Topic: Net neutrality
Comments on FCC’s Net Neutrality Plans Difficult to Parse, Unlikely to Matter (Aug 30, 2017)
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Congress Invites Tech and Carrier CEOs to Testify on Net Neutrality Legislation (Jul 25, 2017)
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Verizon Accused of Throttling Netflix and YouTube, Says Testing Video Optimization (Jul 21, 2017)
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AT&T is “Joining” Day of Action Opposing Net Neutrality Rule Changes it Supports (Jul 11, 2017)
In a somewhat bizarre (and brazen) move, AT&T is “joining” the day of action due to take place tomorrow in protest at the FCC’s proposed changes to net neutrality rules, even though AT&T is entirely supportive of the FCC’s policy. AT&T’s argument for doing so is that, if the protest is about preserving an open internet, it’s all for that, but just sees what that means and the ways to achieve that goal differently. But it’s predictably spurred a backlash from the organizers of the events and others who see AT&T not as an ally but as the enemy in this cause. As I’ve argued from the beginning, and as an earlier piece from Tony Romm makes fairly clear, the odds of the protest succeeding in changing anything are very slim indeed, and the organizers seem to concede that – they’re talking more in terms of “not going down without a fight” than in terms of not going down at all. And that’s realistic because FCC Chair Ajit Pai has the votes he needs to push this through and he’s been a consistent opponent of the rules from the time they were voted in over his objections, in stark contrast to his predecessor Tom Wheeler, who seemed taken aback by the opposition to his first proposals on net neutrality. We’ll see what actually happens tomorrow when the protest takes place, but I suspect AT&T would have been better off quietly sitting this one out rather than pulling this stunt, which seems far likelier to get it lots of negative publicity than to do itself any good. There are certainly reasonable arguments to be made that the net neutrality rules go too far, or that it should be regulated differently, but a move like this does little to advance the argument.
via Recode
Netflix Changes its Wording about Net Neutrality (Jun 16, 2017)
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President Trump Re-Nominates Jessica Rosenworcel as FCC Commissioner (Jun 14, 2017)
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Amazon, Kickstarter, Reddit and Mozilla Will Protest Net Neutrality Changes July 12 (Jun 6, 2017)
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More Fraudulent Comments Submitted to FCC on Net Neutrality (May 29, 2017)
I had an earlier comment on a report that many fraudulent comments had been submitted to the FCC over its proposed net neutrality action, though the vast majority of those were against the policy proposals. Now, it’s emerged that there have also been some number of identical comments submitted in support of the proposals, at least some of which are being submitted in the names of individuals who have publicly opposed them. Those individuals have quite reasonably asked that those fraudulent comments be removed from the site, and also that the FCC investigate the fraud (something which, as far as I am aware, the FCC isn’t planning to do with the earlier comments either). There’s also an accusation – completely unsubstantiated as far as I can tell – that Comcast is somehow behind these comments. This FCC process has been dogged from the start by “astroturfing” – the process of either faking or at least dramatically magnifying apparent public comments on a controversial topic, through a combination of legitimate streamlining methods like form letters and online submission forms and illegitimate ones like these fake comments. That, in turn, seriously muddies the water in terms of what real people actually believe about all this – the only survey I’ve seen on this was sponsored by the industry and predictably showed that people broadly oppose regulation on the Internet but without being very specific about net neutrality. As I’ve said from the start, though, this FCC doesn’t seem particularly likely to bend even in the fact of significant (real) public opposition.
