"Bold Practical" Questions for the Media & Democracy Coalition Panel Wednesday on Capitol Hill

The Media and Democracy Coalition, the leading advocates for the FCC to effectively take over management of the Internet and the American broadband industry are gathering on Capitol Hill 11 am Wednesday (Rayburn 2123) to present their policy recommendations to the FCC for a "Bold Practical National Broadband Plan." 

Here are some questions the panelists should be asked:

1. How are universal broadband and mandated net neutrality not contradictory goals given that new net neutrality regulation would inherently limit/prevent return on private broadband investment?
2. What evidence is there that the FCC/Government can do a better job of upgrading and managing the broadband Internet than the private sector has done?
3. Why is net neutrality regulation not regulating the Internet, if the law, the FCC, and the Supreme Court define the Internet to include broadband networks?
4. Where will the funding come from for deployment of faster universal broadband, if net neutrality regulations discourage private broadband investment?  
5. Why is Government less of a free speech threat than private corporations?
6. Has the pace of allocating the Commerce/Agriculture broadband grants made you more confident that the Government can effectuate the deployment of broadband faster than the private sector?  
7. What lessons have you learned from the last time the FCC over-reached, which led to the CLEC and fiber bubbles and the initial multi-year delay of broadband investment and deployment? 
8. What government examples of innovation encourage you to believe the Government can promote innovation better than market forces can?
9. How would government-subsidized journalism preserve press freedom from government censorship?  
10. Is a Google-NSA partnership part of your public interest vision of a free and open Internet?