Network Neutrality

[Commentary] In a report on the topic, the analysts at New Street Research laid out a pretty compelling argument for how ISPs will be able to cash in on real-time sports betting by providing high-speed links to gamblers looking for an edge. “Placing a bet does not require a lot of bandwidth.

AT&T has given up its years-long quest to cripple the Federal Trade Commission's authority to regulate broadband providers. Just weeks ago, AT&T said it intended to appeal its loss in the case to the US Supreme Court before a deadline of May 29. But May 31, AT&T informed court officials that it has decided not to file a petition to the Supreme Court and did not ask for a deadline extension.

The California State Senate approved a network neutrality bill that has been called the “gold standard” of such bills in the nation, as states grapple with a controversial repeal of Obama-era federal rules meant to ensure an open internet.

You might not be hearing much from big tech on net neutrality lately. But the likes of Google and Facebook are still invested in the fight behind the scenes. The Internet Association joined a legal battle to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's decision to revoke the Obama-era rules, as did the industry group Incompas, which includes smaller telecommunications companies as well as tech companies including Facebook, Netflix, Microsoft, and Twitter.

Appearing on C-SPAN's The Communicators, Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr signaled he thought reports of the impending death of the internet were highly overrated. He said that on June 11, when the FCC's network neutrality regulation rollback takes effect, consumers "are not going to see the end of the internet" and "in fact, are going back to the same regime we had in 2015 and for 20 years before that."

Democratic voters are receptive to the party’s efforts to use the network neutrality debate as a way to energize the base heading into the November midterms, according to Morning Consult/Politico polling. The most recent survey — conducted May 17-19 among 1,990 registered voters nationwide — found that 59 percent of Democratic respondents said a candidate’s support for the net neutrality rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission in 2015 was somewhat or very important when deciding whom to vote for in the midterms, compared to 51 percent of respondents overall.

While the Senate voted to bring back “net neutrality” protections, Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) says he’s looking for another option. He’s considering supporting an alternative offered by Sen. John Thune (R-SD). 

North Carolina should make sure that broadband internet companies don't interfere with residents' access to websites, said State Senator Jay Chaudhuri (D-Wake County). He will file a bill to prohibit broadband internet service providers from inhibiting open access by blocking some sites, charging extra for 'fast lanes', or intentionally slowing or speeding service.

Sens Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) issued a strong call to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to identify and address fraudulent behavior that has led to potentially two million fake comments being filed under stolen identities on public rulemakings. Though they come from different sides of the aisle, Sens Merkley and Toomey share a personal connection to this issue: Both had their identities stolen to file false comments on the FCC’s net neutrality proposals.

As required by the Restoring Internet Freedom Order, with this Public Notice, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, in coordination with the Wireline Competition Bureau, establishes a portal for Internet service provider (ISP) transparency disclosures. The Order becomes effective on June 11, 2018, and the revised transparency rule requires ISPs to publicly disclose information about their service in one of two ways – by providing the disclosure on a publicly available, easily accessible website or by submitting it to the Federal Communications Commission for posting. On May 29, 2018