When Federal Communications Commissioner (FCC) Michael Copps issued a brief, two-sentence reaction to the news of a policy agreement between Verizon and Google over Net Neutrality, he deliberately emphasized one word. In bold face and italics, Copps said that a Commission "decision" had to be made, to guarantee an open Internet.
"Some will claim this announcement moves the discussion forward. That's one of its many problems. It is time to move a decision forward -- a decision to reassert FCC authority over broadband telecommunications, to guarantee an open Internet now and forever, and to put the interests of consumers in front of the interests of giant corporations."
Copps' highlighting of that one word may have applied in his statement to the current issue surrounding, but it also could apply as well to the workings of the entire FCC in the little more than a year since the Commission reached its full complement of members on August 3, 2009 with the swearing in of Commissioner Mignon Clyburn.
In a phrase from author Stephen King, (from "The Colorado Kid") the Commission has been "picking at crumbs while there was a roast sitting on the table." Indeed, when the Commission became whole last summer, there was a veritable buffet of tempting items from which to choose, any one of which would have set the FCC off on a course of action and shown that the Obama FCC represented the change for which the president's supporters voted and in which they believed.
On February 20, 2007, Skype filed a petition with the FCC asking for the common-sense ruling that would apply the 1968 decision allowing any wired telephone to be connected to the network to the wireless world as well. In its petition, Skype said that carriers have disabled or crippled features of wireless devices to favor their own applications. All the comments and replies were filed. The Commission only had to write an order and take a vote to approve the consumer-friendly policy.
On December 11, 2007, Public Knowledge and others filed a petition with the FCC asking that texting and accompanying short codes be protected. The petition came in the wake of Verizon's decision not to issue a short code to NARAL Pro-Choice America because the group was too controversial. As PK and others argued, "Discrimination in providing mobile services is contrary to the principles which have governed both wired and wireless carriers for decades." All of the comments and replies were filed. The Commission had only write an order to approve this consumer-friendly policy for the millions of people who text billions of times each yet.
On May 20, 2008, rural cellular carriers asked the FCC to take a look at deals between carriers with cellphone manufacturers which left the rural consumers unable to have access to those phones if a particular carrier doesn't provide service in a given area. The Rural Cellular Association asked the Commission to "initiate a rulemaking to investigate the widespread use and anticompetitive effects of exclusivity arrangements between commercial wireless carriers and handset manufacturers and, as necessary, adopt rules that prohibit such arrangements when contrary to the public interest, consistent with its obligations under the Communications Act." All of the comments and replies were filed. The Commission only had to write an order to approve this petition to help millions of rural subscribers.
Right there are three key groups of people in the country - wireless customers generally; those who use text messaging, generally younger customers; and rural customers - who could have been helped with minimal effort from the FCC. No new proceedings would have been needed. Even today, none of those petitions has been acted upon.
The FCC under Republican Chairman Kevin Martin approved the use of the spectrum between digital TV channels, the so-called "white spaces" for use in unlicensed applications. A couple of technical issues remained, which could have been settled rather easily. Final approval of white spaces would result in a new flood of innovation. Those clean-up items have yet to be approved, although rumor has it they could be soon.
In terms of actually issuing orders, the FCC's record to date is pretty minimal. Since last fall, the Commission has issued some orders on making services more available for the hard of hearing. They closed some loopholes for cellular roaming agreements - cleaning up a previous order, not starting something new. The Commission established a new interoperability center and an office for Native American affairs. The Commission adopted a rule, effective through next June, to allow more widespread use of broadband services funded by the E-rate. These, and other orders, are helpful and useful, but in the grand scheme of things, they fall into the "crumbs" rather than the "roast" category.
The FCC has issued lots and lots of proposed rules, many of which have yet to come to fruition, many which result from the National Broadband Plan, an exercise which cost $20 million and had the Commission hiring the equivalent of a whole new Bureau to produce a 360-page report. The Omnibus Broadband Initiative included 36 public workshops and 31 public notices asking for comment, generating 74,000 pages of comments from 700 parties.
The final product resulted in a good framework for moving ahead with how to use broadband, but very little on how to increase supply or increase competition. There were some good studies produced as part of the exercise, although the FCC studiously avoided the results and recommendations from the Berkman Center at Harvard University, which showed how and why other countries are ahead of the U.S. due largely to a regulatory strategy the FCC ditched during the Bush years. (Hint: The study recommended actions from which the FCC is now running away.)
The record so far is indicative of how the FCC has functioned to date, and reflects the way the Commission has shrunk from its responsibilities to deal with crucial issues about the future of the Internet. Instead of issuing orders on dockets on a non-discriminatory Internet or on re-establishing the FCC's ability to protect consumers and set rules of the road for broadband, the Commission has abdicated its responsibilities. Instead of using an ample public record, and the philosophies FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has advocated (and abandoned) that would foster an open Internet and consumer protections while helping to spread broadband more widely, the Commission promotes and hides behind closed-door "negotiations" conducted by big companies which, not surprisingly, turn out results that favor those companies. Verizon and Google split up the broadband universe to suit their needs by promising an open Internet only for wired connections. Discrimination would be fine over the wireless devices and networks that are the growing future connections. That's a company point of view, not a public interest point of view, which is why talks like those are a bad idea.
