netneutrality

California senate considers expanded net neutrality rights and enforcement tools

15 March 2018 by Steve Blum
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A second, more detailed network neutrality revival bill is on the table at the California capitol. Senator Scott Wiener (D – San Francisco) introduced senate bill 822 earlier this year, but it was little more than a statement of intent to jump into the Internet regulation void left by the Federal Communications Commission when it repealed network neutrality rules and stripped broadband of its common carrier status. He amended it on Tuesday, adding in a long list of outlawed practices and ways to enforce the ban.… More

FCC will have to defend net neutrality repeal in San Francisco

12 March 2018 by Steve Blum
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The luck of the draw means the future of network neutrality and broadband’s status as a common carrier service will be argued in San Francisco. Credit for that is split between the California Public Utilities Commission and Santa Clara County, who filed separate challenges to the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to eliminate net neutrality rules and scrap common carrier obligations for broadband service with the ninth circuit federal appeals court.

Several other organisations filed their appeals in Washington, D.C.,… More

State lawmakers can do stupid things to the Internet too

10 March 2018 by Steve Blum
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State legislatures and governors are stepping into the void left by the Federal Communications Commission when it rolled back network neutrality last year. Laws reinstating net neutrality requirements of one kind or another passed or are pending in California, Washington, Oregon and elsewhere. In Montana, governor Steve Bullock did it by executive order.

That’s a trend that cheers up net neutrality advocates, but there’s another side to it that’s not so pleasant and offers a solid argument for keeping states out of the business of regulating the Internet.… More

The State of Washington takes on Washington, DC with its own net neutrality law

8 March 2018 by Steve Blum
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The State of Washington is the first to enact a network neutrality law. Washington governor Jay Inslee, a democrat, signed the bill on Monday. Both republicans and democrats voted in favor, with the bill winning lopsided majorities in the Washington house and senate.

The core language tracks with the former FCC’s three bright line rules, as well as similar legislation introduced in California. Internet service providers would not be allowed to…

(a) Block lawful content, applications, services, or nonharmful devices, subject to reasonable network management;
(b) Impair or degrade lawful internet traffic on the basis of internet content, application, or service, or use of a nonharmful device, subject to reasonable network management; or
(c) Engage in paid prioritization.

… More

FTC is everyone's broadband cop, but don't expect a fast response

28 February 2018 by Steve Blum
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The Federal Trade Commission can apply consumer protection laws to broadband service, even when a telephone company is delivering it. A federal appeals court in San Francisco made that clear on Monday when it rejected AT&T’s argument that the FTC’s authority doesn’t extend to telephone companies or other providers that have “common carrier” status.

An earlier ruling, made last year, would have barred the FTC from any oversight role regarding companies with common carrier status, even when the business line involved wasn’t a common carrier service.… More

With end of net neutrality, cable companies can put brakes on subscriber slide

26 February 2018 by Steve Blum
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Fewer than half of U.S. households have traditional cable television subscriptions, according to research done by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC). With the end of network neutrality rules, cable companies, AT&T and, to a lesser extent, other telcos will be able to fight this trend more aggressively. Even if they can’t stop or even slow it, they can use their monopoly broadband gatekeeper power to rake in a greater share of subscriber revenue.

Cable TV subscriptions have been trending downward over the five years that PWC has been running this survey.… More

FCC officially publishes decision reversing net neutrality

23 February 2018 by Steve Blum
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The game clock is now running on the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to reverse broadband’s status as a common carrier service and end network neutrality rules. Sorta. The decision approved by commissioners in December was published in the Federal Register yesterday. That means court challenges can begin – an earlier appeal by state attorneys general was largely symbolic and presumably will be refiled. There’s a ten day procedural window for everyone to pile on in the federal appeals court of their choosing, after that the challenges will probably, but not certainly, be consolidated into a single case that’ll be heard in Washington, D.C.… More

AT&T CEO explains why net neutrality is necessary

14 February 2018 by Steve Blum
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Randall Stephenson, AT&T’s chief executive officer, offered a hell of good example of why he can’t be trusted to do the right thing and refrain from using his position as a dominant, monopoly-centric broadband service provider to benefit his equally hefty video content business.

In an interview with CNBC, Stephenson complained that his online competition is beating him up…

“Reality is, the biggest distributor of content out there is totally vertically integrated. This happens to be something called Netflix.

… More

California senate votes for net neutrality

29 January 2018 by Steve Blum
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The California senate voted 21 to 12 earlier today to approve senate bill 460, which would reinstate network neutrality rules in California, in the unlikely event federal courts declare the FCC’s decision to scrap those regs to be arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion. It was mostly along party lines, with Richard Roth (D – Riverside) voting no, but no republicans voting yes and several senators on both sides sitting it out.… More

Battle lines drawn in fight for state, local telecoms policy role

29 January 2018 by Steve Blum
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Update: the state senate approved SB 460 by a 21 to 12 vote and sent it on to the assembly.

The Federal Communications Commission can regulate some aspects of broadband deployment, but not all. That’s the picture painted by two complementary analyses of federal law and telecoms policy, one by the California senate’s judiciary committee staff and the other by attorneys working for the City of McAllen, Texas and endorsed by the cities of San Jose and New York.… More