via Ars Technica
FCC Receives Many Net Neutrality Comments, Though Some Appear Fake (May 10, 2017)
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FCC Chairman Outlines Plan to Reclassify Broadband, Remove Net Neutrality Rules (Apr 26, 2017)
This has been in the offing for weeks, with lots of reporting since Ajit Pai took over as FCC Chair about his intentions to dismantle net neutrality regulations, but today it finally become official with a speech by Pai outlining his proposed approach. For now, all that will happen is that the FCC will tomorrow publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking outlining plans to reclassify broadband services as Title I, and inviting public comment. The significance of that is that the 2015 reclassification of broadband as Title II was what enabled the agency to pass net neutrality rules which stood up in court, so reversing that decision would also remove the net neutrality regulations. What Pai didn’t do in his speech today was outline how net neutrality rules, which he says he broadly supports, would be enforced going forward, though reporting has suggested he favors handing enforcement to the FTC with providers drawing up voluntary codes of conduct. The providers themselves, meanwhile, have been piping up in praise of the proposal while reiterating their commitment to a version of net neutrality they can live with: not blocking or degrading competing traffic. Once again, how you feel about all this depends on what you think net neutrality should mean: if you agree with that basic definition from the providers, things should be fine, but if you think it should also mean no paid prioritization, no zero rating, and so on, then you’ll have a problem with how this plays out. Pai’s fundamental argument here is that the providers were largely self-regulating before the rules, and that they will be again. The counterargument is that the threat of rules was enough to keep the carriers in line without them, and with rules eliminated and no immediate prospect of their reintroduction, carriers would be emboldened to push the limits in a way they weren’t in 2015. Also, as I argued a few weeks back, though the proposal released tomorrow will be up for public comment, I wouldn’t expect it to change much in the face of even very strong negative feedback.
via Recode (see also Pai’s speech (PDF) on the FCC website)
Silicon Valley is (quietly) beginning to fight the Trump administration’s net neutrality plan (but probably won’t succeed) (Apr 12, 2017)
This was somewhat inevitable given the earlier fight about net neutrality, but it appears tech companies are starting to make their views known on FCC chair Ajit Pai’s plans to roll back net neutrality regulations and hand oversight to the FTC instead. So far, though, none of them are saying anything publicly, and I’m skeptical that we’ll see the same vocal fight over this as we did last time around on the part of the big companies. More to the point, I suspect even if we do it won’t make much difference. When Tom Wheeler came to the FCC many doubted that he would be tough on the ISPs he had previously represented as head of a cable lobbying group, and so he was particularly sensitive to criticisms of his policy along those lines. He also, of course, represented a Democratic administration which favored net neutrality rules. Pai, on the other hand, is a familiar figure with well-known views on net neutrality, who was in turn appointed by a president who backs his agenda. As such, even though Wheeler strengthened his stance on net neutrality as a result of public pressure, I can’t see Pai caving in the same way. We might see a slight moderation of the approach, and perhaps a slowdown in the transition to ensure the FTC is ready to pick up the gavel, but I can’t see any substantive change to the plan occurring because of opposition from big tech companies. Meanwhile, of course, this sets up yet another potential fight between the tech industry and the Trump administration, which may be another reason they choose to stay fairly quiet, given all the fronts on which they’re fighting.
via Recode
FCC Chief Ajit Pai Develops Plans to Roll Back Net Neutrality Rules – WSJ (Apr 6, 2017)
Consistent with the FCC’s position on internet privacy rules, it appears it wants to shift enforcement of net neutrality principles to the FTC as well, which also suggests Ajit Pai isn’t opposed to net neutrality rules in some form, though perhaps a watered down one. Importantly, though, the FTC doesn’t have prescriptive rule making power in these areas, typically only acting after the fact to punish breaches of rules or regulations, which is a subtle but important shift in how net neutrality has been regulated so far. And as with internet privacy, it’s entirely possible that we’ll see a similar break between when the FCC ditches rules and the FTC picks them back up again, which will no doubt lead to a similar outcry to the one we’ve just seen over those privacy rules.
via WSJ
After escaping net neutrality probe, Verizon expands data cap exemptions – Ars Technica (Mar 11, 2017)
Given the new administration’s openness to zero rating and its stated intentions to pare back net neutrality regulations, it shouldn’t be at all surprising that Verizon is now exempting its Fios video traffic from data caps on Verizon Wireless smartphones. AT&T has used zero rating of its various TV services as a hook for customers for some time now, and although Verizon has done the same with its Go90 service, that has tiny user numbers and likely had very little impact on customer acquisition. Zero rating Fios creates a much bigger incentive – it has 4.7 million TV subscribers, of whom perhaps a third might be Verizon Wireless customers already. Video really feels like the big battleground in wireless at this point, with AT&T and Verizon now favoring their own video services, while T-Mobile uses its BingeOn program to zero rate all video. Sprint is the only provider without a meaningful equivalent at this point, and instead focuses on its overall unlimited data approach.
