Fiber to the Home Council

Fiber to the Home Council (FTTH Council) has a mission of working to "educate, promote and accelerate fiber-to-the-home and the resulting quality of life enhancements." It frequently issues press statements, releases studies and other activities jointly with the Telecommunications Industry Association.

Membership
FTTH Council often describes its membership as including "municipalities, utilities, developers, and traditional and non-traditional service providers." However, it also describes its membership as "approximately 800 company member delegates and a nine-member Board of Directors which serves a two-year term."

Most of the FTTH Council members listed on its website are companies that provide equipment and/or services related to fiber optic systems.

The "Membership" section of the FTTH Council website states, "Membership to the FTTH Council is open to companies interested in leading the FTTH revolution!" Membership options include a "Service Provider Level," with "General Industry Member Companies" being able to join at the "Platinum" ($6,000), "Gold" ($4,000) or "Silver" ($1,000) levels. The "Silver" level was "created especially for NOT-FOR-PROFIT institutions, certified educational or government institutions like universities, or a second division of an existing Platinum Member company," according to the website. "Silver"-level members can not serve on the Board of Directors, can not vote on Council issues, and can not nominate themselves for speaking opportunities. In addition, applications for "Silver"-level membership must be approved by the Board.

Political stances
Legislative and regulatory issues that FTTH Council lobbies on include:
 * In favor of federal policy "aimed at ensuring that next-generation broadband connections are universally available by 2015";
 * In favor of state-level policies to "streamline the video franchising process so that fiber-to-the-home providers are not discouraged from entering new markets and bringing competitive choices to consumers with regard to video, voice and data services";
 * In favor of municipalities deploying "next-generation, high-bandwidth telecommunications networks"; and
 * Against all net neutrality policies, which the FTTH Council feels would "respond to a problem that doesn’t presently exist with regulation that would inhibit investment in and harm further development of the Internet."

Pushing statewide video franchising in Wisconsin
On August 1, 2007, FTTH Council organized a press conference in favor of state Senate Bill 107 / Assembly Bill 207, called the "Video Competition Act." Also speaking at the press conference were the Wisconsin Merchants Federation, Wisconsin Technology Council and Competitive Wisconsin. "Although the proposed legislation promises to increase the level of competition in the video entertainment business in Wisconsin, the thrust of the press conference was focused on the economic development aspects of the bill," states the Wisconsin Merchants Federation's report on the event.

Wisconsin bill SB 107 / AB 207 was based on model legislation drafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council and has been strongly supported by AT&T, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Industry groups helped craft the bill before it was introduced to the state legislature, reported The Capital Times.

Financial information
FTTH Council is registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(6) organization, which is used for business leagues. In its 2005 filing with the IRS, FTTH Council reported $516,298 in assets and $806,674 in income. In 2006, FTTH Council reported $824,665 in income from membership dues, $2,068,834 in total revenue, $355,597 in net assets, and $113,085 in "government" (presumably lobbying) expenses.

Public relations and lobbying
The FTTH Council's media contact is David St. John of the New York-based public relations firm St. John Communications.

The PR firm's website states, with regards to the FTTH Council, "St. John Communications has designed the corporate media plan -- and is implementing it through communications, media relations and public outreach programs -- for this national non-profit industry council that promotes expansion of very high-bandwidth, next generation networks." David St. John previously worked at Burson-Marsteller, in the Clinton administration, and with the AFL-CIO.

FTTH Council retains the lobbying firm Kelley Drye Collier Shannon, according to the online subscription-only database Lobbyists.info. The lobbyist heading the FTTH account is Thomas Cohen.

Personnel
Joe Savage - President

Board of Directors
The 2007 Board, from the group's website:
 * Greg Solomon - Pulaski Electric System
 * Kathy Harriman - EPB
 * Jeff Mnick - GVTC
 * Leonard Ray - Cisco Systems - Scientific Atlanta
 * Michael Kunigonis - Corning Incorporated
 * Mike Hill - On Trac, Inc.
 * Patrick Sims - ADC Telecommunications, Inc.
 * Robert Campbell - Ditch Witch - The Charles Machine Works, Inc.
 * Steve Kemp - Alcatel-Lucent

Contact information
Website: http://www.ftthcouncil.org

Fiber to the Home Council PO Box 21071 Spokane, WA 99201

Phone: 503-635-3114

SourceWatch resources

 * Net neutrality
 * Wisconsin Merchants Federation
 * Wisconsin Video Choice Coalition

Articles

 * Press release, "No Need for 'Network Neutrality' Regulation, FTTH Council Tells Commission," FTTH Council, June 15, 2007.
 * Press release, "Fiber-to-the-Home Revs Up U.S. Expansion, More Than Two Million Homes Now Connected to Next-Generation Broadband," FTTH Council and Telecommunications Industry Association via BusinessWire, October 3, 2007.