NHMC Urges FCC to Protect the Open Internet

Press Release April 26, 2010 For Immediate Release Contact: Inez Gonzalez (213) 718-0740 igonzalez@nhmc.org NHMC Urges FCC to Protect the Open Internet   Rebuts claims that such rules would preclude affordable broadband in communities of color Washington, D.C.  This evening the National Hispanic Media Coalition ("NHMC") submitted two separate reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission, urging the agency to adopt "net neutrality" regulations: one filed individually by NHMC, and the other filed jointly with Media Justice Commenters, a collection of groups represented by Media Access Project's Parul Desai, that includes the Media Action Grassroots Network, Colorofchange.org, Presente.org, Applied Research Center, Afro-Netizen, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Native Public Media, Rural Broadband Policy Group and NHMC.   In NHMC's individual filing, the organization urged that it "remains steadfast in its belief that the proposed rules are necessary to ensure that all people - especially people of color, who have been traditionally under and misrepresented on mainstream media - enjoy opportunities to share their stories fairly and accurately and pursue online business and educational opportunities.  NHMC rejects the contention that open Internet rules will somehow affect the availability and affordability of broadband for the poor and communities of color, and has therefore signed onto the comments of the Media Justice Commenters to rebut that claim in detail."    "To refute the claims of some - that network neutrality is a regime that will only help white, elite, 'bandwidth hogs' and video-gamers - our reply comments include stories from our constituents that demonstrate that net neutrality rules are crucial to the advancement of Latino content creators and business owners, among others," said Jessica Gonzalez, NHMC's Policy Counsel.  Take Omar Lomeli, for example, who told NHMC this story:   Broadband has made it so easy for me to communicate with people around the world that my business has now gone international with clients in Spain, Germany, United Kingdom, and Mexico. VOIP services such as Skype, Google Talk and magicJack allow me to see and meet with my clients without taking an expensive trip to Europe. With remote support services such as GoToAssist I am able to help my clients with their computer problems as if I was sitting right next to them. Without the power of broadband Internet, none of this would be possible.  I would not be able to assist my long-distance clients if my ISP blocked or degraded access to these bandwidth-intensive applications and services, or if I was charged extra to use them.  Network neutrality is essential to the success of my business.   For more information on how net neutrality benefits the Latino community and other communities of color, please read NHMC's reply comments at NHMC Net Neutrality Reply Comment.  For an explanation of why net neutrality will close - rather than widen - the digital divide, please read NHMC's joint comment with the Media Justice Commenters at Media Justice Commenters Net Neutrality Reply Comment.       ### The National Hispanic Media Coalition is a non-profit, media advocacy organization established in 1986 in Los Angeles, California.  Our mission is to improve the image of American Latinos as portrayed by the media, increase the number of American Latinos employed in all facets of the media industry, and advocate for media and telecommunications policies that benefit the Latino community.

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