FCC says US getting its broadband act together
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US communications regulators insisted on Thursday that the United States was making progress in rolling out high-speed Internet service, despite falling further behind other countries.
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Hundreds of groups and individual Internet users sounded off to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on net neutrality in comments filed Monday, the deadline for responding to the agency&#39;s inquiry into the proposed regulation.
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By JENNIFER C. KERR    WASHINGTON  -- Federal regulators approved new rules Thursday aimed at making high-speed Internet available to more Americans...
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If Americans want to buy cell phones and add mobile applications that they can use with any carrier, they need to watch the FCC.
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The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is taking the middle ground in the net neutrality debate.
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Agency gives phone companies more leeway in sharing connections. Also: Broadband over power lines gets green light.
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Will a new set of FCC rules for broadband over power lines bring the Internet to millions more homes? On Friday, proponents of broadband Internet service over power lines hailed a recent decision by the US
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(InfoWorld) - Within weeks, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission is expected to set conditions for the auction of the most valuable wireless spectrum still available in the United States. The spectrum, in the 700MHz band, is highly coveted by a range of broadband providers, tech vendors, and wireless voice providers for the ability of signals to broadcast long distances and penetrate buildings and other obstacles. With no other auctions of large spectrum blocks on the horizon, many organizations have pitched a range of conflicting ideas and auction conditions to the FCC. "This particular spectrum ... is the single biggest and most valuable block of spectrum I can ever remember, and I've been in this for close to 40 years," said Morgan O'Brien, co-founder of Nextel and author of a much-debated spectrum proposal. "It's unbelievable spectrum, and of course, there's a lot of intense interest in it." Advocacy groups such as Public Knowledge and Consumers Union say this auction represents the best and last opportunity for large portions of the United States to have a third broadband provider that competes with the cable and telecom giants. These groups are asking the FCC to require that part of the auctioned spectrum be sold with so-called open-access rules attached -- meaning the winner of the auction would have to sell wholesale access to the network to any company that wants it. At the same time, large broadband and wireless providers argue that placing heavy conditions on the spectrum would decrease its value and would hamper their efforts to create next-generation services. While the FCC has often set some conditions for auctions, rules on how the spectrum can be used would decrease the number of bidders, suggest critics of open-access requirements. The U.S. Congress has set a goal of raising $10 billion, with about half going to reduce the U.S. government's budget deficit, but some observers expect the auction to raise billions more, if the FCC sets the right conditions. Part of the spectrum, now used by U.S. television stations for over-the-air broadcasts, is targeted for public safety agencies such as police and fire departments. During the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, emergency responders found they couldn't talk to each other because they were operating a variety of incompatible communication devices in different areas of the spectrum. In early 2006, after more than a decade of debate, the U.S. Congress voted to require television stations to move to digital broadcasts and abandon the 700MHz band between channels 51 and 69 by Feb. 17, 2009. The move to digital television, or DTV, will free up about 84MHz of spectrum, with 24MHz set aside for public safety. The remaining 60MHz is set to be auctioned by early 2008. Here are some of the ideas for the 700MHz spectrum auction: Cyren Call: One of the earliest proposals seeking changes to the congressional plan for the spectrum came from startup Cyren Call Communications, founded by Morgan O'Brien. His plan, announced in April 2006, would take an additional 30MHz of spectrum for public safety, in addition to the 24MHz assigned by Congress. The spectrum would be controlled through a public safety broadband trust at the FCC and would be available for commercial uses after public safety agency needs are met. Public safety officials embraced O'Brien's plan early, saying it offered them the spectrum they need. The plan found a cool reception in Congress, however, mostly because it would cost billions of dollars in lost auction proceeds. While Congress has not moved to make the necessary changes to the digital television transition legislation that the Cyren Call plan would require, O'Brien said he's optimistic the FCC will adopt the "essence" of his plan. Frontline Wireless, another startup founded by a group of tech and FCC veterans, made a similar proposal in February. The Frontline plan has generated significant debate in Congress and in the broadband industry. O'Brien said the Frontline plan would accomplish many of the same goals, but he still believes his plan is better. "We were building ... as much pressure as we could to get the relief we were looking for," O'Brien said. "When [Frontline] introduced their proposal, it relieved some of that pressure by diverting to a different model." Frontline: Frontline's plan would marry 10MHz of spectrum from