WASHINGTON, October 28, 2009 - Google told the Federal Communications Commission Wednesday that its Google Voice service currently is restricting calls to fewer than 100 specific phone numbers that it believes are involved in the business of adult sex chats. Google provided a detailed response Wednesday to questions posed by the FCC concerning Google Voice’s practice of preventing calls to certain telephone number prefixes. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, October 26, 2009 - Absent from the notice of proposed rulemaking released by the Federal Communications Commission Thursday is the charged term of “network neutrality” that has been discussed over the years. Instead, the paper is focused on the need to preserve an “open internet” through government intervention. Keep Reading
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on Thursday introduced legislation prohibiting the Federal Communications Commission from implementing the Network neutrality rules that it kicked off on Thursday. The two-page bill is a naked prohibition upon the FCC: the agency “shall not propose, promulgate, or issue any regulations regarding the Internet or IP-enabled services.” Click here for a copy of the bill. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, October 22, 2009 - The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday approved controversial proposed rules governing internet access during its monthly public meeting. Commissioners on all sides of the debate stressed the importance of having an open internet, and in engaging in constructive dialogue on the issue going forward. The move marked the beginning of a formal phase of regulating internet access. Although the FCC in August 2005 adopted a policy statement pledging fidelity to four Net neutrality principles, such a policy was never binding upon all broadband providers. Additionally, the proposed rules go beyond those four generally-accepted neutrality principles. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, October 21, 2009 - As the Federal Communications Commission nears the monthly meeting slated for Thursday to consider new regulations regarding Net neutrality, e-mail boxes across Washington are being flooded by all manner of interest groups staking their claim over neutrality and freedom on the Internet. Keep Reading
As the Federal Communications Commission prepares to tackle the issue of Network neutrality at its October 22 meeting, major telecommunications carriers have all been sending letters to the FCC and newspapers in an effort to influence the agency actions. AT&T top lobbyists Jim Cicconi, Senior Executive Vice President at the company, recently sent out a memo to all of the company’s managers criticizing Net neutrality. Keep Reading
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington-based group calling itself a "non-partisan public policy think tank committed to articulating and advancing a pro-productivity, pro-innovation and pro-technology public policy agenda," has released a "WebMemo" asking "Are We Ready to Act on New Neutrality?: 10 Key Question that Need Answers." Keep Reading
In a possible rebuke to President Obama and his new FCC chairman, Seventy-two House Democrats signed on to a letter sent Friday to the five members of the Federal Communications Commission asking them to reconsider a proposal to adopt "network neutrality" rules. Keep Reading
Public Knowledge's sixth annual "IP3 Awards" - which celebrates information policy, intellectual property, and internet protocol - drew a crowd of Washington's technorati to the Sewell-Belmont House in Washington on Thursday evening. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, October 14, 2009 – Net neutrality emerged as a major theme at the Future of Music Coalition conference last week at Georgetown University here, with speeches on the subject by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski and Senator Al Franken, D-Minn., who described the Internet as the modern town square. Keep Reading
The non-profit advocacy group Consumers Union on Wednesday issued a letter to members of Congress commending the Federal Communications Commission for its efforts to enact stricter Net Neutrality rules. The letter said that the Internet has been governed by principles of openness and consumer choice from its inception. Keep Reading
Net neutrality fans on Wednesay praised the decision by AT&T to reverse course and allow customers to use broadband voice services on the service plans they have that use the Apple iPhone. The decision followed a Federal Communications Commission investigation into the practices of wireless broadband industry. Keep Reading
The Free State Foundation on Tuesday released a new book entitled “New Directions in Communications Policy,” which is critical of arguments for Net neutrality. The book is based upon a panel discussion on the national broadband plan, broadband stimulus funding, and Net neutrality, or the requirement that carriers not be permitted to offer speedier internet delivery to paying business customers. Keep Reading
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski brought his rallying cry for Net Neutrality to the Future of Music Conference in Washington today. Noting the musicians that have supported this cause - from Bruce Springsteen to R.E.M. and Pearl Jam - Genachowski said, "With a free and open Internet, you don’t have to have big-time, star-power leverage over record labels, publishing companies, commercial radio stations, or particular retailers to get your music to the public. In today’s broadband world, the artists themselves can be self-empowering -- they are free to connect with audiences, paying customers, and musical social networks in ways previously unimaginable." Keep Reading
On Monday afternoon Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge, responded to the comments made by the Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and urged the Federal Communications Commission to continue to press for Net neutrality rules. Keep Reading
The Federal Communications Commission is taking an aggressive posture with its approach to Network Neutrality, releasing the "tentative agenda" for its next full commission meeting that highlights a single item: “ Open Internet: A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on policies to preserve the free and open Internet.” The FCC also plans to release a “Commission Meeting Agenda” one week before the meeting with the specific, detailed items that will be placed on the agenda. Keep Reading
The Federal Communication Commission's proposed net neutrality rules could hamper innovation on the Web, said David Farber, as guest on a panel held Friday at the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation. Farber is a professor of computer science and policy at Carnegie Mellon University and a former chief technology officer for the FCC. Keep Reading
