Posted by: Jim Cicconi on December 14, 2009 at 10:52 am
Welcome to the AT&T Policy Blog. I’m excited to lay out what we hope to accomplish with the on-going dialogue you’ll find here in the days and months ahead.
I’ve been in Washington, DC for a long time (some might argue too long!), both in government and in the private sector. Over the years, I’ve weighed in on many issues at meetings with policymakers, as a participant on panels, and during interviews with reporters. Now, it’s time to expand the dialogue to include the blogosphere. And while this may be a new format for me, I can assure you I’m looking forward to it. One of my colleagues termed it “Jim Cicconi 2.0” (which, come to think of it, may not have been a compliment…!).
Regardless, though, it’s my hope that this blog will provide a meeting place where we can have thoughtful and productive discussions about a wide variety of issues relating to broadband deployment and adoption facing our country.
These issues affect ordinary Americans living in their homes far from Washington, not just those of us engaged in public policy debates. How these issues are resolved will have a profound impact on their lives, and also on the economic, social, and civic matters that will define our nation in the 21st century.
In the AT&T Policy Blog, we’ll do our best to explain our perspective, and I’m sure you’ll do the same in your responses. We promise to listen, consider all views, and to engage with you, just as we do with stakeholders all across the country and in government. Sometimes we’ll agree, sometimes we’ll disagree, but always, I hope, we’ll strive to better understand each other’s views.
We won’t pretend we have all the answers, but we will always try to be straight with you. I know lots of people who will read our postings have impressions of large companies, not all of them good. But I can honestly tell you, based on my 11 years with AT&T, that this is a company where people try to do the best we can for our customers, our employees, our shareholders, the communities where we live and work, and the country we share. I truly hope that our handling of the AT&T Policy Blog will allow you to feel the same.
Starting today, my team and I will be outlining our policy positions in regular contributions to this blog. We hope you’ll take the time to let us know what you’re thinking as you respond to our posts.
I’m convinced that our open, honest and cordial debates can play a large part in helping our nation develop public policies in telecommunications and the Internet that benefit us all.
I’m looking forward to the conversations that lie ahead.
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