Thursday, 26 February 2015, WASHINGTON, D.C. - In what is being seen as perhaps the biggest policy turnaround since the inception of the Internet with likely far-reaching consequences in preserving an "open" Internet for "the public good" the five-member Federal Communications Commission (F.C.C.) today is expected to line up a majority of its two Democratic Commissioners behind the proposal of its Democratic Chair Tom Wheeler (appointed by President Obama) to preserve "net neutrality" by regulating the Internet as a public utility with no "fast lanes" for the rich and also stopping intentional slowdowns by broadband companies, also known as "throttling", of Internet content providers' net traffic if they refuse to "pay up" to the broadband giants. The proposal also includes F.C.C. authority to intervene directly should any of the handful of wireless and broadband giants discussed below seek somehow to interfere with implementation of the proposal's prohibitions against "fast lanes" and "throttling".
The original F.C.C. proposal, promulgated with little or no public comment but rather heavy pressure from the National Cable & Telecommunications Association said to be the second most powerful corporate lobby in D.C. with an "army of lobbyists" funded by the small handful of cable and telecommunications giants dominating wireless and including the three -- Comcast, Verizon Communications and Time Warner Cable --which dominate broadband, would have permitted the establishment of "fast lanes" for the rich and sluggish service for the general public as demonstrated graphically by President Obama sitting on his desk lamenting the endless spinning circle of doom on the tablet he held while singing the praises of municipal broadband at fair and reasonable prices for all Americans racing at over one hundred times the speed of present commercial internet service of much of the nation's population.
The resultant public outcry overwhelmed Washington with President Obama reporting over four million comments against the original proposal as an opposing group of small and medium internet content providers and other activist groups helped facilitate the above-mentioned avalanche of passionate and engaged Internet users and consumers besieging the F.C.C. and elected officials for months. This then came to the point last October as described in the New York Times article linked to below of activist tech group Fight for the Future acquiring the direct telephone numbers of about 30 F.C.C. officials circumventing switchboards which resulted in the officials receiving about 55,000 direct phone calls from the public in about six weeks before the group "turned off the spigot".
Congressional Republicans' opposition to net neutrality meanwhile reportedly has faded in the face of the public onslaught leading to the concession of Republican leaders earlier this week to Obama and Democrats now lining up behind him supported by a very vocal public that they no longer wished to take independent Congressional action. As recently voiced by Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, Republicans did not wish to proceed legislatively without bipartisan support and now reputedly also favor the same things, no fast lanes and no "throttling", that are contained in F.C.C. Chair Tom Wheeler's proposal to be voted on today. Therefore today's only public Republican opposition to the proposal apparently is widely expected to be two votes against net neutrality by the F.C.C.'s two Republican Commissioners.
For interested readers a second New York Times article published today of technology news analysis entitled "The Push for Net Neutrality Arose From Lack of Choice" also is linked to beneath the above-referenced article linked to directly below.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/25/technology/path-clears-for-net-neutrality-ahead-of-fcc-vote.html?hpw&rref=technology&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/26/technology/limited-high-speed-internet-choices-underlie-net-neutrality-rules.html?hpw&rref=technology&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well
Copyright 2015 Martin P. All World Rights Expressly Reserved
The original F.C.C. proposal, promulgated with little or no public comment but rather heavy pressure from the National Cable & Telecommunications Association said to be the second most powerful corporate lobby in D.C. with an "army of lobbyists" funded by the small handful of cable and telecommunications giants dominating wireless and including the three -- Comcast, Verizon Communications and Time Warner Cable --which dominate broadband, would have permitted the establishment of "fast lanes" for the rich and sluggish service for the general public as demonstrated graphically by President Obama sitting on his desk lamenting the endless spinning circle of doom on the tablet he held while singing the praises of municipal broadband at fair and reasonable prices for all Americans racing at over one hundred times the speed of present commercial internet service of much of the nation's population.
The resultant public outcry overwhelmed Washington with President Obama reporting over four million comments against the original proposal as an opposing group of small and medium internet content providers and other activist groups helped facilitate the above-mentioned avalanche of passionate and engaged Internet users and consumers besieging the F.C.C. and elected officials for months. This then came to the point last October as described in the New York Times article linked to below of activist tech group Fight for the Future acquiring the direct telephone numbers of about 30 F.C.C. officials circumventing switchboards which resulted in the officials receiving about 55,000 direct phone calls from the public in about six weeks before the group "turned off the spigot".
Congressional Republicans' opposition to net neutrality meanwhile reportedly has faded in the face of the public onslaught leading to the concession of Republican leaders earlier this week to Obama and Democrats now lining up behind him supported by a very vocal public that they no longer wished to take independent Congressional action. As recently voiced by Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, Republicans did not wish to proceed legislatively without bipartisan support and now reputedly also favor the same things, no fast lanes and no "throttling", that are contained in F.C.C. Chair Tom Wheeler's proposal to be voted on today. Therefore today's only public Republican opposition to the proposal apparently is widely expected to be two votes against net neutrality by the F.C.C.'s two Republican Commissioners.
For interested readers a second New York Times article published today of technology news analysis entitled "The Push for Net Neutrality Arose From Lack of Choice" also is linked to beneath the above-referenced article linked to directly below.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/25/technology/path-clears-for-net-neutrality-ahead-of-fcc-vote.html?hpw&rref=technology&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/26/technology/limited-high-speed-internet-choices-underlie-net-neutrality-rules.html?hpw&rref=technology&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well
Copyright 2015 Martin P. All World Rights Expressly Reserved
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