Thousands upon thousands of consumers have already voiced their opinion to the FCC about its not-really-neutral net neutrality (aka “cable company f*ckery”) proposal that would allow deep-pocketed content companies to muscle out smaller competitors by paying for so-called “fast lane” access to end users. Two voices in favor of stronger rules that may carry a little more weight with the FCC are the attorneys general of Illinois and New York. [More]
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You Have Until August 25 To Tell The FCC Your Thoughts About The Comcast-Time Warner Cable Merger
By 7.11.14
It’s been five months since Comcast and Time Warner Cable first announced their intention to merge, but the regulatory gauntlet they need to get through first is just now ramping up. Earlier this week, the FCC announced the team doing the review, and now they’ve announced their timeline for taking comments on the matter. [More]
FCC Hires Opponent Of Comcast/NBC Deal To Review Comcast/Time Warner Cable Merger
By 7.8.14
Comcast and Time Warner Cable have been treating their merger as a foregone conclusion ever since they announced their betrothal in February. And with the companies cozying up to regulators, dropping huge piles of cash on lobbyists and campaign contributions, and making themselves look as good as possible, it’s not hard to see why the execs at the top would be feeling confident. But the FCC has just made a few key hires that make it look like the agency might actually push back against Comcast’s financial onslaught. [More]
ISPs Are Mostly Delivering The Speeds They Advertise, Just Not Consistently
By 6.18.14
What does it mean when a cable company advertises “blazing fast Internet” or download speeds “up to 15 Mbps”? Does that mean all the time for everyone, or just an average? And how far from those “up to” speeds can an Internet service provider be before they have some explaining to do? [More]
Former FCC Commissioner: “We Should Be Ashamed Of Ourselves” For State of Broadband In The U.S.
By 6.18.14
In Washington, DC today, a group of internet industry executives and politicians came together to look back on the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and to do a little crystal-ball gazing about the future of broadband regulation in the United States. Former FCC commissioner Michael Copps was among the presenters, and he had sharp words for the audience about the “insanity” of the current wave of merger mania in the telecom field and the looming threats of losing net neutrality regulation. [More]
Proposed Bill Would Require FCC To Forbid Internet Fast Lanes
By 6.17.14
The FCC is spending the summer considering their Open Internet Rule, the piece of cable company f*ckery with a giant loophole allowing companies to negotiate paid prioritization of their network traffic. Today, Democratic lawmakers are planning to introduce a bill that would outright ban those fast lanes. [More]
FCC Chair Tom Wheeler Says He Is Not A Dingo
By 6.16.14
A couple weeks back, HBO’s John Oliver questioned whether it was wise to fill the FCC Chairman vacancy with former cable/wireless lobbyist Tom Wheeler, likening the decision to a parent hiring a dingo as a babysitter. Wheeler takes issue with the comparison and is now publicly denying that he is a child-devouring canine. [More]
FCC To Look Into Data Bottlenecks And Pay-For-Access Deals With ISPs
By 6.13.14
The whole point of net neutrality is that Internet Service Providers like Comcast and Verizon shouldn’t be allowed to actively prioritize or degrade the data they help to deliver; it should all be treated equally. But as we’ve seen with Netflix speeds over the last year, ISPs can passively allow downstream data to bottleneck, effectively telling the largest content providers that they have to pay for more direct access. After omitting this latter issue in his controversial net neutrality proposal, FCC Chair Tom Wheeler announced today that it’s time for his commission to consider it. [More]
AT&T/DirecTV File Merger Docs With FCC, Argue They Need To Merge To Compete Against Comcast
By 6.12.14
The busy summer telecom merger season continues apace. Late yesterday, AT&T filed its paperwork with the FCC, officially kicking off the regulatory process that the company needs to get through in order to buy DirecTV and allow the two to live happily ever after. [More]
FCC Chairman: FCC Should Preempt State Laws That Ban Or Restrict Municipal Broadband
By 6.11.14
