JuliusGenachowski
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FCC looking into Comcast / Netflix blocking threat, Level 3 responds as analysts chime in
News that Comcast had threatened to block internet backbone Level 3, which is one of the companies delivering Watch Instantly streams, sent shockwaves through the industry yesterday. Net neutrality advocates geared up for battle, Comcast insisted it was only enforcing the same arrangements other networks abide by while Roger Ebert and the rest of us fretted over Netflix access. Today, Level 3 issued a response to Comcast, claiming it is "distracting from the fundamental issue" which is free use of all content on the internet for its customers. Meanwhile, Multichannel News points out industry analysts say Level 3's claims of traffic discrimination "appear unfounded" while VideoNuze editor Will Richmond supposes Level 3 may have "bid too aggressively for the Netflix business and is now trying to recover." Most damaging to Level 3's argument are its own words from a dispute where it sought financial compensation from Cogent for using too much of its network's bandwidth: "For example, Cogent was sending far more traffic to the Level 3 network than Level 3 was sending to Cogent's network. It is important to keep in mind that traffic received by Level 3 in a peering relationship must be moved across Level 3's network at considerable expense. Simply put, this means that, without paying, Cogent was using far more of Level 3's network, far more of the time, than the reverse. Following our review, we decided that it was unfair for us to be subsidizing Cogent's business." Beyond analyst opinions and posturing the question of whether or not Comcast has the power to set pricing for access to its network, creating the toll road Level 3 is accusing it of being, is still at issue. That will certainly come into play at the FCC, where chairman Julius Genachowski mentioned at today's meeting that the agency is looking into Level 3's claims at the same time it continues to review the joining of Comcast and NBC. As far as your Netflix streams? Safe for now, though the company isn't commenting, Level 3 isn't the only provider it relies on for access and how any deal it might reach with Comcast could affect the service is still unclear. Update: Comcast has issued its own salvo of PR, including a video meant to breakdown exactly what internet peering is and what it wants to charge Level 3 for, 10 of its own facts about what it is, and is not doing, and a copy of the letter it's sent to the FCC about the issue. You can them all out in full after the break.
FCC, Justice Department look to prevent Comcast from hogging NBC's online video all for itself
Ready or not, Comcast and NBC will walk down the aisle in matrimony -- but it'll not be without a few conditions. According to The Wall Street Journal, both the FCC and the Justice Department are expected to impose conditions on how NBC online video is distributed online, to ensure the cable operator (with online video distribution channels of its own) doesn't withhold or threaten to withhold NBC Universal content from rivals -- both Netflix and Apple are specifically cited by WSJ. The FCC is additionally considering restrictions on Comcast slowing down / blocking "legal traffic" from its internet network, maintaining a pro-net neutrality stance. Chairman Julius Genachowski is currently meeting with staffers twice a week on the deal, with the timetable of circulating proposed conditions by mid-December -- narrowly avoiding sweeps week, unless 30 Rock has an idea or two up its Kabletown-owned sleeve.
FCC set to approve rules compelling carriers to alert you when you're about to go over your limit
Politicians do love themselves a sharp and emotive turn of phrase, of which few are as good as "bill shock." That's the term the FCC has used to sum up all those instances when you've had unexpected surcharges on your monthly wireless bill, caused by unknowingly going outside the bounds of your geographical coverage or monthly allowance. Seeing this issue as something it could help alleviate, the Commission set up a Consumer Task Force back in May in an effort to seek out solutions, and now it has returned with perhaps the most obvious one: getting your network operator to shoot out a voice or text message warning you when you're about to incur costs outside of your normal plan. That's basically what AT&T already does with iPad owners approaching their monthly data limits, which the federales see as a good practice that should be extended across all carriers. We can see no good reason why it shouldn't.