While it has an ample record on both of those Internet issues, the FCC instead ignored the evidence and arguments. Instead, it encouraged private negotiations, first with a group of six selected participants, which resulted in the famous side deal between Verizon and Google, for which Google has been roundly criticized which left out half of the Internet (the wireless side) from any government protection at all. Even after all the flak over that, the FCC is at it again, fostering more talks among more companies. As my colleague Harold Feld has asked, if the public didn't like Verizon and Google splitting up the Internet, what difference will it make if Microsoft and AT&T are in the room making their own deal? The public at least could contribute ideas and arguments in a rulemaking proceeding. That's how it is supposed to be done. Everyone was shut out of these FCC-encouraged negotiations except for the privileged industrial few. It's not exactly how one would have envisioned an Obama FCC conducting business.
The goal of all of these talks is not to fashion an FCC rule, but instead to produce a framework which would then be written into legislation. One point of any legislation would, to the relief of some at the FCC, lift the burden off of the FCC from carrying out its responsibilities to make telecommunications policy. The FCC in the Bush years played its little unsuccessful shell game with Internet access without any hoots and hollers of Congressional prerogatives. That benefited industry. Correcting it for the benefit of consumers raises the hackles of those legislators worried about Congressional authority. But we've been through that.
Any legislation, particularly legislation based on talks from big companies, would of necessity be very complex, create all sorts of new categories of services, with accompanying exceptions and exemptions and would by nature have to satisfy the telephone and cable industry. And people think a simple regulatory reversal (known as "reclassification") is drastic? It would sure be a lot more simple than what Congress will come up with. Chances are that any bill would kick some of the issues back to the FCC, which would create a sort of circular logic of its own.
It's past the time to stop Congress from starting the legislative process. It's not past the time for the FCC to step up and enact the policies it should enact - to make some decisions for a change. That's what people voted for - not for the Commission to turn over its policymaking to big companies. Is the FCC shrinking? Is it shirking? Either way, Chairman Julius Genachowski still has time to be a hero to the America by implementing policies to revitalize the online world, but time is running out. He should follow his colleague Commissioner Copps' advice and make some decisions.
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If the FCC does not implement its regulatory reversal, identifying the provision of Internet pipes as a physical communication service, the Internet will morph into something similar to current cable TV. Cable TV was going to be all kinds of things - a great provider of education and knowledge, a detailed pipe examining current events and issues .., and so on, when it was being built out. Now look what has happened. Snuggies and Viagra and "male enhancement" products sold in long infomercials, half of all time spent in commercials, and most "news" being newstainment for dummies. Cable TV is as worthless as it is expensive, because the content is determined totally based on money decisions and the ideology of those controlling the media companies.
The FCC has clearly indicated that it wishes to finesse this issue. However, this is not something that can be finessed. This is our last best chance to save American civilization and become one-world people.
It seems to be very difficult to drum up any interest at all in preserving the last bastion of free speech in this country.
I've been besting this drum for years and people always just ignore it.....until they take away yet another thing the people have built.
Frankly, I don't think the internet must or should be regulated by anyone, government or corporations. If the gov wants to do something they should just let it stay the way it is unless its' to allow free broadband to everyone.
another Obama promise to catch up with Europe which hasn't and I guess, won't, materialize.
But WRONG when it says "promising an open Internet only for wired connections".
It should say "except when using a cell connection, like in your car".
This DOES NOT AFFECT WIFI, using your laptop on a plane, in a bar, anywhere in a city.
The Google/Verizon deal is to accelerate video, the only Internet content that needs speeding.
And really only on cell connections, they are MUCH slower than Wifi or wired.
It's for video on your cell phone, folks. That's them "controlling the Internet", TV on your phone.
FINALLY, someone pointing out that the iPhone connection to AT&T is the same issue.
It's controlling your wireless access point, just like Google/Verizon.
Except G/V are only accelerating favored sites. Apple/AT&T affects access to all sites.
And of course, when the inevitable shit hits the fan, it will be blamed on Obama--but then again, maybe that's right.
Obama's pick as FCC head is in the same mold. Industry blessed and focused, totally. Industry knows best.
Of course, having worked for highly regarded Fortune 100 companies all my working life, including one of the biggest international banks in the world and ATT, I can attest that industry does know, very well, how to take care of industry. There is nothing evil in this. But government should be providing a balance. And if there need be a decision made where either greed or the common guy is to be favored, it should go in favor of the "persons" who actually live and breathe.
Hmm, one wonders if Verizon considers any right wing groups to be "too controversial"?
This is the real crux of the issue of net neutrality which no one seems to want to discuss. Internet providers can, will and do (when provided the opportunity) censor content based on political opinion. Conservatives consider this, do you want some left wing owner of an ISP to be able to deny access to Free Republic, Rush Limbaugh or Fox News because they find the content controversial or objectionable? Especially if, as in most places across the country, you have only one choice of provider?
In rural areas, this is: You and that cow flying over the moon. One provider.
The sites that I attend, like HP, U-tube, Google, all pay for the bandwidth that they use.
In other words, the internet backbone is already paid for on both ends by content providers and content consumers. No matter what data goes across those pipes, they are all paid for twice.
DATA IS DATA IS DATA, voice, video, chat, websites and the telephone, ALL DATA, and ALL paid for on the front and back end.
So someone wants to make more money? Build more bandwidth and sell it.
Don't stop building infrastructure and slice up the 3rd world bandwidth we have now so you can make a killing off dismal service. We simply cannot allow it.