If you Believe in Broadband, free IPTV

[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Bruce Mehlman and Larry Irving, Internet Innovation Alliance]
[Commentary] Mehlman served in President Bush's administration and Irving did the same for President Clinton: what do these two guys have in common? They agree on the vital importance of broadband to America's future. Broadband, or high-speed Internet connectivity, is proving increasingly critical to how citizens around the world work, live, play and learn. Broadband has helped businesses become more productive, governments become more accessible, students become better prepared and citizens become more involved with their entertainment, community and even family lives. But why isn't broadband penetration rising quicker? For anyone seeking more rapid broadband adoption, the "silver bullet" is made of better content and new services. No new service or technology offers more promising content and services than IPTV, video offerings provided over Internet Protocol. IPTV offers rich video programming (like digital cable TV) and two-way interactive options, allowing a compelling and differentiated experience. But IPTV faces policy hurdles. Because some state, local and federal policy makers misperceive new broadband video offerings as identical to the cable television services deployed by monopolies more than a decade ago, they seek to regulate them identically. Specifically, they demand that IPTV providers negotiate franchise agreements separately and individually with more than 33,000 municipal governments for the right to send content over the Internet. Mehlman and Irving say they have a simple message for policymakers: Hands off IPTV! The new content and services needed to accelerate broadband adoption and encourage investment in next-generation networks, especially IPTV, are ready, willing and able to deploy--that is, if government gets out of the way.
http://news.com.com/If+you+believe+in+broadband%2C+free+IPTV/2010-1034_3-5928655.html?tag=fd_carsl