broadband

FCC backs away from market intervention, consumer roles

3 February 2017 by Steve Blum
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Goodbye to all that.

Wholesale broadband prices won’t be regulated and there will be no committees deciding which apps can bypass set top boxes and directly access cable company bit streams. That’s the practical effect of the decision by new Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai to pull two controversial proposed rules off of the list of items on circulation and under active consideration by commissioners.

Rules that would have set rates for some wholesale services and allow consumers to watch video programming on their own devices without renting a set top box were on the FCC’s agenda last fall, and nearly came to a vote.… More

Don't subsidise fiber, just give the money to AT&T says FCC commissioner

2 February 2017 by Steve Blum
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The new FCC stands up for broadband.

Broadband has no place any big, federal infrastructure spending bill, according to a key member of the Federal Communications Commission. Michael O’Rielly is the other republican on the commission, in addition to new chairman Ajit Pai, and the more dogmatic of the two.

In a blog post published yesterday, he excoriated previous broadband grant programs, urged colleagues to “salute the work already done by private broadband companies” and endorsed the FCC’s incumbent-centric rural subsidy program, which is designed to accomodate AT&T’s 10 Mbps down/1 Mbps up wireless service.… More

Broadband deployment is a local problem, and the FCC is here to help

1 February 2017 by Steve Blum
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Top. Men.

Cities and counties will be getting a ton of advice from the Federal Communications Commission. Yesterday, in one of his first initiatives as chairman, Ajit Pai announced the formation of an industry committee charged with identifying “regulatory barriers to infrastructure investment and to make recommendations to the Commission on reducing and/or removing them”.

But he’s not firing up his weed whacker for a run at the FCC’s rulebook. Instead, he’s taking aim at local governments.… More

Trump's broadband policy has direction, but no destination

29 January 2017 by Steve Blum
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The few clues about broadband policy to surface during the Trump administration’s first, tumultuous week can be summed up in two words: hands off. Every time a choice was made that touched on broadband, the administration opted for less federal involvement, rather than more.

The white house made one big appointment and offered two hints about where broadband policy is going. President Trump picked Ajit Pai to be the next chairman of the FCC.… More

Fast track for telecoms projects ordered by Trump

25 January 2017 by Steve Blum
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Telecommunications finally got a shout out from the new administration as president Trump included it in a list of the sort of infrastructure projects he considers to be a high priority and, consequently, deserving of quick federal environmental reviews. A low profile executive order issued yesterday put it plainly…

It is the policy of the executive branch to streamline and expedite, in a manner consistent with law, environmental reviews and approvals for all infrastructure projects, especially projects that are a high priority for the Nation, such as improving the U.S.

… More

Pai gets the call as weed-whacker-in-chief

24 January 2017 by Steve Blum
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Mainstream, of a sort.

Ajit Pai is the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, as predicted. An explicit announcement hasn’t been released – at least not as of earlier this morning – but Pai posted a thank you note and his colleagues have offered official congratulations, so take it as a given.

The appointment appears to be permanent. The FCC’s website has an historical listing of commissioners and chairs, and Pai is designated as “chairman”, while Mignon Clyburn, who held down the job while Tom Wheeler was awaiting confirmation in 2013, is listed as “acting chairwoman”.… More

Exclusive deals nixed as ISPs get access to San Francisco MDUs

23 January 2017 by Steve Blum
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It’s open season on apartment buildings and condominiums in San Francisco, at least where communications services are concerned. The San Francisco board of supervisors unanimously approved, and mayor Ed Lee signed, an ordinance that permits residents of multiple dwelling units (MDUs) to buy broadband (and telephone and video) service from any qualified provider. Landlords or homeowners associations have to allow competitive providers access to the property and to any wiring they own. ISPs have to pay “just and reasonable compensation” and give proper notice, as defined in the ordinance.… More

Trump broadband policy boots up slowly

21 January 2017 by Steve Blum
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The first day of Donald Trump’s presidency wasn’t the blockbuster Day One he promised during the campaign. D-Day is Monday in his reckoning. That’s when he says he’ll start pounding the beach with the heavy guns of executive orders, although the door is open for weekend maneuvers and he took a few ranging shots immediately after taking the oath of office.

Following a custom established by Ronald Reagan, Trump sat down in the President’s Room in the U.S.… More

Zero chance of FCC zero rating opinion mattering

13 January 2017 by Steve Blum
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Just leave it in the in-box.

AT&T’s and Verizon’s practices of offering video programming and then giving subscribers free – zero rated – bandwidth to watch it “present significant risks to consumers and competition” according to a report prepared by Federal Communications Commission staff and destined for a quick trip to the recycling bin. Zero rating wasn’t explicitly banned by the commission’s 2015 decision to classify broadband as a common carrier service, but it wasn’t given a clean bill of health either.… More

Broadband needs to be faster, because 4K isn't getting slower

12 January 2017 by Steve Blum
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But the test pattern is marvelous.

The speed required to deliver 4K video via the Internet is still 15 Mbps. That was the consensus at CES two years ago, and it is still the minimum speed that Amazon recommends for its 4K video streams, according to B A Winston, the global head of video playback and delivery for Amazon Video.

He was on a 4K panel at CES last week, and said that Amazon’s challenge is delivering content over unreliable networks – more bits means more congestion – and working within the limits of whatever connectivity and technology consumers bring to the table.… More