Obama calls for expanded access to fast Internet - VIDEO: WH moving forward with plans to regulate broadband industry

President Obama is diving deeper into the debate over Internet control, urging the Federal Communications Commission to pre-empt state laws that restrict local governments from building broadband services. 

The president unveiled his plans Wednesday in Cedar Falls, Iowa, one of a handful of American cities — along with Chattanooga, Tenn., and Kansas City, Mo. — offering government-provided, high-speed Internet. 

The White House touts these networks as a fast and affordable option for consumers. And Obama sees them as local models for so-called net neutrality — his plan to preserve an open Internet, free of tiered pricing and restrictions imposed by commercial providers. 

“Today, high-speed broadband is not a luxury. It’s a necessity,” Obama said Wednesday. “This is about helping local businesses grow and prosper and compete in the global economy.” 

But the move has angered Republicans and others who worry the federal government is trampling on the ability of states to set their own rules. 

Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., on Wednesday accused the president of pushing a “federal takeover of state laws governing broadband and the Internet.” 

According to the White House, 19 states have laws restricting municipal broadband networks. 

Fischer and other lawmakers worry about the impact an array of local government-run broadband networks would have on the private sector. She and 10 other Republican senators wrote to the FCC last summer urging the commission not to “force taxpayer funded competition against private broadband providers — against the wishes of the states.” 

Advocates of those state laws say they are designed to protect taxpayers from municipal projects that are expensive, can fail or may be unnecessary. 

The National Governors Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures have urged the FCC not to pre-empt state laws on broadband. 

But the administration argues these state measures stifle competition. 

Obama wants to expand access to broadband communications services, siding with local communities that want either to expand competition or provide municipal services themselves. To promote it, he announced that his administration will provide technical and financial assistance to towns and cities that want to improve Internet service for their residents. 

The proposals do not require congressional approval and are part of a series of measures Obama is rolling out before his State of the Union address next week. 

The administration’s stance would put it at odds with major cable and telephone companies such as AT&T, Comcast and Time Warner Cable Inc., that currently provide Internet service, often with little or no competition. Obama has already angered the industry by calling for new FCC rules that treat Internet service providers as public utilities, as part of his net neutrality push. 

In a White House video before the announcement, Obama says: “You know what it feels like when you don’t have a good Internet connection. Everything is buffering, you try to download a video and you’ve got that little circle thing that goes round and round, it’s really aggravating.” 

“There are real world consequences to this and it makes us less economically competitive,” he says. 

Jeff Zients, director of Obama’s National Economic Council, said Obama wants to use the bully pulpit of the presidency to press the FCC, an independent regulatory agency, to “ensure that all states have a playing field that allows for a vibrant and competitive market for communication services.” 

The FCC is already considering requests for Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Wilson, N.C., to prevent state laws from blocking the expansion of their broadband projects. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in June that local communities that want to provide their own broadband service “shouldn’t be stopped by state laws promoted by cable and telephone companies that don’t want that competition.” 

A new White House report says that while 94 percent of Americans living in urban areas can purchase an Internet connection of 25 megabits per second, only 51 percent of Americans in rural areas have access to such Internet speeds. 

The report also says that because of lack of competition three out of four Americans lack a choice for such Internet service. 

The White House also announced that the Commerce Department would promote greater broadband access by hosting regional workshops and offering technical assistance to communities. The Department of Agriculture also will provide grants and loans of $40 million to $50 million to assist rural areas. 

A council comprising more than a dozen government agencies will also seek to remove regulatory and policy barriers that hinder broadband competition, the White House said. 

Fox News’ Doug McKelway and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Obama calls for expanded access to fast Internet - VIDEO: WH moving forward with plans to regulate broadband industry

Jamaican Government to regulate Internet Gaming

The Government of Jamaica has announced that it will bring regulation to Internet Gaming in Jamaica as it seeks to earn revenues from the source. 
Horace Dalley, Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of  Finance, making his contribution to the Sectoral Debate on Tuesday, affirmed that the government would make every effort to bring regulation to the sector over the next twelve months. He told the House that studies show that Internet Gaming generates more than US$20 billion in worldwide revenue, with the potential to grow even further.    

Industry earnings 

    
Mr. Dalley also revealed that, during the 2013/14 fiscal year, collections from the gaming industry totalled more than $4.5 billion. This was an eleven per cent increase over the previous year.     
He said the sum includes money that went to the CHASE Fund, Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission, Jamaica Racing Commission, and the Consolidated Fund.                        He added that the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission has conservatively estimated that the daily earnings from sports betting have quadrupled since the start of  the 2014 World Cup.

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Jamaican Government to regulate Internet Gaming

Judicial review of decision to regulate TT used car sector

Trinidad & Tobago’s Express newspaper has reported that senior counsel Russell Martineau has asked for time to speak with Minister of Trade, Industry, Investment and Communications Vasant Bharath before the court considers granting a stay of a decision to regulate that country’s foreign-used car industry.

