In discarding out a huge chunk of the network neutrality rules that the Federal Communications Commission put into place in 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington has thrown the way the Internet works into turmoil: Instead of treating all traffic flowing over their broadband pipes equally, internet service providers can now start making deals that could prioritize some content over other traffic. And based on the options facing the FCC and the FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s previous statements, I think there is a credible threat that a double-sided market for bandwidth will emerge.
With “Sponsored Data” AT&T is double dipping. And that’s just dirty
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
AT&T, under the guise of “sponsored data,” launched a sneaky attack on innovation.
Want to know if your ISP is capping data? Check GigaOm’s updated chart
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
An updated look at how Internet service providers (ISPs) around the US are trying to implement broadband data caps.
A new way to skin the net neutrality cat
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
The main trouble with the Federal Communications Commission’s network neutrality rules is that the rules, as written, don’t really address the problem they’re trying to remedy. They attempt to regulate what is essentially anti-competitive behavior by Internet service providers, or the potential for anti-competitive behavior, by treating it as a matter of communications law, instead of antitrust law.
AT&T and Google’s plans to give Austin a gigabit is an experiment. Is it a good one?
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
AT&T executives will meet with Austin and Texas officials seeking the same concessions that Google is getting in order to build out its gigabit network. As someone who has followed telecom in Austin, and in Texas, this mostly means the ability to cherry pick where it will deploy its gigabit network. And that points to both the upside and downside of Google’s influence.
How social media is becoming as important a live event as the live event itself
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
In our age of the dual television and smartphone screen, watching Twitter during live events has become intertwined with the actual watching of the broadcast itself. You can always DVR a show for later, but experiencing the Twitter jokes as they happen is something else entirely.