FreedomWorks Responds to Senator Dick Durbin on Broadband Policy

Senator Dick Durbin has proposed a three point plan in order to remedy the issue of broadband speed and availability in the United States. These are:

1) I believe that broadband must be universal and affordable

2) I feel we must preserve an online environment for innovation

3) I want to ensure that this technology allows more voices to be heard

FreedomWorks thanks Senator Durbin for introducing the issue of broadband technology into the blogging community. We have been working on this issue for twenty years in a number of states.

Like the Senator, FreedomWorks supports affordable broadband service, with a premium on innovation. However, we do not support the governmental regulation implicit in the first point of his plan. The innovation and free online environment that the Senator praises in his second point will not be possible without an industry free from excessive regulation or government mandates.

Many states have eased regulations on telecommunications and have seen economic windfalls. In rural towns such as Keller, TX, cable prices fell by 25 percent as a direct result of deregulation.

Broadband technology requires innovation. Innovation cannot exist with a government stranglehold on the industry.

Based upon these views, FreedomWorks would like to ask the following of Sen. Durbin.
In January, a spokesman for Amazon, which is pushing net neutrality, said that in today's Internet model, content is pulled into the network by consumers. Therefore, he said, its consumers’ responsibility to pay the costs. Do you agree?

You’ve spoken about the need for net neutrality to stop discrimination based on content. Is there any instance of this online today?