FCC reevaluates US broadband competitiveness, finds 14 to 24 million lack access
The National Broadband Plan may one day bring broadband to everyone in the United States but, as a new report from the FCC itself reveals, there's still quite a ways to go. According to the report (issued every year by the agency), between 14 and 24 million Americans have no access to broadband, which is now defined by the FCC to be a 4Mbps downstream and 1Mbps upstream. That's a significant revision from the previous 200kbps downstream standard used by the annual report, and brings it in line with the minimum goals set by the National Broadband Plan. What does that mean for the 14 to 24 million without broadband access? Not much at the moment, unfortunately. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski says that those individuals are mostly in "expensive-to-serve areas with low population density," and that "without substantial reforms to the agency's universal service programs, these areas will continue to be unserved." Of course, that finding is just one part of the report -- hit up the source link below to check out the whole thing.
Senators grill FCC Chairman over 'modest' National Broadband Plan goals
Bringing broadband to everybody is certainly an admirable goal, but at least some US Senators are apparently starting to question if the new National Broadband Plan is ambitious enough. In written questions submitted to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski recently, Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) pointed out that other nations already have 100Mbps fiber-based services and are beginning to roll out 1Gbps residential services, which would only be required for a "single anchor institution in each community by 2020" under the National Broadband Plan" -- something Inouye says "appears to suggest that the US should accept a 10- to 12-year lag behind the leading nations." That's a sentiment echoed by Senator Mark Begich (D-AK), who asked Genachowski why the plan settled for the minimum download speed of 4Mbps by 2020, and added that "it seems a bit modest for a goal." For his part, Genachowski insists that the 4Mbps targets are "aggressive," and he notes that the plan recommends reevaluating that target every year, so it's possible it could increase over time. Hit up the PDF link below for the complete Q&A.
Senators ask FCC to prioritize action on broadband white space, FCC promises nothing
Senators John Kerry (D - MA) and Olympia Snowe (R - Maine) have written a letter to FCC chairman Julius Genachowski asking them to prioritize actions on broadband white space while adhering to the scheduled Broadband Action Agenda, finishing it up by the third quarter of 2010. The national broadband plan includes 360 recommendations, with the white space action being just one of them. The letter reminded the commission that it's been about two years since it first authorized the use of white space, which would allow the use of unused television channels for wireless broadband.
Congress investigating general revamp of telecommunications law
We never had any doubt that Comcast's anti-net-neutrality court victory would prove to be more of a defeat in the long run, and that's exactly how it's shaping up: some 74 Democratic members of Congress have voiced concerns about the FCC's plan to re-classify broadband as a more highly-regulated "telecommunications service" instead of as an "information service" in letter sent to FCC chairman Julius Genachowski today, and a group of Democratic senators and representatives are planning a series of meetings in June with the goal of revamping US telecommunications law in general. According to Senate staffers who spoke to the Washington Post, the idea isn't to pre-empt the FCC's plan, but rather to bring the law into alignment with the modern market instead of trying to fit a round peg into a square hole -- our current telecom law was enacted in 1996 and is based on law written in 1934, so a more modern revamp could bring sweeping changes to the way broadband providers are able to sell and manage their services. We don't know what the specific agenda is yet, but we'd bet the FCC's recent finding that there's no "effective competition" in the wireless industry is sure to play a big part in these discussions, and we wouldn't be surprised to see some serious talk about cable providers and set-top hardware as well. Whatever happens, we'll be keeping a sharp eye on these meetings -- this is the first time we've seen the government take up the issue of modern telecommunications policy with this level of interest and momentum, and we've got a feeling some big things are afoot.
FCC outlines new 'third way' internet regulatory plan, will split access from content
The FCC's plan to rework how it regulates the internet just got a lot more solid today, as the agency officially announced its "third way" approach to classifying broadband services and opened it up for public comment. We've broken the entire thing down for you -- we're not kidding when we say this will affect how the internet works for all of us in the future, so grab a snack and head past the break for the whole story.
