{"id":8935,"date":"2010-04-08T19:34:00","date_gmt":"2010-04-08T19:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.publicknowledge.org\/uncategorized\/comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case\/"},"modified":"2025-01-08T23:00:02","modified_gmt":"2025-01-08T23:00:02","slug":"comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Comcast Sees The Downside To Winning Their Net Neutrality Case"},"content":{"rendered":"

Congratulations, Comcast.\u00a0 You restored your good name<\/a> and reputation by beating back the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in court.\u00a0 That little wrist slap the Commission gave you for slowing down traffic in your Internet network a couple of years ago has been avenged.\u00a0 Your record is clean, legally speaking.<\/p>\n

Of course, the story isn\u2019t all that simple, is it?\u00a0 Because the hidden story of Comcast\u2019s glorious victory is that if Comcast were smart, it wouldn\u2019t in the first place have brought the case, which challenged the FCC\u2019s authority over the company\u2019s high-speed Internet service.\u00a0 Some in the telecommunications industry, perhaps even huge companies with three letters in its name, urged (begged?) Comcast not to take the FCC\u2019s ruling to court, because of the possibility that Comcast could actually win and, potentially, win big –which is what happened.<\/p>\n

Under normal circumstances, a company like Comcast would feel great, winning a slam-dunk case against a Federal agency. The opinion<\/a> issued April 6 by the U.S. Appeals Court for the D.C. Circuit, written by Judge David Tatel, was so strong that it even refuted arguments that the FCC didn\u2019t make in its defense, but could have.\u00a0 The chances of the FCC asking the U.S. Supreme Court for review are slim and none.<\/p>\n

As Comcast has no doubt realized, but won\u2019t admit \u2013 winning is a bitch. (They will likely find this out again when they take over NBC, but that\u2019s another story.)\u00a0 It\u2019s like those stories of the lottery winners who come into millions of dollars, think they are in heaven, but their life becomes a living hell. Comcast has brought down the wrath of its telecommunications brethren, because it has opened the door to something that, in the industry\u2019s view, could much worse than the convoluted, jerry-rigged, barely legal system that allowed the FCC to let Comcast get off so easy.<\/p>\n

By winning as big as it did, the result of Comcast\u2019s case was that the FCC has, practically speaking, been stripped of its ability to regulate high-speed Internet access (broadband) services.\u00a0 That means if Comcast decided once again to throttle back the Internet traffic of its subscribers, consumers would have little to no recourse.\u00a0 There is no agency, no authority, which could look into a complaint and risk doing anything about it. Practically speaking (even if there is a very slim legal opening), broadband is free from regulation \u2013 a nirvana that the telecoms industry might once upon a time have gratefully accepted as its due, but now looks upon it with some trepidation because now the door has swung wide open to a full-scale discussion of bringing Internet broadband access services back under reasonable regulation.<\/p>\n

Digital services offered by telephone companies were offered under regulations until 2005, continuing a line of consumer protections reaching back to 1934. \u00a0Then it reclassified those digital services into the virtually deregulated bucket of \u201cinformation services.\u201d It was the FCC\u2019s decision not to put the then-new cable modem service into that same regulatory bucket in 2002 that started the whole mess we find ourselves in today.<\/p>\n

Of course, the industry is big enough to see past the Comcast error and is pressing ahead with its own talking points<\/a> which will be echoed by assorted industry-friendly spokesmodels.<\/p>\n

First, Depend on the Kindness of Strangers.\u00a0 This Blanche Dubois-inspired strategy is based on the simple theme, \u201cTrust us.\u201d We don\u2019t need regulation because we will do the right thing.\u00a0 We will follow the FCC\u2019s (now-discredited and incomplete) Internet principles even though we aren\u2019t obliged to.\u00a0 We\u2019re the telephone (and cable) company, and we wouldn\u2019t do anything to hurt our customers.\u00a0 After all, we support an open Internet; we just don\u2019t think it\u2019s necessary to have any rules that would require us to do so.\u00a0 After all, most Americans have broadband (even if it\u2019s only one choice and substandard at that), so why impose harsh, restrictive rules on poor, little old us?<\/p>\n

