CWAers Learn About Broadband Oversight in Town Hall

Last week, CWA members and retirees tuned in online for a virtual town hall hosted by the CWA Broadband Brigade highlighting legislative fights for public oversight of broadband and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). CWA has pending broadband oversight bills in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, and New York, with Delaware expected to follow soon.

CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. opened the call. CWA District 4 Vice President Linda L. Hinton, CWA District 7 Vice President Susie McAllister, CWA District 9 Vice President Frank Arce, and CWA Telecommunications and Technologies Vice President Lisa Bolton also joined the call.

President Cummings explained the urgency of oversight, saying, “State oversight of broadband may at first sound like it only affects our telecom members, but I can assure you that this is a very important issue that impacts us all. For accessing health care, education, jobs, news, entertainment, and more, universal, affordable access to high-capacity internet is essential to our nation’s democracy, economy, and future.”

CWA District 7 Legislative-Political Coordinator for Colorado Sandra Parker-Murray explained the issues currently impacting internet users: “Decades of deregulation at the state and federal level have left consumers unprotected and internet service providers with very little accountability to their subscribers and stakeholders. There is no shortage of broadband customers complaining of frequent outages, unreliable service, unanswered customer support calls, and canceled or rescheduled technician visits. In most states, providers can abandon customers with little recourse.”

Public oversight of this critical utility can address issues with public safety, disaster recovery, and consumer protection. Sign this petition calling on the FCC to update its oversight for the internet age and ensure everyone has access to high quality service.

Click here to watch the town hall and learn how you can support these bills and the broader push for public oversight.

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This post originally appeared on cwa-union.org.