Internet/Broadband

[Commentary] Net neutrality advocates must shift their focus from the Federal Communications Commission to Congress, where they may well find the support and power they need to safeguard a fair and free internet. There is a strong historical argument for shifting attention to Congress: the Fairness Doctrine.  

As senators who have been working to close the digital divide, we believe federal policy must continue to promote the expansion of broadband access across rural America. Consumers and innovators deserve clear rules of the road that will continue to ensure the internet remains an open marketplace, will drive our online economy and will support investment throughout our internet ecosystem.

With the Federal Communications Commission's repeal of network neutrality rules set to go into effect in 2018, attention is turning to the pledges internet service providers have made to consumers about how they'll handle web traffic. Many are taking a fairly hard line against blocking or slowing down the delivery of content. It gets more complicated when it comes to whether internet companies will allow a website, such as Netflix, to pay for a "fast lane" to prioritize its content over sites' content. Comcast says it won't block access to content or slow down its delivery.

Proponents of major media mergers say that consumers will benefit if regulators approve the deals. But consumers, especially those who can least afford it, could get screwed by these deals.Multi-billion-dollar deals — along with regulatory changes such as the repeal of net neutrality rules — are often justified as ways to spur innovation and increase consumer choice, but consumer advocates argue the actions could actually make access to some popular content more expensive. The real question: Is choice at the expense of price really giving consumers what they want?

Even if the Federal Communications Commission wins in court, large Internet serivce providers still need to find a way to prevent any future FCCs from simply reinstating the network neutrality rules. That’s why the same giant ISPs that backed the FCC’s assault on net neutrality are now pushing for a “legislative solution” in Congress. The goal: they want a law that contains so many loopholes as to be effectively meaningless, yet prevents the FCC from crafting any real, tough laws down the road.

In a typical week, NYC Mesh–a community-owned internet network in New York City–might get five requests from people who want to join. In the wake of the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to roll back net neutrality rules, it started getting dozens of requests a day. Without net neutrality protections, big telecom companies can choose to slow down or block certain sites. If you want to watch Netflix, for example, Comcast could decide to charge you more to access it.

"In a few years, men will be able to communicate more effectively through a machine than face to face.” It was 1968, and J.C.R. Licklider, a director at ARPA, had become convinced that humanity was on the cusp of a computing revolution. 

The White House is temporarily removing We The People, a petition tool, from its website after 11 months of silence, promising to respond to public concerns in 2018. The Trump administration said the platform, used extensively by critics and less frequently by allies, will be removed Dec 19 and return in late January as a new site.

The Federal Communications Commission's decision to review what qualifies as high-speed broadband has drawn a crowd of critics armed with smartphones and other devices. Almost a dozen groups including Public Knowledge, New America’s Open Technology Institute, the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) have launched the #MobileOnly challenge. Between Jan. 1 and Jan. 31, participants will spend an entire day only accessing the internet via a mobile device. The idea is to demonstrate that mobile has various limitations that make it not a sufficient substitute for wired broadband.

On Oct 31, 2017, several members of Congress wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to urge the FCC to take action to ensure the High-Cost Universal Service Fund (USF) program provides sufficient and predictable support to help deliver affordable, high-quality broadband to rural consumers.