Family Research Council Urges FCC to Approve M2Z's Family Friendly Broadband Application

Formal Letter from Coalition of Family Friendly Organizations Forthcoming

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Family Research Council (FRC), one of the nation's preeminent social advocacy organizations, recently submitted a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging Chairman Martin to immediately grant M2Z Networks' pending application to provide a free and family friendly wireless broadband Internet service nationwide. The letter called on the FCC Chairman to use the agency's considerable regulatory authority to serve the public interest by granting the M2Z Networks' application.

"M2Z will offer porn-free wireless access to the internet, and it will provide access to the internet at no charge," wrote Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, in his letter, adding, "This could be a revolutionary product, and, as the docket shows, the reception to the M2Z concept has been overwhelmingly favorable."

M2Z's free broadband service will provide parents and teachers with a safe way to use the Internet for education and entertainment by filtering pornographic and indecent material at the network level. Unlike existing tools which require software and updates to be loaded onto individual computers, parents using M2Z's wireless broadband service will not be required to play IT administrator in order to maintain a safe online environment for their children. Although there is widespread adoption of network level filters in corporate Internet use, M2Z would be the first major nationwide commercial provider to deliver a free and family friendly nationwide broadband service. M2Z will also offer a premium subscription broadband service that operates at higher speeds and gives users the option of turning off the network based filter should they choose to do so. For a recent example highlighting the unreliability of software based filters, please visit: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22304224-2,00.html?from=public_rss

"We believe that offering a free broadband service without family friendly filtering is irresponsible," said Milo Medin, M2Z's co-founder, Chairman and CTO. "Similar to free-over-the-air TV, we would have no idea whether a subscriber of the free service is 11 years old or 35 years old. We also believe that offering Americans free and family friendly broadband makes good business sense since it provides consumers greater choice in the broadband market. If consumers agree, they should call the FCC and their representatives in Congress to demand action in the public interest."

FRC joins hundreds of other federal, state and local elected officials and organizations who have written into the FCC in support of M2Z's family friendly broadband Internet service. Other supporters include the Internet Keep Safe Coalition, United Families International, Bishop Paul Loverde of the Diocese of Arlington, and Enough is Enough.

Congressional leaders on family values have also stepped forward to support M2Z. Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) wrote in a letter to the FCC, "Many of my Senate colleagues and I are deeply concerned about the growing problem of pornography on the Internet....Under M2Z's unique proposal, a major nationwide broadband service that is effectively filtered at the network will, for the first time, be available for parents and their children." In a separate letter, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) added that the M2Z service "represents a much needed and long overdue private sector remedy to protect minors from the dangers of accessing pornography and indecent material over the Internet."

"The need for a variety of tools to keep children safe on-line has never been greater. A study from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention from 2005 reported that from 2004 to 2005 there was an 84% rise in the number of formal complaints that predators had enticed minors online or traveled to meet them in person. We believe that if more service providers were to follow M2Z's lead, it would significantly help parents and other caregivers keep our children safe on-line," wrote Marsali Hancock, President, Internet Keep Safe Coalition in a letter to the FCC.

To view Family Research Council President Tony Perkins' letter of support, please visit: http://www.M2Znetworks.com/letters

For Background on M2Z's Free & Family Friendly Nationwide Broadband Service Proposal, The Recent Comments from Family Values Advocates In Support of M2Z, and the Public Interest Spectrum Coalition Raising Constitutional Concerns, please visit: http://www.M2Znetworks.com/resource-center

To view Appendix 3 of M2Z Networks' Application, "M2Z's Commitment to Protect Minors From Indecent Material on M2Z's Network," please visit: http://www.M2Znetworks.com/resource-center

Background

M2Z Networks currently has an application before the FCC to lease 20MHz of fallow spectrum to build a nationwide network to offer fast, free and family friendly broadband to 95 percent of the U.S. population within ten years. The service will be supported by locally targeted search results and will include a network-level filter to shield children using the service from indecent content. If licensed, M2Z would pay the U.S. Treasury 5 percent of annual gross revenues from its premium subscription services, which could total payments of up to $1 billion over 15 years. The introduction of M2Z's broadband service would generate $18 to $32 billion in direct consumer benefits over the next 15 years according to two uncontested economic studies.

About M2Z Networks:

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., M2Z Networks' goal is to transform the current state of the broadband marketplace by building a high-speed wireless network throughout the United States. In May 2006, the company submitted a license application to the FCC to construct and operate a nationwide broadband wireless network in the 2155-2175 MHz spectrum band. Approval of the application would guarantee delivery of free, fast and family-friendly wireless broadband service to at least 95 percent of Americans in a 10 year timeframe. M2Z is backed by Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers; Charles River Ventures; and Redpoint Ventures; three of the most successful venture capital firms in Silicon Valley with $5 billon of capital under management. For more information, please visit http://www.M2Znetworks.com and http://www.FreeBroadbandNow.org.

About the Family Research Council:

Founded by James Dobson in 1983, the Family Research Council (FRC) champions marriage and family as the foundation of civilization, the seedbed of virtue, and the wellspring of society. FRC shapes public debate and formulates public policy that values human life and upholds the institutions of marriage and the family. Believing that God is the author of life, liberty, and the family, FRC promotes the Judeo-Christian worldview as the basis for a just, free, and stable society.