The newspaper reports that Martineau, appearing before Justice Frank Seepersad in the San Fernando High Court on Monday, said he needed to get instructions from his client to submit to the court.

He also reportedly told the judge that on April 7, Cabinet did not approve the draft 2013 to 2017 policy in relation to the regulation of the foreign-used car industry, and it was sent to the General Financial Committee.

The Trinidad & Tobago Automotive Dealers Association filed for judicial review of the decision to implement the new policy, which was due to come into force on April 15.

The Association has claimed that there was no consultation and the decision announced by Bharath last month and the Minister’s decision was irrational, unreasonable and contrary to the principals of natural justice.

The Automotive Dealers Association was granted a stay two weeks ago, restraining the Minister from implementing the policy.

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Judicial review of decision to regulate TT used car sector

"You can"t regulate how I enjoy myself"

SOME smokers are fuming at Government’s announced ban on smoking in public places, arguing that it infringes their personal liberty to recreate and enjoy themselves as they see fit.

Further, they charge that to make offences under the Public Health (Tobacco Control) Regulations criminal borders on tyranny. The regulations were announced in Parliament on Tuesday and become effective on July 15. They carry penalties of fines ranging from $50,000 to $1 million as well as prison terms from three months to a year.The Jamaica Observer spoke with three heavy smokers from Corporate Jamaica on Wednesday who opted to not have their names disclosed. One smokes three 20-packs of cigarettes a day, the other says he is down to eight sticks a day, while the third says he is between eight and 10 sticks on a normal day, but up to 20 when partying. They all picked up the habit in their teenage years.“I think my rights are being infringed on,” the first told the Jamaica Observer.“I think the Government is misled and ill-advised in respect to the ban. To limit smoking in public spaces is fine, but to levy penalties and make it a criminal offence is taking it a bit too far,” he added.The second smoker shared the view that Government is overreaching in its approach.“I think it is a misguided, totally skewed approach. Either you ban cigarettes altogether, which would be a further infringement of people’s rights, but to hold people criminally liable for smoking in public spaces smacks of arrogance,” he said.“You cannot legislate how I enjoy myself,” he argued, adding that the move “will give corrupt police another avenue to rip people off”.Regarding the much-touted dangers of smoking and the links with non-communicable diseases, the second smoker said he was wary of the association.“I don’t know how scientific that data is because most of the people I know who have died from cancer never smoked a day in their lives. They (medical experts and anti-tobacco lobbyists) will argue that it’s second-hand smoke. I don’t know. They don’t know either,” he said.The third man, on the other hand, said he welcomed the Government-imposed ban and appreciated it insofar as protecting non-smokers.“I’ve been smoking since I was 16 and I’m now 46, that’s 30 years and I believe that smoking is my choice and in doing so, I shouldn’t harm anybody or sully anybody’s air.“If I choose to destroy my lungs I shouldn’t harm anyone?”“I don’t smoke in my house and I travel a lot and know that smoking in enclosed spaces is a no-no ,so I welcome the ban.”They agree, though, that it won’t have any effect on reducing the number of those who light up, as smokers will simply divert to areas where they can smoke.Tobacco distributors Carreras, meanwhile, have urged Government to publish the regulations in order that interest groups and the wider public can be informed. In announcing the new measure, Health Minister Dr Fenton Ferguson said he would have provided details at yesterday’s post-Cabinet meeting, but he revealed that the regulations have not yet been gazetted and so are not yet available for public scrutiny.“We’re a little disappointed about the order in which the ban has been rolled out in terms of the grand announcement, yet nobody can see the regulations to peruse them,” the company’s corporate and regulatory affairs manager Christopher Brown told the Observer yesterday.“We are urging the minister and the ministry to move quickly with the publication so that everyone can see and know what it means as to where exactly they can and can’t smoke, [etc],” he said.At the post-Cabinet meeting, Ferguson, reiterated that the smoking ban is expected to reduce the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the island and cited the example of the Republic of Ireland, which on March 29, 2004, became the first country in the world to implement national anti-smoking legislation.“In the three years immediately following the smoking ban, there was a 13 per cent reduction in deaths from all causes, a 26 per cent reduction in deaths from ischemic heart disease, a 32 per cent reduction in deaths from stroke, and a 38 per cent reduction in deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Reductions in exposure to second-hand smoke prevented almost 4,000 deaths,” Dr Ferguson said of the British country.“No other risk factor for non-communicable diseases can compare to the ill effects of tobacco use affecting both our adult population and our children. If we are to meet the goal of reducing the prevalence of NCDs by 25 per cent by 2025, this ban on smoking in public spaces is important. I know we may get a fight from those with financial interest and whose power comes from the sale and distribution of tobacco, but I will not be dissuaded,” he said.The ban on smoking in public spaces takes effect on July 15.

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"You can"t regulate how I enjoy myself"