Network Neutrality

Do subscribers of mobile networks care about Data Throttling?

Network neutrality mandates have been made out either as necessary to ensure a level playing field in online markets or, alternatively, as overly restrictive regulation preventing innovation and investment. However, there is little empirical research on the consequences of data throttling, which becomes legal without network neutrality regulations. We combine throughput levels measured for mobile internet service providers in the United States with usage data to explore how sensitive users are to such practices.

Net neutrality’s court fate depends on whether broadband is “telecommunications”

The Federal Communications Commission currently regulates broadband internet access service (BIAS, if you will) as an "information service" under Title I of the Communications Act. As the FCC contemplates reclassifying BIAS as a telecommunications service under Title II's common-carrier framework, the question is whether the FCC has authority to do so. Federal appeals courts have upheld previous FCC decisions on whether to apply common carrier rules to broadband.

Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet

Two areas in the draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet: 

Fact Sheet on National Security and Public Safety Impacts of Restoring Broadband Oversight

Currently, no federal agency can effectively monitor or address broadband outages that threaten jobs, education, and public safety. And while the Federal Communications Commission has acted on a bipartisan basis to secure our communications networks against companies controlled by hostile foreign governments, the lack of specific authority over broadband leaves open a national security loophole.

Sen Thune Leads Colleagues in Opposing Biden FCC’s Internet Takeover

Over 40 Republican senators signed a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel urging her to abandon her proposal to reinstate net neutrality rules. Re-imposing heavy-handed, public-utility regulations on the internet, they wrote, would threaten the progress our country has made since 2017, and it would steer our country out of the fast lane and into a world of less competition, less choice, less investment, slower speeds, and higher prices. Further, the FCC lacks this statutory authority over broadband internet access.

FCC Commissioner Carr Warns Against Following Europe's Lead on Internet Controls

Europe’s utility-style regulations, which have nothing at all to do with net neutrality, would be a serious mistake. The proof can be seen in the data. Just compare networks in the US to those in Europe:

Net Neutrality Is Still Needed Despite Its Quiet Hiatus

The debate around “net neutrality” is back, only this time there is even less chance that the matter will be settled for good. Consumers’ online rights still need protection, and restoring them for an open internet is worthwhile. Those pointing to internet service providers’ (ISP) “good behavior” are being disingenuous at best. The 2018 decision to reverse the Federal Communications Commission's earlier net neutrality rule was being challenged in court until 2020, by which point several states had set up or had in motion their own net neutrality regulations in the absence of a federal one.

New Net Neutrality Rules Could Threaten Popular Services

Net neutrality regulations have been dead for years, and they should stay that way. Unfortunately, the Federal Communications Commission has moved to reopen and re-litigate the issue. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has initiated a new rule-making that would enact what are largely the same net neutrality rules tried back in 2016. The law has changed and markets have changed, and yet the arguments for and against net neutrality have largely remained the same.

The FCC says net neutrality would be a boon for national security. Some disagree.

When Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel unveiled plans to restore net neutrality, she said reinstating the rule would “give the FCC and its national security partners the tools needed to defend our networks from potential security threats.” The rule—which gives the agency broad powers to regulate internet service as a utility, akin to water or electricity—hasn’t historically been invoked fo

European telecommunication groups ask Brussels to make Big Tech pay more for networks

Europe’s biggest telecommunications companies have called on the European Union to compel Big Tech to pay a “fair” contribution for using their networks, the latest stage in a battle for payments that has pitched the sector against companies such as Netflix and Google. Technology companies that “benefit most” from telecommunications infrastructure and drive traffic growth should contribute more to costs, according to the chief executives of 20 groups including BT, Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica.

Verizon’s Kyle Malady touches on net neutrality while talking about his new job

Asked about net neutrality, Verizon Business CEO Kyle Malady said the Federal Communications Commission has flipped back and forth on the issue over the years. In his view net neutrality wasn’t needed before it was instituted, it wasn’t missed after it was revoked, and it still isn’t needed.

FCC October 2023 Open Meeting Agenda

While the proposal I made to restore net neutrality will certainly garner the most attention, the Federal Communications Commission's October agenda features many other actions to promote digital equity and support broadband-powered innovation:

Reactions to FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel's Proposal to Restore Net Neutrality Rules

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"The internet’s open design is revolutionary," said Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. "It means creating without permission, building community beyond geography, organizing without physical constraints, consuming content you want when and where you want it, and cultivating ideas not just around the corner but around the world...I believe it is essential that we sustain this foundation of openness—and that is why, for as long as I have served on the FCC, I have supported net neutrality."

