[opendtv] Re: How the FCC actually defines "telecom"
- From: Craig Birkmaier <brewmastercraig@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2017 09:29:54 -0400
On Aug 15, 2017, at 9:51 PM, Manfredi, Albert E
<albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
So, Craig seems to labor under the misconception that "telecommunications
service" is synonymous with "voice telephone service." Is this true? Of
course not. And it's easy enough to verify, either by going to generic
dictionary definitions, or more convincingly, by going to the FCC itself.
What the hell does DTV, HDTV, and spectrum have to do with telecommunications
Bert?
They are all in the glossary, which includes every industry that the FCC has
the authority to regulate. This is nothing more than a broad, and misguided,
attempt to justify the purpose of the agency.
Apparently we are just supposed to ignore the fact that Congress told the FCC
that the Internet is an "information service" in 1996, and that they SHOULD NOT
attempt to regulate it as a telecommunications service.
So, let's start here. What could be better than a glossary of telecom terms?
BROADBAND
Broadband is a descriptive term for evolving digital technologies that
provide consumers a signal switched facility offering integrated access to
voice, high-speed data service, video-demand services, and interactive
delivery services.
Yup. There is nothing here that is remotely related to the Title II telcom
networks that the FCC regulates.
Or is there?
Yesterday i posted several articles related to the net neutrality debate. For
now Bert just ignored them. No problem.
But one article made a very good point about how the FCC could use its
"telecommunications" authority to regulate services like Facebook, Skype and
others.
http://www.investors.com/news/technology/could-frisky-fcc-regulate-facebook-microsoft-apple-under-title-ii/
The FCC’s legal arguments open the door to regulating any internet-based
services -- such as Apple’s Facetime, Microsoft’s Skype or Facebook’s
WhatsApp -- that connect to the public switched network (PSN), says
Anna-Maria Kovacs, a visiting senior policy scholar at Georgetown Center for
Business and Public Policy.
“By the FCC’s and court’s logic, how can platforms like Facebook, (Apple's)
FaceTime, Vonage, Skype, YouTube, Gmail or even Uber be anything other than
telecommunications services?” said Kovacs, who also is founder of consultancy
Strategic Choices.
I think Kovacs stretched reality a bit here. Some of these services, like
Skype, Vonage and other VOIP services depend on the ability to connect to the
PSTN. Some, like Skype, may connect two Internet users without using the PTSN.
And some do not connect to the PSTN at all, like FaceTime, which is a cloud
based service connecting iOS devices.
But the point is that Kovacs is defining SOME Internet apps as
telecommunications services, not ALL.
Looks like broadband service is indeed a more evolved telecom service.
According to the very FCC that classifies telecom service under Title II.
It looks like when the FCC wants to regulate something EVERYTHING is a
telecommunication service Bert.
Regards
Craig
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