CWA's Larry Cohen: "We need to aim higher"
During an appearance on C-SPAN's The Communicators, CWA President Larry Cohen proposed ambitious goals for the expansion of broadband in America.
Cohen expressed concern that the U.S. is falling behind countries such as Japan and South Korea. "We need to aim higher," he said during a discussion of broadband speeds, "Only significant investment in broadband buildout will enable the country to catch up to the rest of the world regarding speed and accessibility."
The CWA President was positive about the broadband mapping and data collection projects which recently received funding from the Recovery Act - he pointed out that the data received from these activities will inform future telecommunications policies, including proposed taxes and loan incentives.
On the subject of the proposed merger between Comcast and NBC-Universal, Cohen was unequivocal. "The vertical integration of Comcast and NBC Universal - one currently controlling distribution and another controlling content - would give the merged company leverage over both in broadcast and network TV and the market power to control pricing of content on the Internet," he said, "It clearly would threaten competition in the distribution of content and programming."
The Communicators is a weekly series on C-SPAN, featuring half-hour interviews with "the people who shape the digital future." The program airs Saturdays on C-SPAN at 6:30 PM, and is also available as a podcast.
2009 Report on Internet Speeds in All 50 States (Speed Matters)
NTIA broadband grants continue to roll out (Speed Matters)
CWA, broad coalition raise concerns on Comcast-NBC mega-merger (Speed Matters)
TCGplayer workers rally for livable wages and launch a report on poverty-level wages at the eBay subsidiary
Apple retail workers in Oklahoma City win first collective contract with CWA
Labor and public interest groups defend FCC's broadcast ownership rules promoting competition, diversity, and localism on air