Advocates Call For High-Tech Emphasis In Broadband Expansion

Posted: March 12th, 2009 | Author: Steven | Filed under: Ideas for Change, In the News | Tags: , | No Comments »

Contributing author to Mandate for Change, Ben Scott, is quoted in an Online Media Daily article discussing the need for responsible tech spending following the passage of the economic stimulus bill.

We need to make sure the money is spent wisely on projects that deliver the biggest bang for the buck,” Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press, said Monday during a conference call with other broadband advocates and reporters.

Free Press is especially concerned that stimulus funds shouldn’t be used to build networks that are “obsolete” because they’re too slow. In a report issued Monday, the organization urged the National Telecommunications and Information Administration–tasked with distributing $4.7 billion in broadband stimulus–to establish speed guidelines for the new networks.

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Crafting the broadband provision of the stimulus involved plenty of networking

Posted: February 18th, 2009 | Author: Steven | Filed under: In the News | Tags: , | No Comments »

Mandate author, Ben Scott was quoted in The Los Angeles Times discussing broadband provisions in the economic stimulus package.

“The question is, why are we having two grant-making infrastructures developed for broadband grants, one of which is at the Department of Agriculture?” said Ben Scott, policy director for Free Press, a nonpartisan media reform group that focuses on technology issues.

The answer is an old story in Washington: A large pile of government money attracts a lot of attention.

To read the full article click here.