[Ed. note]: This article was originally written by Phillip Anderson of The Albany Project and is reposted to indicate our full support of this effort.

Unfinished Business: Pass The Telecom Reform Act

The Legislature left Albany last week with much unfinished business. The Governor issued a statement expressing his disappointment with lawmakers for so abruptly abandoning a number of viatl pieces of legislation before leaving for home.

This record is totally unacceptable.

New Yorkers expect and deserve dedicated and aggressive action to revive the upstate economy and reform state government.

...

In the days and weeks ahead, I will be traveling the state to remind lawmakers of their obligation to address pressing issues.

Mr. Spitzer lists many of the issues left unresolved by the legislature including Wicks law reform, paid family leave and power plant siting legislation. But, one of the most significant bills introduced in Albany in years didn't seem to make his list, Assemblyman Brodsky's Telecommunications Reform Act of 2007, a bill that would certainly qualify as "dedicated and aggressive action to revive the upstate economy" by requiring the buildout of high speed broadband infrastructure to a minimum of 85% of the state, something desperately needed by under served and economically depressed communities upstate. It would also protect net neutrality, bring cheaper cable and telephone rates through increased competition and allow New York to once again be a progressive, innovative model for other states to follow.

Quite a coalition of support has coalesced around the bill since its introduction including NYS Rural Advocates, NYPIRG, Common Cause, Jobs With Justice, Citizen Action, Rural Opportunities Inc, New York State Alliance for Retired Americans, Consumers Union and ACORN among others. Much of the credit for assembling this coalition goes to Pete Sikora at the Communications Workers of America who has done a fantastic job of building support for the bill against its only known opponents, namely the cable companies and Verizon (and by extension, Joe Bruno and the Republican state Senators who represent those upstate New Yorkers who stand to benefit most from passage of the bill.)

I've written about the bill here several times and want to explain again why I and so many others believe it to be the "gold standard" in state telecom legislation (or as Pete Sikora put it, "the best thing since sliced bread") but first I want to ask you to do something to get this bill back on the governor's radar. Please call Mr. Spitzer's office and ask him to support this bill. You can reach his office at 518-474-8390.

We know that the Governor has a long history of supporting consumers over corporations. He also campaigned on expanding broadband infrastructure to underserved upstate communities and has often expressed his vocal support for net neutrality such as when he wrote to Senator Ted Stevens (.pdf) last year:

Net neutrality embodies the principle of open access and nondiscriminatory treatment of all internet users and content providers. Net neutrality has made the internet a powerful promoter of public discourse and commercial exchange, affording to users throughout all parts of the nation and the world and unlimited array of information, news, opinion and entertainment. Net neutrality has also fostered robust competition by content providers, without regard to ownership of the backbone facilities over which Internet traffic travels.

We need to let the Governor know that not only do we want what this bill provides (and he has repeatedly advocated for) but that there is a constituency of support for him when he takes on this fight. Call him at 518-474-8390 and ask him to support this bill.

Who wins with this bill on the flip...

The big winners will be rural communities upstate, communities that have been in economic decline for decades. It seems that for the better part of half a century, Albany's strategy for reviving the upstate economy has been to throw money at corporate interests in the hopes that they might create jobs up there. The failed and thoroughly corrupt Empire Zones come to mind. This bill will accomplish more in 5 years than the Empire Zones ever have in breathing new life into the upstate economy. Study after study has shown a direct correlation between broadband penetration and economic prosperity. To put it simply, the more wired a community is, generally the more prosperous it is. The towns and villages that have lost huge portions of their populations over the last half century or so desperately need this bill. The folks who send their kids off to college knowing that their kids will never return to their hometowns to live because they can't make a living and raise a family there are going to benefit most from this bill.

Perhaps not so ironically, the people of those communities that stand to reap the most benefit from this legislation are more often than not represented by those most likely to be an impediment to its passage, Republican State Senators doing Joe Bruno's bidding. This offers a wonderful opportunity to see if those Senators will stick with those they represent or stick with Bruno. Again.

Net neutrality wins big. The net neutrality language in this bill is the strongest ever introduced in any state. If this bill passes, it becomes a model for every other state in the nation.

Consumers win by getting cheaper rates for cable TV and telephony through increased competition. Not only that, but increased competition will bring new and more dynamic services as companies will try to compete on more than price.

The governor wins big by championing truly progressive and innovative legislation that benefits consumers over corporations. For a governor that quite obviously has big ambitions, this is quite the potential feather in his cap. It also has the opportunity to be a game changer in the State Senate. If those upstaters get sold out again by their representatives in Albany, it's possible that some of those representatives may find themselves in some rather hot water back home.

New York is a winner in the eyes of the other 49 states. It's been too damn long since New York, once the progressive vanguard of the nation, first amongst equals in the "laboratories of democracy", was seen as a leader for other states to follow. This is an opportunity for New York to once again blaze a trail that other states will want to follow.

Every other state in the nation wins if we can pass this bill. The next time the telcos bring a bad bill to the statehouse in Oklahoma or Oregon or Iowa, the people of those states can point to New York and ask, "why can't we get a deal like that?" If New York can greatly increase broadband penetration, protect net neutrality, increase competition and revive the economies of neglected communities by passing legislation such as this, it can and will be done elsewhere.

Honestly, this is exactly why this fight may prove to be as tough as I suspect it will be.

But we can win this thing. You can help right now. Call the Governor and ask him to support the Telecommunications Reform Act. Call him right now.

Governor Spitzer's Office: 518-474-8390

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