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Washington Watch There are some areas where bipartisanship could emerge, and by so doing, might encourage more bipartisanship (especially when Members remember that, in addition to being held in low regard around the country, they have been all too often accused of being more interested in keeping their jobs than doing their jobs). These issues include, but are not limited to, tax reform (why it must be done is broadly supported, but how will be accomplished is certainly uncertain); energy efficiency; infrastructure (while there is widespread agreement that our nation’s infrastructure – not just transportation, but communications as well – needs to be enhanced, how to fund those improvements will be loudly debated). On the administrative side (beyond EPA regulatory matters such as climate change and control of greenhouse gas emissions from power plants), an issue that has gotten a fair amount of attention recently is net neutrality. In mid-November, President Obama called for the government to aggressively regulate Internet service providers such as Verizon and Comcast, treating broadband like a public utility as essential as water, phone service, and electricity. Such a move would have a dramatic effect on cable and telecom firms that have fought vigorously to keep their highly profitable Internet businesses free of regulation. It was Obama’s most forceful statement yet in favor of a free and open Internet and against allowing Internet service providers to charge content companies such as Netflix for faster access to their customers. The president called on the FCC, which as an independent agency doesn’t have to follow his directions, to adopt the strictest rules possible for ensuring net neutrality. The following day, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler told a group of business executives that he was moving in a different direction. During a meeting with major web companies, including Google, Yahoo, and Etsy, Wheeler said he preferred a more nuanced solution. His approach would deliver some of what Obama wants but also would address the concerns of the companies that provide Internet access. Wheeler, a former lobbyist for the cable and telecommunications industry, has floated proposals that aim to limit the ability of service providers to charge web companies to reach their customers. But critics have argued that his approach would give the providers too much leeway to favor some services over others. Meanwhile, Obama’s call to regulate the Internet as a public utility attracted its own criticism. For example, some said that putting the FCC in charge of regulating broadband rates and micromanaging web services would slow innovation and raise costs, thereby adversely affecting the national economy and marking a retreat from market-based, pro-competition policies. The bottom line, of course, is how to best ensure an open Internet. I expect Congress to weigh on this matter as well. When I provided an update on this issue to the NATE Board of Directors and the Legislative & Regulatory Committee, Jim Miller sent me a short response: “Our government continues to attempt controlling the web ... ever since that man from Tennessee invented it, Al Gore.” Let me provide a little historical perspective. In 1999, during a CNN interview with Wolf Blitzer, Vice President Gore said, “During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet.” Taken out of context, it certainly does appear that he took credit for inventing something that he really did not; however, it may just have been awkward phrasing that coupled with the rest of his statement (mostly focused on economic growth) actually did make some sense, since his broader statement referenced what he had done in Congress. The internet was the commercialization of work done at the Department of Defense, and Gore’s efforts had some impact. He was the prime sponsor of the 1991 High-Performance Computing and Communications Act, generally known as the Gore bill, which allocated $600 million for high-performance computing. Gore, who waged a two-year battle to get the bill passed, popularized the term “the Information Superhighway.” As far back as the 1970s, Gore, then a congressman from Tennessee, promoted the idea of high-speed telecommunications as an engine for both economic growth and the improvement of our educational system. In addition, he sponsored hearings on how advanced technologies might be put to use in areas like 16 TOWER TIMES JANUARY ■ FEBRUARY 2015
coordinating the response of government agencies to natural disasters and other crises. But, certainly, a case can be made that Gore did claim to have invented the internet. And that is certainly the popular (or, perhaps, unpopular) view. At this point, I must provide a little additional historical perspective, since I helped to enhance advanced communications capabilities in a previous job. When I worked for the State of New York, I worked for several years to try to convince a federal agency to approve a regulation (sound familiar – like our campaign on riding the line) dealing with telecommunications. In the 1980s, we wanted the U.S. Department of Transportation to allow the installation of fiber optic cables along the Interstate highway rights-of-way to promote the faster transmission of information. However, top DOT officials responded that federal statutes prohibited the use of those rights-of-ways, principally because the Interstate Highway System was created during the Eisenhower administration not simply for transportation, but also for national defense. They asserted that federal regulations specifically prohibited anything from potentially compromising the system. We countered that once upon a time, it might have made sense to prohibit such things as oil and gas pipelines along the rights-of-way, since any break could have compromised the use of the Interstate. However, we countered, we were no longer talking about large, potentially hazardous oil or gas pipelines; we were now speaking of small, unintrusive, durable cables. After several years of discussion, including overtures from Members of Congress as well as from potential beneficiaries of the enhanced communications systems, USDOT finally revised its regulations to allow the installation of fiber optic cables along the New York State Thruway. However, neither I nor any other New York State official ever publicly claimed that we “took the initiative in creating the Internet.” Besides, I was not then nor am I now running for public office. n Introducing... the DRONE! Compact UltraShot ® Controller for Exothermic Connections Part Number - DRONE • Hand Held • Built in Battery Indicator • Utilizes a Milwaukee ® M18 TM REDLITHIUM TM XC 4.0 18 volt Battery • Makes Over 1,300 Connections on a Single Charge Harger Lightning & Grounding • 800.842.7437 • www.harger.com ■ JANUARY FEBRUARY 2015 TOWER TIMES 17
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