Re:Keep the Internet Open
by no_wizard on Tuesday March 14, 2017 @08:17PM
(#13872800)
To be clear, this is an FCC issue, in my opinion, since local and state authorities refuse to deal with it.
1) as previous stated, they may already have this authority per the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which may already give the FCC the power to dictate right of way access terms
2) If that isn't upheld as legal opinion by the courts, Ajit Pai could petition heavily congress in the name of competition and stripping out harmful local regulation that is stifling businesses from being able to compete. Congress could give the FCC this authority.
Yet, he agitates to make no such move. Its a republican controlled congress. This is a net win for de-regulation (since it simplifies this process into a standard, and done right, would make everything more efficient), its pro business AND consumer, since barrier to entry drops significantly.
Yet, the one thing that de-regulation could accomplish, and I feel relatively easily, he does NOT do.
I don't think he actually wants competition. He wants to let existing ISPs lock in their customers and regions. All the actual actions he's taken thus far, do just that.
the other thing he could do is declare ALL FCC franchise rules null and void. (for those unfamiliar, this gives a great run down of the current structure of FCC franchises around broadband https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-06-180A1.p...)
1) as previous stated, they may already have this authority per the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which may already give the FCC the power to dictate right of way access terms
2) If that isn't upheld as legal opinion by the courts, Ajit Pai could petition heavily congress in the name of competition and stripping out harmful local regulation that is stifling businesses from being able to compete. Congress could give the FCC this authority.
Yet, he agitates to make no such move. Its a republican controlled congress. This is a net win for de-regulation (since it simplifies this process into a standard, and done right, would make everything more efficient), its pro business AND consumer, since barrier to entry drops significantly.
Yet, the one thing that de-regulation could accomplish, and I feel relatively easily, he does NOT do.
I don't think he actually wants competition. He wants to let existing ISPs lock in their customers and regions. All the actual actions he's taken thus far, do just that.
the other thing he could do is declare ALL FCC franchise rules null and void. (for those unfamiliar, this gives a great run down of the current structure of FCC franchises around broadband https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-06-180A1.p...)