Listen: Singing for Broadband Access in Appalachia

February 15, 2010

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – “Affordable, Accessible Broadband for All” is the tune from by community groups in Kentucky, West Virginia and across the nation. With “net neutrality” and access to broadband two hot topics in Washington, a community group in Appalachia has released a song as their part of a national effort by the Media Action Grassroots Network (MAG-Net).

The picking and singing are part of a grassroots effort to get the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to protect the principles of an open, democratic Internet. Activists want the agency to promote fast access and keep Internet providers from favoring certain kinds of traffic. The Kentucky group Appalshop has hosted a Broadband Quilting Bee and posted a song about the issues on YouTube. It’s called “My Chicken Ain’t Got No Scratch.”

“From the mountain to the valley, from the holler to the ‘hood, get your business cooking, do everybody some good. I said universal, universal broadband if you please…”

Without rules to protect the poor and people of color, Eloise Lee, program director with the group Media Alliance, says free speech will continue to get more and more expensive.

“It’s a really critical time where certain decisions are being made in D.C. that could negatively affect the way people access the Internet.”

The FCC is working on a National Broadband Plan to present to Congress next month. It proposes affordable access to high-speed Internet. The agency’s chairman has said he wants to develop rules that would stop Internet service providers, such as AT&T and Comcast, from selectively blocking or slowing some Web content so as to favor other users. Opponents say the new regulations would hinder the development of the Internet.

There’s more on “My Chicken Ain’t Got No Scratch” and the Broadband Quilting Bee at
www.pitchengine.com. More info on national efforts is at www.mediagrassroots.org

Dan Heyman, Public News Service – WV