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FCC accused of lying about 2014 and 2017 DDoS attacks
A recent Gizmodo report has resurfaced doubts about the FCC's explanation regarding the cause of its website outage in 2017. If you'll recall, that event prevented people from posting comments on chairman Ajit Pai's plan to eliminate net neutrality rules. Pai and a couple of other FCC officials blamed it on a DDoS attack and referenced another outage that happened in 2014, which an anonymous high-level official blamed on the same thing. Back then, the agency (then under Tom Wheeler) called for comments on amended net neutrality guidelines that would allow ISPs to sell access to "fast lanes." By referencing the older incident, the officials are probably saying that the outage wasn't caused by the massive support for net neutrality: the website has long been the target of DDoS attacks. Problem is, former FCC chairman Tom Wheeler said the 2014 attack never happened.
Netflix orders King Arthur series from comic legend Frank Miller
Netflix's fondness for comic book industry veterans isn't cooling off any time soon. The streaming giant has ordered Cursed, an Arthurian drama based on an impending novel co-authored by comic legend Frank Miller (of 300 and Sin City fame) and producer/screenwriter Tom Wheeler (no, not the former FCC chairman). The series flips the usual King Arthur story by focusing on Nimue, a teenage girl whose tragic heroism leads her to become the Lady of the Lake.
The internet needs us to save net neutrality
Today, thousands of websites and organizations are showing their support for net neutrality in hopes of preserving the open internet. Consider Engadget among them. The Federal Communication Commission, as chaired by former Verizon lawyer Ajit Pai, is exploring ways to repeal the open internet rules put into effect by former chairman Tom Wheeler, and that's just not OK.
FCC Chairman outlines his plan to gut net neutrality
The future of net neutrality has been uncertain since the November election of Donald Trump. His FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, has made it clear he intends to scale back some of the regulations surrounding ISPs, but details have been scarce. Now we have an idea of the framework the commission will pursue, and it begins with revoking the classification of ISPs as a "common carrier" service under Title II, which has essentially treated the internet as a public utility for the last two years.
FCC: Your cybersecurity isn't our problem
The new FCC chairman hasn't wasted any time getting down to business. That is, the business of burning consumer privacy and security to the ground. New Trump appointee FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has suspended the agency's consumer data privacy rules indefinitely. Before they even went into effect. He's basically holding the safeguards underwater while two Republican-backed congressional resolutions come in for the kill.
FCC halts nine companies from participating in the 'Lifeline' program
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced on Friday that the FCC will not let nine companies participate in the federal Lifeline program, which provides low-cost internet connectivity for some of America's lowest-income households. This decision comes just weeks after Pai's democratic predecessor, Tom Wheeler, had granted the companies permission.
GOP pushes new FCC chief to kill set-top box rental proposal
If you were excited at the prospect of no longer having to pay your local cable company a monthly stipend to use their set top boxes, boy does the House GOP have a surprise for you! Now that the FCC is being helmed by famed net neutrality opponent, Ajit Pai, Republican lawmakers are seizing upon the opportunity to squeeze a little more money out of the American public.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler defends net neutrality in final address
FCC Chairman and net neutrality champion Tom Wheeler will be stepping down next week when the Trump administration takes office. Wheeler's Open Internet Order, which passed in 2015, was instrumental in keeping the internet a level playing field, but the Republicans have already indicated that rolling back the legislation will be a top priority for them once the GOP regains control of the agency. On Friday, Wheeler used his last public address as FCC chair to give one final defense of net neutrality and a look at the legal battles to come.
FCC chairman Tom Wheeler will step down next month
Next month, net neutrality will lose one of its stronger advocates -- FCC chairman Tom Wheeler has just announced his plans to step down on January 20th, 2017. Not coincidentally, that's the same day that President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office. With a new administration taking over, it's tradition for the FCC's chairman to step aside and let the incoming president present his own pick for the job.
FCC needs more time to make its set-top box rules a reality
Earlier this month, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler floated a plan to get cable companies to drop locked-down set-top boxes in favor of apps that customers could download to their device of choice. The proposed rules also included a much needed universal search function that would allow customers to browse programming options from their cable provider as well as streaming sources like Hulu and Netflix. While it seemed that both the FCC and cable companies were on board with Wheeler's compromise plan, today's scheduled vote on the new rules has been delayed indefinitely.
