If the FCC were to write a book using the cable and phone industry’s comments about the national broadband plan, they could title it Stupid Things They Said to Get Their Way and Control the Internet.

Entry No. 1 comes from cable giant Comcast, which proposed that the FCC hold “open meetings” across the country without suggesting the agency invite the public. The irony that Comcast would call for meetings is ripe, considering last February the company paid seat fillers at an FCC town hall meeting in Cambridge, Mass., so that people couldn’t participate.

Let’s be clear about why Comcast seem to have forgotten the public. The company doesn’t want to give people another venue to talk about who gets broadband, how we get it, what form it comes in, how expensive it is, and whether it’s being throttled. They know that our concerns and ideas about the direction of broadband in America are antithetical to their own.

Here’s what they said, which can be found on page 20 of their filing:

First, it [the FCC] should hold open meetings throughout the country to solicit input and ideas from various experts and stakeholders in the private sector, in academia, in non-profits, and in government.  These meetings should ensure that a wide diversity of viewpoints is presented and fully debated.  Participation should not be limited to those interested in “telecommunications policy,” but should extend to the fields of health care, education, energy, and the environment.  Panelists should also include representatives of the stakeholder agencies in those fields (e.g., the Departments of Energy, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, and Education).  Panelists should include experts on tax policy and intellectual property.  The Commission should build an unparalleled record for this unparalleled proceeding.  (And while an electronic record and citizen participation through the Commission’s website and other means can add value, it cannot substitute for testing ideas in the crucible of face-to-face debate and discussion.) 

So Comcast wants the FCC to hold “diverse” meetings with stakeholders and experts to discuss and debate the national broadband plan, but the people most affected by tech policy – the public – don't explicitly appear on the invite, though it looks as though the corporation would welcome citizen participation through the FCC’s Web site. Gee, thanks for the bone, Comcast. I’ll just sit at home Tweeting, “I hope the FCC protects an open Internet,” while Comcast and others debate (or ignore) the issues without me.

We have until July 8 to respond to the NOI comments. Don’t let this one escape your criticism. And remind the FCC that, oh yeah, Comcast is one of the companies that’s already been caught blocking and throttling online traffic.