the chunk to be auctioned with 12MHz assigned to public safety. That 22MHz would be auctioned, with the winner required to build a network that gives priority to public safety agencies. After public safety needs are met, the network could be used for commercial services, although Frontline has called on the FCC to require wholesale access for other providers. Frontline has assembled a team of tech and wireless industry heavyweights, including CEO Haynes Griffin, founder of Vanguard Cellular Systems; Chairwoman Janice Obuchowski, former assistant secretary for communications and information at the U.S. Department of Commerce; James Barksdale, former CEO of Netscape; and L. John Doerr, a partner in the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The Frontline plan gives public safety the best chance for an interoperable, next-generation network, said Reed Hundt, Frontline's vice chairman and a former chairman of the FCC. The difference between the Frontline and Cyren Call proposals is that Cyren Call asked for a "government handout" of spectrum and money, while Frontline relies on private money to build the public safety network, Hundt said. Verizon Wireless has opposed Frontline's plan, particularly its call for open-access rules. Such rules would drive down the cost of the auction, said Dick Lynch, Verizon Wireless' executive vice president and chief technical officer, during a Senate hearing in June. But Verizon wants an auction that favors large providers, Hundt countered. "The way to get a really low price for the treasury is to say Verizon can have it all, because nobody will bid," he said. "Verizon wanted to buy all the spectrum and put it in the bottom left-hand drawer. It's an effort to monopolize." Verizon: Verizon has generally declined to comment about the 700MHz auction, but Lynch, in his June testimony, called on the FCC to auction a 20MHz block of spectrum that can be used across the United States. This would allow the United States to "lead the world" in fourth-generation wireless deployment, he said. Verizon also opposes open-access rules, similar to net neutrality rules proposed by some consumer and advocacy groups for existing broadband networks. "The auction needs to make the spectrum available in ways that will promote, not cripple, broadband," Lynch said. "The commission should set auction rules that allow for full and fair competition by qualified bidders, without artificial and unwarranted constraints." Past competition auctions without such conditions have created a competitive wireless marketplace offering a "broad range of digital offerings," Lynch added. Several conservative think tanks and advocacy groups have also opposed the Frontline plan. Public safety: Public safety groups are not united in their views on the 700MHz auction, particularly since it became clear that Congress would not support the Cyren Call plan. However, some public safety groups have warmed to the Frontline proposal. Frontline has recently embraced the idea of a public safety board that would oversee the network to be built, said Charles Werner, fire chief in Charlottesville, Virginia, and a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs Communications Committee. The Frontline proposal represents "a perfect storm" that represents the best chance of a national broadband network for public safety, he said. "It also builds off a commercial model, which means you have this ever-evolving network that gives public safety ... all those technology advances that they otherwise would never have." Without something like the Frontline plan, a public safety network may never get built, Werner said. Congress, with many other priorities, doesn't have the political will to build and maintain a national network, he said. "We do not want a national broadband network built and funded by the government," he said. "This is something that's going to have to be maintained from this point on. You can't have that kind of network based on decisions that are going to change." Other public safety officials have opposed the Frontline plan, saying it takes away local control of the network. Save Our Spectrum Coalition: Leading the charge for open-access rules are a group of consumer and advocacy organizations, including Public Knowledge, Consumers Union, and the Consumer Federation of America. The Ad Hoc Public Interest Spectrum Coalition has asked the FCC to include open-access rules with 30MHz of the auctioned spectrum. The coalition has also asked the FCC to require anonymous bidding, instead of its past practice of revealing bidders. Anonymous bidding would prevent auction participants from engaging in retaliatory bidder, the coalition argued. The FCC should act "both to ensure that new spectrum is offered on an open and nondiscriminatory basis and to bring in new entrants interested in challenging the current cozy wireless oligopoly and broadband duopoly," the coalition wrote in comments to the FCC. "The 700MHz auctions will not give birth to the much anticipated third pipe if the licenses are auctioned to the very same ... telephone and cable incumbents that dominate the wireline market." Google: Finally, Google has asked the FCC to allow what it calls "dynamic auctions" of spectrum. The Google proposal would allow, but not require, winners of the spectrum auction to create their own real-time auctions. Wireless and broadband providers and customers could bid in real-time auctions for the right to use a piece of spectrum for a given period of time. A customer could pay a few cents per minute to access the spectrum, Google said. These dynamic auctions would create a more competitive broadband and wireless marketplace, allowing customers to escape long service contracts, said Richard Whitt, Google's telecom and media counsel. "Maybe there's a different way of providing spectrum," Whitt said. "I think most people will believe this is the wave of the future. You have to provide the most compelling service, and users will come to your door."