The Fifth FCC Commissioner

Anna Gomez is the newest, and fifth, Commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission. This may allow the FCC to pursue a Democratic agenda to tackle various issues:

Senators Call on FCC to Restore Authority Over Broadband, Net Neutrality Protections

Senators Edward Markey (D-MA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) led 25 of their Senate colleagues in writing to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to expeditiously reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act and restore net neutrality protections. Doing so will allow the FCC to effectively protect consumers from harmful practices online, promote affordable access to the internet, enhance public safety, increase marketplace competition, and take other important steps to benefit our nation’s digital future.

FCC Republican Pushes Against Idea Of Net Neutrality Revival

Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr, a longtime opponent of net neutrality rules, blasted the idea of bringing back regulations now that Democrats have a majority at the agency again. He said that recent Supreme Court law makes clear that a net neutrality revival would not survive legal challenges, meaning that any effort to craft rules would sap time from a FCC that should be focused elsewhere.

Net Neutrality Rules Face ‘Major Questions’ Buzzsaw at High Court

The Federal Communications Commission appears poised to again consider how broadband internet access service should be regulated to ensure “net neutrality” so all consumers can enjoy free and unimpeded access to lawful internet content. However, the key question is who decides how to translate that goal into law.

Netflix and Korea’s SK Broadband End Lawsuits Over Fees, Technology

Netflix and SK Broadband, one of South Korea’s largest internet service providers, are ending all their lawsuits and are instead creating a strategic partnership to provide better entertainment experiences to Korean customers. The legal dispute began in 2020 over whether content providers that generate large amounts of traffic should pay “network usage fees” in addition to the bills paid by the household end users, or whether that would go against the principle of net neutrality and lead to higher costs for consumers. Netflix said that it could offer a technological solution to traffic volu

Twitter gutted its policy team. Some of the band is getting back together

Over a dozen former executives who led Twitter’s public policy team are launching a new political advisory group, taking the practically unheard of step of reuniting en masse after the company, since-rebranded X, shed much of its own shop under Elon Musk. The newly minted Blue Owl Group, a nod to Twitter’s once-iconic bird logo, is stacked with longtime tech veterans looking to use the new perch to shape major debates about the internet, artificial intelligence and climate — while recapturing the company’s sensibilities. While the firm includes several veterans like Colin Crowell who left T

DeSantis’ new campaign deputy was part of massive anti-net neutrality campaign that used dead people to spam the FCC

A GOP consultant set to be the next deputy campaign manager for presidential hopeful Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) was part of the infamous astroturfing campaign against net neutrality. Ethan Eilon, who Bloomberg reported is being promoted by Gov.

Revisiting the Impact of Killing Net Neutrality

Ajit Pai recently wrote an article in the National Review where he talks about how his decision as head of the Federal Communications Commission to repeal net neutrality was the right one. He goes on to claim that repealing net neutrality was the driver behind the current boom in building fiber and upgrading other broadband technologies.

Broadband Service Requires FCC Oversight, Nominee Tells Senate

Federal Communications Commission nominee Anna Gomez left little doubt that if confirmed, she would vote in favor of classifying broadband as a Title II telecommunications service—a move that would enable the agency to prohibit carriers from blocking or throttling web traffic. Gomez told lawmakers that internet access was too essential to remain unregulated. “Title II gives the strongest oversight to the FCC over the service,” she added. Broadband is currently considered a Title I information service—and is largely unregulated. Title II classification, by contrast, would allow the FCC to im

FCC Nominee Anna Gomez Backs ‘Robust’ Title II-Based Open Internet Authority

Anna Gomez, President Joe Biden's nominee for the open Democratic seat on the Federal Communications Commission, told the Senate Commerce Committee that she supports reclassifying internet access as a Title II telecommunications service. Since Gomez’s bureaucratic background left little room for Republicans to attack her in the same way as Gigi Sohn, she’s got a seemingly better chance of getting confirmed. Currently, the FCC classifies internet access as an information service under Title I of the Communications Act, and not subject to common-carrier/open access regulations.