which serve the Burlington, Vt. market and the CW-affiliated digital sub-channel running alongside WKTV in Utica.  The station owner launched a website to share their position and educate people about how to receive the signals either over-the-air or via satellite.

In nearby Rochester, Time Warner continues to play hardball with Sinclair Broadcasting over a carriage agreement renewal for WUHF-TV.  But Time Warner customers facing the loss of the Fox affiliate will not see any interruption of Fox network programming — the cable company has a separate agreement with the network.  Ironically, Sinclair jointly operates WUHF with Nexstar Broadcasting of Rochester LLC, the owner of WROC-TV, the city’s CBS affiliate.

[flv width=”640″ height=”500″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WKTV Carriage Dispute 12-16-10.flv[/flv]

Time Warner’s replacement of WKTV-TV in Utica with a distant station may be a new tactic in the hardball war over cable-broadcaster carriage agreements.  WKTV ran several stories about how the station’s loss impacts the area.  YNN’s Central NY news station, run by Time Warner Cable, also ran its own story this morning, all of which are covered here.  (9 minutes)

Time Warner Cable is one of many cable companies that try to convince their customers Verizon FiOS and other true fiber-to-the-home providers offer nothing special.  After all, they proclaim: “we’ve got fiber, too!”

Time Warner Cable put this "special notice" on its website for cable subscribers.

More innovation from the late 70s.

In California’s Southland, stretching from the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valley across the Inland Empire to deep within Orange County, the cable operator just finished installing 361,149 miles of fiber, telling the LA Times it has enough fiber to wrap around the equator nearly 15 times.

Unfortunately for residential subscribers, the cable company can’t manage to stretch some strands your way.

Most of the $120-million expansion program is designed to benefit area businesses — some 125,000 across the Southland that could potentially tell the phone company to take a hike.  The Business Class expansion delivers service to business parks and campuses across the sprawling region that the cable operator has not wired before.

While Time Warner likes to say they are running “an advanced fiber network,” for many customers it’s the same technology cable companies have been using since the 1990s.  Once it reaches your neighborhood, classic coaxial cable brings service the rest of the way, and some of that coax has been around since the late 1970s.

That makes at least part of Time Warner’s network as fresh and innovative as — the Sony Walkman.

[flv width=”640″ height=”500″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Time Warner Cable Fiber Ad.flv[/flv]

A Time Warner Cable ad implying the cable company delivers a fiber optic experience to customers in southern California.  (1 minute)

Credo Action delivers flowers to the FCC

Over the last two days, the SavetheInternet.com Coalition, their allies and other broadband activists have delivered more than two million signatures from Americans demanding the Federal Communications Commission adopt real Net Neutrality reforms.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is pushing a set of weak regulations that give just about everything to giant phone and cable companies, and leave Internet users with almost nothing.

We still have time to fix this toothless rule before it goes to a vote Dec. 21. Hence, the petitions.

The petition marathon comes as the FCC closes the public comment period on proposed Net Neutrality reforms.  Public interest groups ranging from Free Press, Common Cause, Credo Action, ColorofChange.org, and Public Knowledge, among others were involved in the petition relay.

Credo Action even sent flowers, protesting Genachowski’s apparent retraction on strong Net Neutrality.  Two massive funeral arrangements, one labeled “R.I.P. Net Neutrality” were delivered to the agency on Monday.

“The public will accept nothing less than real Net Neutrality,” said Misty Perez Truedson of Free Press. “No almost Net Neutrality, no half Net Neutrality and no fake Net Neutrality. And we hope that while he is considering his proposed rules, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski remembers that millions of people are expecting him to keep his promise to protect the open Internet.”

[flv width=”640″ height=”500″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/2 Million.flv[/flv]

Watch this compilation of videos from those delivering the petitions to the FCC and learn more about why Net Neutrality is important.  (22 minutes)

While America’s largest cell phone companies battle over map coverage and work towards limiting wireless data usage, one super-regional wireless carrier is willing to pay customers to dump their old carrier and switch.

Privately owned Cellular South, which delivers home coverage over its own network in Memphis, the Florida Panhandle, Rome, Georgia, and parts of Mississippi and Alabama, is offering $100 to hand over your AT&T iPhone and get a brand new Android phone.  The company will even cover up to $200 of any early termination fees charged by AT&T or other carriers.

The company offers smartphone plans starting at $50 a month that includes unlimited mobile web access.  Customers with two or more smartphones on one account can get “unlimited everything” service for $59.99 per line.

Cellular South, virtually unknown outside of its service areas, has gained wider attention in recent days because of its stand against Verizon Wireless’ LTE network policies and an unrelated total meltdown of a Lauderdale County, Mississippi Board of Supervisors meeting that began with a debate about switching away from AT&T.

