NEWS FLASH: 'Silence' Overwhelms Congressional Switchboards

Kurt Hanson's Radio and Internet News (RAIN) reports this afternoon that the Internet Radio Day of Silence has overwhelmed both the websites connecting listeners to Congress and Congressional office telephone switchboards.

A massive response by listeners to today's ongoing "Day of Silence" event has overwhelmed the web and database servers being used by SaveNetRadio.org and is tying up switchboards in Congressional offices all over Capitol Hill as a deluge of online radio listeners have rushed to contact their representatives to ask them to co-sponsor the "Internet Radio Equality Act." Beginning just before 10AM CT, the SaveNetRadio.org site saw huge numbers of visitors begin to arrive, coming from links set up by webcasters participating in today's event. Shortly thereafter, the section of the site that lets users look up contact information for their Congressmen and Senators, (powered by Capitol Advantage's CapWiz) was crippled by large numbers of users trying to simultaneously access their reps' information. According to a representative from SaveNetRadio, "This is by far the biggest one-day load [CapWiz] has ever been hit with, and they are adding servers and moving all available resources ASAP." The website is in the process of revising its home page to ask listeners to try again later this afternoon or tomorrow. Meanwhile, listeners who do get the contact information for their representatives are having trouble getting through to the offices, as most House and Senate staff office phone numbers seem to be nonstop busy signals at the moment. Nearly a dozen phone calls from the RAIN office to various Congressional offices' switchboards have been unable to get through, as the lines appear to be flooded with callers.

Live365's servers were also swamped and the website was down most of the day. However, the special WiZARD RADIO broadcast is taking place exactly as planned. You can tune in and listen any time.

The most imporant thing you can do, however, is to pick up the telephone and call your Senator. You only need to say one short thing: Ask him or her to Co-Sponsor or support the "Internet Radio Equality Act." This will simply allow Internet Radio to pay the exact same royalties of Satellite Radio.

We don't want a free ride. We want a fair ride.

TECHNORATI TAGS: DAY OF SILENCE SAVE NET RADIO HR 2060 RADIO KURT HANSON RAIN RADIO AND INTERNET NEWS INTERNET RADIO WIZARD RADIO LIVE 365 FREE SPEECH

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