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The FCC complains that Google and Verizon's net neutrality proposal doesn't give it enough authority.  (Source: South Park Studios/Comedy Central)
FCC says that the only way net neutrality will be had is by handing it more power

After a long history of debate, Google and Verizon finally came to a basic framework of proposed net neutrality policy.  The policy would look to regulate wired traffic, ensuring that "legal" traffic was not slowed and that ISPs would not be able to charge premiums for "speed lanes".

The Federal Communications Commission, which is currently in the process of crafting net neutrality legislation to bring before Congress, was surprisingly dismissive of the proposal in a brief public comment.

FCC Chairman Michael Copps remarks [PDF], "Some will claim this announcement moves the discussion forward.  That's one of its many problems. It is time to move a decision forward—a decision to reassert FCC authority over broadband telecommunications, to guarantee an open Internet now and forever, and to put the interests of consumers in front of the interests of giant corporations."

The comment raises questions about exactly what kind of net neutrality "authority" the FCC is seeking over the nation's ISPs and internet wires.  After all, the Google/Verizon proposal called for mild FCC regulation and a fine architecture for those who don't comply, with fines of up to $2M USD.

It should be interesting to see exactly what the FCC has in mind instead.

The FCC taking input from Google, Verizon, AT&T, Microsoft, and others in the process of crafting its net neutrality legislation.  It is unclear when it will finish the draft of its legislation for Congress.

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RE: What a Shock!
By gorehound on 8/10/2010 5:25:41 PM , Rating: 4
It is time to move a decision forward—a decision to reassert FCC authority over broadband telecommunications, to guarantee an open Internet now and forever, and to put the interests of consumers in front of the interests of giant corporations."

that is just what i want.let us wait to see the rest and then decide if FCC is doing good or bad.Us consumers all need protection no matter what your political beliefs are.all of us pay bills so less bills is better for all.


RE: What a Shock!
By AEvangel on 8/10/10, Rating: -1
RE: What a Shock!
By LordSojar on 8/10/10, Rating: -1
RE: What a Shock!
By theArchMichael on 8/10/2010 7:56:14 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Your truly foolish if you think that Govt interference in a private sector will lower prices.


Yeah government doesn't have any business interfering with the private sector and their infrastructure, its not like the government had a hand in funding the development AND expansion of telco and broadband technologies...</sarcasm>

The people should own this infrastructure that they ending paying for any way in the form of tax breaks, grants and bailout funds. Something as integral as ubiquitous as access to global communication shouldn't be in the hands of the few and powerful. In that case the free market begs that they engage in collusive extortion.

The free market isn't the best option for every situation... look at the interstate Highway system. I know some Republicans that live/work in DC, NY, Phillie, but I know a LOTTTT more that live/are from rural areas. They are so small government/no taxes until you ask them whether they would want to drive 200 miles on a dirt road when they go home to see family on the weekend...

Good ideals don't alwasys translate to good ideas, we can't just have a one size fits all approach to how we manage our communal resources. I believe in the free market... but for this...


RE: What a Shock!
By michael67 on 8/11/2010 1:20:16 AM , Rating: 2
We have in Holland the OPTA that dose about the same thing as the FCC.
http://www.opta.nl/en/

And i am glad that for one, that we got them, and that we gave them real tooth.

We got one of the cheapest mobile prizes and fastest internet for reasonable prizes in the world.

Sim only http://www.bellen.com/mobiel/sim-only/vergelijking...
Internet http://www.internetten.nl/access/adslprijzen_verge...
Yeah its in Dutch but the Nr's speak for them self.

Lets just say i am glad i am living in a country that got heavy regulated telecommunications, but it is also not over regulated, and our OPTA only steps in when the market is not working.


RE: What a Shock!
By Reclaimer77 on 8/11/2010 11:41:29 AM , Rating: 1
No offense, but Holland doesn't have to provide broadband, wireless, and services for 330+ million people.


RE: What a Shock!
By saiga6360 on 8/11/2010 4:19:29 PM , Rating: 2
Well excuse Holland for having less people.

What was your point again?


RE: What a Shock!
By Targon on 8/11/2010 10:58:19 PM , Rating: 2
The problem with that argument is the SIZE of the USA compared to Holland. In the USA, the BIG problem is NOT net neutrality, but is the lack of broadband access in very remote/rural areas. Now, there is a BIG problem with the cost to get broadband into these remote areas combined with the whole concept of who ends up paying for it.

Do I want my taxes to go up by $100 per year just to make sure there is broadband Internet in a town of 50 people that is 100 miles from the nearest town? Should the entire country have to pay all of that money to make sure people who CHOOSE to live in the middle of nowhere get the same level of service available to those who live in a place with a high population density?

There is nowhere in Holland that you could go that is actually REMOTE, so it is far less expensive to wire the entire country, or provide cell phone service to the entire population.

So, do we really want to let the FCC start to call the shots? In reality, the only involvement the US Government has had with the Internet is getting colleges, universities, and military facilities connected. As a result, the only place the US Government should be able to regulate is the part it was involved in. So, let the FCC set policies for the government run backbone, and leave the private sector alone. If I paid $5 billion to deploy a fiber optic network with no government involvement, I sure as hell wouldn't feel the government has ANY right to set policy on what I personally put in place.

The FCC can't be bothered to regulate the airwaves(try telling them when radio stations are broadcasting off their assigned frequencies), so why should we let them touch ANYTHING else?


RE: What a Shock!
By mill3000 on 8/11/2010 12:24:16 PM , Rating: 2
You said you couldn't think of anything the government got involved in that has improved. Let me list some of them.