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A report released last week by the US Commerce Dept. congratulates itself and other members of the current administration for enabling the rapid deployment of broadband Internet service, which it now says is available to 92% of the country.
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InfoWorld - Plans for valuable wireless spectrum being considered by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission may not go far enough to encourage a new broadband competitor, said groups calling for open-access rules for part of the spectrum.
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ASHINGTON - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will require incumbent telephone carriers to continue offering parts of their networks to competitors while the commission rewrites those network-sharing rules.
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Comments from groups and individual Internet users were filed with the FCC.
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(InfoWorld) - Hundreds of groups and individual Internet users sounded off to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)Â on net neutrality in comments filed Monday, the deadline for responding to the agency's inquiry into the proposed regulation. Individual Internet users, trade groups, and advocacy organizations filed about 670 comments about net neutrality rules with the FCC Monday. Individuals and organizations have submitted nearly 29,000 comments on net neutrality since the FCC opened its inquiry in late March. Net neutrality advocates want the FCC or the U.S. Congress to prohibit large broadband providers like AT&TÂ and Comcast from blocking or slowing Web content from competitors. Many of the comments Monday came from individual Internet users who asked the FCC to protect them against new fees that they fear broadband providers could charge Web content providers. "Keep the corporations off our rights," wrote Internet user Jack McFarley of Washington state in an e-mail that was part form letter. "Net neutrality is essential to free speech, equal opportunity, and economic innovation in America." Bonnie Bennett of California seemed to take a more individual approach in her e-mail to the FCC. "Free, unlimited access to the Internet is the modern-day version of how to educate the citizenry of a well-functioning democracy," she wrote. "Big companies and global corporations care a lot about profits and stockholders but not much about educating citizens." A technology director of a school in Mississippi said net neutrality rules would protect his students' ability to access the information they need. "The importance of the Internet is increasing each month," wrote David Scovic. "Many small innovative Web sites that are vital to our teaching would be affected by a no vote [on net neutrality rules]." Net neutrality advocates have argued that such rules are needed after decisions by the FCC and the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005 allowed broadband providers to stop sharing their networks with competing Internet service providers. The debate over net neutrality heated up after Ed Whitacre, former CEO at AT&T, complained in BusinessWeek in late 2005 about potential competition from Internet companies, saying he wasn't going to let them "use my pipes free." In March, the FCC launched an inquiry to examine net neutrality proposals, looking at whether broadband providers charge different prices for different speeds and how consumers are affected by the ways broadband providers manage their networks. Hands Off the Internet, an advocacy group representing AT&T, Alcatel-Lucent, the American Conservative Union and other organizations, said in its filing that net neutrality advocates haven't shown the need for new regulations. Broadband providers aren't blocking competing content, the group said. "There is no current or anticipated content discrimination or service degradation justifying new regulations by the commission," wrote Christopher Wolf, cochairman of Hands Off the Internet. "Moreover, regulation could well thwart Internet growth and make consumer access unfairly expensive." The Computer & Communications Industry Association, a trade group representing Microsoft, Google, and other tech vendors, said a net neutrality rule is needed because there's little competition among broadband providers. Broadband providers "insult the commission's expertise by summarily proclaiming the broadband access market competitive without any specific evidence of competition," the group said.
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TechWeb - The Senate asks consumers and companies to work together and protect themselves from the dangers of the Internet.
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A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate this week would require the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to reconsider what bandwidth rates qualify as broadband, a move that won praise from some groups that call current broadband penetration statistics misleading.
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The U.S. Federal Communications Commission this week hopes to do what Congress could not accomplish this year -- help AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications get into the television business faster.
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Group including Amazon, Google, and TiVO lobbies for a national broadband policy that would provide affordable access for all.