Internet/Broadband

Facebook and Google will be joining a mass online demonstration in support of the Federal Communications Commission’s network neutrality rules, apparently. The two internet giants join dozens of other companies and activist groups planning to rally grassroots support next week for the regulations, which require internet service providers to treat all web traffic equally.

They had been conspicuously quiet as Republican FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has launched proceedings to repeal the protections, arguing that the agency overstepped under the Obama Administration by reclassifying internet service providers as common carriers. “We have not heard directly from either Facebook or Google, but we’re glad to hear that these companies are listening to their employees and Internet users and will speak out for net neutrality with the rest of the Internet on July 12,” Evan Greer, campaign director at Fight for the Future and an organizer for the event, said in a statement. “In previous years these companies have often been on the sidelines of these fights, so we hope that they plan to do something meaningful in the spirit of the protest and educate their users about what’s at stake if we lose net neutrality protections that protect our online free speech, and give them opportunities to take action.”

[Commentary] Combine broadband with a 3-D printer, and you transform data into objects that can fix a tractor or help a child thrive. Rural communities are showing that high-speed access isn’t just a theoretical benefit – it has measurable results in the physical world.

[Craig Settles is a broadband industry analyst, consultant to local governments]

Australia is plagued by internet disconnections, drop-outs and slow download speeds, a survey has found.

The Choice internet satisfaction survey found six in 10 Australians have had issues with their service in the past six months. More than 75% of national broadband network customers surveyed said they had had problems, while more than 80% of ADSL and ADSL2 users listed varying speeds and connection issues.

“To make matters worse, some of the slowest providers also scored poorly when it comes to value for money and customer and technical support,” said Choice’s chief executive, Alan Kirkland. Telstra, Australia’s largest internet service provider, ranked last for value for money. The company’s customer and technical support also scored below the average.

A group of more than 100 YouTube stars is calling on the Federal Communications Commission to preserve its network neutrality rules, which are currently in the process of being repealed. In an open letter, 132 internet entertainers said that eliminating the rules could imperil their industry. “Online video traffic already represents over 70% of all global web traffic and is estimated to grow to over 80% of all traffic by 2020,” the letter reads. “Our rapidly growing industry employs hundreds of thousands of people and yet it barely existed more than a decade ago. As creators in this fast-moving industry, changes to the existing Net Neutrality rules would have an outsized impact on our field and jeopardize our livelihood.” Among the acts signing the letter are Benny Fine of Fine Brothers Entertainment, a group that runs a popular comedy video channel on YouTube and other platforms. The Fine Brothers have 15.7 million subscribers on YouTube alone. Also signing on to the letter is Dane Boedigheimer, whose web series the Annoying Orange has nearly 6 million Youtube subscribers.

CenturyLink has had a change of heart about implementing usage caps on its low-speed DSL users, stopping a one-year trial in Washington state. The service provider said the usage-based metering is not in line with its efforts to provide clear plans on how to charge for its DSL services.

“Because this approach no longer aligns with our goal to simplify offers and pricing for our customers, we have decided to end this program, effective May 3, 2017,” CenturyLink said in an announcement on its site. A key part of this latest announcement is that it will give bill credits to customers in Yakima, Washington, who were charged overage fees during the trial. “If you incurred overage charges related to this program, those charges will be credited and appear on your June or July monthly billing statement,” CenturyLink said. “No action is required on your part, and there are no impacts to your existing CenturyLink service."

Democrats aren't feeling the love for Rep Marsha Blackburn 's (R-TN) privacy bill, the BROWSER Act. "Despite her goal of bipartisan support, [Chairman] Blackburn has so far failed to attract a single Democratic co-sponsor a month and a half after the bill's introduction. And Democrats are pledging to follow through on their plans to make the privacy issue a campaign talking point in the 2018 congressional elections, seeking to punish GOP lawmakers for their 'creepy' and 'indefensible' move to axe the Federal Communications Commission's landmark rules shielding consumer data," they write. "Bottom line is, Republicans made every effort to get rid of the FCC privacy provisions, and at this point, I don't think that their efforts are credible," said House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ).

