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    FCC to abandon net neutrality

    So, if the leaks are right, the FCC is not only going to abandon any possibility of regulating the internet backbone as a utility, it's going to allow ISPs to charge for preferential access for the final mile.

    For what it's the FCC has put out a non-denial denial. The whole issue is that the leaks say the FCC is only banning discrimination against those who pay the "commercially reasonable" fee for non-discrimination.

    #2
    FCC to abandon net neutrality

    I really don't get it. This is like television manufacturers having to pay electricity companies a fee because their TVs use up a lot of electricity in people's houses. Of course, such a fee would be stupid; the electricity use is a matter for the end user and the electrics company.

    Similarly, bandwidth usage is a matter for the end user and the ISP.

    Comment


      #3
      FCC to abandon net neutrality

      Well, yes, but (legally) that's because electricity is a utility. The FCC could, if it chose, declare broadband internet a utility and regulate it as such, demanding true net neutrality. For a while, it tried to enforce net neutrality without classifying it as a utility (which would be politically painful - ie the cable companies are lobbying furiously against it). But every time they came up with such a half-assed approach, the courts shot it down and said: if you want neutrality, declare it a utility. Now it seems like instead of finally relenting on the utility point, they're just abandoning net neutrality.

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        #4
        FCC to abandon net neutrality

        It's yet another example of Obama's epoch-defining liberalism being crushed by the dead hand of business-friendly Republicans in Congress!

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          #5
          FCC to abandon net neutrality

          Sorry, I became a New Yorker staff meeting for a second.

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            #6
            FCC to abandon net neutrality

            Did I mention that the new FCC chair, appointed by Obama, is a former head of the cable industry lobbying group?

            Though to be honest a lot of the damage was done under Michael Powell.

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              #7
              FCC to abandon net neutrality

              There's a slightly fuller statement now on the FCC site, though they still haven't published the NPR.

              There has been a great deal of misinformation that has recently surfaced regarding the draft Open Internet Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that we will today circulate to the Commission.

              The Notice proposes the reinstatement of the Open Internet concepts adopted by the Commission in 2010 and subsequently remanded by the D.C. Circuit. The Notice does not change the underlying goals of transparency, no blocking of lawful content, and no unreasonable discrimination among users established by the 2010 Rule. The Notice does follow the roadmap established by the Court as to how to enforce rules of the road that protect an Open Internet and asks for further comments on the approach.

              It is my intention to conclude this proceeding and have enforceable rules by the end of the year.

              To be very direct, the proposal would establish that behavior harmful to consumers or competition by limiting the openness of the Internet will not be permitted.

              Incorrect accounts have reported that the earlier policies of the Commission have been abandoned. Two points are relevant here:

              The Court of Appeals made it clear that the FCC could stop harmful conduct if it were found to not be “commercially reasonable.” Acting within the constraints of the Court’s decision, the Notice will propose rules that establish a high bar for what is “commercially reasonable.” In addition, the Notice will seek ideas on other approaches to achieve this important goal consistent with the Court’s decision. The Notice will also observe that the Commission believes it has the authority under Supreme Court precedent to identify behavior that is flatly illegal.
              It should be noted that even Title II regulation (which many have sought and which remains a clear alternative) only bans “unjust and unreasonable discrimination.”

              The allegation that it will result in anti-competitive price increases for consumers is also unfounded. That is exactly what the “commercially unreasonable” test will protect against: harm to competition and consumers stemming from abusive market activity.

              To be clear, this is what the Notice will propose:

              That all ISPs must transparently disclose to their subscribers and users all relevant information as to the policies that govern their network;
              That no legal content may be blocked; and
              That ISPs may not act in a commercially unreasonable manner to harm the Internet, including favoring the traffic from an affiliated entity.
              Mighty disingenous to imply that "commercially [un]reasonable" and "unjust and unreasonable" are basically the same thing. They're a world apart, certainly under English law jurisprudence. See for instance, this very recent case:
              That particular context was held to permit Barclays to take into account its own interests and disregard those of Unicredit. The court considered it impractical to ask Barclays to weigh the parties competing interests against one another and determine the overall commercially reasonable outcome. While the requirement of commercial reasonableness must exercise a control of some kind, it only prevented Barclays demanding a sum far in excess of the reasonably anticipated return from the contract.
              In other words, it's "commercially reasonable" to act entirely out of self interest, regardless of what's "just" or what the other parties' commercial interests are.

              Comment


                #8
                FCC to abandon net neutrality

                As if American internet service wasn't lousy enough.

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                  #9
                  FCC to abandon net neutrality

                  It's almost like big corporations are making all the decisions here in the U.S.!

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                    #10
                    FCC to abandon net neutrality

                    Which makes it all the more sad that the best that someone can hope for an improvement in their internet service is for Google to start providing their internet service (whatever they call it) in their city. In Kansas City, the big cable/telco companies got freaked out when Google started offering much faster service that they suddenly were able to offer faster bitrates for their customers.

                    But if we're all relying on Google to save us, we're truly fucked.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      FCC to abandon net neutrality

                      Looks like the FCC may be doing something good for once. Basically, assuming Wheeler's not being disingenuous (big if), he's proposing to treat the likes of Aereo or maybe Netflix similarly to the satellite TV companies in terms of compulsory licensing:
                      Specifically, I am asking the Commission to start a rulemaking proceeding in which we would modernize our interpretation of the term “multichannel video programming distributor” (MVPD) so that it is technology-neutral. The result of this technical adjustment will be to give MVPDs that use the Internet (or any other method of transmission) the same access to programming owned by cable operators and the same ability to negotiate to carry broadcast TV stations that Congress gave to satellite systems in order to ensure competitive video markets.

