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How the FCC will vote is certain, what's to be approved isn't

25 February 2015 by Steve Blum
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Tomorrow should be the big day. Common carrier regulation of broadband infrastructure and service is scheduled to be on the table at the FCC. There’s a possibility it could be bumped a month, though. Republican commissioners Ajit Pai and Michael O’Rielly want it delayed. Actually, they want it stopped altogether. But democrats hold three of the five commission seats, so that’s a sideshow.

One of the democrats, Mignon Clyburn, is reportedly pushing chair Tom Wheeler to make changes.… More

Three points to watch for in FCC muni broadband decision

24 February 2015 by Steve Blum
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Black letter law.

The FCC has to win an uphill fight against past court decisions if Thursday’s expected preemption of two particular state bans on municipal broadband is to have any practical effect.

The primary obstacle is Gregory v. Ashcroft, a 1991 U.S. supreme court decision that said, in effect, if congress wants to “upset the usual constitutional balance of federal and state powers” then it must make that intention “unmistakably clear in the language of the statute”.… More

Temporary conditions will make Comcast's Californian monopoly permanent

23 February 2015 by Steve Blum
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It won’t get any better when the referee leaves the ring.

One of the more fascinating aspects of a proposed California Public Utilities Commission decision approving the Comcast/Time-Warner/Charter mega merger and market swap is an analysis of the resulting broadband market in the state. Prepared for the CPUC’s office of ratepayer advocates by Lee Selwyn, a telecommunications analyst, the study reaches the bottom line conclusion that if Comcast swallows up all of Time-Warner and Charter subscribers in California (except for Charter’s subs in the Lake Tahoe area), Comcast would have monopoly control of the broadband market in 78% of its expanded service area.… More

Vague rules will make the FCC a poor referee

22 February 2015 by Steve Blum
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It’s always a bad call when a ref begs to be noticed.

FCC chairman Tom Wheeler says he wants to be the Internet’s referee. He’s used that description of how he see’s the FCC role in managing the broadband ecosystem several times, most recently in a Colorado speech where he talked about his proposal to bring the Internet under common carrier regulations…

The proposal also looks forward into the broadband future to assure there are basic ground rules and a referee on the field to enforce them.

… More

Common carrier opponents' talking points miss the point

21 February 2015 by Steve Blum
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Unfortunately, it’s the way the game is played.

At first it seemed like there might be something resembling a public debate about the merits of bringing broadband infrastructure and service under common carrier rules before the FCC votes on it.

First, chairman Tom Wheeler delivered his sales pitch for the proposed rules. Then, commissioner Ajit Pai countered with substantive objections to what’s in the still-secret draft. But at the same time, he labeled it “President Obama’s plan to regulate the Internet”.… More

Oops, Charter proves it can't serve public housing residents

20 February 2015 by Steve Blum
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Okay, people, you have to tell me these things, alright? I’ve been frozen for 30 years, okay?

In a self-defeating gesture, Charter Communications is challenging four public housing broadband grant applications made to the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF).

Charter claims residents at four complexes – two in Long Beach and two in San Bernardino – can buy Internet service at speeds in the 100 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload range.

Unfortunately for Charter, it doesn’t really matter.… More

Comcast has to clean up its act if it wants to merge in California

19 February 2015 by Steve Blum
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How about starting with some botox and a manicure?

If Comcast wants approval for its mega merger and market swap with Time-Warner and Charter, it’s going to have to meet some stiff, if mostly temporary, conditions. That’s the preliminary determination of a California Public Utilities Commission administrative law judge in his review of the deal.

The proposed decision – there’s still some back and forth to come, and final approval is subject to a vote by the five commissioners – reaffirms that the CPUC has authority under federal law to assess the impact of the merger on broadband, as well as telephone, service in California.… More

WiFi dominates California public housing broadband grant proposals

18 February 2015 by Steve Blum
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Good enough for public housing.

Wired networks account for only two of the 52 public housing grant proposals made to the California Public Utilities Commission in the first round of applications. The rest either rely on WiFi – mesh networks, mostly – or, in the case of 24 projects proposed by the San Bernardino County housing authority, don’t specify a technology type.

Promised service speeds are consistent with both the technology proposed and the CPUC’s disappointing low minimum of 1.5 Mbps down and nothing particular for uploads, significantly less than the 6 Mbps down/1.5 Mbps minimum it thinks is acceptable for Californians who don’t live in public housing, and nowhere near the FCC’s new standard of 25 Mbps down/3 Mbps up.… More

FCC won't bulldoze state bans on muni broadband, yet

17 February 2015 by Steve Blum
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Parked.

Hopes and fears that the FCC will sweep away state restrictions on municipal broadband at its upcoming meeting this month appear overblown. That’s not to say it won’t be an important decision – assuming, as is all but certain, at least three commissioners vote yes – but it will involve particular issues in two cities in two states. That’s what FCC chair Tom Wheeler told a tech group in Colorado last week…

To be clear, my proposed ruling on these two petitions for pre-emption is an adjudicatory matter.

… More

Will common carrier-lite Internet rules kill local loop competition?

13 February 2015 by Steve Blum
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The days of plain old telephone service aren’t behind us yet, but the time will come — sooner rather than later — when all telecoms services, including voice, run over Internet protocol systems. The switch from copper to end-to-end fiber is a bit further down the road, but it’s near enough that practical questions about it have to be dealt with now.

Yesterday, the California Public Utilities Commission offered its suggestions on how to do that to the FCC, unanimously approving comments for the feds to consider.… More