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	Pittsburgh Hosts FCC Hearing on Future of the Internet
	July 21 event gives public a rare opportunity to weigh in on Internet policy
	
	PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- On Monday, all five Federal Communications Commissioners
	will meet face-to-face with the public at a hearing at Carnegie Mellon
	University to discuss broadband and the digital future.
	
	WHAT: FCC Hearing on the Future of the Internet
	
	DATE: Monday, July 21, 2008
	
	TIME: 4 p.m. EDT
	
	WHERE: Carnegie Mellon University, McConomy Auditorium, University
Center, 5000
	Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa.
	
	WHO: FCC Commissioners; Congressman Mike Doyle (D-Pa.); Mark Cuban, chairman
	and co-founder of HDNet; legal scholars and technology experts from Carnegie
	Mellon University; public interest advocates; labor unions; small business
	owners; wireless innovators; policy analysts; and representatives from YouTube
	and AT&T
	
	Watch the live Webcast of the hearing at http://www.fcc.gov/realaudio/#jul21
	
	Listen to live audio of the hearing at WRCT-FM 88.3 or on the Web at
	http://wrct.org
	
	High-speed Internet, or "broadband," is becoming a crucial public necessity --
	with almost limitless social, economic and educational potential. Technology
	plays a key role in almost every domestic political issue. But America's
	growing digital divide has cost the United States its claim to global Internet
	leadership. The consequences of America's failure to remain competitive are
	severe, and the need to address the problem is urgent.
	
	"The Internet increasingly affects every aspect of our economy, our political
	process and our private lives," Congressman Doyle said today. "As
vice chairman
	of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, I have been
	working to ensure that federal telecom policy truly benefits American
	consumers. That's why I appreciate the FCC's willingness to hold
field hearings
	in cities like Pittsburgh where it can get a real feel for what Americans want
	their digital future to look like."
	
	The Census Bureau estimates that less than 50 percent of the homes in
	Pennsylvania are subscribed to broadband.
	
	"It is unacceptable that the country that invented the Internet still has so
	many communities stranded on the wrong side of the digital divide," said
	Timothy Karr, campaign director of Free Press. "Until we make it a national
	priority to bring affordable, high-speed Internet to all Americans, the
	situation will only get worse. This forum is an important opportunity for
	Pennsylvanians to weigh in on how to get our digital future back on track."
	
	The hearing will feature two expert panels, followed by an "open microphone"
	session for the public to offer testimony on a first-come, first-served basis.
	
	Read the FCC's official announcement and agenda:
	http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-283761A1.pdf
	
	For the latest information on the hearing, visit
	http://www.savetheinternet.com/=pittsburgh


Rustbelt Radio airs live every Monday from 6-7 PM on WRCT 88.3 FM in
Pittsburgh, PA, and again on Tuesday mornings 9-10 AM.

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Rustbelt Radio