Wheeler says FCC won't allow Internet 'slow lane'

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The nation's top telecommunications regulator defended his latest proposal to protect an open Internet, warning cable companies that manipulating data traffic on their networks for profit would not be tolerated.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler told The Cable Show on Wednesday that the so-called net neutrality rules he's proposed won't allow Internet service providers to push most users onto a "slow lane" so others who pay for priority access can have superior service.

"Prioritizing some traffic by forcing the rest of the traffic into a congested lane won't be permitted under any proposed open Internet rule," he said. "If someone acts to divide the Internet between 'haves' and 'have-nots,' we will use every power at our disposal to stop it."

Wheeler's comments come after he proposed rules last week that would replace the FCC's open Internet order from 2010, a measure which was struck down by a federal appeals court in January.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140430/us-fcc-open-internet-dfa5f018b3.html

[DJ13]

1. Why has Netflix paid two ISP's to have better speeds then?

I'm sorry, but his statements sound like bullshit since its already happened.

[Jackpine Radical]

2. Camel. Nose. Tent.

While the proposed rules would allow for paid priority access, Wheeler said the focus on the so-called "fast lane" ignored that non-priority traffic would have to be "sufficiently robust to enable consumers to access the content, services and applications they demand."

He also reiterated that "all options are on the table" if the rules don't achieve the goal of fair and open access to the Internet, including his option to define Internet service providers as "common carriers" like utility companies, which would subject them to harsher regulatory scrutiny.

Wheeler is an industry hack who bought his way into power in the Administration.

[obxhead]

14. Every power at his disposal

which is no power what so ever.

[defacto7]

27. ^ this ^

[n2doc]

3. Bull. Shit.

Wheeler proposes to let that happen. His proposal would forbid ISPs to block any legal websites or services, but allow them to favor some traffic under "commercially reasonable" arrangements, to be reviewed by the FCC on a case-by-case basis. A deal Netflix recently reached with Comcast to ensure that the video company's content appears bright and sharp on Comcast customers' iPads and TVs -- one that Netflix suggests it signed only because it had no alternative -- would probably fall well within the rules.

There is no question that allowing such arrangements would be a major retreat for the FCC. Wheeler contends that barring "commercially unreasonable" deals that "harm the Internet" or hurt consumers will be protection enough for the open Internet. His predecessor as chairman, Julius Genachowski, disagreed.

In 2010, Genachowski's FCC explicitly rejected "the argument that only 'anticompetitive' discrimination yielding 'substantial consumer harm' should be prohibited by our rules." That standard, the FCC held, "could allow discriminatory conduct that is contrary to the public interest." The rules must be broader, the commission wrote -- they must forbid ISPs to "pick winners and losers on the Internet."

Yet that's exactly what Wheeler's proposal would allow.

http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-murder-of-net-neutrality-20140429,0,3234289.column#axzz30OzWnLwn

[AllyCat]

16. You've so eloquently and succinctly stated what

I was thinking.

[zeemike]

18. Lots of weasel words in his statement.

"commercially unreasonable"...harm the Internet"...all open to be interpreted by them anyway they want.

And he says there will be no slow lane...but not that there will be no fast lane....so it all depends on the meaning of "slow"

[n2doc]

19. exactly. There will be paid 'favorites'

And since bandwidth won't change, if one site gets 'preferred', guess what happens to the rest? He says that 'won't happen', yeah, right. It already has happened.

[Ash_F]

4. Why did Obama appoint this man?

Tom Wheeler was a venture capitalist and lobbyist for the cable industry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wheeler_(lobbyist)

edit- stupid link

[Dragonfli]

5. Why?

because

Tom Wheeler was a venture capitalist and lobbyist for the cable industry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wheeler_(lobbyist)

[WhiteTara]

6. One word.

Bullshit. Okay maybe a few more...Piled high and deep!

[Dragonfli]

7. .

[louis-t]

8. Was he winking when he said it?

[Earth_First]

9. Isn't that the crux of Net Neutrality?

So why continue this charade any longer?

[stillwaiting]

10. That is fucking rich.

My God, They just think they can say whatever the hell they want these days.

Fooling some people is enough I guess, but muddying the reality of what's happening works too.

[They_Live]

32. It seems like nobody can do anything

to stop them. So they continue, and fill up their pockets as they go.

[freshwest]

11. Before you rant about Comcast/Netflix issue being related to Net Neutrality, READ THIS

You really need to gain a basic understanding of what the problem is. Yes, everybody hates Comcast. Yes, nobody wants streaming times interrupted by buffering or not being able to stream.

the real issue isn't so much Comcast, but decade old peering agreements and dickish behavior from tier 1 providers like Cogent.

