Title II Regulation Causes Uproar

April 20, 2015 Aerocom

You’re probably wondering what the new gossip is in the telecom world and I will have you know it’s quite juicy. The FCC has reared its ugly head like that parent that shows up at the party being thrown by their wild pre-teens while they’ve been away for the weekend and suffice it to say, for Big Telecom, the laughter has stopped. In a nutshell, the government wants to get even more involved in our lives and there’s talk about turning the internet into a public utility – otherwise known as the “net neutrality” movement. The content industry, aka consumers of the internet, are all proponents for this change and are ready to pop open the bottles of champagne in support of the FCC. The telecom industry, on the other hand, is beside itself with grief because with this change they lose big time, especially when it comes to paid prioritization. Those companies that have the extra green to cut in line at those congested nodes will no longer be able to do so, causing the telecom companies to lose out on that additional revenue paid by their consumers.

So what are telecom companies doing in reaction to this proposition? Well, some are simply feeling sorry for themselves, claiming that if this goes through they will simply stop investing in the infrastructure of their broadband and everyone can just lump it, while others such as AT&T and Verizon are ready to pull some punches with threats of law suits if the regulation should pass.

Some of the biggest companies on both the content side and broadband side were put into the ring and both got in some pretty de
cent jabs in defense of their stance on the issue. Netflix, one of the most verbal companies on the subject, came out swinging with the accusation that it seems like most internet service providers intentionally allow service to go downhill so that content providers have to stick their hands in their pockets and come up with more cash for “specialized connections”. In reaction to this low blow, Comcast and Verizon came back at Netflix with the exact same argument but flipped around. They claimed that it’s Netflix that isn’t routing its internet traffic effectively which is causing the poor quality of its connection. They also threatened that reclassification would only cause them to care less about their broadband connection and result in even slower internet for all the providers on the content side of things.

Google, one of the big boys, also wanted to put its two cents in the mix and made the argument that regulating broadband will allow it to gain greater access to telephone poles and, in the case of Google, allow them to develop their fiber Internet. Now I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that I am always up for Google improving the efficiency of my life so naturally I am supportive of any decision made in Google’s favor; however, that’s not exactly how the NCTA felt about it. It challenged Google’s claim and opposed by reasoning that this move will actually make gaining access to telephone poles more challenging and even has the potential of marking up the price of telephone hook-ups.

We have yet to find out what the FCC’s decision will be and which side is going to walk away with a victory. It’s not looking good for Big Telecom but I’m sure they have hope that the government will come to its senses and realize that for big companies the incentive to deliver quality service comes from the possibility to earn more revenue, it’s a dog eat dog world and that’s just the honest truth of the matter. As a consumer, I’m not really sure how I feel about the ordeal. Faster internet would be nice and carrying the weight of my company’s broadband needs on my shoulder tends to leave me feeling a little pressured but I’m sure I can count on the FCC to make the right decision.

Sources referenced:
The entire net neutrality debate is actually one basic argument
Three fights Big Telecom is losing – and what that might mean for IT

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