Comcast is buying a majority stake in NBC. Obviously, that raises some sticky questions for regulators, mixing up a cable/internet provider with a producer of content, particularly in this age of internet video. So the FCC is considering a bevy of conditions to approve the deal – like “program access” rules to keep Comcast from withholding NBC programming from competitors or net neutrality conditions. [NYT]
Tuesday’s US midterm elections could mean more than just a routine reshuffling of the House and Senate majorities. The fates of a number of important science and technology policies also hang in the balance.
In an FCC filing, T-Mobile mentions an instance from a year ago in which an Android IM app refreshed its network connection so frequently that it “caused an overload of T-Mobile’s facilities for an entire city”. That’s no good.
The US Federal Communications Commission says it’s now thinking about making proposed net neutrality rules different (read: nonexistent) for wireless devices. It’s an about-face from what the FCC chairman originally talked up and exactly what Verizon and Google wanted. Ah well. [New York Times]
US Federal Communications Commission chairman Michael Copps has released a brief statement doubting the merit of Google and Verizon’s “joint policy proposal”, arguing that federal regulation is the only sincere means of ensuring net neutrality.
Google and Verizon chief executives Eric Schmidt and Ivan Seidenberg got together to write a very special Washington Post op-ed on net neutrality. They used this piece as an opportunity to explain their companies’ joint proposal on related policy framework.
Last week, reports swirled that Verizon and Google had struck a deal to effectively end net neutrality. Today the two companies offered their far-tamer suggestions for net neutrality policy, all the while professing their commitment to the “open internet”.
US Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski was as clear as he always is on net neutrality today in response to a potential Google/Verizon deal. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the power to enforce this, which is what instigated the deal originally. [Reuters]
In 2006, Google co-founder Sergey Brin travelled to Washington DC, urging US Congress to support net neutrality – the principle that the internet shouldn’t have a fast lane. Google was net neutrality’s most powerful advocate. Four years later, they’re its executioner. (UPDATE: Google denies, Wall Street Journal affirms New York Times.)
It seems that Google and Verizon are plotting to overthrow net neutrality:
