[grc] FCC launches process to reinstate net neutrality

[Tom Voorhees]

Per the first article below featuring mostly industry negative
reactions. Much Pro organizing needs to start now per the second article
below. 

Please share far and wide!  -Tom. 

https://www.fiercetelecom.com/telecom/fcc-launches-process-reinstate-net-neutrality?utm_medium=email&utm_source=nl&utm_campaign=FT-NL-FierceWireless&oly_enc_id=1894E8339667G2V


FCC LAUNCHES PROCESS TO REINSTATE NET NEUTRALITY

By Julia King [1]Oct 19, 2023 4:22pm 

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted today to initiate a
months-long process related to net neutrality. 

The FCC's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) seeks comment on
classifying fixed and mobile broadband internet service as an essential
"telecommunications" service under Title II of the Communications Act.
Currently, they're classified as "information services" under Title I of
the Communications Act. 

 The Commission will start accepting public feedback on the NPR it
originally proposed in September [2], which rekindled a heated debate
over Title II's net neutrality regulations.

Net neutrality would revive open internet protections that were first
adopted by the Commission in 2015 but later repealed in 2017. 

According to the FCC's announcement today, the proposal seeks to restore
clear, nationwide open internet rules that would prevent Internet
Service Providers (ISPs) from blocking legal content, throttling speeds
and creating fast lanes that favor those who can pay for access.

RELATED

Net neutrality back on the table: FCC's Rosenworcel takes a stand [2] 

"While the FCC can address phone service outages following natural
disasters and work to ensure the resiliency of those networks before
disasters strike, the Commission lacks authority over broadband
networks, which can leave communities across the country without
recourse when the internet service they need for these critical purposes
fails," stated the FCC's announcement. 

The notice also proposes that the Commission use Title II authority to
regulate ISP business in a "host of other areas," former FCC General
Counsel Tom Johnson told Fierce Telecom, among them imposing
cybersecurity mandates that were not included in the 2015 regulations. 

With Commissioner Anna Gomez' recent appointment, Rosenworcel's
Democratic party now holds a 3-2 majority. Today's vote fell along party
lines. 

RELATED: Senate votes to approve Anna Gomez as 5th FCC Commissioner [3] 

Commissioner Brendan Carr in his dissent said, "There is no more
surefire way of killing off investment and innovation than putting price
controls squarely on the table. Adjudicating broadband rates under a
'just and reasonable' standard should be a nonstarter." 

Carr also said that Title II isn't necessary to stop ISPs from engaging
in blocking, throttling or anti-consumer prioritization. "We have a free
and open Internet today without Title II. ISPs aren't engaging in that
conduct for reasons that have nothing to do with Title II," he wrote. 

Speaking on AT&T's third quarter earnings call today, AT&T CEO John
Stankey said there are "no indications that in the ISP segment, there's
any discrimination going on. We have an industry in aggregate that
supports no blocking, no paid prioritization, no throttling… no
customers are complaining about what's going on in that front. So why we
would use taxpayer money and resources and political capital to chase a
problem that doesn't exist, is a bit of a mystery to me." 

Upon the initial unveiling of the FCC proposal various industry
associations voiced their opposition, and today's FCC vote prompted many
of them to reiterate their stances. 

Michael Powell, CEO of NCTA - The Internet & Television Association
said, "With today's vote, the FCC unfortunately has placed politics over
sound policy and fiction over facts, and we are now embarking on yet
another unnecessary and distracting net neutrality proceeding."  

The Wireless Internet Service Provider Association (WISPA) VP Louis
Peraertz in a statement said that Title II regulations would hit smaller
providers especially hard. 

"The FCC's proposal to regulate anew broadband providers as early 20th
Century common carriers is wrong and does not enable broadband
providers, particularly small and medium providers, to meet the
challenges and the aggressive demands of consumers in the ever-shifting,
dynamic high-tech communications marketplace," Peraertz wrote.  

Other industry groups, including ACA Connects, the Information
Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), USTelecom, Connect the
Future (CTF) and the Free State Foundation all expressed opposition to
the proposal in statements of their own. 

The last time Title II was in contention, one person was sentenced to
prison for sending death threats to then FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, and
another was indicted for calling in a bomb threat to the FCC's
headquarters. 

Rosenworcel has acknowledged that the upcoming and renewed debate over
net neutrality could get "messy at times," and asked all interested
parties against going to the extremes seen in the past. 

"Make some noise. Raise a ruckus. But keep it in the lines," she said.
"Above all, keep speaking up. We are here now because so many people let
the agency know this issue matters." 

IT’S TIME TO WIN BACK NET NEUTRALITY!

