Tag: Federal Communications Commission

CenturyLink, Frontier, TDS and others remain divided on new net neutrality rules

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English: Frontier Communications logo at Front...

English: Frontier Communications logo at Frontier Building Rochester, New York (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL), Frontier Communications and TDS, three telcos that have a long heritage of serving Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, are taking diverging paths on what they think about the FCC‘s passing of new rules to reclassify broadband service under Title II of the 1934 Communications Act and Section 706 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act.

Serving as the third largest ILEC that serves a mix of both large metros down to rural markets, CenturyLink has taken a similar stance as its larger ILEC brothers AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ), saying that the new order could have achieved its goals without a new source of regulation.   Continue reading

GOP lawmakers: Challenge FCC ruling on broadband in Tenn.

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Chattanooga, Tennessee from Lookout Mountain.

Chattanooga, Tennessee from Lookout Mountain. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – The Federal Communication Commission ruled last week that cities like Chattanooga may expand their municipal broadband service, but Tennessee officials who oppose the decision are lining up to block the move.

On Tuesday Republican state lawmakers led by Rep. Jeremy Durham of Franklin urged state Attorney General Herbert Slatery to file a lawsuit challenging the decision as “a violation of state sovereignty.” Continue reading

US Telecom: FCC’s Move Has Global Implications

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Logo of the United States Telecom Association.

Logo of the United States Telecom Association. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

CAROL WILSON

The FCC’s decision to reclassify broadband Internet access as a telecommunications service will now subject the Internet to international telecom rules, as governed by the United Nations and the ITU, and could prompt other countries to implement similar regulations, claims the head of the major lobbying organization for telecom companies. (See FCC Adopts Title II Internet Regs for Net Neutrality.)

Walter McCormick, president and CEO of United States Telecom Association (USTelecom) , says his organization will be filing a court appeal as soon as details of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ‘s new rules are made public, claiming the federal government is overstepping its authority in a way that is “unnecessary and unwise.” Continue reading

Tom Wheeler’s Other Web Takeover

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Optic fiber

Optic fiber (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This week Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler plans to seize regulatory control over the Internet by declaring private broadband carriers to be public utilities. Less well known is that he also wants to usurp state authority to regulate municipal broadband networks.

Local governments are forever seeking opportunities to diversify their, er, investments in sports stadiums, convention centers and such. Many lately have been getting into broadband. Municipalities have built some 180 fiber-optic networks in addition to about 75 cable services. Most operate as de facto public utilities with an implicit, if not explicit, taxpayer backstop. Continue reading

Muni Nets Pan Title II

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By: John Eggerton

Some of the municipal broadband nets the Obama administration is keen on giving a boost have asked the Federal Communications Commission not to apply Title II regulations for a start.

In a Feb. 10 letter to FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, more than three dozen of those said the balance of power is in favor of the edge providers, like Netflix, Amazon or Hulu, which are not subject to the new rules beyond being able to complain about the conduct of Internet service providers, not smaller operators. Continue reading

Republican bill: Net neutrality protections without reclassifying broadband

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net-neutrality-macworld-100529757-primary.idgeBy

Top Republicans in Congress plan to introduce legislation that they say will ensure net neutrality protections for Internet users and will spur U.S. economic growth.

The proposal would create “unambiguous” rules prohibiting broadband providers from selectively blocking or throttling Web traffic, while avoiding a reclassification of broadband as a regulated public utility, said a Wednesday blog post at Reuters.com by Sen. John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, and U.S. Rep Fred Upton, a Michigan Republican. Continue reading

After Wheeler unveils proposal, what’s next for net neutrality?

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Seal of the United States Federal Communicatio...

Seal of the United States Federal Communications Commission. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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A flurry of activity will follow the plan from U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler to reclassify broadband as a regulated public utility as the foundation for new net neutrality rules.

Wheeler’s plan would reclassify broadband from a lightly regulated information service to a more regulated telecommunications service under Title II of the Telecommunications Act, reversing the FCC’s broadband policy for the past decade. Still, Wheeler’s plan has the agency forbearing from most traditional telecom regulations under Title II, including rate regulations, contributions to the FCC’s Universal Service Fund, and requirements to share their networks with competitors. Continue reading