Alliance For Public Technology

Alliance for Public Technology is funded by the Bell companies and run by Issue Dynamics, and yet the group was on the FCC Consumer Advisory Committee.

"The Alliance for Public Technology (APT) is a nonprofit membership organization based in Washington, DC. Membership is open to all nonprofit organizations and individuals, not members of the affected industries, concerned with fostering access to affordable and useful information and communication services and technologies by all people.

"APT is composed of public interest groups and individuals, some of whom historically have been left out of the Information Age, including the elderly, minorities, low income groups and people with disabilities."

APT Sponsors

• BellSouth
• Intel
• SBC
• SBC California,
• TracFone Wireless
• Verizon

APT Staff SYLVIA ROSENTHAL, Executive Director --- VP IDI.

As Executive Director of the Alliance for Public Technology, Sylvia Rosenthal oversees the management of the organization and all of its projects, including the newsletter and the annual Susan G. Hadden awards program. Ms. Rosenthal is also Assistant Vice President of Issue Dynamics Inc. where she devotes her time exclusively to management of APT.

Snow job, Network World, 1/26/98

"IDI's associates help to organize and manage coalitions with names such as the 'Alliance for Public Technology' and "Keep America Connected…The literature for each group lists a different phone number manned by an IDI employee who answers the phone with the name of that coalition. It also lists either IDI's street address or a District of Columbia post office box."

"The group's chairman, Dr. Barbara O'Connor, bristled at the suggestion that the alliance is a front for anything, noting that it has even held a seat on the FCC's prestigious Network Reliability Council….But of the alliance's $190,000-per-year budget, approximately $100,000 is supplied by the regional Bell operating companies, she said. Not surprisingly, last October, the alliance wrote the FCC in support of BellSouth's South Carolina long-distance application and has consistently supported other RBOC policy positions."

TRAC'S Chairman Honored

Samuel A Simon, Chairman of the Board of TRAC, the Telecommunications Research and Action Center was honored on February 18th when he was awarded the Susan G. Hadden Pioneer in Telecommunication Access honor. The distinction was announced by William E. Kennard, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, at a reception hosted by the Alliance for Public Technology.

Washington, D.C., January 13, 2005 - The Alliance for PublicTechnology (APT) announced today that Daniel B. Phythyon, a former Chief of the Federal Communications Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, has been named as APT's Public Policy Director-General Counsel.

Phythyon will serve as APT's chief representative in federal andstate telecommunications policy arenas, and will work with APT's Public Policy Committee and its Board of Directors to develop and advocate telecommunications policies that promote the Alliance's core mission: "connecting each to all in a broadband world."

"I'm delighted to have the opportunity to join the many dedicated organizations and individuals that make up the Alliance," said Phythyon. "As federal and state policy makers confront the numerous challenges and opportunities that rapidly evolving broadband technologies present for society, this is an especially exciting time to be working to ensure that these technologies benefit all Americans."

But in another bio we find that Mr. Phythyon is also Senior Vice President, Law and Policy of the Bell companies' main lobbying arm, the United States Telecom Association

"Daniel B. Phythyon is Senior Vice President, Law and Policy at the United States Telecom Association (“USTA”), where he oversees its government affairs, law and policy departments. Dan came to USTA with extensive regulatory and legislative telecommunications experience, having held prominent posts both at the Federal Communications Commission and with the U.S. Senate. Before arriving at USTA in January 2002, ...he was Chief of the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, where he oversaw wireless policies and spectrum auctions."

Raising Phone Rates: 

In 2000, APT, the Communications Workers of America, National Council on the Aging, National Hispanic Council on Aging, United Homeowners Association, League of United Latin American Citizens, among others backed a phone company proposal to raise the FCC Line Charge, known as the "CALLS  Proposal"-- It worked.

Why should you care? There are new plans in 2005 to raise your rates again.

According to Coalition of Affordable Local and Long Distance Service, a client of Issue Dynamics, funded by the phone companies, the group was able to get many others to sign on to their proposal, such as Alliance for Public Technology working in Conjunction with the Bell Communications Workers of America. Note, Steve Pociask, an expert for New Millenium Research and a former Bell economist for 20 years, conducted the study... i.e, made up information. The Alliance wrote:

The quotes below are taken directly from FCC filings.

"The joint commenters are pleased that the modified plan responds to their concerns, as demonstrated in an updated study conducted by Joel Popkin and Company…Chief Economist Steve Pociask, who conducted the study, reported that the modifications actually strengthen consumer benefits significantly by providing further rate reductions and lowering the cost for consumers who make few long distance calls. Specifically:

* Households at all income levels will experience approximately 4 percent welfare gain from the modified CALLS proposal.

* It represents an increase of $2.2 billion or 41% in consumer welfare benefits when compared to the initial CALLS analysis, and $7.4 billion total annual benefits to residence and business customers.

* Compared to the initial plan, residential consumers should receive an increase in benefits of 54%, mostly due to lower residential subscriber line charge caps.

* A disproportionately higher share of the new benefits are predicted to accrue to rural customers even though they may face slightly higher subscriber line charges and are likely to receive less benefits under CALLS, due to decreases in the subscriber line cap for rural subscribers. For example, urban customers should benefit $0.39 per household per month more than the initial plan predicted. In comparison, a rural customer will see an additional $0.76 per household per month more than the initial plan." Pages 5-7

However, the real punch of this is that low income, seniors, and others who don't make many long distance calls were harmed the worst from these increases. However, APT claims that it is supposedly defending these customers' rights.

"...some of whom historically have been left out of the Information Age, including the elderly, minorities, low income groups and people with disabilities."

Support from Consumer Groups -- Working or Funded by the Phone companies.

"The plan drew praise from the Citizenship Education Fund, an affiliate of Rainbow/PUSH, led by Rev. Jesse Jackson: "We want to lend our voice to those other consumer, disability and minority groups supporting the modified CALLS proposal, including the Alliance for Public Technology, the Communications Workers of America, Telecommunications for the Deaf and other leading national organizations. "

See the Supporters of CALLs --- Those Rounded up by APT and Issue Dynamics

• CALLS Information on Prices? --From "Webpicer" by TRAC
• CALLS Information on Phone Charges-National Consumer League, and USTA--- Funded by Verizon and SBC.

  "Under a grant from Verizon and SBC, the National Consumer League developed its website on “Understanding Your Phone Bill."