Urge House to Help Small ISPs
Ahead of a House Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing Jan. 11, Republican commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wrote a letter urging Congress to review a decision not to grant small Internet service providers (ISP) a permanent exemption from the “enhanced transparency requirements” of the FCC open Internet order.“By failing to make the exemption […]
FCC Fines Internet Company $750,000 for Blocking Wi-Fi Hotspots at Convention Centers
The Federal Communications Commission is fining a telecommunications provider $750,000 for blocking guests’ personal Wi-Fi hotspots at convention centers, where it has charged $80 for a single day of Internet access through its own Wi-Fi network. The FCC says it investigated Smart City Holdings following an informal complaint and found evidence of Wi-Fi hotspot blocking […]
The Consequences of a Washington Internet Power Grab
As commissioners with the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission, respectively, we are disturbed to see our agencies on a collision course that could disrupt the country’s thriving Internet providers and businesses, with little or no added benefit for consumers. As the Internet brings greater efficiencies and benefits to the U.S. economy, some regulators […]
Verizon Threatens To Disconnect NJ Landline Customer Unless They Switch To Fiber
Copper wire is expensive and old-fashioned. Phone companies don’t want to maintain or use it anymore. Still, some customers like their reliable old land-lines, and the law creates certain obligations for phone companies to provide and maintain them. But Verizon is apparently so sick and tired of providing plain old telephone service that they’re threatening […]
FCC Commissioner Says Internet Access Is “Not a Necessity”
The FCC’s regulations preserving net neutrality took effect a couple of weeks ago, and the commission voted last week to extend phone subsidies for low-income Americans to broadband as well. But at least one member of the five-person group doesn’t view Internet as something Americans need fair and equal access to every day. In a […]
FCC votes to subsidize Internet access
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted on Thursday to expand a government telephone subsidy program for low-income Americans to cover Internet access. The regulators voted 4-1, although two approved only parts of the program, to begin revamping the $1.7 billion Lifeline subsidy to give recipients a choice of using it for phone service, high-speed Internet, […]
U.S. Solidifies and Expands Leadership in Internet Usage
New data (link is external) from the Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) Forecast and Methodology 2014-2019 show that U.S. and global Internet traffic continues to grow at double digit rates, that the U.S. is on a path to solidify and expand its leadership in international Internet usage, and that video over fixed networks remains the […]
Why States Taxing Internet Would be Better
The U.S. House is expected to vote Tuesday on a bill that would prevent state and city governments from levying taxes on Internet access. The bill is important for a number of reasons. But it also highlights an important tension between Washington and the states — one that affects how we regulate what has become […]
Feds to cable industry “Embrace broadband competition, or else”
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler had a strong message for the cable industry at its annual conference Wednesday: Don’t interfere with broadband competition. Speaking at INTX: The Internet and Television Expo, Wheeler said the cable industry has reached a tipping point at which its broadband subscribers outnumber its pay TV subscribers. In this […]
AT&T has joined cable industry and wireless industry lobbyists in suing the Federal Communications Commission’s over new Net neutrality rules.
AT&T claims that in creating its new Net Neutrality rules, the FCC has violated the US Constitution and the federal Communications Act of 1934. AT&T’s lawsuit takes aim at rules the FCC adopted in February and officially published in the federal government’s Federal Register, or journal of regulation, on Monday. The rules forbid broadband providers […]
New bill would invalidate FCC’s net neutrality rules
A group of Republican lawmakers has introduced a bill that would invalidate the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s recently passed net neutrality rules. The legislation, introduced by Representative Doug Collins, a Georgia Republican, is called a resolution of disapproval, a move that allows Congress to review new federal regulations from government agencies, using an expedited legislative […]
USTelecom Continues its Legal Fight Against FCC on Net Neutrality
The telecommunications trade group has filed a supplemental petition with the courts so it can keep its legal standing in the fight against recent net neutrality rules changes made by the FCC. In March, USTelecom, a Washington-based telecommunications trade group that is battling the FCC over recent net neutrality changes made by the agency, filed […]
USTelecom Files Suit Against Government’s New Internet Rules
NEW YORK – A legal fight against the Federal Communications Commission’s new Internet traffic rules has begun. The rules were voted on in February and uphold the principle of net neutrality — that online content be allowed to load at the same speed. They forbid paid fast lanes favoring some content and say broadband providers […]
FCC’s Net Neutrality Rule Wrecks the Internet
The Internet is one of the most dynamic and competitive marketplaces in existence. It has become a cornerstone of the American economy and culture. Because of this, concerns about the future of an open and fair Internet, coined as “net neutrality,” have come to light. Net neutrality may seem like a complex issue, but at […]
US FCC faces lawsuits against proposed net neutrality order
U.S. broadband industry trade body USTelecom and Internet provider Alamo Broadband filed Monday lawsuits against a controversial U.S. Federal Communications Commission proposal to reclassify broadband providers, which could be the harbinger of similar lawsuits from Internet companies. The FCC voted by 3-2 in February to approve new net neutrality rules that would help ensure […]
GOP says Obama aides meddled in net neutrality
WASHINGTON -Congressional Republicans on Tuesday accused independent regulators of bowing to White House pressure on net neutrality, citing thousands of emails and other documents that show close coordination between the Federal Communications Commission and senior aides to President Barack Obama. The political sparring on Capitol Hill was unlikely to affect a decision by the FCC […]
Google to FCC: Don’t regulate interconnection between edge providers and ISPs
Google has asked the FCC to refrain from regulating the informal interconnection agreements that Google and other providers have developed with ISPs like Comcast and Verizon. If FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal to reclassify broadband providers under Title II of the 1934 Communications Act becomes law as predicted, the regulator would have the right to […]
Soapbox: Government Internet control ‘enemy of freedom’
The Internet has always been a free and open environment in which human communication can thrive and new businesses can grow. It is now one of our most important tools for economic growth and innovation, and this advancement happened with very little government interference. However, storm clouds are gathering. President Barack Obama has instructed the […]
Republican senator criticises ‘terrible’ FCC plans to regulate web
The US government is on a path to have “virtually unlimited power” to regulate every aspect of the internet, the chairman of the powerful Senate commerce committee said Wednesday. Republican senator John Thune slammed the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) plans to introduce sweeping new powers to regulate the broadband industry, saying they would stifle […]
FCC redefines advanced broadband as 25 Mbps; Republicans blow a gasket
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has redefined advanced broadband as having 25Mbps download speeds, up from 4Mbps, giving the agency new authority to pass rules to encourage deployment across the country. The FCC, in a 3-2 party-line vote Thursday, also determined that this newly-defined advanced broadband wasn’t being rolled out in a timely manner […]