FCC to re-regulate internet in order to enforce net neutrality
Just as we predicted, the FCC is getting ready to take major steps to overcome that court decision ruling the agency doesn't currently have the ability to impose net neutrality under the agency's internet regulatory framework: the Wall Street Journal reports that FCC chairman Julius Genachowski has decided to "reregulate" internet service, thereby giving the agency the specific authority it needs to impose and enforce net neutrality. It's not clear exactly how the FCC will do that at this point; the easiest option would be to simply reclassify ISP as "common carriers" just like phone services, but we've heard that Genachowski has been searching for a "third way" in the past few weeks, and the WSJ says the current proposal will only enforce parts of the common carriage regulations to ISPs. We'll see what happens.
FCC launches Spectrum Task Force, unused frequencies become wanted criminals
It's no secret that Julius Genachowski and his posse up in Washington are taking spectrum reallocation very, very seriously in an effort to nip any danger of a wireless broadband crunch in the bud, and the FCC's taken another small step in that process today with the creation of the "Spectrum Task Force." It sounds like the Task Force's main job is to get the entire agency on the same page with regards to its long-term spectrum planning, ultimately playing "a critical role in the execution of the spectrum recommendations in the National Broadband Plan." In other words, the critical topic of spectrum reallocation isn't going away -- and while Genachowski continues to emphasize his intention to make license sales by TV broadcasters fully voluntary, we could see things starting to get hostile if the broadcast industry's mood doesn't change. Unfortunately, we're not aware of any plans for these guys to actually dress up in SWAT uniforms and ride around on Segways should the need arise. Follow the break for the FCC's full statement.
FCC will consider 'free or very low cost wireless broadband' service
Did you know there was a Digital Inclusion Summit going on? We already know the FCC isn't best pleased about the fact 93 million Americans are making do without access to home broadband, and this latest event was an opportunity for it to dish some more info on its forthcoming National Broadband Plan. The major obstacles to broadband adoption identified by the FCC were noted as cost, computer illiteracy, and a sheer lack of awareness about the benefits the web offers (outside of cute kitties). The big Plan will be delivered to Congress a week from today, and its suggestions will include the creation of a Digital Literacy Corps, who'll be performing missionary duties among the unenlightened, and the big whopper: a proposal to "consider use of spectrum for a free or very low cost wireless broadband service." Yeah, if you can't jump over the cost hurdle you might as well eviscerate it from existence. Quite naturally, such radical plans have been met with much grumbling opposition, and Business Week reports that it may be years before the full reforms are implemented ... if at all.
FCC's Genachowski previews broadband plan, demands half gigahertz of spectrum for the task
Time's running out for the FCC to present its National Broadband Plan to Congress next month, a set of sweeping regulatory changes geared at making broadband widely and readily available to every nook and cranny of the country -- and as the day of reckoning draws near, chairman Julius Genachowski is starting to talk specifics about how the Plan's going to look. At a speech hosted by the think tank New America Foundation today, Genachowski revealed a few key initiatives geared overall to reach the goal of reclaiming a whopping 500MHz of spectrum to apply toward wireless broadband data over the coming decade. A big part of that puzzle will be something called the Mobile Future Auction where existing spectrum owners (ahem, TV broadcasters) could be given the opportunity to voluntarily -- emphasis on "voluntarily" -- sell off their airwaves in exchange for a portion of the auction proceeds; it's claimed that as much as $50 billion in value could be "unlocked" by more efficiently using some of this spectrum, where only about half is currently being used in even the most populous markets. They'll also be making some moves to encourage more innovation with unlicensed spectrum -- an area that has already brought about paradigm-shifting technologies like WiFi and Bluetooth at 2.4GHz -- and proposing the launch of a Mobility Fund as part of the Universal Service Fund's reboot to help build out infrastructure in underserved areas. It all sounds ambitious, yes -- but if some of the claims the FCC and others are making about projected wireless data utilization over the next few years are even close to true, drastic action appears to be well-justified.
