Congressman Seeks Changes For Broadband Rules
Congressman Rick Boucher, Chairman of Communications, Technology and Internet, has expressed concern over the strict nature of existing broadband rules for remote communities that are within 50 miles of a city with a population of no less than 20,000. In his opening statement to the subcommittee in the second hearing for the ARRA, Boucher states, “Almost [...]
Comcast Has Victory Over FCC Subscriber Cap
Comcast and their supporters have achieved a victory over the FCC’s regulations calling for a 30% subscriber cap. The cap has been in place since 1992 when the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act went into effect. Since then it has been a source of contention between the FCC and Cable Providers. The CTCPC [...]
FCC Wants Broadband Defined
The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) has issued a public notice asking for ‘tailored comment’ developing a national broadband plan. The National Broadband Plan notice of inquiry, according to the FCC public notice, can be defined in a ‘myriad of ways’. “A static definition will fail to address changing needs and habits”. (Public Notice, FCC) The [...]
Top ISPs Foregoing Stimulus Funds
Top broadband service providers like AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon are unlikely to apply for stimulus funds according to an article in The Washington Post. The first deadline for the stimulus funds is August 20, 2009. Most of these carriers know the stimulus funds come with additional oversight including the Net Neutrality Bill. The top carriers [...]
FCC Promises Change on Data Reporting
Since implementing the Telecom Act in 1996, the FCC has traditionally made Broadband policy decisions based on flawed, incomplete data. The Telecom Act required the agency release quarterly reports on the status of broadband deployment. The information in those reports have been useless with the FCC declaring any zip code that has just one served [...]
Commerce Department Changes Rules for ISP’s
The U.S. Commerce Department announced on Friday that Internet service providers in America do not have to provide information formally required of them. With this decision, the ISP’s will not share how much money they make from each Internet subscriber nor will they say how fast their Internet connections typically run. The ISP’s prefer to [...]
Net Neutrality Bill Introduced
Representatives Edward Markey (D – Massachusetts) and Anna Eshoo (D – California) have introduced the Internet Freedom Preservation Act, an amendment to the 1934 Communications Act. This bill has been met with mixed reactions. USTelecom, a trade group representing broadband providers, called the legislation “disappointing”. Walter McCormick Jr., President and CEO of USTelecom said in [...]
China a Leader in Broadband Aggregation Market
Infonetic Research has released their report, ‘Broadband Aggregation Hardware in Asia Pacific’. This report tracks vendor market-share and market-size for MSAP’s (multi-service access platforms) and IP DSLAM’s , (IP Digital subscriber line access multiplexers) in China, India , Japan, South Korea, and the rest of Asia Pacific. The Asia Pacific Region represents the largest Broadband [...]
American Consumers Benefit from Broadband Expansion
American consumer’s received $30 billion of net benefits from use of fixed line broadband at home, up from the roughly $20 billion in consumer benefits from home broadband use in 2005. The Substantial Benefits of Broadband Connectivity for U.S.Households, funded in part from Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA), revealed that broadband Internet access is now seen [...]
Connected Nation and Broadband Mapping
Public Knowledge warned consumers in January 2008 of a broadband mapping group known as Connected Nation… a front group for AT&T and Verizon. http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/1334 Connected Nation has received attention from media outlets and Politicians alike. Connected Nation, originally Connect Kentucky, was created by Republican staffers for then- Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher and representatives from BellSouth, [...]