[flv width=”640″ height=”447″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Cellular South Ad.flv[/flv]

An ad for Cellular South promotes the fact its smartphone data plan delivers unlimited usage.  (1 minute)

The company is planning its own LTE network for its local coverage areas and got into a major dispute with Verizon Wireless, a fellow CDMA carrier, over the LTE standard’s roaming capabilities.  Wireless providers who belong to the Rural Cellular Association are disturbed that without interoperability requirements from the FCC, big national carriers will be able to exclude small players from their networks.  Even worse, companies like Cellular South may have trouble finding affordable wireless equipment that works on the frequency bands they are allocated to use.  What this means for consumers is that equipment purchased for Cellular South’s LTE network may not function while roaming.  The carrier told the FCC:

Lack of interoperability in the 700 MHz band will impose significant costs and burdens upon A Block licensees, which will competitively disadvantage smaller and regional carriers and their consumers. By delaying a decision on interoperability, the FCC is denying rural America access to 4G service. Cellular South paid $192 million dollars for licenses in Auction No. 73 and for months has been prepared to immediately put available capital to work to deploy its 700 MHz network in compliance with the FCC’s build-out requirements and for the benefit of its rural and regional consumers. But, without the certainty of interoperability across the 700 MHz spectrum, Cellular South’s capital will remain on the sidelines – unable to create jobs or increase economic activity within its 700 MHz license area.

Collectively, the rural and regional carriers holding Lower A licenses do not have the scale or scope to attract equipment manufactures making Band Class 17 or Band Class 13 equipment to produce Band Class 12 equipment at reasonable costs. Even where Band 12 equipment can be made available, the costs are unnecessarily inflated by the limited scale resulting from the lack of interoperability across the 700 MHz bands. If such equipment were produced, it would not be technically capable of roaming outside of Band Class 12 deployed networks. Nevertheless, rural and regional carriers like Cellular South may have no choice but to reduce the speed and size of their 700 MHz deployment and pay the unnecessarily inflated costs of Band 12 equipment and devices if it wants to compete with Verizon Wireless and AT&T in the 4G market.

The Rural Cellular Association noted the FCC inquired whether or not rural carriers could simply rely on the good will of Verizon Wireless, which is running its own private interoperability initiative, the Rural American Partnership Program.  Verizon says it will work with rural carriers and sign roaming agreements with participants to help ensure equipment was standardized across multiple carriers.  But the Rural Cellular Association claims Verizon’s offer was akin to a digital Trojan Horse — a gift to rural operators on the outside, but one that benefits Verizon far more than rural carriers on the inside.

“Verizon’s Plan provides a limited number of rural carriers with nominal opportunity to add or extend their 4G coverage in a way that only fills Verizon’s coverage gaps. Additionally, Lower A licensees paid a significant amount of money for their spectrum, more than Verizon paid for the C block per MHz/pop, and have stringent geographic-based build-out requirements,” Rebecca Murphy Thompson, the rural carriers’ general counsel wrote the Commission. “Considering these strict build-out requirements, Cellular South will focus on building its own business, not helping Verizon expand its network.”

The Rural Cellular Association (RCA) also continued its campaign against what it sees as anti-competitive behavior on the part of AT&T and Verizon.

“In addition to interoperability, RCA described how its members have limited options to obtain nationwide data roaming, but their customers still expect nationwide coverage and comparable services to their urban counterparts. Larger carriers are blocking rural and regional carriers from obtaining data roaming with reasonable terms and conditions because there is no regulatory mandate. RCA plans to supplement the record to provide examples of how AT&T and Verizon have blocked rural and regional carriers from negotiating data roaming agreements with reasonable rates. After a year of negotiations, Cellular South now has a data roaming agreement with one of the larger carriers.”

Lauderdale County, Miss.

For rural America, unaccustomed to getting good cellular coverage, the presence of rural carriers specifically targeting underserved communities as their main business function is a welcome change from “extended service” provided by larger carriers, mostly for travelers, as an afterthought.  These smaller carriers also often deliver savings in the communities they serve.

In Lauderdale County, Mississippi, the Board of Supervisors met earlier this week to review potential savings of at least $10,000 a year for the county sheriff’s department, just by ditching AT&T for Cellular South.  While Sheriff Billy Sollie had no objections to that, a follow up discussion about what to do with the savings started an on-camera debate that quickly descended into personal attacks and traded accusations.

District 5 supervisor Ray Boswell and Sheriff Sollie turned the meeting into a spectacle with allegations of drug and alcohol abuse, illegal use of county property, culminating in claims the sheriff was a “crybaby” and “a disgrace.”  A sheriff’s deputy even joined in at one point, yelling at Boswell for making unsubstantiated allegations and suggesting Boswell was arrested on felony charges but had his record expunged.

While other members of the board, including its president, sat stunned into silence, no one bothered to gavel the shouting match out of order.  The resulting 15 minutes of fame has created a sensation, and many area residents are embarrassed and upset.

Cellular South will probably win the county’s business, but heaven help the customer service representative that takes a call from Ray Boswell about a service problem.

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Lauderdale County Meltdown 12-6-10.flv[/flv]

Watch for yourself as a county meeting descends into chaos.  As it goes from bad to worse, nobody bothered to intervene to stop the escalating accusations and counter-accusations that have since become an embarrassment for residents of Lauderdale County, Miss.  (18 minutes)