via Ars Technica
Tracing AT&T’s Capital Expenditures Over Time – Hal Singer (Feb 10, 2017)
One of the most pervasive stories out there about net neutrality is that, despite threats from the big telcos to reduce investment if it was made law, they have in fact increased spending since NN rules were introduced. This analysis looks at AT&T specifically and argues that its capex has actually gone down over the last three years if you back out the extra investment from its ownership of DirecTV and Mexican wireless assets. AT&T is complex because it no longer breaks out its wireline and wireless capex, but the headline picture here is certainly different from what you’ll see in most coverage of this issue.
via Hal Singer
The six terrible ways your life will change when Net Neutrality dies – Mashable (Feb 9, 2017)
This kind of overblown rhetoric is what we’ve all got used to around net neutrality, but it’s still shocking. Though reasonable people can disagree on what should and shouldn’t be included in the definition of net neutrality, and how strongly it should be regulated, there’s no reasonable case to be made that the dystopian outcomes outlined in this piece are at all realistic. This isn’t helpful to the debate, because it’s so easily dismissed as hyperbole. For what it’s worth, my own take on the topic is here.
via Mashable
AT&T and Verizon just got a free pass from the FCC to divide up the internet – The Verge (Feb 3, 2017)
The Verge is what I call a strict net neutrality advocate – the only conception of net neutrality it considers acceptable is one under which there is no prioritization and no differential charging of broadband traffic for any reason. As such, it has taken a hard line on programs like T-Mobile’s Music Freedom and BingeOn programs, and especially on programs such as AT&T’s zero-rating of DirecTV traffic and Verizon’s zero-rating of its Go90 video service. The FCC began looking into these approaches towards the end of last year, but hadn’t reached any final conclusions, and new FCC chair Ajit Pai has now closed the investigations without taking any action except to void the preliminary conclusions that were reached. The FCC’s own NN order from 2015 explicitly contemplated but didn’t ban zero-rating and sponsored data, saying only that it would address these as and when they breached other standards such as “no-unreasonable interference/disadvantage”. It was under that broad remit that the FCC was investigating the carriers in late 2016, but Pai always opposed these investigations and has now closed them down. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, how you feel about this depends on how strict you feel the definition of net neutrality should be – if, like the Verge, you’re a strict NNer, then you’re outraged, especially because this might be the beginning of a broader dismantling of net neutrality. If you take a narrower view of what NN should mean, this is not a problem per se.
via The Verge
Trump’s new FCC chief is Ajit Pai, and he wants to destroy net neutrality – The Verge (Jan 23, 2017)
It’s the nature of the beast that all regulatory appointments quickly get seen through the very narrow lens of a single issue that’s important to the tech industry, and that’s the case here. Ajit Pai is, as is the case with the rest of the FCC commissioners, a smart guy with a set of nuanced views on a variety of complex subjects. Yes, he’s clearly going to do what he can to overturn the FCC’s net neutrality rulings, but his time at the FCC will be about far more than that. On net neutrality, how you feel about this appointment will depend on how you feel about net neutrality – not just whether you’re in favor of it in a vague, general sense, but the specifics of what you think it should cover. The reality is that there has never been much danger of the major US broadband providers doing some of the things basic NN regulations would prevent even in the absence of regulation. But there are NN purists who insist that any unequal treatment of traffic is unacceptable, and they likely will be disappointed by what happens under a Pai Commission – AT&T’s preferential treatment of DirecTV content, for example, will definitely be just fine with the incoming FCC. On the other hand, I don’t think we’ll see any carriers blocking competing content or anything else along those lines even if the net neutrality rules are thrown out.
via Trump’s new FCC chief is Ajit Pai, and he wants to destroy net neutrality – The Verge
India Officially Rejects Facebook’s Free Internet Offering – Recode (Feb 8, 2016)
Free Basics is an initiative that Facebook cares about, but it’s not necessarily massively important for its overall performance financially or otherwise. As such, this is an emotional setback, but not necessarily an important one. However, the reasons for the decision are indicative of broader concerns which Facebook should be more concerned about: increasing worries about Facebook’s power and the ways in which it shapes users’ experience of the Internet.
via India Officially Rejects Facebook’s Free Internet Offering – Recode