Added Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA): "All I know is that she led the charge on ripping privacy protections away from every single American on the internet. I think that's the reason she introduced another bill. This is CYA [cover your ass]." Chairman Blackburn, for her part, had this retort: "The failure of Democratic leadership to substantively engage on this issue is revealing and belies other motives."

Soon after President Donald Trump took office with a pledge to cut regulations, Republicans in Congress killed an Obama-era rule restricting how broadband companies may use customer data such as web browsing histories. But the rule may be finding new life in the states. Lawmakers in almost two dozen state capitols are considering ways to bolster consumer privacy protections rolled back with President Trump's signature in April. The proposals being debated from New York to California would limit how AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast use subscribers' data.

The privacy rule is just one example of states resisting policy changes wrought under the Trump administration. 35 states are pressing for the right to enforce laws guaranteeing internet service speeds live up to advertisements. "If the federal government lags, the states have to lead. And that's what we're doing," said Tim Kennedy, a Democratic New York state senator. Kennedy introduced a bill to prohibit internet service providers from selling customer web searches, social media histories and other personal information to third parties -- the crux of the nixed federal regulation.

An interview with Vint Cerf, the co-creator of tech that makes the internet work.

Cerf said, "My biggest concern is to equip the online netizen with tools to protect himself or herself, to detect attempts to attack or otherwise harm someone. The term 'digital literacy' is often referred to as if you can use a spreadsheet or a text editor. But I think digital literacy is closer to looking both ways before you cross the street. It’s a warning to think about what you’re seeing, what you’re hearing, what you’re doing, and thinking critically about what to accept and reject...Because in the absence of this kind of critical thinking, it’s easy to see how the phenomena that we’re just now labeling fake news, alternative facts [can come about]. These [problems] are showing up, and they’re reinforced in social media."

To support the 2015 Open Internet Order (OIO), the Federal Communications Commission cited four potential violations of network neutrality over the previous ten years, only two of which it explicitly challenged. Why, then, did the FCC say a rule was desperately needed and Broadband Internet Access Service (BIAS) providers say the rule would be devastating given that their past behavior meant that the rule would not affect them much? To mix common sense with econspeak, why did anyone care about the Order if it was not binding? Tim Brennan, professor in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and former FCC Chief Economist, addresses this question and explores the potential effects of the OIO 2015 rule in “The Post-Internet Order Broadband Sector: Lessons from the Pre-Open Internet Order Experience.” In particular, he explores what lessons policymakers might learn from the handful of cases as they continue to grapple with net neutrality.

This post is the fourth in a series featuring the contents of a recent special issue of the Review of Industrial Organization, organized by the Technology Policy Institute and the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Technology, Innovation, and Competition. The short answer to why the Order matters if it doesn’t matter is that it is likely to affect future business models and network development. The longer answer is more nuanced. In summary, Brennan notes that the current net neutrality debate can be informed by past events, and should include additional issues in the present. He contends that things might not change all that much, under 2015 OIO or future net neutrality rules, but policymakers must consider how BIAS providers will be incentivized to innovate while stuck between edge providers and end users.

The Federal Communications Commission is currently considering reversing so-called "Network Neutrality." "Minneapolis, the elimination of Net Neutrality might be good for them. I think up here in North Dakota it might be detrimental. I don't see any positives for us," Ronald Marsh, Chair of the University of North Dakota's Computer Science Department said. He says repealing Net Neutrality could lead to an even tighter monopoly on the internet in our area. Resulting in lower speeds and higher costs. "To squeeze every penny they can out of the customer. I think that's what the end result will be is not immediately but 5 years, 10 years down the road there will be the haves and the have nots when it comes to the internet," Marsh said.