This morning the House Judiciary Committee held another hearing about net neutrality. While the members of Congress and expert witnesses are sitting on Capitol Hill arguing with each other over antitrust law, the public is clear on one thing: paid prioritization is a bad, bad idea. [More]
net neutrality
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]
Originator of “Net Neutrality” Running For Office In New York, Hopes To Prevent Comcast/TWC Merger
By 6.17.14
The academic who coined the term “net neutrality,” and who has been among its most vocal advocates, is now running for office in New York. Tim Wu hopes to become lieutenant governor after what he describes as a “start-up campaign,” and he’s running with a tech-focused message: that New York needs to act against the merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable. [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]
“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]
Netflix Tests Passive-Aggressive Buffering Messages To Call Out Slow ISPs
By 6.4.14
When your streaming video of Charles In Charge comes in pixelated and is regularly interrupted by pauses for buffering, is it the streaming service or your ISP? New messages being tested by Netflix attempt to point the finger straight at the other guy. [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]
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]
Netflix CEO Says Comcast Is Coming For “The Whole Internet”
By 5.29.14
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings delivered some pointed thoughts about Comcast’s play for national broadband dominance and the world of net neutrality while speaking at a conference in California this morning. [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]
FCC Chair’s Proposed Net Neutrality Rule Not Popular At Congressional Hearing
By 5.20.14
FCC chairman Tom Wheeler took the hot seat today in an oversight hearing before the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology to testify about current issues before his agency, including net neutrality. The overriding theme of the day? Pretty much everyone who spoke hates the rule the FCC narrowly approved for consideration last week — just for different reasons. [More]
How To Tell The FCC Exactly What You Think About The Proposed Net Neutrality Rule
By 5.15.14
Earlier today, the FCC voted to move forward with their new proposed net neutrality rules. While somewhat tempered from the original rumored proposal, the proposed rule is still far-sweeping and controversial. The FCC is expecting a whole heap of opinions to come pouring in on the issue, now that the official comment period is open. [More]
FCC Votes To Approve Net Neutrality Rules With Fast Lanes Intact
By 5.15.14
As predicted, the five FCC commissioners voted 3-2 today to approve Chairman Tom Wheeler’s latest version of the Open Internet rule — better known as net neutrality — with a slightly revised take on so called Internet “fast lanes,” which would have given Internet service providers like Verizon and Time Warner Cable the ability to charge content companies extra for higher priority access to end users. [More]
Let’s Dissect The Cable Industry’s Latest B.S. Argument Against Net Neutrality
By 5.14.14
In spite of the fact that everyone — from Google to 4Chan, from the ACLU to the Harry Potter Alliance — has asked FCC Chair Tom Wheeler to rethink his addle-brained proposal for useless net neutrality, it continues to inch closer to reality, and with the support of lawmakers who are signing their names to a letter drafted by the cable industry that pays them well. [More]