FCC backs down from municipal broadband case
After losing its bid to protect municipal broadband services, the Federal Communications Commission has apparently given up the fight to keep local competition in high-speed internet service. As Ars Technica reports today, the FCC has decided not to pursue another review of the case that could have put the matter in front of the Supreme Court.
FCC chief asks telcos to offer free robocall blocking services
Tom Wheeler, head honcho at the Federal Communications Commission, has fired off letters asking the country's biggest communications providers to offer robocall blocking services for free. The FCC is still fielding a barrage of complaints from people sick and tired of robocalls a year after it passed a proposal that should have helped the situation. If you'll recall, the commission made it perfectly legal for carriers to block automated calls before they reach subscribers back in 2015. Unfortunately, telcos are still reportedly telling customers that they have no authority to those calls. As a result, they still make the up the biggest number of complaints filed with the agency.
FCC lays out its big 5G push
Speaking at the National Press Club on Monday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler made an impassioned plea for the US to take the lead in developing a wireless 5G standard. "To seize the opportunities before us, we need the next generation of wireless connectivity – a fifth generation, or 5G," he said. What's more he laid forth a plan to do it. On Thursday, Wheeler will seek to "open up" a swath of high-band spectrum for 5G applications; he's calling it the Spectrum Frontiers proceeding.
Here's the cable industry's counter offer to fix TV boxes
Earlier this year the FCC voted on a plan to fix crappy cable boxes. Dubbed "Unlock the Box," the plan would make cable companies open up their services for use on boxes made by other companies. Now, after a few months of complaining and poking holes in the FCC plan, the cable companies have a proposal of their own. Their offer consists of an "industry-wide commitment" to create HTML5-based apps for third party devices like phones, tablets and connected TV boxes. It was presented this week by representatives for the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), AT&T/DirecTV, Comcast and others.
Net Neutrality upheld by appeals court
An appeals court in Washington DC has upheld the FCC's Open Internet Order, affirming that Net Neutrality can live to fight another day. While the appellate judges have had to rule in favor of telecoms companies in previous cases, the FCC's law is now watertight and is acting within its powers. The decision is likely to stick in the craw of many networks, including AT&T and Verizon, which fought bitterly against provisions to maintain a free and fair market online. Unfortunately, Net Neutrality still has plenty of critics in high places, and several Republican politicians have attempted to gut the FCC in the hope of getting their own way.
Charter acquisition of Time Warner Cable approved by the FCC
It feels like forever since Time Warner Cable agreed to merge with Charter Communications, for an estimated $55 billion. But today, nearly a year after the two companies struck a deal, the Federal Communications Commission has finally granted its approval. The announcement follows FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and the US Justice Department green-lighting the merger in April, which confirmed that it was only a matter of time before it became official.
FCC expands Lifeline to help low-income Americans afford internet
Today the FCC voted 3-2 to approve expanding its Lifeline program that has subsidized phone and prepaid wireless access for low-income Americans since the 80s, so that now it covers internet access too. The $9.25 household subsidy is paid directly to service providers, and now it can be applied to standalone internet access, or bundled voice/data service. There are requirements for the services provided, like a minimum 150GB monthly usage cap, as well as minimums for mobile broadband usage and cellphone voice minutes.
FCC Chair proposes new data privacy rules for consumers
Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler made his case for an ambitious plan to better defend consumer data privacy on Wednesday. His proposal would effectively govern how ISPs can leverage user data for marketing and advertising purposes in the same way that that the FCC already regulates data collected by your phone company.
The FCC is going to war over set-top boxes
The FCC is preparing to propose rule changes that'll loosen cable companies' stranglehold on the set-top box market. According to the Wall Street Journal, Tom Wheeler is planning to give consumers far more choice over what hardware they can use. Right now, if you're a Comcast user, then you're expected to rent a Comcast box, or shell out for a TiVo and pay for it to be installed. The FCC, however, wants you to be able to choose whatever damn box you wanna use, so long as it's fit for purpose. AllVid is back, baby!
TWC is threatened with the first Net Neutrality lawsuit
It's been less than a week since the net neutrality rules came into force, but they're already being used to slap the ISP that everybody loves to hate. According to the Washington Post, Commercial Network Services is about to file a complaint against Time Warner Cable for holding its video traffic to ransom. CNS runs SunDiegoLive, a site hosing webcam streams across San Diego, which is popular with the military crowd whenever a US Navy vessel comes into port. As far as CNS is concerned, TWC has been charging unreasonably high rates to let these videos get through the internet without being throttled into dust.