HTTPS://WWW.BATTLEFORTHENET.COM/ACTION/?REFERRER=GROUP-FIGHT-FOR-THE-FUTURE&LINK_ID=0&CAN_ID=A9CF63DEAAA27299B9A419BB4A4EC77A&SOURCE=EMAIL-YOU-PAY-TO-USE-THE-INTERNET-DEMAND-THAT-IT-WORKS-FOR-YOU-2&EMAIL_REFERRER=EMAIL_2086561___SUBJECT_2606418&EMAIL_SUBJECT=TELL-THE-FCC-REINSTATE-NET-NEUTRALITY

VOICE YOUR SUPPORT FOR NET NEUTRALITY NOW WITH THE FCC AND YOUR MEMBERS
OF CONGRESS. 

The FCC is moving forward to restore net neutrality. This is the best
chance we've had to win a free and open internet, where companies are
not allowed to block or gate-keep traffic or access, since the Trump
administration's disastrous decision to repeal net neutrality
protections in 2017.  

Telecom lobbyists are already working overtime to block or water down
the FCC's proposed rule. Take action NOW to voice your support for net
neutrality. 

 	* 
First Name * 
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Email * 
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 Not in US? [4] 
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Comments 

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 WHAT IS THE BATTLE FOR 
THE NET ???? 

WHAT IS NET NEUTRALITY?

Net neutrality is the principle that everyone should have access to
websites and apps, preventing Internet providers like Comcast & Verizon
from creating "fast lanes [6]," censoring content [7], throttling
traffic [8] and even outright blocking access [9] to their competitor's
products. This principle has guided the world wide web from the
beginning, and has been protected by federal policy under Republican AND
Democrat leadership since the early 2000s [10]. 

For a long time, Internet providers ignored this policy and did all they
could to destroy net neutrality protections. Finally, after massive
public outcry, the Obama FCC issued the Open Internet Order in 2015. But
in 2017, Trump's FCC Chair, Ajit Pai, repealed these regulations,
putting Internet providers back in control of what we can and can't
access online. 

Since then there have been a slew of examples of why we need net
neutrality: Verizon throttled traffic for California firefighters [11]
during massive wildfires, putting people in danger; ISPs have decided to
leave poor, rural, and communities of color behind by cutting them out
of broadband expansion; and other Internet providers have charged bogus
fees [12] and forced customers to watch advertisements [13] in order to
get online. And as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the U.S., people
were at the mercy of Internet companies to get online to work, go to
school, and access lifesaving information. Repealing net neutrality has
given Internet providers the power to decide whether we can get online
or not. 

Throughout all this we've kept fighting. A federal court ruling has
opened up a path for net neutrality laws at the state and national
level. California [14] passed a gold-standard net neutrality law at the
state level, the Senate passed a bipartisan resolution [15] to undo the
FCC's repeal, and Congress introduced the Save the Internet Act [16]
that can enshrine net neutrality into law once and for all. 

IN ORDER TO WIN BACK NET NEUTRALITY PROTECTIONS FOR EVERYONE, WE NEED TO
PUSH THE FCC TO REINSTATE THE OPEN INTERNET ORDER, AND THEN WE NEED TO
GET CONGRESS TO PASS LEGISLATION THAT WILL PROTECT NET NEUTRALITY ONCE
AND FOR ALL. THIS IS OUR BATTLE. 

CAMPAIGN PLAN

The Path to Victory

 	* 2015Obama FCC issued the Open Internet Order
 	* 2017Trump's FCC Chair, Ajit Pai, repealed these regulations
 	* 2021 STEP 1:Push Biden administration to appoint a champion for net
neutrality as the fifth FCC commissioner
 	* STEP 2: Get Senate to confirm FCC nominees quickly

 	* STEP 3: Demand FCC reinstates net neutrality
 	* STEP 4: Pressure Congress to enshrine net neutrality into law

 

Links:
------
[1] https://www.fiercetelecom.com/person/julia-king
[2]
https://www.fiercetelecom.com/telecom/net-neutrality-back-table-fccs-rosenworcel-takes-stand
[3]
https://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/senate-votes-approve-anna-gomez-5th-fcc-commissioner
[4] http://webmail.whidbey.com/./#NOP
[5] https://www.fightforthefuture.org/privacy/
[6]
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/02/verizons-mobile-video-wont-count-against-data-caps-but-netflix-will/
[7] http://netneutrality.koumbit.org/en/node/5
[8]
https://www.extremetech.com/computing/186576-verizon-caught-throttling-netflix-traffic-even-after-its-pays-for-more-bandwidth
[9]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-tech/post/fcc-fines-verizon-125m-for-blocking-tethering-apps/2012/07/31/gJQAXjRLNX_blog.html
[10] https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-151A1.pdf
[11]
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/08/verizon-throttled-fire-departments-unlimited-data-during-calif-wildfire/
[12]
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/12/centurylink-blocks-internet-access-falsely-claims-state-law-required-it/
[13]
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2019/08/19/wireless-carriers-throttling-netflix-youtube-prime-video-according-to-study/#425fab556e3d
[14]
https://www.cnet.com/news/california-lawmakers-give-thumbs-up-to-gold-standard-net-neutrality-bill/
[15]
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/05/senate-votes-to-overturn-ajit-pais-net-neutrality-repeal/
[16] https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1644/text