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                        #12
                        FCC to abandon net neutrality

                        I believe HBO and CBS are going to start offering web-streaming services next year (so you can, for example, watch HBO without having to buy an attendant cable package). That will make things interesting.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          FCC to abandon net neutrality

                          It's not 100% clear what HBO's going to be doing at this stage, as they haven't given any details. They talked about "working with current partners", which suggests it might be some halfway house where you can only get it if you have a cable company as an ISP.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            FCC to abandon net neutrality

                            Agree that that is the most likely outcome, as to do otherwise would severely harm their relationships with their major sources of funding.

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                              #15
                              FCC to abandon net neutrality

                              ursus arctos wrote: Agree that that is the most likely outcome, as to do otherwise would severely harm their relationships with their major sources of funding.
                              It would, but it's also possible that — given the success of Netflix — that they can use the web as a primary delivery medium, without the middlemen (cable companies) taking a cut of the revenue.

                              Comment


                                #16
                                FCC to abandon net neutrality

                                Ginger Yellow wrote: It's not 100% clear what HBO's going to be doing at this stage, as they haven't given any details. They talked about "working with current partners", which suggests it might be some halfway house where you can only get it if you have a cable company as an ISP.
                                That's what BT Sport have done, isn't it? You can only stream BT Sport if you are a BT customer.

                                Comment


                                  #17
                                  FCC to abandon net neutrality

                                  The structure of the industry in the US, with a relative handful of massive cable and sattellite companies and cross ownership between many of them and their "content providers", makes that a longer term development in my view.

                                  Comment


                                    #18
                                    FCC to abandon net neutrality

                                    Antonio Pulisao wrote: That's what BT Sport have done, isn't it? You can only stream BT Sport if you are a BT customer.
                                    There's currently an online version of HBO called HBO Go. But it's only available to cable subscribers who already have HBO.

                                    Comment


                                      #19
                                      FCC to abandon net neutrality

                                      That's what BT Sport have done, isn't it? You can only stream BT Sport if you are a BT customer.
                                      I think so, but you can get the BT Sport channels on Sky without being a BT customer. I don't know if you have to buy it with any other packages.

                                      Comment


                                        #20
                                        FCC to abandon net neutrality

                                        A quick net neutrality update. The vote on net neutrality is coming up on 26 February and Wheeler is set to circulate the rules shortly. The Register thinks we may even get Title II regulation based on his comments at CES, but frankly the way the second half of that article botches its "commercially reasonable" analysis doesn't give me any confidence.

                                        Separately, AT&T is showing some quality chutzpah in arguing the FTC can't regulate its mobile data services because it's a Title II common carrier.

                                        Comment


                                          #21
                                          FCC to abandon net neutrality

                                          Interesting article on the Arse today. Looks like Wheeler's going to turn against his old employers.

                                          Comment


                                            #22
                                            FCC to abandon net neutrality

                                            It's a real shame they're not touching local loop unbundling. It's the one thing, short of a proper antitrust crackdown breaking up all the cable companies, that would really introduce competition into US broadband.

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                                              #23
                                              FCC to abandon net neutrality

                                              We'll, it's not as if that's something that Washington would actually want to do, you know.

                                              Comment


                                                #24
                                                FCC to abandon net neutrality

                                                Somehow I missed the actual announcement of the proposed rules.

                                                First, the Chairman’s proposal would reclassify “broadband Internet access service”—that’s the retail broadband service Americans buy from cable, phone, and wireless providers—as a
                                                telecommunications service under Title II. We believe that this step addresses any limitations that past classification decisions placed on our ability to adopt strong Open Internet rules, as
                                                interpreted by the D.C. Circuit in the Verizon case last year. But just in case, we also make clear that if a court finds that it is necessary to classify the service that broadband providers make available to “edge providers,” it too is a Title II telecommunications service. (To be clear, this is not a “hybrid”— both the service to the end user and to the edge provider are classified under Title II.)
                                                Second, the proposal finds further grounding in Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of
                                                1996. Notably, the Verizon court held that Section 706 is an independent grant of authority to the Commission that supports adoption of Open Internet rules. Using it here—without the limitations of the common carriage prohibition that flowed from earlier classification decisions—bolsters the Commission’s authority.
                                                Third, provisions on mobile broadband also rest on Title III of the Communications Act. Among
                                                other things, the draft Order persuasively rebuts claims that Title III does not allow classification of mobile broadband as a telecommunications service.
                                                Finally, Title II’s “just and reasonable” standard and the Verizon court’s finding that Section 706 authorizes the FCC to protect the “virtuous circle” of network innovation and infrastructure development provide standards for the FCC to protect Internet openness against new tactics that would close the Internet.
                                                On the other hand, they're forbearing on large parts of Title II, including as mentioned above unbundling.

                                                Thankfully, it looks like they've entirely dropped the commercially reasonable standard.

                                                Reasonable Network Management: For the purposes of the rules, other than paid prioritization, an ISP may engage in reasonable network management. This recognizes the need of broadband providers to
                                                manage the technical and engineering aspects of their networks.
                                                In assessing reasonable network management, the Commission’s proposed standard would take
                                                account of the particular engineering attributes of the technology involved—whether it be fiber,
                                                DSL, cable, unlicensed wireless, mobile, or another network medium.
                                                However, the network practice must be primarily used for and tailored to achieving a legitimate network management—and not commercial—purpose. For example, a provider can’t cite
                                                reasonable network management to justify reneging on its promise to supply a customer with
                                                “unlimited” data.

                                                Comment


                                                  #25
                                                  FCC to abandon net neutrality

                                                  So, the FCC voted 3-2 in favour of the open internet order, hooray! They also voted to pre-empt state laws restricting (though not banning, it seems) municipalities from creating their own fibre networks.

                                                  Comment

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