Broadband For America is an anti-Net Neutrality group entirely funded by the National Cable and Telecom Association — Big Cable’s lobbying front, that has represented itself to the FCC as a broad-based coalition that demands as much Cable Company Fuckery as the Commission can deliver. It’s got an impressive membership list, too, from golf clubs to scholarship organizations: only one problem, the members never joined.
Don Hollister, the executive director of the Ohio League of Conservation Voters, said he was unaware of his organization being listed as a Broadband for America member. After our inquiry, Hollister wrote to us to share a message he sent to Broadband for America: “The Ohio League of Conservation Voters does not endorse your position on broadband. This is not a policy area that we take positions on. Why are we listed as a Broadband for America member? I am unaware of Ohio LCV taking any position on broadband issues and I have been Executive Director since 2011. The Ohio LCV is not a member of Broadband for America. Remove us from your listing of members.”
Other groups we contacted were simply confused. “I’m not aware of them and I pay all the bills. I’ve never heard of Broadband for America,” replied Keith Jackson, an accountant with the Spread Eagle Tavern & Inn, a cozy bed-and-breakfast in Ohio that is listed as a Broadband for America member.
The participation of other Broadband for America members includes more improbable stalwarts of the broadband industry agenda like a tile and roofing company, a Virginia college scholarship program, a golf club in Salem, Oregon, and the Eastern Shore Tourism Commission.
Community Groups Were Duped Into Joining the Telecom Industry’s Anti-Net-Neutrality Coalition [Lee Fang/Vice]
(via Techdirt)