“Which Side Are You On, Tom?” Focuses on FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and Battle Over Net Neutrality. Will be Performed Noon on Tuesday, July 1 at FCC
Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–June 30, 2014. Advocates for an open Internet free of discrimination are putting on a musical at the FCC headquarters, 445 12th St., SW, on Tuesday, July 1 at noon. The musical will feature characters portraying Tom Wheeler, telecom and broadband fat cats, an angel, the devil and the people. The three act performance will feature three songs.
The musical is intended to display the current battle at the FCC over the future of the Internet. The central issue is whether the Internet should be reclassified as a common carrier under Title II so that there can be no discrimination or whether rules will be passed that allow carriers to provide tiered service based on ability to pay. There is a rulemaking proceeding currently ongoing, “Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet, Proceeding #14-28″ where 131,000 comments have been posted on the FCC website. Hundreds of thousands of additional comments supporting reclassifying the Internet as a common carrier have yet to be posted.
The alternative to treating the Internet as a common carrier, akin to a public utility, is to allow telecom and broadband providers to charge fees to corporations who want better service. This begins to move the Internet in the direction of a tiered system of service like cable television where rather than equal access to all, access and service are based on fees.
After the show photographs and video will be available. The musical will be livestreamed at:http://m.ustream.tv/channel/global-rev-dc.
Source: www.ItsOurEconomy.US
