Charles Benton
Benton Editorial
Benton Foundation Opposes Proposed AT&T Acquisition of T-Mobile USA
After a review of the purported benefits and early analysis of the proposed acquisition of T-Mobile by AT&T, the Benton Foundation urges the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission to reject a deal that offers no public interest dividend.
First and foremost, the acquisition will combine the 2nd and 4th largest wireless carriers in the US. Undoubtedly, this combination will reduce competition in this market and will result in fewer choices for consumers, higher prices, and less innovation.
Benton Editorial
Sputnik 2: Time for Broadband
By Charles Benton
Earlier this month, President Barack Obama said our generation’s Sputnik moment is upon us. President Obama likened our recent economic setbacks to a key moment in October 1957 when Americans saw our scientific leadership in the world fall from first to second as a small beeping sphere sped through the night sky. I strongly agree. And I see broadband as a key element in our response to Sputnik 2.
Benton Editorial
Evaluating BTOP - A Step in the Right Direction
By Charles Benton
Benton Editorial
Day 1 of the National Broadband Plan
Charles Benton
March 16, 2010
To paraphrase poet Robert Burns,
"The best laid plans of mice and men
Go often askew,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!"
Benton Editorial
Why We Must Measure the Results of the $7.2 Billion in ARRA Broadband Funding
By Charles Benton and Kate Williams Ph.D.
On December 17, Vice President Joe Biden began rolling out $2 billion in broadband stimulus grants. Grants to extend broadband's reach across the country will be announced over the next 75 days.
Why is broadband data and research so critical? ARRA-funded projects represent an unprecedented opportunity to fill the enormous knowledge gap we have with respect to what works and what does not work in broadband deployment and broadband adoption.
Benton Editorial
Think People
Remarks of Charles Benton
Co-Chair Adoption & Use Committee, U.S. Broadband Coalition
Federal Communications Commission
November 13, 2009
People are the "killer app." From e-mail, to digital pictures, to today's social media, connecting people to people has always been a motivating force for getting people on and keeping them on the Internet. And the value of the network grows and grows with each additional person on it.
Benton Editorial
Circle of Knowledge
Charles Benton Comments, US Broadband Coalition meeting at FCC
September 24, 2009
Benton Editorial
How Can TV Survive the Recession? Local Public Service
by Charles Benton
Benton Editorial
A First Step to Our National Broadband Plan
by Charles Benton
With the rush to implement the broadband-related provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, little attention has been paid to a provision of the 2008 Farm Bill with requires the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Agriculture to craft a comprehensive rural broadband strategy. This plan is due to Congress this Spring and the FCC has requested public input.