[opendtv] FCC Report Supplies Fuel for Net Neutrality Opponents

  • From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:12:31 -0500

The so-called "third way" these Dem Congressmen are asking for would turn the 
broadband access portion of your cable or telco hookup into a telco service. 
So, yes, in a way it WOULD solve the bandwidth hog problem the FCC unwittingly 
uncovered.

But not in a way that Internet users want to see, for heaven's sake. Don't 
these guys get it?

Faced with the tight regulations, including the need to provide service to 
those who won't pay, the cablecos and telcos would simply start billing 
consumers just as they would a telephone system. For example, so many minutes 
per month at a certain rate, excess at a higher rate. Or different rates for 
different sites. Or even pay by the session or by the minute.

I always marvel at those who see a problem defined to them, ignore everything, 
and just keep pushing on their traditional agenda.

Bert

----------------------------------
http://www.tvtechnology.com/article/104968

FCC Report Supplies Fuel for Net Neutrality Opponents
08.17.2010.

WASHINGTON: Data hogs account for about 1 percent of residential Web users but 
25 percent of all online traffic, according to the latest technical paper 
released by the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC noted that for 2009, 
the median Web surfer used about 2 gigabytes per month on home connections, 
while the average was 9 gigabytes.

"The extreme difference between average and median data usage is principally 
due to a relatively small number of users who consume very large amounts of 
data each month--sometimes terabytes per month," the FCC's Technical Paper No. 
4 states. "The most data-intensive 1 percent of residential consumers appear to 
account for roughly 25 percent of all traffic."

The top 3 percent generate 40 percent of traffic; the top 10 percent, 70 
percent; and the top 20 percent generate 80 percent of all traffic.

"While half of all users consume less than 2 GB per month, the last 6 percent 
of users consume more than 15 GB each month," the paper said.

The findings fly in the face of the commission's support of Network Neutrality, 
the embattled notion that Internet service providers should not be allowed to 
regulate traffic. The issue's been a hot button since Comcast was discovered 
"throttling" BitTorrent peer-to-peer traffic in 2007. The FCC ordered Comcast 
to stop, but a federal court overruled its authority to do so in April.

The FCC considered changing the legal classification of broadband so it could 
regulate ISPs while it sought a compromise with industry players behind the 
scenes. Those quiet negotiations were said to be derailed by leaked news that 
Google and Verizon were off in a corner discussing throttling. The two later 
indicated their proposal applied to wireless broadband networks only, but the 
revelation already threw a wrench into the FCC's efforts, The New York Times 
reports.

It also fired up Net Neutrality supporters on Capitol Hill, including 
Democratic congress members Ed Markey, Anna Eshoo, Jay Inslee and Mike Doyle. 
The quartet delivered a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski today 
imploring him to pursue the so-called "third way," i.e., the legal 
reclassification of broadband.

"Rather than expansion upon a proposal by two large communications companies 
with a vested financial interest in the outcome, formal FCC action is needed," 
the lawmakers said.

While Technical Paper No. 4 gives throttling proponents ammunition, its intent 
was to clarify the target broadband speed in the FCC's National Broadband Plan. 
The plan put forth a goal of creating availability of 4 Mbps actual download 
speeds across the country. The FCC emphasized actual speeds because it found 
that they are around half of that advertised by the ISP.

"In 2009, average and median advertised download speeds were 7-8 Mbps, across 
technologies," the FCC paper said. "However, FCC analysis shows that the median 
actual speed consumers experienced in the first half of 2009 was roughly 3 
Mbps, while the average actual speed was approximately 4 Mbps. Therefore actual 
download speeds experienced by U.S. consumers appear to lag advertised speeds 
by roughly 50 percent."

Additional findings include penetration--72 percent of U.S. households have 
Internet connections. The report also says the average 'Net user has been 
online for 10 years, and spends around an hour a day online. By comparison, the 
FCC notes that the U.S. average TV viewing time is five hours a day.

More details are available in the FCC's 30-page "OBI Technical Paper No. 4."

-- Deborah D. McAdams
 
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:

- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at 
FreeLists.org 

- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word 
unsubscribe in the subject line.

Other related posts: