{"id":9083,"date":"2010-05-24T22:01:23","date_gmt":"2010-05-24T22:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.publicknowledge.org\/uncategorized\/congress-can-act-but-let-the-fcc-do-its-job\/"},"modified":"2025-01-08T23:24:26","modified_gmt":"2025-01-08T23:24:26","slug":"congress-can-act-but-let-the-fcc-do-its-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/congress-can-act-but-let-the-fcc-do-its-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Congress Can Act, But Let The FCC Do Its Job"},"content":{"rendered":"

So now we get word that the head telecom honchos in Congress will start to develop a process to update the Communications Act.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s all well and good.\u00a0 If Congress wants to bring parties together and come up with some proposals that can then be turned into legislation next year some time, then that effort should proceed with all deliberate speed.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the evidence is starting to mount that such a process will be contentious, to say the least, and could easily develop into gridlock.\u00a0 Telephone company-inspired letters are flowing down from Capitol Hill yet again attacking the FCC for daring to try to protect consumers and keep the Internet as a vital economic engine free from the clutches of telephone and cable companies.\u00a0 Whether Republican Senators<\/a> or Democratic members of Congress, the message is the same \u2013 leave AT&T and the other companies alone so they can do what they want or else the Internet economy will shrivel up.\u00a0 Maybe that\u2019s not how they see it, but that\u2019s another interpretation of their message of being satisfied with being number 15 \u2013 or whatever this week\u2019s ranking is \u2013 in the world in Internet subscriptions.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the air of unreality that surrounds any debate on Internet policy certainly is flowing into institutions other than Capitol Hill.\u00a0 It has certainly infected the Washington Post, which ran yet another editorial<\/a> espousing the telephone\/cable company view of the world and reflecting an unrecognized reality.<\/p>\n

For example, the editorial argued, as has industry, that \u201cTo reverse course now by classifying broadband as a telecommunications service would require the agency to throw out years of its own data and analysis. While agencies have broad latitude in reevaluating regulatory schemes, reversals should be linked to significant market shifts. The facts do not support such a conclusion, and the FCC should not now try to shoehorn broadband into an existing — but incompatible — regulatory scheme.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 (Of course, that same editorial also criticized the FCC for not being strict enough.\u00a0\u00a0 How can the Post expect Congressional agreement when its own editorial is a house divided?)<\/p>\n

Would it be that the facts didn\u2019t support a conclusion that the FCC should go back and need to fix a mistake.\u00a0 Exactly which facts does the Post think aren\u2019t supportable?\u00a0 That we have a competitive market now like the one we had a decade ago in which there were thousands of Internet Service Providers?\u00a0 How many ISPs are there now?\u00a0 How many choices do consumers have?\u00a0 Three at most are realistic.\u00a0 Satellite isn\u2019t a realistic option. It\u2019s slow and expensive.\u00a0 Wireless may be one some day, but again, with limited deployment of true broadband speeds and onerous terms of service, wireless isn\u2019t ready for prime time.<\/p>\n

So why is the regulatory regime \u201cincompatible?\u201d\u00a0 Incompatible with what?\u00a0 Connecting people to the Internet is a telecommunications service.\u00a0 The transmission piece is no different than any other service that has been regulated for years.\u00a0 As we have said before, the Communications Act is remarkably robust.\u00a0 Telephone networks have advanced in technology and use for decades, but the fundamental principles of fairness and non-discrimination have to apply regardless of technology.<\/p>\n

Then the Post observed, \u201cAdvocates of increased oversight worry that the often-protracted legislative process will leave a gaping regulatory void that ISPs will exploit to engage in mischief. This is nonsense. It ignores the ISPs’ need to provide good service to keep their customers, and it does not take into account the healthy oversight provided by those consumers and Internet watchdog groups. The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department also have the power to police anticompetitive or fraudulent acts.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is all well and good to believe that ISPs won\u2019t take advantage of the situation.\u00a0 Except that they have.\u00a0 It is \u201cnonsense\u201d to say that ISPs need to provide good service because that wish doesn\u2019t recognize the reality that consumers have so few other choices.\u00a0 In recent memory, RCN just settled<\/a> a class action suit that it engaged in throttling behavior and Windstream admitted it hijacked users\u2019 browsers and search capabilities.\u00a0 The \u201chealthy oversight\u201d by customers and \u201cwatchdog groups\u201d is only \u201chealthy\u201d if there is some enforcement backing it up.\u00a0 The authorities that the editorial cites are far too slow, particularly antitrust suits, and too diffuse, to be of any use to consumers suffering at the hands of ISPs which want to take control of a consumer\u2019s Internet experience.<\/p>\n

The Post admits that the FCC \u201cappears powerless\u201d to implement the National Broadband Plan. But instead of calling for swift action to make certain rural customers aren\u2019t put at a disadvantage, or the online economy is throttled or consumers are left unprotected, the Post recommends \u201ca trek to Capitol Hill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just out of curiosity, where were the Post and the industry when the FCC changed the regulatory status of broadband status the first time?\u00a0 Did the Post, the industry and various legislators complain that the FCC didn\u2019t have the authority to exempt telephone company networks from having to sell access to the networks to others, shutting down what was left of competition?\u00a0 Did those parties complain when competition all but disappeared from the ISP market?\u00a0 So why now is the FCC authority being challenged and a \u201ctrek to Congress\u201d recommended as a mandatory exercise?\u00a0 There is no good reason save the cynical arguments of industry-backed expression which ignore consumers and any sector of the economy outside of the interests of the telephone and cable companies and their dependent minions.<\/p>\n

It’s the FCC that’s taking the realistic view of the broadband world now, for a change.\u00a0 They should be able to move ahead with their plans to protect consumers, preserve the digital economy and protect the open Internet.\u00a0 Any assistance Congressional leaders want to provide would be most welcome.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So now we get word that the head telecom honchos in Congress will start<\/a> to develop a process to update the Communications Act. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s all well and good.  If Congress wants to bring parties together and come up with some proposals that can then be turned into legislation next year some time, then that effort should proceed with all deliberate speed.<\/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-9083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-insights","tag-net-neutrality"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCongress Can Act, But Let The FCC Do Its Job - 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. 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