Why, indeed?\u00a0 Perhaps because the concept of noblesse oblige has been replaced, at least in theory, by the rule of law.\u00a0 The companies want to define their own obligations and then enforce them at their whim.\u00a0 Suppose someone wanted to add another principle to the ones that the FCC, thanks to the legal actions of Comcast, can\u2019t enforce?\u00a0 Let\u2019s say someone wanted to prohibit Internet access companies from discriminating against Web sites on the basis of financial relationships.\u00a0 Or let\u2019s say telephone or cable companies moved all their popular services into a more expensive \u201cmanaged\u201d category, just like a cable network?\u00a0 What could consumers do under the KOS theory?\u00a0 Nothing.\u00a0 And if you have no choice of provider, you\u2019re out of luck.\u00a0 But the free market has provided you at least with something, so be grateful, even if the companies with virtually no regulation have led the U.S. consistently downward<\/a> in the Internet rankings since the deregulation of the past few years, with service more expensive and slower, with fewer choices for consumers than in comparable countries.<\/p>\n

Don’t buy the argument that new regulation will screw up investment.\u00a0 Companies invest more or less depending on their business plans.\u00a0 With little to no regulation, Verizon will restrict<\/a> its FIOS fiber service to about half of its customers.\u00a0 AT&T hasn’t deployed any fiber to the home.<\/p>\n

The second option is to Wait for Godot.\u00a0 \u00a0If one cannot depend on the kindness of strangers, then, the industry contends, it should be up to Congress to change the rules.\u00a0 We can\u2019t depend on unelected bureaucrats to deal with topics as essential as broadband, because the result could be \u201cexcessive and burdensome<\/a> regulation\u201d on those humble, hard-working telephone and cable companies who unfairly change the rules without any reason at all.<\/p>\n

Of course, no one complained about the \u201cunelected bureaucrats\u201d at the FCC over the past eight years (from the telephone side \u2013 the cable guys had some beefs) when the industry pretty much got everything it wanted.\u00a0 No one complained when the FCC reclassified Internet access broadband service from traditional regulation into the regulatory nether world.<\/p>\n

But asking Congress to intervene?\u00a0 In case anyone hasn\u2019t been paying attention, Congress is at near paralysis.\u00a0 It would take years, if ever, for Congress to pass something.\u00a0 Even then, if Congress did pass a bill the phone and cable companies would likely come out the winners because of the power of the telecommunications lobby. \u00a0Despite the support of many, but not all, Congressional leaders, there aren\u2019t the votes for a strong bill to protect broadband consumers and to promote competition.\u00a0 If there were, it would have been done long ago. The members of Congress who worry about the burdens on the poor companies aren\u2019t as worried that their constituents could get screwed, or that their constituents might deserve better.\u00a0 In the meantime, consumers would be out of luck. The reliance on Congress is a classic misdirection for a solution that will never come.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the answer?\u00a0 Do the Right Thing.\u00a0 The FCC can in a number of ways, reverse its disastrous decisions and put broadband services back under the regulatory umbrella where they belong.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing that says there has to be a heavy regulatory burden, but then the weight of the burden is in the eye of the beholder. No one said that every portion of the law has to apply to services now as they did years ago.\u00a0 The FCC has the discretion to pick and choose to make the \u201cburden\u201d as light or as heavy as it thinks is appropriate.<\/p>\n

We need not have, as some commentators call it, the same rules that applied to the monopoly telephone network.\u00a0 On the other hand, some of the same principles, like non-discrimination, should exist regardless of the technology.\u00a0 The regulation of telephone companies existed as the technology evolved from the 1930s through the 2000s.\u00a0 It\u2019s flexible and dynamic enough to protect Internet access.\u00a0 The regulatory system that could be put in place would be similar to that in place in the 1990s when, under the Clinton Administration, there were thousands of Internet Service Providers which leased access to telephone company lines and provided new services and choices to millions of consumers. Sadly, that competition was wiped out through the deregulation which followed.<\/p>\n

Any regulation is too much for the cable and telephone companies.\u00a0 If the FCC acts in the simple, elegant way that will protect consumers, promote competition and clarify the legal environment for the National Broadband Plan, they will catch holy Hell from every Republican in Congress, at least half the Democrats and will face some years of court suits from the companies. \u00a0Believe it or not, that\u2019s the easy way out.\u00a0 It\u2019s the right thing to do and with enough political backing, it just might happen.<\/p>\n

And we will have Comcast to thank.\u00a0 Thanks, Comcast.\u00a0 Great win.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Congratulations, Comcast.  You restored your good name<\/a> and reputation by beating back the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in court.  That little wrist slap the Commission gave you for slowing down traffic in your Internet network a couple of years ago has been avenged.  Your record is clean, legally speaking.
 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[13],"class_list":["post-8935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-insights","tag-net-neutrality"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nComcast Sees The Downside To Winning Their Net Neutrality Case - Public Knowledge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Public Knowledge promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. We work to shape policy.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Comcast Sees The Downside To Winning Their Net Neutrality Case\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Public Knowledge promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. We work to shape policy.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Public Knowledge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-04-08T19:34:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-08T23:00:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/pk_social_logo-2.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Public Knowledge\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Public Knowledge\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Public Knowledge\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/#\/schema\/person\/b91ba827ec861d0c69e297ab67384598\"},\"headline\":\"Comcast Sees The Downside To Winning Their Net Neutrality Case\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-04-08T19:34:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-08T23:00:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case\/\"},\"wordCount\":1511,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Net Neutrality\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Insights\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case\/\",\"name\":\"Comcast Sees The Downside To Winning Their Net Neutrality Case - Public Knowledge\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-04-08T19:34:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-08T23:00:02+00:00\",\"description\":\"Public Knowledge promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. We work to shape policy.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Comcast Sees The Downside To Winning Their Net Neutrality Case\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/\",\"name\":\"Public Knowledge\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Public Knowledge\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/pk_social_logo-2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/pk_social_logo-2.png\",\"width\":400,\"height\":200,\"caption\":\"Public Knowledge\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/#\/schema\/person\/b91ba827ec861d0c69e297ab67384598\",\"name\":\"Public Knowledge\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd5fff7e31f168b0a0339f1333b8374dc2802924d4aba14b0f6fccbbb4f082df?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd5fff7e31f168b0a0339f1333b8374dc2802924d4aba14b0f6fccbbb4f082df?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Public Knowledge\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/author\/publicknowledge\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Comcast Sees The Downside To Winning Their Net Neutrality Case - Public Knowledge","description":"Public Knowledge promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. We work to shape policy.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Comcast Sees The Downside To Winning Their Net Neutrality Case","og_description":"Public Knowledge promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. We work to shape policy.","og_url":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case\/","og_site_name":"Public Knowledge","article_published_time":"2010-04-08T19:34:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-01-08T23:00:02+00:00","og_image":[{"width":400,"height":200,"url":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/pk_social_logo-2.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Public Knowledge","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Public Knowledge","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case\/"},"author":{"name":"Public Knowledge","@id":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/#\/schema\/person\/b91ba827ec861d0c69e297ab67384598"},"headline":"Comcast Sees The Downside To Winning Their Net Neutrality Case","datePublished":"2010-04-08T19:34:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-08T23:00:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case\/"},"wordCount":1511,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/#organization"},"keywords":["Net Neutrality"],"articleSection":["Insights"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case\/","url":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case\/","name":"Comcast Sees The Downside To Winning Their Net Neutrality Case - Public Knowledge","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-04-08T19:34:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-08T23:00:02+00:00","description":"Public Knowledge promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. We work to shape policy.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/comcast-sees-the-downside-to-winning-their-net-neutrality-case\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Comcast Sees The Downside To Winning Their Net Neutrality Case"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/","name":"Public Knowledge","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/#organization","name":"Public Knowledge","url":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/pk_social_logo-2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/pk_social_logo-2.png","width":400,"height":200,"caption":"Public Knowledge"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/#\/schema\/person\/b91ba827ec861d0c69e297ab67384598","name":"Public Knowledge","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd5fff7e31f168b0a0339f1333b8374dc2802924d4aba14b0f6fccbbb4f082df?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd5fff7e31f168b0a0339f1333b8374dc2802924d4aba14b0f6fccbbb4f082df?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Public Knowledge"},"url":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/author\/publicknowledge\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8935"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8935\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}