FCC seeks faster internet for America, more spectrum for wireless data
Leave it to Google to make even the FCC's ambitions look meager. But hey, for the vast majority of Americans who will never have access to an ISP with 1Gbps, we've got nothing but kudos to send to Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski. As the story goes, the FCC has unveiled a plan this week that would "require" internet service providers to offer "minimum home connection speeds by 2020," with a delectable 100Mbps figure being throw around. Currently, US internet speeds average just under 4Mbps, and the nation as a whole ranks 19th in the world. Naturally, companies that provide internet are balking at the idea, suggesting that consumers would revolt if they were forced to pick up the tab for all the network improvement efforts that would have to take place. Of course, Cisco Systems now appears to be the FCC's best bud, but we're guessing we don't have to explain the logic behind that one. In related news, the same entity is purportedly mulling a plan to "pay broadcasters to vacate airwaves it could use to alleviate network strain caused by the surging use of smartphones," which ought to make just about everyone happy. Well, most everyone.
FCC chairman echoes commissioner's sentiments, says Verizon's ETF response 'raised more questions than it answered'
FCC chairman and general ass-kicker Julius Genachowski is siding with his commissioner Mignon Clyburn this week, noting that Verizon's response to the Fed over its $350 "advanced device" early termination fee didn't really satisfy everyone's curiosity. He's not ready to talk about the FCC's next move in the case -- we're guessing another lengthy open letter is in order -- but he assured media on hand that "the bureau is looking into" the situation. In the meantime, just don't get tired of that Droid too fast, alright?
FCC boss keeps driving home the 'spectrum, spectrum, spectrum' message for wireless broadband
Love him or hate him, it seems destined that the FCC's Julius Genachowski will leave as big of a mark on the agency he's leading -- if not bigger -- than his predecessor Kevin Martin did, because he's hell-bent on shaking up the wireless airwaves and landlines he oversees in some pretty huge ways. Pushback from broadcasters is apparently quite strong, but he's reiterated at a conference today that he intends to investigate freeing up TV spectrum for to make room additional wide-area wireless services, a move that certainly seems to make sense on the surface considering that universal broadband to the home -- which could carry all the TV you'd ever need -- is also high on Genachowski's to-do list. The Universal Service Fund, which every American phone subscriber pays into and partly finances rural landline telephone operations where profits are harder to come by, is looking like a ripe target for renovation to bring broadband into the fold, theoretically making high-speed data more accessible to folks of all demographics and geographical affinities. Like the TV spectrum move, the USF realignment is meeting its fair share of detractors -- mainly among rural landline operators who rely on the funds for operation, of course -- but we're definitely gaining confidence that this dude isn't taking "no" for an answer in the long term.
FCC keen on commandeering TV spectrum for wireless broadband
We'll come right out and say it, we like Julius Genachowski. Whether you agree with the dude's policies or not, you can't deny he's pursuing them with gusto. Having already noted the insufficient carrying capacity of current mobile broadband airways to deal with incoming 4G connections, the FCC chairman is now reported to be moving ahead with plans to provide greater spectrum allocation for those purposes. Currently in the draft stage, the latest Commission proposals include a plan to reclaim airwaves from digital broadcasters (and pay them appropriately for it), which are to then be sold off to the highest bidder from among the wireless service providers. Executing the most extreme version of this plan could generate around $62 billion in auction revenues, though it would require transitioning digital TV viewers over to cable or subscription services and is therefore unlikely. Jules and his crew are still "looking at everything" and ruling out nothing, but we can probably expect to see a moderate shift of TV spectrum rights over to wireless carriers in the final plans when they're revealed in February. [Via Phone Scoop]
FCC net neutrality rules enter drafting process, face McCain challenge
Our old friends at the FCC have started to put words into action, as the net neutrality regulations proposed by Chairman Julius Genachowski have now entered the rule-drafting stage. The provision of most import here is that broadband providers would be forbidden from traffic discrimination or "management," and compelled to provide equal access and services to their users, irrespective of the type or bandwidth uptake of their internet activity. Of course, this is hardly a bumpless road, with Senator John McCain proposing the Internet Freedom Act of 2009, whose sole reason for existing will be to prevent the FCC from putting those rules through. Even if things do go smoothly, though, "reasonable network management" will still be an available recourse for telecoms, where it is necessary to block spam and illegal content, such as child pornography. Which sounds kinda like censorship to us. Look, we have no more interest in child porn than we do a pair of Lady Gaga Heartbeats, but any time we hear of internet providers having either the right or responsibility to block content, we get an uneasy feeling in the pit of our libertarian stomachs. Anyhow, the great big gears of regulation have finally started turning, and we can look forward to more political wrangling as the rules take shape over the coming months.
FCC says there's a 'looming spectrum crisis'
"What happens when every wireless user has an iPhone, a Palm Pre, or a BlackBerry Tour?" Speaking at CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment in San Diego today, FCC head Julius Genachowski has said that he wants to "close the spectrum gap" -- the difference between the spectrum it's making available for wireless data versus enormous usage projections (400 petabytes a month by 2013, he says) that'll be brought about by smarter, easier-to-use devices and ubiquitous high-speed data through a handful of initiatives including the promotion of the smart use of existing spectrum through the use of femotcells, WiFi, and smart antennas, and -- more importantly -- reallocation of existing spectrum. Genachowski says there are "no easy pickings" for reallocation, but the Commission is aggressively pursuing additional airspace that can help keep 4G rollouts on track. He's gone on to say that they'll be adopting the widely-discussed "shot clock" policy for placement of new towers, giving locales a limited window to protest placement of cell sites that'll help spread 4G services over wider footprints. The guy seems genuinely concerned about keeping 4G rollouts rolling, so let's see just how far the guys in Washington are willing to go to do that.
FCC chairman formally proposes net neutrality rules
We knew it was going to happen, but we're still stoked to report that FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski formally proposed a set of net neutrality rules this morning, calling them "the fair rules of the road for companies that control access to the internet." There are two big new rules, which say broadband providers of any kind can't discriminate against content or applications, and must be transparent about their network management policies -- a big change for wireless carriers like Verizon and AT&T, who would have to open their networks to scrutiny, and a direct response to Comcast's secretive packet-filtering techniques. What's more, Genachowski also proposed that four existing agency policies be granted formal rule status, meaning network operators would be required to allow users to access the content, apps, and services of their choice, and they would also be required to allow any "non-harmful" devices to connect to their networks. We knew all that open-access hullabaloo was leading up to something good. All told, these are some big policy changes, and while we're excited that the FCC is this gung-ho about net neutrality -- seriously, Genachowski comes off as the best kind of fanboy in his followup HuffPo editorial, it's kind of awesome -- we're still only cautiously optimistic, since the rulemaking process has only just begun and there are some potentially huge loopholes for network management and prevention of copyright infringement. But those are details to be worked out -- for now, the real news is that net neutrality is on its way to becoming the law of the land, and that's enough to warm even our darkened robot hearts. Check a video of Jules after the break. Read - Genachowski's speech proposing net neutrality rules Read - Genachowski's Huffington Post followup editorial Read - The FCC's new openinternet.gov website Read - WSJ piece with industry reactions
FCC to propose new net neutrality rules disallowing data discrimination
Based on what we're hearing, a slate of soon-to-be-proposed FCC rules may stop the likes of Comcast from discriminating against P2P applications on their networks, and AT&T sure will have a tougher time justifying why it won't let the iPhone's version of SlingPlayer run on 3G while giving WinMo and BlackBerry users all the bandwidth they can handle. Julius Genachowski, the new chairman of the entity, is slated to discuss the new rules on Monday, though he isn't expected to dig too deep into the minutiae. Essentially, the guidelines will "prevent wireless companies from blocking internet applications and prevent them from discriminating (or acting as gatekeepers) [against] web content and services." We know what you're thinking: "Huzzah!" And in general, that's probably the right reaction to have as a consumer, but one has to wonder how network quality for all will be affected if everyone is cut loose to, well, cut loose. Oh, and if this forces telecoms to deploy more cell sites to handle the influx in traffic, you can rest assured that the bill will be passed on to you. Ain't nuthin' free, kids.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
