public policy

Open Internet needs open discussion, says FCC commissioner

28 September 2014 by Steve Blum
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No back room deals.

Get the net neutrality conversation out of Washington and into the light. That was the message last week from FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, speaking in Sacramento at a forum organised by congresswoman Doris Matsui.

The inference I got from Roseworcel’s prepared statement is that she 1. favors the classic definition of net neutrality – all data is treated equally, 2. thinks reclassifying Internet access and transport as a common carrier service (i.e.… More

Everyone's picking on us, Comcast tells FCC

26 September 2014 by Steve Blum
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Comcast has slammed back at critics of its proposed mega merger and market swap with Time-Warner and Charter. In a filing with the FCC, Comcast played the victim, claiming that companies and organisations that oppose the deal are just trying to feather their nests at its expense.

The California Emerging Technology Fund’s criticism of the Internet Essentials program in particular got under Comcast’s typically thin corporate skin. CETF submitted well-documented comments showing how the program – intended to provide affordable Internet service to low income families – is more sham than show.… More

Comcast tells FCC OK, maybe it isn't so easy to compete against us

24 September 2014 by Steve Blum
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If you want to go head to head with Comcast, you better have deep pockets. That’s the gist of Comcast’s response to a question from the FCC regarding the barriers faced by new Internet service providers: “describe the minimum viable scale necessary for entry, including…the number of subscribers and advertisers needed to break-even”.

I’m still slogging through the filing – it runs more than 250 pages – but Ars Technica has a good overview (h/t to the Baller-Herbst list for the pointer).… More

For broadband subsidies, CPUC says real world performance counts more than mobile carrier claims

23 September 2014 by Steve Blum
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Urban California has far better mobile broadband service than rural areas of the state. That’s one of the conclusions of a study done for the California Public Utilities Commission analysing millions of field tests done at thousands of locations statewide (H/T to Jim Warner for the pointer). The study also shows that getting a true picture of what consumers can expect to experience requires factoring in the unreliability of cellular data systems.

Mobile service counts when the CPUC decides whether a community has an adequate level of broadband service.… More

California discounts mobile broadband performance

22 September 2014 by Steve Blum
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Cellular data services are sometimes fast but always inconsistent. Occasional bursts of good performance skew averages based on measurements taken over periods of time, building false expectations of the speed and performance consumers will actually get. That’s one of the conclusions reached in an analysis done for the California Public Utilities Commission, based on millions of field tests conducted at thousands of locations throughout the state (H/T to Jim Warner for the pointer).

Nearly everyone in California – 98% of the population – would have access to the CPUC’s minimum standard of service (6 Mbps down/1.5 Mbps up), if carrier claims and sporadic speed spikes are taken at face value.… More

Six Californias initiative on ice, but Draper hasn't conceded yet

21 September 2014 by Steve Blum
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California’s secretary of state, Debra Bowen, says that a petition drive aimed at splitting California into six new states didn’t qualify for the November 2016 ballot – not enough of the 1.3 million signatures gathered were valid. It’s dead, but the principal backer of the initiative, Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper, could spend a few million dollars more to try to resurrect it, either by challenging Bowen’s decision or starting a second signature gathering campaign.… More

Inflight mobile phone decision could be an FCC bellwether

20 September 2014 by Steve Blum
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Terrorists coordinating attacks, planes forced to land because of fights among passengers, airline staff pummelled as they try to keep order in economy class. The latest Liam Neeson thriller perhaps? Or maybe a United Airlines customer service training video?

Nope, that’s the future of U.S. air travel if the FCC decides there’s no technical reason to ban inflight mobile phone calls. At least if you believe some of the more than fourteen hundred public comments on the matter.… More

Net neutrality avalanche looks more like a slush pile

19 September 2014 by Steve Blum
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I’m still getting my head wrapped around the concept of three million comments. That’s how many individual bits of advice regarding net neutrality that the FCC received, as of Monday’s deadline to submit.

No single commissioner or, indeed, all the members of the commission working together can possibly read through the entire pile. Even if they divvied it up and only dwelt on each submission for ten seconds, it would take the five commissioners more than a year of work each to get through their respective in-boxes.… More

Governor's pen will write the story for community broadband development in California

18 September 2014 by Steve Blum
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Three bills with big implications for community broadband in California are still sitting on Governor Brown’s desk, waiting for his approval or veto:

Assembly bill 2272 would blow a huge hole in the California Advanced Services Fund and roll back much of the progress made last year when the legislature – and Brown – added $90 million to the kitty and made independent ISPs eligible for broadband construction subsidies. By requiring every CASF-funded project – past, present and future – to follow the state’s so-called prevailing wage rules, the effective subsidy would drop from 60% (for underserved areas) to less than 30% and the cost to the state would nearly double.… More

FCC's net neutrality rules stack the deck in favor of the big boys

17 September 2014 by Steve Blum
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What would Billy Bob do?

Even without the back and forth voting over whether or not to treat broadband providers as common carriers Thursday’s California Public Utilities Commission meeting offered an excellent discussion of net neutrality and the regulatory questions that surround it (assuming you’re into that sort of thing, of course).

Helen Mickiewicz, the CPUC’s assistant general counsel, walked commissioners through the main issues. You can see the video here:

CPUC Commission Voting Meeting – September 11, 2014

The net neutrality discussion begins at about 1:17:00 and runs for about an hour and 20 minutes.… More