The Redwood Technology Consortium favors ubiquitous and reliable telecommunications for the North Coast of California.  We believe that widely available, affordable, and reliable broadband is vital to the health and well-being of the area’s economy and to the civic lives of the area’s residents.

While the RTC does not advocate for specific proposals or projects, we recognize the importance of fostering a competitive, transparent, and publicly debated process. Further, we support open access, which encourages competition among Internet providers so that residents and businesses get the best services possible at competitive prices.

We also have no stake in the most appropriate ownership model for broadband projects. Private ownership, public ownership and private/public partnerships should be decided on a project by project basis as to which are the most practical and produces the most public good.

As a matter of principle the RTC also supports the concept of network neutrality, which ensures a level playing field for everyone in distributing and receiving content over the Internet.

We invite members of the community to make their positions on the various broadband proposals and issues known. Toward that end, the RTC has corralled several resources for encouraging and tracking discussions.

Stimulus Money Information Links (National)
http://www.recovery.gov
http://www.recovery.org
http://www.thenationaldialogue.org
http://www.gao.gov/recovery
http://research.ufl.edu/researchsupport/research_support_docs/ARRA_Fundi...  
http://maps.foundationcenter.org/economic_crisis/stimulus/shell.php?stat...

Stimulus Money Information Links (Local)
http://www.mikethompson.house.gov

Increasing Rural and Statewide Broadband Studies
Redwood Coast Connect: http://redwoodcoastconnect.humboldt.edu/ 

Several qualified proposals (to bring broadband to underserved communities and redundancy to the area in general) are being considered by lawmakers.

Download this draft document.