For more about this issue, what it means for Net Neutrality, and what the real solution is (hint, it ain't what the FCC is proposing currently), I suggest you read the following DailyKos diary:

Everyday Magic: A Complete Look at Comcast/Netflix/Net Neutrality

Everyday Magic translates the issue into common language far better than I would ever be capable of and he is completely accurate about the technological reasons why Comcast had no real choice but to throttle traffic. The key to know here is that throttling was from specific tier 1 providers and not specific to any single content provider, like Netflix. Comcast was backed into a corner by Cogent and had to act accordingly.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/25/1294666/-Everyday-Magic-A-Complete-Look-at-Comcast-Netflix-Net-Neutrality

to MohRokTah

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024873927

Netflix made a deal after another of the three branches of government, the SCOTUS, ruled against the FCC:

http://www.newsfactor.com/news/FCC-Net-Neutrality-Rules-Overturned/story.xhtml?story_id=131009VI4PAL

And this is what Netflix got for their deal:

http://www.pressherald.com/news/Netflix_s_Comcast_deal_boosts_video_speed.html

Wheeler will fight to put rules back in place after SCOTUS ruled against the FCC. It's not going to go our way without a fight, and less Libertarians and GOP making appointees to the FCC.

Bush's FCC Chairman Michael Powell screamed, 'The Free Market is My GOD!!' Yes, he said that, so we know where he got his ideology from. In spite of hearings nationally protesting his changes, he went with that and not the people. His tenure was devastating.

Franken still working hard on net neutrality last week:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/28/1294622/-MN-Sen-Netflix-V-P-Helps-Bolster-Al-Franken-s-D-Argument-Against-The-Comcast-Time-Warner-Merger

The tide is turning. Honesty is required from all players.

[davidpdx]

25. I read Everyday Magic's thread

That was a very helpful explanation. I hope that this gets straighten out either way.

One possibility would be to start putting pressure on the tier one providers. We'd need a list of them and I think Everyday Magic would have a good idea how to get that.

[freshwest]

28. John Kerry was commenting on the Russian net crackdown, but gave a solution:

...Tear down that wall -- demand a single, global, and open Internet.

http://blogs.state.gov/stories/2014/04/30/internet-iron-curtain

to ProSense:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024892529

More at the link:

More on the forum (NETmundial) Kerry mentioned:

A Major Win for the Open Internet

Last week, we announced that we were heading to São Paulo, Brazil to attend NETmundial, a global meeting of governments, entrepreneurs, academics, Internet institutions, civil society activists and users to discuss the future of Internet governance. We expressed our hope that NETmundial would make an important contribution to the positive evolution of the Internet and its governance. Our optimism was well-founded. As one of Brazil’s leading Internet scholars and chair of Netmundial Virgilio Almeida brought NETmundial to a close, the U.S. government delegation rose in applause. And almost everyone else in the room rose with us.

<...>

The world now shifts its focus to the Freedom Online Coalition meeting -- which Secretary Kerry addressed via teleconference -- in Estonia, the ICANN High Level event in London, and the Internet Governance Forum in Istanbul to further address various crucial Internet issues, including its future governance. The NETmundial statement will provide a solid starting point for those discussions.

- more -

https://blogs.state.gov/stories/2014/04/29/major-win-open-internet

to ProSense:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024892529#post4

[blkmusclmachine]

12. Spread it on thick, Mr. Wheeler. Nice Obama appointment, there...

[KeepItReal]

13. Allowing "paid priority access" IS THE FREAKING PROBLEM, Wheeler!

How can a startup internet content provider compete with major established firms that can afford to pay Comcast/Time Warner/Cox's ransom "interconnection fees"?

[sulphurdunn]

15. Oh ye of little faith!

Didn't the mouthpiece say that service must remain "sufficiently robust" for the 2nd class users. The key would is "robust". If your service is robust, what is there to worry about? That word has very positive connotations.

[laurent]

17. This guy--or his writers--has a way with words.

He makes it sound like he's vehemently supporting equal access while defending a two tier system. "No slow lane," just a slower-but-still-robust lane.

[sulphurdunn]

21. People go to college

to learn how to do use words to eliminate grey, make black white and white black. They mostly major in things like Public Relations.

[jtuck004]

20. "Who's a weasel?"

[Unknown Beatle]

22. Bullshit!

How many promises have been broken by anyone in government? We're onto the bullshit promises gov employees make, especially those in high power. Honestly, I don't believe one word coming out of Wheeler's mouth. He's talking out of the side of his pie-hole.

[MisterP]

23. "just fast lanes" (ditto Citizens United)

[woo me with science]

24. Horseshit.

I am so sick of this government lying to my face.

[davidpdx]

26. Ted should change his name to Dick

It fits him quite a bit better.

Pinocchio would be a close second.

[L0oniX]

29. WTF So now they are going to play band width cops?

[Omaha Steve]

30. So we need an open source net?

[chrisa]

31. Comcast: "LOLOLOL That's cute, little child."

"Now, we have an executive party coming up, so we're going to need some more government funds..."

[Orsino]

33. If you allow a Fast Lane, what the fuck do you call the other one? n/t

[Maven]

34. Said the former cable industry lobbyist, after capitulating entirely to the cable industry