Tag: politics

Posted on

Chattanooga Increases Fiber Internet Speeds to 10Gbps

In covering the state of broadband internet access in the United States, we’ve been seeing pockets of incredible speed increases. Usually built on projects like Google Fiber, or communities coming together to fund their own fiber roll out paid for by taxes and grants.

Chattanooga Tennessee was the first city in the United States to offer up true gigabit fiber internet to consumers and businesses. Today they become the third city in America to offer a 10 Gigabit per second data speed, following  Springfield Vermont and Salisbury North Carolina. None of these offerings are supplied by traditional cable or fiber providers like Comcast or Verizon. Continue reading “Chattanooga Increases Fiber Internet Speeds to 10Gbps”

Posted on

Tesla Returns to New Jersey After Year-Long Ban

Almost exactly one year ago, Governor Christie’s administration, working with the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers, put forth a proposal which prevented direct auto sales to consumers. Instead of addressing this issue in a public forum or through New Jersey’s legislature, the proposal was approved behind closed doors with almost no opportunity for public discourse.

Now, one year later, Governor Christie is rolling back that proposal, signing a bill which would allow Tesla to resume retail operations in the Garden State. This new law will allow manufacturers of zero emissions vehicles to construct up to four direct sale dealerships, so long as they also operate one dedicated service location, which Tesla already runs in Paramus.

The law goes into effect immediately and benefits not only Tesla, but any company working on EV’s and zero emission vehicles. Conceivably, Nissan could open up a quartet of showrooms specifically built around the Leaf to also sell directly to consumers in New Jersey.

This is a significant PR victory for Tesla, as the company continues to fight similar direct sales bans around the country.

You can read the details of New Jersey State Assembly Bill A3216 here.

Posted on

Explained! FCC Reclassifies Broadband as Utility, Defends Net Neutrality! We Answer Your Questions!

It was a landmark day yesterday for the FCC and advocates of a free and open internet. Two major rulings were delivered. One defending Tennessee and North Carolina efforts to build tax payer funded broadband, and the second reclassifying the entire Internet as a utility under Title II regulations. If you have questions about the announcements, Enobong Etteh from Booredatwork and I are here to answer them!

Read the FCC’s Statement on the new Broadband Internet Rules.

Posted on

Communities in Kansas and Colorado Look to Build Their Own Public Broadband Internet

server rack front panelsThe problem companies face when communities lack competition for services like Internet? The community might try to roll their own.

There are laws on the books in twenty states preventing communities from building out their own public high speed and fiber broadband, but communities in Kansas and Colorado are looking to move forward on their own local offerings.

Seven cities and counties in Colorado voted during the last election to exercise an escape clause in their anti-competition legislation. All that was required was allowing a community to take a vote on the matter, and every community that put it up for a vote had it pass by a large margin. Boulder Colorado passed their measure with 84% of the voter turnout supporting it.

Continue reading “Communities in Kansas and Colorado Look to Build Their Own Public Broadband Internet”

Posted on

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

gao-logoThe 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

Posted on

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

president_official_portrait_hiresOn 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.

Posted on

Tesla Wins in Massachusetts Supreme Court Direct Sales Lawsuit

model-s-blue-front2_960x640It’s been a long fight for Tesla in MA, but yesterday the state’s highest court thew out the lawsuit which would have blocked Tesla from selling electric vehicles directly to consumers.

The Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association sued Tesla citing the state’s franchise law, but the court ruled that Tesla was not violating the spirit of that law. The franchise law was written to protect franchise owners from direct and unfair competition against a parent company, a relationship which does not exist for Tesla. Justice Margot Botsford wrote:

The law “was intended and understood only to prohibit manufacturer-owned dealerships when, unlike Tesla, the manufacturer already had an affiliated dealer or dealers in Massachusetts”.

“Contrary to the plaintiffs’ assertion,” she added, “the type of competitive injury they describe between unaffiliated entities is not within the statute’s area of concern.”

Tesla is current fighting similar statutes in several other states including Texas, Arizona, Maryland, and recently an ugly public fight in New Jersey. If the state laws there are similar to MA’s, then this case might set the stage for Tesla’s future legal strategy.

 

Posted on

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

sept 10th internet slowdown net neutralityThe 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/

Proudly powered by WordPress