While the National Association of Broadcasters pulls out its secret weapon against white spaces — Dolly Parton — public interest and civil rights groups, leading Internet innovators, and lawmakers have been rallying the FCC to stay the course and open up white spaces for high-speed Internet access.

The FCC is set to vote on white spaces on Nov. 4, though the NAB is trying to delay the process.

Yesterday, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights advocated for white spaces in a letter to the FCC. “We believe this will not only trigger major investment and innovation; it will help close the digital divide between those who have access to advanced telecommunications services and those who do not,” they wrote. Last week, 12 public interest groups wrote Congress with a similar message.

CEO of Google Eric Schmidt wrote to the FCC lambasting the NAB’s attempts to derail the vote. “We are eight days away from a vote that could transform the way we connect to the Internet,” he said. “Your vote will spark technological innovation in the US directly and globally. The time for study and talk is over. The time for action has arrived.”

Bruce P. Mehlman, executive director of the Technology CEO Council, penned a letter urging the FCC to adopt final rules on white spaces “without further delay.”

“We respectfully urge the Commission in the TV White Spaces proceeding to seize the moment, increasing investment, promoting competition and expanding economic opportunity,” Mehlman wrote. “More than four years of exhaustive technical work on this proceeding has confirmed the lack of interference or other reasons to delay further.”

Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Inc. also reached out to lawmakers to urge them to support white spaces, writing to Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Reps. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), John Dingell (D-Mich.), and Joe Barton (R-Texas).

Other politicians were adding their voices in support of deploying new technology in the white spaces that could bring the benefits of broadband to millions more Americans. Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) co-authored a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin endorsing white spaces. Another letter in support of white spaces was signed by six members of Congress.

This broad effort for sensible spectrum polices based on sound science is having an impact. According to Reuters, the FCC is moving forward with its plans to vote on Nov. 4.

But just to be sure the commissioners aren’t swayed by the NAB’s scare tactics, we’re sending them a card, signed by thousands of activists, just in time for Halloween.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 at 3:45 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.-->