Home

Tag: net neutrality

  • Vermont Net Neutrality Laws Challenged by Broadband Lobby

    Vermont Net Neutrality Laws Challenged by Broadband Lobby

    The ongoing battle over net neutrality rages on. On Friday, lobby groups such as NCTA, CTIA, the American Cable Association and more filed suit against the state of Vermont. Their suit deals with Vermont net neutrality laws that force ISPs to follow net neutrality guidelines in order to get government contracts.

    Vermont Net Neutrality in the Crosshairs

    The lobbying groups filing suit in Vermont represent almost every major broadband company. AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile US, Sprint, Comcast, Charter, Cox, Frontier, and CenturyLink are among the groups represented. These groups were vocal supporters of Ajit Pai’s moves to have the FCC repeal net neutrality protections.

    The Vermont laws are somewhat narrow. As it stands, they only stipulate that government-owned buildings can only get Internet service from ISPs who follow net neutrality guidelines. However, the broadband companies are saying this is illegal, as they feel that the FCC’s ruling should preempt state laws.

    The Lawsuit

    The suit itself reads as a very antagonistic and surprisingly aggressive takedown on the part of the broadband companies.

    “Vermont’s attempts to revive and, indeed, expand a repealed regulatory regime are plainly preempted by federal law […] Under the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution, state measures that contravene validly adopted federal laws and policy determinations, including those contained in FCC orders, are preempted and have no force or effect.”

    Legal commentators have mentioned how similar this case is to one in California. California’s state net neutrality laws, however, don’t have a terribly good chance of standing up in court. California’s laws almost directly contradict the FCC’s ruling, which is a clear violation of the supremacy clause. Vermont’s law, however, has a much better chance of sticking around.

    Why This Matters

    This case could provide a road map for other states that wish to exert net neutrality protections on ISPs. States have a great deal of control over how they award government contracts. Such contracts are highly lucrative and could cause ISPs to actually change their practices.

    If Vermont wins this case, it could prove an invaluable tool in the ongoing fight for a fair and open internet.

  • Data Caps Blatant Money Grab? Comcast’s Latest Announcement Makes It Seem that Way

    Data Caps Blatant Money Grab? Comcast’s Latest Announcement Makes It Seem that Way

    Comcast implemented a data throttling program in 2008 that was aimed primarily at slowing BitTorrent users. However, the system hasn’t been used much in the past few years, and now, a decade later, it has been disabled altogether. In an announcement on June 11th, Comcast had this to say: 

    “As reflected in a June 11, 2018 update to our Xfinity Internet Broadband Disclosures, the congestion management system that was initially deployed in 2008 has been deactivated. As our network technologies and usage of the network continue to evolve, we reserve the right to implement a new congestion-management system if necessary in the performance of reasonable network management and in order to maintain a good broadband Internet access service experience for our customers and will provide updates here as well as other locations if a new system is implemented.” 

    What This Means for Data Caps 

    While common sense has held for years that companies charging for data overages are just squeezing consumers, this announcement is proof. Straight from the horse’s mouth, as it were, we now have Comcast saying they are perfectly capable of meeting demand. They claim that their data caps are in place in order to promote “fairness,” but that makes little sense. Data isn’t a finite resource, so someone using more isn’t leaving less to the people around them.  

    What’s even worse than Comcast’s insistence on data caps is their implementation of them. Users are limited to 1TB of data per month and must pay an extra $10 for every 50GB over that. Otherwise, users can opt to pay an extra $50 per month to have no data cap. However, consumers have no way to verify that the metrics Comcast uses to determine how much data they have used are accurate. In fact, reports of users being charged overages for data they didn’t use aren’t unheard of.  

    Worst of all, Comcast maintains that the overages help to pay for system upgrades, not day-to-day traffic. But they already have heavy-traffic users pay more. Higher speeds, which are required for downloading large amounts of content or competitive gaming, are much more expensive than lower bit-rates. This means that those who pay for faster internet will chew through their allotted data faster, meaning they’re getting hit by these higher costs twice when they go over the cap. 

    Comcast Could Prove a Dangerous Example Post-Net Neutrality 

    Comcast now has little incentive to act ethically, as the regulations that reigned them in are gone. Instead, data throttling and de-prioritization will likely become key aspects of their business model. Why shouldn’t the company charge more for the service they could provide for less? What’s stopping them from unfairly throttling content they don’t approve of? Articles like this one could be flagged and be unable to render on the screen of someone using Comcast for internet.  

    This dystopian prediction might sound like hyperbole, but it would be well within Comcast’s power to do so. It would also fit with their previous practices. Then, other ISPs would be likely to follow in their example. Since ISPs are largely monopolies in their areas, consumers would have no recourse. While only time will tell, one thing is clear. Comcast, and other telecom companies, implemented data caps for one reason: to shake down consumers for more money. They’re clearly completely capable of meeting current data demands without the need for such harsh caps. But the caps are good for their bottom lines, so they’re not going anywhere. 

  • Washington First State to Pass Net Neutrality Laws

    Washington First State to Pass Net Neutrality Laws

    Washington put new laws into effect on Monday with the federal repeal of net neutrality. The laws Washington put forth stop ISPs from blocking or slowing lawful internet traffic. It also prevents ISPs from charging online services a fee to make themselves a higher priority. This means that ISPs will have a hard time making their services look as convoluted and anti-consumer as cable services. 

