Sprint Vs. AT&T, T-Mobile: Net neutrality good for consumers. AT&T and FCC set to battle over internet - WDAM-TV 7-News, Weather, Sports-Hattiesburg, MS. Net Neutrality: FCC Proposes To Reclassify Internet Like a Utility. CTIA: Mobile carriers still need lighter net neutrality rules | Network World. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission should not hold mobile carriers to the same net neutrality rules as it does for wired broadband providers because of unique mobile network management challenges, the head of the largest U.S. mobile trade group said.
CTIA President and CEO Meredith Attwell Baker on Wednesday repeated the trade group's objections to calls by some advocates and members of the public for the FCC to hold mobile carriers to the same rules of wired broadband providers as the agency considers new net neutrality rules. Members of CTIA support net neutrality principles, but mobile broadband providers have limited spectrum that require "dynamic" network management practices, Baker said at a mobile broadband forum in Washington, D.C., hosted by the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.
Baker, in her speech Wednesday, disagreed. "The competitive nature of mobile provides an important backdrop for issues like net neutrality," she said. Republicans Try to Torpedo FFC Internet Regulation | News. Republicans now claim to support net neutrality, yet don't want FCC regulation of the internet. Republicans lawmakers went on the offensive Wednesday to peddle legislation aimed at stopping the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from stepping in to protect net neutrality.
Net neutrality campaigners say the internet should be subject to FCC regulation, and treated like a public utility – such as phone companies. Net neutrality is the concept that internet service providers (ISPs) shouldn't be allowed to prioritize traffic to some websites at the expense of others that can afford to pay premiums, while susbequently restricting access to others that can’t pay. Campaigners say that without strong regulatory protection, online innovation will be gutted, as small players won't be able to compete with larger websites that have cut expensive deals with ISPs.
However, in the U.S. According to the coalition, FCC regulation is “the only option” to protect net neutrality. Republicans Plan Net Neutrality Bill to Counter FCC Action. FCC Can't Pick And Choose Network Neutrality Rules. Title II is the key to net neutrality—so what is it? What happens in the next four months will go a long way to determining the future of the Internet. By now, you probably know what’s at stake: net neutrality, or, as some call it, the open Internet. Overwhelmingly, advocates for net neutrality are calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reclassify Internet service providers (ISPs) as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 (PDF).
The popular belief is that Title II classification would allow the FCC to protect net neutrality by regulating against against paid prioritization. Paid prioritization is a subversion of net neutrality through allowing ISPs to discriminate between websites’ data. If allowed, ISPs could charge content providers, the most common example being Netflix, to deliver data to customers through a so-called “Internet fast lane.” With all the ballyhoo for Title II, we wanted to take a closer look at it and figure out why so many think it’s the best course to ensure net neutrality. Title II is the key to net neutrality—so what is it? The next big turning point in the net neutrality debate.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler met with leaders of New York tech start-ups last week to discuss net neutrality; credit: Gigi Sohn via Twitter. In recent weeks, momentum seems to have been building at the Federal Communications Commission for aggressive net neutrality rules similar to the kind endorsed by President Obama in November. The stronger rules laid out in Obama's plan would see the FCC treat lightly regulated broadband companies like their more heavily regulated cousins in the telephone industry, in an effort to keep them from speeding up or slowing down Web sites. Although large Internet providers such as Comcast still strongly oppose that idea, new filings to the FCC suggest a growing realization that aggressive rules may be coming, regardless.
This is reflected in an increasingly detailed debate over how far those rules should go — if, in the end, the FCC takes that route. The filing gets a little technical, but we'll walk through it line by line: FCC to vote next month on net neutrality rules. WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators are expected to vote next month on rules to govern how Internet service providers like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast deal with the flow of content on their high-speed networks. The five-member Federal Communications Commission will consider then a proposal from Chairman Tom Wheeler on so-called net neutrality rules, agency spokeswoman Kim Hart said Friday.
She was confirming reports in The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal on the planned timing of the vote. Details of the draft proposal weren't disclosed. President Barack Obama has asked the FCC to put Internet service providers under the same rules as those imposed on telephone companies 80 years ago. The aim is to protect net neutrality, the concept that all online traffic should be treated equally and given the same access to networks.
The outcome could affect the prices consumers pay for access to entertainment, news and other online content. Internet service providers reject such regulation. Get ready: The FCC says it will vote on net neutrality in February. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler testifies during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) Federal regulators looking to place restrictions on Internet providers will introduce and vote on new proposed net neutrality rules in February, Federal Communications Commission officials said Friday. President Obama's top telecom regulator, Tom Wheeler, told fellow FCC commissioners before the Christmas holiday that he intends to circulate a draft proposal internally next month with an eye toward approving the measure weeks later, said one official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the agency's deliberations are ongoing.
The rules are meant to keep broadband providers such as Verizon and Comcast from speeding up or slowing down some Web sites compared to others. It's still unclear what rules Wheeler has in mind for Internet providers. Gadget Gestures AT&T Disagrees with FCC Broadband Connection Reclassification - Gadget Gestures. The Federal Communications Commission is trying to reclassify broadband connections.
Led by Chairman Tom Wheeler, the FCC has filled a commission for including mobile broadband connections under Title II of the Communications Act. However, AT&T strongly disagrees with the commission’s broadband connection reclassification. There a section in in the Communications Act that actually prohibits the FCC from placing mobile broadband under Title II. It is prohibited for home Internet access and mobile data to common carrier rules. The negotiation of Section 332 was made by the general director of Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association.
Wheeler agrees with placing mobile voice under Title II, but not with mobile data. However AT&T again disagrees and strongly suggests that Title II cannot be used for neutrality rules. AT&T’s attorney reminded the commission that the correct classification has already been made in 2007. About the author: Mary Duncan View all posts by Mary Duncan. NCTA to FCC: Google can already attach to utility poles without Title II.
The NCTA has told the FCC that Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) doesn't need help from Title II enactment in order to have access to infrastructure controlled by utilities. "Google already can avail itself of pole attachment rights under Section 224, not withstanding its assertions to the contrary," the National Cable Telecommunications Association said in a letter sent to the Federal Communications Commission Friday. Earlier, Google told the FCC that reclassifying broadband providers as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act would help it and other ISPs gain access to infrastructure controlled by utilities. Sign up for our FREE newsletter for more news like this sent to your inbox!
Specifically, Google urged the FCC to enforce Section 224 of Title II, which covers pole attachments. For more: - read this NCTA letter - read this Ars Technica story.