ARLINGTON, Va., September 26, 2009 - Whether internet service providers will accelerate early efforts to prioritize bandwidth, and what impact such measure might have upon the open internet, were actively discussed by panelists at the Telecommunications Policy Research Conference here. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, September 23, 2009 – Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski's announcement of his intention to codify the commission's 2005 Internet Policy Statement into actual, enforceable federal regulations using a valid legal process drew expected reactions from the usual parties. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, September 22, 2009 - Network neutrality principles outlined by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski on Monday found industry groups and Congress drawing strong lines in reaction to his proposal. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, September 21, 2009 - The Federal Communications Commission must be a "smart cop on the beat" to preserve a free and open internet, Chairman Julius Genachowski said Monday during a speech at the Brookings Institution. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 13, 2009 - A group of academic and industry representatives agreed Monday that some government regulation will be necessary to ensure a robust and competitive broadband market and continued innovation. The group spoke during a panel discussion sponsored by the Technology Policy Institute. Keep Reading
ARLINGTON, Va., June 19, 2009 - Representatives of network operators, internet companies and consumer advocates said they are prepared for a network neutrality policy to emerge from the Obama administration, but during a panel at Pike and Fischer's Broadband Policy Summit they remained very much divided over the best approach to solving problems of network management while protecting consumers. Keep Reading
ARLINGTON, Va., June 18, 2009 - House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., has no plans to influence the Federal Communications Commission's development of a national broadband plan. But speaking Thursday morning at the Pike and Fischer Broadband Policy Summit here, he made clear his experience representing a rural district informs his ideas on how the FCC should assist the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and Rural Utilities Service in defining unserved and underserved markets. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 18, 2009 - Time Warner Cable found itself clashing with a member of Congress from its home state on Wednesday as Rep. Eric Massa, D-N.Y., introduced the Broadband Internet Fairness Act, H.R. 2902. If passed, the bill would authorize the Federal Trade Commission to review the fairness of broadband subscription plans based on cost. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 4, 2009 – The problems with so-called “deep packet inspection” are too big to ignore, a panel of broadband experts said on the third and final day of the Computers, Freedom and Privacy conference at George Washington University here. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 1, 2009 - Consumer advocacy groups are gearing up for another fight with Time Warner Cable after the internet provider quietly updated its terms of service with language that critics have pounced on as a harbinger of future metering and usage caps. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, April 23, 2009 - Congressional scrutiny of consumer privacy on broadband networks, especially uses of so-called “deep packet inspection” technology, ramped up Thursday as industry representatives and consumer advocates testified before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 25, 2009 - Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman Herb Kohl, D-Wis., and tanking member Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, announced that broadband internet competition would be among the major subjects on the agenda for the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee this Congress. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, February 20, 2009 - In what could potentially be an opening salvo in a renewed congressional battle over network neutrality, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., wants to use a parliamentary tactic to force his Democratic colleagues to vote on whether the Federal Communications Commission should be stripped of the power to re-impose the Fairness Doctrine on broadcast radio. Keep Reading
SAN JOSE, November 7 – Emboldened by their summertime victory against Comcast, advocates of network neutrality said Thursday that the next front in battle for the principle would be against wireless carriers who make “unreasonable” network management decisions. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, October 3 - The Internet should play a greater role in lawmakers' interactions with citizens and foster a "networked grassroots democracy," Craigslist founder Craig Newmark said Friday, speaking at Google's Washington office. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, August 1 – The Federal Communication Commission's enforcement action against Comcast can be seen either as a limited response to a company's deceptive practices, or a sweeping new venture by the agency into regulating internet policy. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, August 1 - The following are the six "findings" of which the Federal Communications Commission found Comcast guilty. As is standard practice for the agency, no written document encapsulating these charges was publicly released. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 31 – Combatants on the subject of Net Neutrality debate took aim at each other on Thursday, with House Minority Leader John Boehner blasting FCC Chairman Kevin Martin in advance of a Federal Communications Commission meeting on Friday. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 29 – In lining up the support of all major Democratic challengers running for Senate this fall, advocates for Net Neutrality said that this complicated issue of telecom politics has now become a partisan issue in November's general election. Keep Reading
June 18 - Technologies exist that allow Chinese internet users to evade government censorship, but their deployment is being thwarted by American companies based in China, panelists said Wednesday at a hearing of the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Keep Reading
June 14 - Critics and proponents of Network Neutrality squaring off on the topic on Friday agreed that recent actions by both cable and wireless providers had had re-vivified the debate about the topic. Keep Reading
June 12 - Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., decried the move to impose Network Neutrality on broadband carriers, speaking at a keynote luncheon address at the Broadband Policy Summit IV here. Keep Reading
Network Neutrality was the key sticking point in a Tuesday presidential debate, by proxy, between two former chairmen of the Federal Communications Commission chairmen: Reed Hundt and Michael Powell. Keep Reading