August 2017

[Commentary] The front-page story in The Wall Street Journal announced, “Walt Disney Co. just became the biggest cord-cutter Hollywood has ever seen.” The iconic company announced it was starting two online streaming services that will bypass its traditional cable television distribution. Thank you, Open Internet Rule!

The sine qua non that made it all possible was the Federal Communications Commission Open Internet Rule that the cable operators cannot deny, degrade or deprioritize Disney access to their broadband service, even when it is competitive to their cable service. This is the very same rule that the Trump FCC, at the request of the lobbyists for the big broadband companies, has announced an intention to eliminate. And the very same rule that Republican legislators are pushing content providers to help them scuttle. The Open Internet Rule – especially the General Conduct Rule portion – is like Disney’s famous character Jiminy Cricket, who acted as Pinocchio’s conscience. As the Jiminy Cricket of the Internet Age, the Open Internet Rule sits on the shoulder of broadband providers to make sure they do the right thing.

[Tom Wheeler is a visiting fellow with the Governance Studies, Center for Technology Innovation, and former Chairman to the FCC.]

The Federal Communications Commission is seeking input on how it should gauge whether broadband is being deployed in a timely manner — a determination the commission makes annually in the FCC Broadband Progress Report. Under consideration is “whether some form of advanced telecommunications capability, be it fixed or mobile, is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion.” Alternatively, the commission asked for input on whether it should consider an area to be served only if both fixed and mobile broadband are available there. Traditionally the report has only considered fixed service in gauging broadband deployment progress.

President Donald Trump evidently doesn't know the definition of "press conference." Aug 11, after two days of unusual engagement with the White House press corps, President Trump promised to hold a "pretty big press conference" at the White House on Aug 14. But the White House didn't set up any press conference. Instead, he gave a hastily-arranged speech without answering any questions. When he came before cameras a second time Aug 14, and CNN's Jim Acosta, who was in the room serving as pool reporter, asked about the lack of a presser, President Trump said, "We had a press conference. We just had a press conference." President Trump's declaration that "we had a press conference" seemed to confirm what some White House correspondents already surmised -- that Trump is counting any appearance in front of the press corps as a press conference.