For Immediate Release:
Contact: Colin Rhinesmith
May 22, 2006 (617) 633-0501

BOSTON, MA ŽÂŽ­ On May 24th, thousands in cities across the country will
protest the telephone companies AT&T, Bell South, and Verizon. The
planned day of ŽÂŽ³Out(R)ageŽÂŽ² is intended to highlight popular
opposition to attempts by the telecom industry to rewrite the
nationŽÂŽ¹s telecommunications lawsŽâ€Ž¹at a time when more Americans
are concerned about their privacy.

The House and Senate are preparing to vote on two controversial bills
(House Bill 5252 and Senate Bill 2686) that would allow telephone
companies to prioritize content delivered over the Internet,
threatening ŽÂŽ³Net NeutralityŽÂŽ². Without a ŽÂŽ³build-outŽÂŽ² requirement,
the legislation also fails to protect low-income communities from
discrimination by the major telephone companies.

ŽÂŽ³Redlining is a dangerous possible outcome,ŽÂŽ² said Janet Gillespie,
Program Coordinator at Community Change Inc., in Boston. ŽÂŽ³A phone
company could cherry pick which neighborhoods it serves, tearing up
streets and sidewalks in low-income communities while providing no
service to these communities.ŽÂŽ²

The bill also eliminates the ability for local authorities to
negotiate with telephone companies offering cable service. Many are
concerned about how this shift would impact thousands of public,
educational, and governmental access television channels and centers
across the country.

ŽÂŽ³For millions of people, public access television provides them a
real opportunity to be heard,ŽÂŽ² said Hiram Scott, President of the
Boston Neighborhood ProducerŽÂŽ¹s Group. ŽÂŽ³It is democracy at work and
should not be surrendered to the telephone companies.ŽÂŽ²

Coalition members and supporters include: State Representative Gloria
Fox, Boston City Councilors Jerry McDermott, Sam Yoon, and Chuck
Turner, David Isenberg (Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet &
Society at Harvard Law School), Mel King, Communications Workers of
America District 1, MASSPIRG, Alliance for Community Media, Community
Change Inc., Boston Neighborhood ProducerŽÂŽ¹s Group, Project: Think
Different, Boston Chapter of the Action Coalition for Media Education,
Public Access TV Centers in Worcester, Fall River, Lowell, Boston, and
Cambridge, teachers and students from UMass Boston, Boston College,
and Emerson College and local bloggers, podcasters, and videobloggers.

Ž³The telephone companies want to create a two-tiered Internet. A fast
lane for those who can afford to ride on it and a dirt road for
everybody else,ŽÂŽ² said Colin Rhinesmith, Boston Chapter President of
the Action Coalition for Media Education (ACMEBoston), a public
interest media advocacy organization. "If these bills are passed by
Congress, the Internet as we know it will come to an end."

Press Conference
Date: Wednesday, May 24
Time: 2PM
Location: Grand Staircase, Massachusetts State House, Beacon Street, Boston, MA