fast lane – SomeGadgetGuy

December 4, 2014December 3, 2014

US Government Acountability Office Wants FCC to Examine Home Internet Data Caps

The GAO released their report on Fixed Internet Usage and Usage-Based Pricing. The 41 page report details their testing and offers up their recommendations.

Their conclusion?

That the FCC should work with providers on educating consumers and developing a code of conduct for pricing and service. The FCC has already stated that they will be monitoring complaints to see if a more direct approach is necessary, but there hasn’t been much consumer uproar over capped home internet plans, especially as many groups are trying to influence the FCC’s “Fast Lane” proposal. With more of the focus on Net Neutrality and the upcoming Time Warner + Comcast merger, there’s probably far less noise being made about data caps.

This could become another battle soon however, as caps are another way ISP’s can enforce their policy and services to the detriment of their competitors, and it could have a chilling effect on consumer behavior. We’ve already covered Comcast’s horrifically bad “Flexible” plans, but it’s no surprise that more communities are following Chattanooga’s example and looking to build their own public data networks.

GAO Report: FCC Should Track the Application of Fixed Internet Usage-Based Pricing and Help Improve Consumer Education

November 10, 2014

President Obama Would Like the FCC to Reclassify the Internet as a Utility

On the campaign trail, then candidate Obama campaigned on keeping the Internet free and fair. As President, he’s been quiet on the recent plans laid out by the FCC to allow for paid fast lane access to web services.

In a two minute video uploaded to Youtube this morning, President Obama laid out his plan for what a free Internet should look like. He submitted his proposed plan to the FCC, encouraging them to prevent gatekeepers from arbitrarily degrading services like Netflix, and that rules should be drafted which protect service regardless of how someone connects to the internet. That last point would also mark a large shift in how data access is managed as cell networks operate under different rules than traditional wired networks.

While it’s encouraging to finally see the White House comment publicly on the continuing battles over Net Neutrality, the FCC’s response threw some cold water on those happy feelings.

“As an independent regulatory agency we will incorporate the President’s submission into the record of the Open Internet proceeding,” chairman Wheeler says. “We welcome comment on it and how it proposes to use Title II of the Communications Act.”

Essentially saying that the President’s recommendation would largely end up on the same pile of comments that the public has been submitting.

You can see President Obama’s statement below.

September 9, 2014

PSA: ‘Battle for Net Neutrality’ Internet Slowdown Protest Planned for Sept. 10th.

The fight over Net Neutrality and the FCC’s proposed “Fast Lane” rules is heating up again.

Tomorrow, a number of sites around the internet will be intentionally slowing their traffic to demonstrate what a tiered internet might feel like for consumers. The Fast Lane rules have come under a lot of scrutiny, as many fear they will slow innovation online by creating more expensive barriers for companies wanting to create the next generation of data services.

The list of sites includes the ACLU, Imgur, Daily Kos, Etsy, Foursquare, Kickstarter, Vimeo, and adult sites YouPorn, RedTube, and Pornhub will be joining in as well.

For more info on the slowdown head over to https://www.battleforthenet.com/sept10th/

July 28, 2014

Major League Baseball Latest to Join Net Neutrality Efforts Against FCC Fast Lane Proposal

If any group should be nervous about the implications of an internet “Fast Lane”, major league sports should be at the top of that list.

As more and more consumers are diversifying their media consumption, one of the few areas you can count on to get viewers watching in real-time, with ads, are sports games. ESPN Scored a hit this summer streaming the World Cup over their mobile app, and Major League Baseball has been improving their MLB.tv service.

Of course streaming live HD video takes some bandwidth, and that means MLB would also need to negotiate a separate deal with ISP’s to “guarantee” a fast enough service for their subscribers. It’s entirely likely those additional costs would eventually be passed down to consumers.

Continue reading “Major League Baseball Latest to Join Net Neutrality Efforts Against FCC Fast Lane Proposal”

May 15, 2014May 15, 2014

FCC Votes through “Fastlane” Rules for Public Comment

In a three to two vote today, the rules proposed by Chairman Tom Wheeler have been passed forward for a public comment and review period.

Amid a vocal backlash from the public and a number of large internet based companies, the original proposal which grants carriers and ISP’s the ability to negotiate in private individual and different rates for every company wanting to do business online, was altered slightly. However the core “Fastlane” propsal remained in place, effectively ending Net Neutrality.

“There is one internet. It must be fast. It must be robust. It must be open.” said Wheeler prior to the vote.

The ultimate irony considering these new rules would allow carriers to fragment how traffic is sent to their customers, forcing companies like Google, Netflix, Amazon, and others to pay extra to reach people who themselves are already paying the highest rates for broadband access in any developed nation.

Today’s vote does not mean the rules will be implemented, but that we now enter a four month session of public review and comment. Considering the public’s recent attitude towards this rule change, we can imagine that the comment’s will largely be negative. That didn’t seem to prevent the FCC from moving forward with these Fastlane rules however, where even Congressional Republicans were against the policy. If it appears Fastlane starts to become a reality, it’ll become a singular talking point in reclassifying the internet as “Common Carrier” utility, something businesses and conservatives absolutely don’t want to see happen.

The public can comment on the proposed rule changes on the FCC site here.