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The FCC pushes forward for you, and you win!
This week marks a huge win for the FCC, and for you, fellow netizens and Maximum PC fans. The FCC just went and pushed forward a proposal to reclassify internet service as a public utility—just like electricity and water. Last week I wrote a piece on how the FCC changed the definition of "broadband" to mean a minimum of 25Mbps down and 3Mbps up. If you thought that was huge news, this is damn bigger.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler revealed his plans this week under Title II of the Telecommunications Act. This is a huge win for everyone—except the providers of course. There's no doubt in my mind right now that the providers are spending millions to scour the world for the very best lawyers so they can fight this move into the ground. It'll be a battle of epic proportions.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)In a full statement given to Wired, "I am submitting to my colleagues the strongest open internet protections ever proposed by the FCC," wrote Wheeler. "These enforceable, bright-line rules will ban paid prioritization, and the blocking and throttling of lawful content and services."
Wheeler isn't stopping with traditional landlines though. He's going after the airwaves too, which is a major landmark move for the FCC.
"I propose to fully apply—for the first time ever--those bright-line rules to mobile broadband. My proposal assures the rights of internet users to go where they want, when they want, and the rights of innovators to introduce new products without asking anyone's permission."
For those that may have forgotten, AT&T originally blocked Apple's FaceTime service for bullshit reasons. I make no apologies here. Let's just say it like it is, and Wheeler does just that. "Before [1960s], AT&T prohibited anyone from attaching non-AT&T equipment to the network," he said. "The modems that enabled the internet were usable only because the FCC required the network to be open."
Congress will have a say later on, after the FCC votes this February 26th, on whether or not it will back the FCC or back the carriers, or come out with its own wild proposal.
There's no misunderstanding here though. I realize that there's a group of people out there, who are totally fine with what they have for internet service. They get what they can, and life moves on. In areas that are limited to just one carrier offering, the situation is even more facepalm-worthy. I've been told to "be glad" that I have fiber to my house. Yes, I am glad for that. But, I'm not glad for a monumental portion of the population, who don't have access to that kind of luxur — not because they wouldn't if they could, but because they can't. And less there be any confusion, those folks can't because the providers don't want to.
Then there are those that say less regulation is better. I get it and agree to a certain point. When big companies become monopolies, it's necessary to have oversight, and in the case of net neutrality, this is one fo those cases. There are pockets where we can cherry pick situations and say "oh, competition is already blossoming without regulation," but these areas aren't the norm, they are the exception. With communications giants become so powerful and so large—Google for Comcast wanting to buy TWC—there's no better time than now for a reckoning.
Thankfully, over 3.7 million comments that were sent into the FCC want to set things straight. The numbers were so overwhelming that even President Obama had to make a statement about it.
This is a milestone for internet uesrs everywhere, isn't for those who are happy or content with their connection or provider, it's for those that are trapped in negotiated communities and territories. Carriers have proven time and time again, that upgrading speeds is easy, even on legacy infrastructure. In areas where fiber installation from Verizon is leeching into Time Warner Cable's hood, TWC has "freely" upgraded customers several times, and some are now on 300Mbps TWC connections. Yes, just like that.
Imagine if there was just one GPU manufacturer—I know, two is nearly as bad. Imagine if you could only buy one brand of graphics cards because you lived in a certain place, or if you weren't allowed to use one brand of GPUs because you leaned particularly towards a favorite brand of CPUs. That would be fucked up.
That's how the state of the internet is for most people. Thankfully, it won't be that way any longer.
More...
This week marks a huge win for the FCC, and for you, fellow netizens and Maximum PC fans. The FCC just went and pushed forward a proposal to reclassify internet service as a public utility—just like electricity and water. Last week I wrote a piece on how the FCC changed the definition of "broadband" to mean a minimum of 25Mbps down and 3Mbps up. If you thought that was huge news, this is damn bigger.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler revealed his plans this week under Title II of the Telecommunications Act. This is a huge win for everyone—except the providers of course. There's no doubt in my mind right now that the providers are spending millions to scour the world for the very best lawyers so they can fight this move into the ground. It'll be a battle of epic proportions.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)
Wheeler isn't stopping with traditional landlines though. He's going after the airwaves too, which is a major landmark move for the FCC.
"I propose to fully apply—for the first time ever--those bright-line rules to mobile broadband. My proposal assures the rights of internet users to go where they want, when they want, and the rights of innovators to introduce new products without asking anyone's permission."
For those that may have forgotten, AT&T originally blocked Apple's FaceTime service for bullshit reasons. I make no apologies here. Let's just say it like it is, and Wheeler does just that. "Before [1960s], AT&T prohibited anyone from attaching non-AT&T equipment to the network," he said. "The modems that enabled the internet were usable only because the FCC required the network to be open."
Congress will have a say later on, after the FCC votes this February 26th, on whether or not it will back the FCC or back the carriers, or come out with its own wild proposal.
There's no misunderstanding here though. I realize that there's a group of people out there, who are totally fine with what they have for internet service. They get what they can, and life moves on. In areas that are limited to just one carrier offering, the situation is even more facepalm-worthy. I've been told to "be glad" that I have fiber to my house. Yes, I am glad for that. But, I'm not glad for a monumental portion of the population, who don't have access to that kind of luxur — not because they wouldn't if they could, but because they can't. And less there be any confusion, those folks can't because the providers don't want to.
Then there are those that say less regulation is better. I get it and agree to a certain point. When big companies become monopolies, it's necessary to have oversight, and in the case of net neutrality, this is one fo those cases. There are pockets where we can cherry pick situations and say "oh, competition is already blossoming without regulation," but these areas aren't the norm, they are the exception. With communications giants become so powerful and so large—Google for Comcast wanting to buy TWC—there's no better time than now for a reckoning.
Thankfully, over 3.7 million comments that were sent into the FCC want to set things straight. The numbers were so overwhelming that even President Obama had to make a statement about it.
This is a milestone for internet uesrs everywhere, isn't for those who are happy or content with their connection or provider, it's for those that are trapped in negotiated communities and territories. Carriers have proven time and time again, that upgrading speeds is easy, even on legacy infrastructure. In areas where fiber installation from Verizon is leeching into Time Warner Cable's hood, TWC has "freely" upgraded customers several times, and some are now on 300Mbps TWC connections. Yes, just like that.
Imagine if there was just one GPU manufacturer—I know, two is nearly as bad. Imagine if you could only buy one brand of graphics cards because you lived in a certain place, or if you weren't allowed to use one brand of GPUs because you leaned particularly towards a favorite brand of CPUs. That would be fucked up.
That's how the state of the internet is for most people. Thankfully, it won't be that way any longer.
More...