Tag Archives: title II

The FCC isn’t afraid of AT&T’s legal threats over net neutrality

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In a call with reporters to discuss Chairman Tom Wheeler’s net neutrality proposal this week, an FCC official said that AT&T’s threatened lawsuit isn’t a surprise and FCC officials don’t expect it to be successful. AT&T is arguing that broadband has to be considered an information service and not a telecommunications service. This is important because only telecommunications providers can be treated as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act, a designation that Wheeler will use to impose net neutrality rules. – Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica
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FCC to propose treating ISPs as public utilities

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FCC chair Tom Wheeler is expected to adopt President Obama’s stance to treat broadband providers the same way telecommunications companies are treated and to regulate them as public utilities, giving government more weight over the deals between broadband providers and content providers, much to the chagrin of many in the industry. – JC Torres, Slash Gear
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Sprint just stuck a dagger into AT&T’s net neutrality argument

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Gigaom points out that Sprint on Friday turned its back on its carrier framily members by saying reclassifying ISPs under Title II of the Telecommunications Act wouldn’t slow down its efforts to upgrade its services. […] this is [sic] a first for a major ISP to come out an explicitly say that reclassifying carriers under Title II wouldn’t harm its network investments and it’s a big blow to the wireless industry’s claims to the contrary. – Brad Reed, BGR
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FCC urged to investigate Verizon’s “two-faced” statements on utility rules

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The complaint calls Verizon “the ‘Janus’ of telecom,” referring to a two-faced god of Roman mythology. “Verizon has claimed and continues to claim that Title II would harm the companies’ [Verizon and Verizon Wireless] investments,” they wrote. “However, this is in direct contradiction to Verizon’s own filings, statements, SEC and state-based filings, the companies’ cable franchise agreement—every fiber optic wire appears to be Title II.” That includes fiber lines used to deliver home Internet service and the fiber lines that feed into Verizon Wireless’ cell towers, Kushnick and Allibone wrote. Kushnick pointed to a 2012 statement by Verizon CFO Fran Shammo that wireline capital dollars were paying for wireless expansion. – Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica
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On net neutrality, Internet providers are betrayed by one of their own

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At CES, [Tom Wheeler,FCC] hinted that he wants to craft broadband rules based on the ones that apply to cellular voice, which is a common carrier service but doesn’t face rate regulation. Mobile voice’s common carrier status was established in section 332 of the Communications Act, which Wheeler helped negotiate as head of the CTIA 20 years ago. A framework like this one could apply to fixed and mobile broadband, establishing requirements for reasonable rates and practices, a prohibition against unjust or unreasonable discrimination in rates and practices, and a complaint process. – Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica 
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Tom Wheeler says FCC will vote on net neutrality on February 26th

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Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler has announced that his office will vote on an official proposal for net neutrality on February 26th. “We’re going to circulate it to the commissioners on February 5th and vote on it February 26th,” Wheeler told Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) President Gary Shapiro in a public interview at CES. […] The FCC has said over the past few months that it has been exploring a hybrid approach to protecting net neutrality. It’s believed that this approach would use strict, utility-like Title II regulation on the parts of the internet that connect content providers, but the approach wouldn’t apply that regulation to the final stretch of the internet that connects to consumers’ homes. There, a lighter regulation would be used that would still allow prioritized fast lanes to be sold. The FCC initially began exploring that approach at the suggestion of the court that struck down its last net neutrality rules. – Russell Brandom & Jacob Kastrenakes , The Verge
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