Broadband competition in the United States stinks. One alternative is for local entities — cities and municipalities — to create their own public networks, when big companies like Comcast don’t or won’t serve them. But in 40% of states, there are laws on the books implicitly or explicitly forbidding public broadband. This week, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler appears to be making good on his earlier remarks and is directly challenging those state laws. [More]
“Broadband For America” Members Didn’t Know Group Was Front For Anti-Neutrality Cable Industry
By 6.10.14
Last week, we told you about the handful of in-name-only broadband advocacy groups that are funded by the cable and wireless industries and who are pushing its boneheaded talking points about net neutrality and how it will bring about the end of days if enacted (it won’t). We also pointed out how the member list of the questionably named Broadband For America coalition is littered with organizations — from nonexistent websites to a tile company and an Ohio inn — that are out of place next to Comcast, Verizon, AT&T and pals. Now, some of those BFA members are denouncing the coalition’s stance on net neutrality, or saying they had no idea why they were listed as coalition members to begin with. [More]
Op-Eds In Favor Of Cable Company F*ckery Are Bought & Paid For By Cable Industry
By 6.6.14
Most of media coverage surrounding the net neutrality — or rather, cable company f*ckery — issue raise concerns about the current FCC plan, which would create an unbalanced, non-neutral Internet where the quality of data delivery depends on how much the sender is paying. A number of op-ed pieces have popped up in recent weeks cheering the plan on, or claiming that broadband competition is just fine (hint: it isn’t), but these are just fictions sponsored by the cable and telecom industries. [More]
The FCC Comments Site Might Be Broken, But You Can Still E-Mail
By 6.2.14
As we mentioned this morning, Last Week Tonight host John Oliver made a hilariously profane, impassioned plea for Americans to just give a damn and do something about the FCC’s pending net neutrality (aka “cable company f*ckery”) rules. It seems his call didn’t fall on deaf ears, as the FCC’s commenting system appears to be completely overwhelmed and inaccessible to most people. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still e-mail the Commission. [More]
FCC May Redefine “High Speed” Internet To Mean Actual High Speeds
By 6.2.14
When we say “broadband internet,” we think that means “fast connections.” But as far as the actual regulations are concerned, that’s not necessarily true. To the FCC, “broadband” means anything with download speeds higher than 3 Mbps. Sure, that’s literally a hundred times faster than a 1993 dial-up connection — but as we move more and more into an all-online, all-streaming future, it’s just not enough. And so the FCC is considering changing the definition to match reality. [More]
John Oliver Suggests Renaming “Net Neutrality” To “Cable Company F*ckery”
By 6.2.14
In spite of the fact that the current debate over net neutrality is one of the most important issues facing America right now, it’s not easy to get people to give a damn about the topic because it involves incredibly dull, complicated regulatory minutiae. Perhaps this calls for a rebranding. [More]
Verizon FiOS Gets Benefits Of Being A Public Utility Without The Regulations
By 5.28.14
As you probably know, Verizon was the company behind the lawsuit that gutted the FCC’s net neutrality rules. The telecom titan successfully argued that the FCC lacked the authority to regulate broadband providers like Verizon FiOS. What was lost in this discussion is the fact that all the while Verizon was saying FiOS should not face the same level of regulation placed on landline phone service, it was enjoying all the perks of being associated with a public utility. [More]
FCC Could Use Mergers To Force Net Neutrality, But Shouldn’t
By 5.23.14
It’s a big year for the FCC. It’s got two huge mergers to review — Comcast/Time Warner Cable, AT&T/DirecTV — while also trying to reinstate the recently gutted net neutrality laws without ticking off the entire Internet. These related issues put the FCC in a position to force some cable operators to accept stricter net neutrality, but that’s really just kicking the can down the road. [More]
Today’s Your Last Chance: FCC Public Comment Period For Net Neutrality Ends Tomorrow
The FCC’s public comment period on their proposed net neutrality rule — the one with the fast lanes, that everyone, even Congress, thinks is a terrible idea — is running out. The deadline is tomorrow, July 15. For anyone who hasn’t yet left a comment but keeps thinking it, now’s the time. [More]