A more democratic Internet
On March 17, the Federal Communications Commission will present the U.S. Congress with its National Broadband Plan, a set of recommendations for bringing high-speed Internet access to the millions of Americans who don’t yet have it. The plan is likely to determine the allocation of the $7.2 billion in stimulus money intended to bring broadband to rural and underserved areas, and many observers believe that the government is already planning to augment that investment with billions more in discretionary spending.In anticipation of the plan’s unveiling, the FCC is holding a series of regional forums on particular aspects of the plan. On Monday evening, in an event co-hosted by the MIT Media Lab’s Center for Future Civic Media, Eugene Huang, director of government performance and civic engagement for the National Broadband Plan, spoke at MIT on the plan’s provisions for better engaging the public in the democratic process.Huang began by describing...