    Ahead of the Curve 

    Washington actually approved the law in March, following the FCC’s repeal of federal net neutrality in December. While there are currently no lawsuits challenging the law, they are likely to come soon. Many telecom companies opposed the legislation, as it effectively continues the federal regulations that were just repealed.  

    Washington isn’t alone in this fight, but they were the first on the field. California has a similar law in the pipe, and it’s awaiting approval by the State Assembly. After passing the Assembly, it would go to Governor Jerry Brown. It seems unlikely that either will have any qualms with the bill. 

    Net Neutrality Alternatives 

    Washington and California aren’t the only states taking steps, either. They are to be joined by Hawaii, Montana, New Jersey, New York and Vermont. Those states governors have issued executive orders to enforce net neutrality rules on ISPs that serve their state governments. While these orders aren’t as broad as those in Washington or California, they are still steps in the right direction. 

    It seems that, in the wake of the federal repeal, many states will be issuing their own regulations over what ISPs can do in their states. It seems likely that this situation will get very complicated very quickly. No two states will likely allow the same things of any given ISP, which could result in serious operational headaches for ISPs. Hopefully the companies who lobbied for the repeal of consumer protections find themselves caught in a maze of regulations as thanks.  

    Who knows, maybe those companies will miss the days when they could just meet a federal standard and not worry about the myriad of rules they must follow. It would be just deserts for their haphazard repeal of what were considered mild protections. 

  • Net Neutrality Repeal Likely to Occur Monday

    Net Neutrality Repeal Likely to Occur Monday

    By the time you’re reading this article, it is likely that Ajit Pai’s net neutrality repeal will have been finalized. And with it, a great deal of protections that keep consumers safe will have been stripped away. While the sky likely won’t fall overnight, it is certain to be the beginning of a very different era for the internet.  

    Challenges to Net Neutrality 

    Net neutrality regulations that were put into place during the Obama era have been under fire for some time. The regulations, which saw that internet providers must treat all data equally, has been instrumental in keeping the internet fair and free. Republicans, however, have largely railed against the protections, claiming they are evidence of governmental overreach and that they compromise the free market. While this is ironic, it is also tragic.  

    The repeal of net neutrality will likely be a non-issue for giants like Amazon and Facebook, but it will be crippling for smaller sites. Start-up sites are likely to be largely relegated to back-channels by ISPs, as they don’t bring in the same revenue as larger sites. As such, the internet will likely grow more homogenous and it will become harder to navigate away from “preferred” content. ISPs may even block access to certain sites unless those sites, or consumers, pay a premium. 

    The Repeal 

    The Senate voted to negate FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s repeal on May 16th, but the issue hasn’t come to a vote in the House of Representatives. Since the House has a Republican majority, it is unlikely that it will have come to a vote by the time this article is published. This is a shame, and a great loss for the freedom of expression on the internet. Hopefully the repeal won’t cause dramatic shifts overnight, but the outlook is not good.  

    With luck, the worst of the effect we could see won’t have gotten in full swing by the end of the next election cycle. If the right people are voted into office, net neutrality legislation could become a focus of the legislative branch. Then, hopefully, consumer protections could be reinstated. For the time being, we have our fingers crossed. On June 11th, the internet will be without its previous guidelines, and we will be at the mercy of internet providers to act in good faith.  

  • Senate Passes Bill Overturning FCC Repeal of Net Neutrality

    Senate Passes Bill Overturning FCC Repeal of Net Neutrality

    In a surprising, but welcome, turn of events, the FCC has been dealt a blow in the battle for net neutrality. The Senate passed a bill that would preserve Obama-era neutrality rules, preventing FCC chair Ajit Pai’s personal crusade to crush net neutrality. For the uninitiated, net neutrality encompasses a series of protections for internet traffic. Namely, monetization of priority websites and equal footing for all content are controlled by net neutrality legislation. Ajit Pai primarily represents the interests of companies like his former employer Verizon. Huge telecom companies like Verizon and Charter stand to gain quite a bit of money from the repeal of net neutrality rules.  

    What’s Next for Net Neutrality? 

    This isn’t even close to the end of this fight, unfortunately. As it stands, Pai’s disastrous repeal is still on track to take effect on June 11th. That’s not a lot of time for the bill to be brought to a vote in the House, and even it is brought there, it still has to get past the Republican majority there. 

    So You’re Saying There’s a Chance? 

    There is, technically, a chance. Pai himself, and the FCC, seem convinced that the bill will die in the House, thus allowing Net Neutrality to finally be repealed. This would be a bad thing. Thankfully, there is a solid chance that some Republicans in the house are conscientious of how disastrous voting in favor of a neutrality repeal would be for their chances of reelection. This contingent of Republican legislators could lead to the bill passing the House, too.  

    Then This is Over, Right? 

    Not quite. After the House, it goes to the desk of the President of the United States. Which is troubling, to say the least. Trump isn’t exactly a predictable guy, and Pai was his pick for FCC chair. The odds seem good that if this bill gets to him, he’ll simply kill it there. But we can hope. For right now, net neutrality is still a possibility for the future. But the future is looking grim.