Tag: Broadband

Having completed the first of many readings of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan, I have prepared a relatively short summary of the document. It is available at my web site: http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/r/m/rmf5/. Scroll down toward the bottom of the page and under Broadband and Next Generation Network Development, click on the link titled Summary of National Broadband Plan.

Public Knowledge President Gigi Sohn attended the FCC’s big unveiling of its National Broadband Plan yesterday and recorded a quick reaction. She praises the work of the Commission, but points out that there is plenty of hard work to come.

So now we’ve had National Broadband Plan Day!. And, despite undeniable flaws and places where the Plan Drafters wussed out/”avoided controversy,” The Plan looks pretty damn good, actually.

Let me stress that: Pretty … Damn … Good!

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) shipped off to Congress a 376-page National Broadband Plan earlier today, and yet some of the most pointed commentary from the Commissioners at their meeting was about a part of the plan that was given relatively little emphasis.

It almost sounds silly to say there was too little discussion of a topic in a report that long and that comprehensive. Just looking at the table of contents, and all of the recommendations for moving the country ahead into the era in which high-speed Internet is the norm and not the exception. After all, this is a strategic outline for future actions, and there are lots of future actions in the report to contemplate on items big and small.

The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:

“We were very pleased that the Commission in its National Broadband Plan showed discretion and restraint in its discussion of online copyright issues. By recognizing that ‘copyright protection efforts must not stifle innovation; overburden lawful uses of copyrighted works; or compromise consumers’ privacy rights,’ the FCC clearly recognized that copyright is a balance of interests.

“We hope the same philosophy carries over into the Net Neutrality proceeding, and that the FCC will similarly find that copyright law is not within its jurisdiction. As laudable a goal is cracking down on theft may be, that type of activity is not ‘reasonable network management’ under the Net Neutrality proposed rule as Big Media companies and their supporters would like the Commission to believe.”

The Communications bar was buzzing today because the FCC released the Executive Summary of its National Broadband Plan. Tomorrow at its monthly meeting, the agency will release the entire plan, all 360 pages of it.

But along with the Commissioners, staff and scores of onlookers, there will be an elephant in the meeting room that will not get nearly as much attention – that is, whether the FCC actually has the power under the Communications Act to enact major parts of the plan. Without a “cop on the beat,” the fate of broadband consumer protection regulations such as privacy, transparency and emergency communications will be at risk, as will other initiatives to ensure great access to broadband and greater adoption of broadband by the disadvantaged.

“The Federal Communications Commission has produced a balanced, comprehensive and forward-looking plan that should serve the country well. The U.S. has long needed such a plan to keep pace with other countries, and this plan, if implemented, will accomplish that objective.

“We are particularly encouraged to see so much attention devoted to competition policies, which we believe will help to create new opportunities for innovators and new choices for consumers in what is now a tightly held duopoly. Specifically, we commend the Commission for undertaking a review of wholesale competition rules. An examination of special access rates should also be included under the plan, to provide relief for business customers and consumers from costs that could not be justified in a true competitive market.

“The spectrum policies proposed by the Commission, including greater use of unlicensed spectrum, also will help to drive innovation and consumer choice.

On Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will unveil its National Broadband Plan, which the agency describes as "a roadmap to connect all Americans to affordable, high-speed internet". Public Knowledge and other stakeholders will have plenty of questions and recommendations for the FCC once the Plan is unveiled and the agency will be tasked with accommodating these comments. Additionally, the FCC is seeking input from the general public via their Broadband.gov portal. As part of this ongoing public outreach initiative, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will participate in a YouTube interview on Tuesday, where he will be asked questions submitted by members of the general public about broadband and the National Broadband Plan. Head over to CitizenTube to submit your questions (text or video) and vote on the submissions made by others.

Background: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is trying to figure out how to examine the market for some of the most popular telecom services used by big business – so-called “special access” services.

Public Knowledge (PK) late Feb. 24 called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to make certain that consumer interests are taken into account into as it examines the structure of a market that sells its services to big business.

Just as it has sought to offset slower CD sales with its digital music store, Walmart—the nation’s largest DVD retailer—is looking to insure against lower DVD sales by purchasing the online video company Vudu.

But Vudu isn’t just another Internet video company with a loopy name offering a pure over-the-top video service. Like Sezmi, its delivery method is an interesting hybrid. While Sezmi leverages free over-the-air TV, leased spectrum, and broadband (with ample local storage as a force multiplier), Vudu uses a hybrid peer-to-peer model. Content is both delivered to a Vudu device through a standard client/server model, as well as peer-to-peer between different Vudu devices. Additionally, content is pre-positioned at the edge of the network to increase the number of peers.