michael powell

DCvision2006

Cable’s Top Lobbyist Is Sick And Tired Of All This “Troublesome,” “Distressing” Regulation And Competition

Our old friend Michael “Regulation Is Bad” Powell, former FCC chairman and now top pro-cable lobbyist, is at it again. [More]

Top Cable Lobbyist Just Doesn’t See Why You Hate Your Cable Company When Google, Facebook Are Big Too

Top Cable Lobbyist Just Doesn’t See Why You Hate Your Cable Company When Google, Facebook Are Big Too

The NCTA is big cable’s big lobbying group. Right now, they’re trying their hardest to make sure the FCC can’t protect consumers and businesses from the largest ISPs with a lawsuit trying to block the FCC’s net neutrality rule. At the organization’s head head is former FCC chairman Michael Powell, who loves terrible internet speeds and data caps for all. [More]

When this is the best face that the wireless industry can put on its anti-neutrality case, it's in trouble. See the video below if you don't believe us.

Wireless & Cable Industries Fight Net Neutrality With Laughably Misleading Op-Eds & Video

Yesterday, FCC Chair Tom Wheeler confirmed that he intends to have the Commission reclassify broadband as the vital piece of telecommunications infrastructure that it is, which has resulted in immediate backlash from the wireless and cable industry and the handful of astroturfed “advocacy” organizations they support. [More]

(Tim Knifton)

Cable Industry Asks FCC To Continue Using Outdated “Broadband” Definition

Currently, a 4Mbps broadband connection — barely enough to stream a single HD movie and insufficient for accessing higher-definition content or for homes with multiple simultaneous data-heavy uses — is considered “broadband” in the eyes of the Federal Communications Commission, though that should change with the FCC’s plan to redefine broadband as the significantly faster 25Mbps, which would acknowledge both the recent improvements in broadband delivery and consumers’ increased use of web-connected devices. And yet the cable industry is fighting to retain the already outdated 4Mbps standard for broadband. [More]

A site called "The Connectivist" tries to argue that U.S. broadband isn't really as bad as it might look, but the site's motives are questionable, since it's a "partner" of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association.

Here’s The Latest Bit Of Astroturfing From The Cable Industry About Broadband Speeds

Once again, the latest survey of the current state of broadband around the globe [PDF] shows that, while improving, the U.S. still lags behind other developed countries, like South Korea, Japan, Switzerland, Latvia, and Romania in average broadband speeds and access to decent Internet. But leave it to the cable industry to try to convince America that everything is A-OK, and to try to do so without mentioning that this message is being brought to you by the cable industry. [More]

Michael Powell thinks customers should pay more per GB of data in order to get a better value. He also got his job at the FCC because his dad knew the president.

Former FCC Chair Urges Cable Companies To Hurry Up & Implement Data Caps And Usage-Based Pricing

Former FCC chair turned cable-industry frontman Michael Powell thinks that, in spite of the fact that delivering data to consumers continues to get less expensive, cable companies should be rushing to put caps on data usage and implement usage-based, metered broadband service. [More]

(DCvision2006)

Cable Industry Admits That Data Caps Have Nothing To Do With Congestion

A month after one study called shenanigans on the cable industry’s repeated assertion that data caps and usage-based pricing are intended to relieve congestion, the president of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association has admitted as much. [More]