Telecom News: CWA Ready to Take 'Speed Matters' To the New Congress

CWA is pressing for real changes in national public policy that will energize economic growth and job creation by spurring universal access to high speed Internet services.

Winning the support for "Speed Matters" is one of CWA's top priorities for the new Congress. CWA leaders have been meeting with congressional leadership and members of key committees to lay out the issues and principles behind CWA's Speed Matters campaign. They cite the fact that the U.S. has fallen to 16th in the world in broadband penetration, and that an estimated 500 million jobs would be created through universal access.

"We're long overdue for a national telecom policy that recognizes that investment in a modern communications infrastructure is vital for our competitiveness," said President Larry Cohen. "We must catch up with the rest of the world and promote the build-out of high speed Internet access."

Stories in this issue of CWA Telecom News lay out the importance to union members of a national policy with a timetable to provide true high speed connections to all.

The House of Representatives in particular was the graveyard for congressional efforts to promote high speed rollout this past year.

The biggest hurdle right now is the campaign by "net neutrality" forces that are pushing for regulation and restrictions on services provided by the telecom companies, which are key to building the networks. (See separate story.) This is an issue that crosses party lines.

CWA's Speed Matters website — www.SpeedMatters.org — has a wealth of background material, a blog with regular news on broadband issues, as well as an Internet speed test feature that tells customers their actual download and upload speeds. Data gathered from the speed test, which will match speeds in each region by zip code, will be used with elected officials and regulators to promote a new telecom policy.

Members are urged to click on the "Tell Your Friends" button to spread the word about SpeedMatters.org.