1. Land line phone service. (dad worked for the phone company) He always said the FCC was the only thing that kept his company from waiting to fix dead lines. Every day they wait the company save lots of money because they have to do many of thes fixes at night which costs them time in a half. Can you say monopoly? This is exactly like internet service. My internet was down 2 weeks. I wanted to switch from comcast. Why didn't I? No options that were as fast. I only have 2 choice. Sounds like a monopoly to me.

2. Postal Service. You really want to pay $11 to mail you letter. That is what Fedex charges for the same letter with same delivery time as USPS. Are we running this service at the cost we should? No. They need to increase the stamp fee but even if they charged $1 for a stamp it's still 11 times cheaper. We can't let the government save us any money. We should just do away with this right?

3. It also sounds like you have no glue what your talking about. You hear the word government and poop you pants. Laws are what keeps corporations from doing anything they want to make money and strong arm the consumer.

Example. Comcast has internet, cable tv, and owns tv stations. Without laws they could slow down streaming video like Netflix or any other streaming site to make it so only low def videos are playable on their internet service and then make there website and videos play faster so that only their videos play in HD. This would put their product above all others. Normally people would get another service when their not happy with the one they hav but there aren't usually more than a few options in most areas unless your willing to a way slower service.

This idea that the government sucks for everything is a 35 and up reaction that will be fading like 8 tracks. I am younger than 35 and my generation doesn't have the contempt the older generation has for the government. We elect the people that you say screw everything up. Seems to me that Corporations already have there hooks in most parts of the government and there millions of dollars spent on brainwashing people that the government can't do anything has worked on the older crowd.


RE: What a Shock!
By Reclaimer77 on 8/11/2010 12:51:51 PM , Rating: 2
Once again, basic services. Things that the government is actually tasked with providing for the general populace.

I swear you people keep using the same old, and false, arguments. This isn't roads, or phones, or anything of the like.

Last time I checked, my broadband connection wasn't rolled into my taxes. I'm paying a company, of my choosing, for it.

quote:
Example. Comcast has internet, cable tv, and owns tv stations. Without laws they could slow down streaming video like Netflix or any other streaming site to make it so only low def videos are playable on their internet service and then make there website and videos play faster so that only their videos play in HD.


You aren't the only one who has created such a scenario. A lot of you guys are talking about what the ISP's "could" do, or want to do. So tell me, when is this exactly going to "happen". And why haven't they done it yet? I mean, no laws are in place right?

You know I get that you Comcast guys are pissed because you have a huge lumbering ISP. But guess what? We don't ALL have Comcast. It's not OUR problem. I'm happy with my ISP, sorry you aren't with yours. Try to look past your own problems for a change.

quote:
I am younger than 35 and my generation doesn't have the contempt the older generation has for the government.


Well no offense, but your generation is full of idiots who get their political insight from Steven Colbert and Family Guy. And by the way, I'm younger than 35 as well, I'm 33. So much for your personal attack.

Frankly the fact that you, admittedly, are a "young" person and are trying to preach to others about this issue is a joke. It's well known that young people are stupid, impulsive, and ill-informed. And from what I've seen, you certainly don't have the chops to debate me. Sorry but "my dad says" stopped being a valid argument back in high school. It doesn't really carry much weight in the real world.

quote:
We elect the people that you say screw everything up.


Well if your post and the last election is any indication, I would say the issue is the voting age just isn't high enough. Now you know why Democrats love "Rock the Vote" and outreach to the "young voters" so much. Because young voters are stupid. Just like you.


RE: What a Shock!
By wempa on 8/11/2010 1:15:44 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
This is exactly like internet service. My internet was down 2 weeks. I wanted to switch from comcast. Why didn't I? No options that were as fast. I only have 2 choice. Sounds like a monopoly to me.


Yes it is. And who exactly GAVE the cable companies these monopolies ? Your friendly local government.

quote:
Postal Service. You really want to pay $11 to mail you letter. That is what Fedex charges for the same letter with same delivery time as USPS. Are we running this service at the cost we should?


There are a load of problems with these statements. First of all, it costs more than $1 to get guaranteed next day delivery with the USPS. It costs $13 to overnight a letter. Sure, you can send a letter for 44 cents, but it will usually take a few days to get to its destination. Secondly, the USPS rates for normal mail are cheap because (1) just about every town has at least 1 post office and (2) they have such a high volume of mail, which greatly increases the efficiency. Any private company operating on such a big scale and with such a high volume could most likely offer similar rates.

quote:
Without laws they could slow down streaming video like Netflix or any other streaming site to make it so only low def videos are playable on their internet service and then make there website and videos play faster so that only their videos play in HD.


Sure, prevent them from doing that. So, they implemented data caps instead. With such a cap in place, people can't get their movies and TV from their internet connections and must pay for the overpriced cable TV instead. Mission accomplished.

quote:
Normally people would get another service when their not happy with the one they hav but there aren't usually more than a few options in most areas unless your willing to a way slower service.


Again, who do you have to thank for giving them this monopoly ? Your local government. Wouldn't it make more sense to remove the monopoly and allow multiple companies to offer cable/internet/phone service within a town. Then, see what happens if 1 company starts to pull something like this.


RE: What a Shock!
By knutjb on 8/12/2010 3:22:13 AM , Rating: 2
It's annoying that so many complain about their service without knowing how it got there. All they want is government to fix it, even though government created the problem in the first place.

They don't understand that many providers like what they have, a monopoly or very limited competition. They don't want fewer rules because they would have real competition that only limited regulation can provide. For those who think all conservatives want is no-regulation are guzzling the far left Kool-Aid. Zero regulation leads to chaos but over-regulation is even worse.

Over-regulation is what you find at the bottom of your bill in the form of numerous little taxes that nickle and dime your pocket without adding value to your service. Those taxes do keep some bureaucrat gainfully employed with a killer retirement and great medical plan...


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