Freedom to Connect

At Freedom to Connect, panelists said the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus is a significant change from the policies of the previous administration's belief in the primacy of markets. "We are turning away from what I believe was a misguided effort to restructure the economy along the lines of selfishness: I've got mine and if you don't have yours, that's too bad for you because it's how the market works," said Harold Feld, legal director of consumer lobby Public Knowledge.

Three movements that are working together: the movements for media reform, free culture and open government.

Panelists speaking at the Freedom to Connect conference hopefully urged the possibility that electrical "smart grids" could bring utilities into competition with incumbent telecommunications companies. Atlantic Engineering Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer James Salter said that smart grids would make more economic sense, and also constituted an increased "moral responsibility" for the environment.

If the United States wants to lead the next technological revolutions, New York Times columnist Tom Friedman and others said at the Freedom to Connect conference here, the right leaders are needed to establish the proper incentives, along with smart regulations.

At Freedom to Connect, one session probed the status and conditions of broadband quality and access in municipal America. Tim Nulty of East Central Vermont Fiber said that there might, finally, be a consensus on "a reasonable model" for municipal telecom in the United States right now.

One of Daily's favorite telecom-related events is Freedom 2 Connect. It dubs itself as "a meeting of people engaged with Internet connectivity and all that it enables" and that really only scratches the surface.