They owe us $400 billion! Why trust the telcos with an open Internet?!

If someone owed you $400 BILLION, would you really trust them to look out for your best interests? Currently, Comcast is trying to convince regulators that it's in consumers' best interest if they swallow up Time Warner, AT&T apparently wants to broker a grand compromise on net neutrality and several giant incumbents are arguing that public-run networks are the scourge of Satan. A just released book provides a mountain of data that suggests regulators should take great caution in assessing any potential deals and policies incumbents are advocating. 

“The Book of Broken Promises: $400 Billion Broadband Scandal & Free the Net” exposes the broken promises of the telcos such as AT&T, Verizon and Centurylink, as well as some of the major cable companies. Bruce Kushnick, industry analyst and Exec. Dir. of New Networks Institute, examines incumbents' ‘commitments’ to rewire America's business and residential customers, and explains what we can expect as far as these key pending policy decisions are concerned. 

A major challenge for community broadband advocates is to understand what all the jargon and legalese means to the folks working trying to get better broadband. What is net neutrality and how can advocates influence decisions about it? What's Title II, or Title I and why should they care? If the proposed Comcast-Time Warner merger is bad for broadband, how can we stop this train? Kushnick helps non-policy wonks understand some of the complexities of these key policy discussions.