[opendtv] EE Times: FCC Chairman at CES Takes Net Neutrality Pledge
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2015 21:20:10 +0000
It will be interesting to see specifically which parts of Title II will be
applied to broadband.
For all the bellyaching about how Tom Wheeler was going to nothing more than
the bidding of the cable industry, in fact it turns out that the CEA seems to
be a lot more inclined that Wheeler, in that regard. I'm optimistic about this.
Bert
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http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1325220
FCC Chairman at CES Takes Net Neutrality Pledge
No blocking [of access], no throttling, no paid prioritization
David Benjamin
1/8/2015 10:50 AM EST
LAS VEGAS -- Tom Wheeler, Chairman of the Federal Communication Commission
(FCC), used his annual appearance at the International Consumer Electronics
Show (CES) to issue a ringing and unequivocal endorsement of Internet
neutrality, essentially promising free and equal access to wireless broadband
services to all Americans.
Specifically, Wheeler said that the FCC is poised to use Title II of the
Communications Act of 1934 to classify Internet service providers (ISPs) as
"common carriers" subject to requirements that they provide their services in a
"just and reasonable" fashion.
In his annual "one-on-one" session with Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer
Electronics Association (CEA), Wheeler said that the recommendation to adopt
several key sections of Title II, while "forbearing" to enforce numerous
sections inappropriate to the Internet, will go to the full FCC on February 5,
with a vote as soon as February 26. "We're down to the short strokes," said
Wheeler.
Most FCC observers agree that Wheeler has a majority of the Commission on his
side.
'Just and reasonable'
Wheeler's remarks to Shapiro effectively killed speculation, which was heavy
earlier last year, that he was leaning toward applying Section 706 of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 to Internet regulation. Under that standard, the
FCC would be authorized to ensure that ISPs "promote competition in the local
telecommunications market" and "remove barriers to infrastructure investment."
Section 706, however, does not contain the "just and reasonable" criterion, nor
does it empower the FCC to safeguard net neutrality
"'Just and reasonable' addresses the conceptual structure," said Wheeler.
"You've got to wait 'til February to see the specifics."
Wheeler did, in fact, reveal a few significant specifics, including the fact
that the FCC will actually apply to the Internet only a few sections of the
100-plus pages of Title II - very likely Sections 201, 202 and 208 - to
Internet oversight. The passage of Section 201 cited by Wheeler reads, in part,
"All charges, practices, classifications and regulations for and in connection
with such communication services shall be just and reasonable..."
For much of the past year, a coalition of ISPs, including telecom giants
Verizon and AT&T, were united in the assertion that Title II will deal a cruel
financial blow to the Internet and the economy. They warned that as much as $45
billion in potential infrastructure investment would go unspent if Title II
emerged as the FCC guideline. In December, Wheeler offered evidence that
largely debunked that claim, and foreshadowed his CES declaration.
He noted that, despite regulatory uncertainty, broadcasters had flocked to an
auction of government spectrum, paying more than $43 billion, although the
value of the spectrum had been estimated at about $10 billion.
Wheeler had a ready explanation for the spending spree. "For 20 years," he
said, "Verizon Wireless, AT&T Wireless, all the wireless carriers have been
living under Title II with appropriate forbearance [by the FCC] and have been
able to invest hundreds of billions of dollars and build a wireless network
that's the envy of the world."
ISPs' dire predictions of financial catastrophe under Title II were further
undercut by Verizon Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo, who admitted last
month at a conference, "We're going to continue to invest in our networks and
our platform both in wireless and wireline FiOS... Nothing will influence that."
However, Shammo reiterated his opposition to Title II, adding, "They [the FCC]
do not need to go to Title II. And why would you go to a 1930 piece of
literature to try to regulate a 21st-century technology? ... It really, really
slows down investment and slows down innovation."
No paid prioritization
Wheeler's interview with Shapiro, however, clearly indicated that Title II is
virtually a done deal. "We need to propose a rule that says there will be no
blocking [of access], no throttling, no paid prioritization. We need a
yardstick against which [ISPs'] performance should be measured," said Wheeler,
"and that yardstick will be 'just and reasonable.'"
As Wheeler noted, the biggest issue in the net neutrality argument has been
"paid prioritization," the proposed practice of giving "Internet fast lane"
privileges to services that pay the ISP for special treatment.
Shapiro carefully walked a tightrope throughout the interview with Wheeler,
repeatedly citing ISP concerns about the threat to "investment and innovation."
Wheeler responded that he had thoroughly weighed Title II and Section 706 in
the balance and determined that the economic danger is overstated, especially
in light of the prosperity ISPs have enjoyed under the current Title II regime.
He said, "The gold standard has to be an open Internet, and that's where
investment ought to go."
Wheeler also offered hope to "over-the-top" (OTT) programmers, who use the
Internet to stream television and video content, allowing viewers to tailor
what they watch to their own preferences.
As the interview wound down, Wheeler struck an upbeat chord. "We live in one of
the most exciting times" in history, he said. He called this young century the
"fourth great network revolution." The first, said Wheeler, was the invention
of the printing press, followed by the spread of railroads. The third was the
advent of the telegraph and telephone.
"And now we're seeing the marriage of computers and wireless," Wheeler said.
"We're going to spend the next 50 years trying to figure out how we, as a
people, as a nation, and how companies will adjust to that new reality... I'm
pretty proud to be an American regulator in that dynamic."
"The world," he added, "is looking to us."
-David Benjamin is a freelance journalist covering the intersection of
technology and society.
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