I’ve been saying lately that the likely Net Neutrality outcome wouldn’t be bad at all, that we’d get a compromise that disappoints the radical left far more than it disappoints us. But it’s not a done deal. We’ve got to keep the pressure up, both as activists and through the incoming Republican majority in the House. The FCC must respect the 2010 elections and their consequences.
So we need to ask: Why isn’t the FCC even talking to the key ranking members of the relevant committees: Kay Bailey Hutchison and Joe Barton? Joe Barton and Cliff Stearns even sent the FCC a letter asking them to explain where in the law they get their authority to do what they’re planning. Why are Republicans being ignored and dismissed?
Do we have to threaten to defund come next year to get anywhere? If the FCC won’t work with Republicans then I don’t see how Republicans won’t have to play hardball in return and work actively to disrupt the FCC’s ability to do anything at all. So the FCC desperately needs to work with Republicans instead of letting the far left fringe be the swing vote in all of this.
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Good evening. In case you missed it, I weighed in with great detail on the Level 3/Comcast/Netflix flap, getting down to the basics to unravel the issue technically.
But tonight we discuss Net Neutrality. House Republican Reps. Cliff Stearns and Joe Barton fired a warning shot, challenging the FCC to justify any action it takes this month, so now that’s an issue getting some attention. ISPs are already scoffing at one proposed legal avenue because it’s ridiculous. Net Neutrality has zero to do with deploying high speed Internet access, and in fact such regulations would likely hinder deployment. Even left-wing universal access folk have been saying that for ages.
I guess it’s a good thing various big names turned down stimulus bucks for deployment.
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Foreign politics are a tricky subject. While the broad strokes of politics can generally be understood the world over, when traditionalists battle leftists, and small government folk take on both, every country has its own exceptions, its own cultural taboos, and other factors that make it unique.
Our politics for example completely baffle your typical European. Our conservative movement has few like it in the world, because the colonies had as a practical matter limited government and federal autonomy from day one. Then we had a revolution which, unlike any other, didn’t actually throw off our elites, but rather secured their previous autonomy. As a result our right is different, and the way our Republican party operates just confuses and frustrates them. Likewise, when we try to decipher the right in Europe, we run the risk of drawing the wrong conclusions and getting disappointed.
That said, I think we’re beginning to see a real change in the politics of western Europe, and in the coming years we will see the rise of a right which we will recognize better, and be able to engage with on the pressing global issues of the day. It won’t be a TEA party as we know it, but it’ll be the best we can hope to see from Europe.
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Just as I was saying copyright was soon to replace Net Neutrality as the big tech issue of the moment, circumstances prove me wrong. Instead, regardless of the results of the December FCC meeting and the future of that whole Net Neutrality debate (more later), the coming issue now is going to be peering.
Some will play word games and say it’s all covered under the blanket issue of Net Neutrality, but be careful. Net Neutrality as promoted and sold by Free Press, the FCC, Google, Verizon, and others has been all about the so-called last mile from the Internet to your home or business, including wired and wireless access. That’s what the FCC is talking about regulating as Net Neutrality, that’s been the focus of the scare stories calling the need for Net Neutrality a Crisis™, and we cannot now let them do a bait and switch.
So in your mind, I suggest separating the Comcast/Level 3/Netflix issue from the Free Press/Net Neutrality issue. The former deals with the back end of the Internet, from the user’s perspective, while the latter deals with the front end that we directly pay for and use.
They’re both important though, so here’s my explanation and view of the Comcast/Level 3 Peering controversy broken out as a separate post because it got so long. To sum it up, Comcast did the right thing, because Netflix and Level 3 were being unfair and trying to take advantage of sharing deals made in good faith.
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There’s a lot of heat and unfortunately not enough light being produced online with respect to the recent decision by Comcast to cut off its free peering deal with Level 3, thanks to the throwing around of the name Netflix. People like Netflix and want to know what’s going on. I even have a Netflix streaming-only account. So I’ll try to explain here what’s going on, why it matters, and why we need to keep the government from intervening in favor of Level 3 and Netflix.
Firstly, I know what the question is that many will need answered: What is peering? To understand what peering is, we must first remember that the Internet is a series of networks. We all have our networks at our homes and businesses. Those networks connect to ISPs. Those ISPs then connect their networks to each other and to ‘backbone’ providers. Those backbone providers also connect to each other. The further along the chain we go, the more of the Internet’s functioning depends on those connections. Backbone providers would not have a useful service unless their networks gave access to the entire Internet.
So what the big boys do is create peering agreements with each other, where they agree to connect to each other for free, on the grounds that the data will travel both ways, benefit both sides, and create value for all involved. Firms have to be careful though to ensure that their peers are actually trading equally and fairly, creating benefit for all instead of just leeching. That is why ISPs make contracts that specify how the peerings work, and document their policies and practices of peering. Level 3 spells it out and so does Comcast.
So what happened that was the big deal?
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Hello! The big story that we’ve been following with Tech at Night since the beginning has been Net Neutrality, but right now we’re still stuck waiting on this issue. Republicans aren’t going to act on it until January at the earliest, and we aren’t going to know what (if anything) the FCC will do on the issue in December until they tell us. So we wait, spread the word on why it’s not needed, and of course get loud against the radicals.
So until then, we return to what was once the big tech issue, and what might again become the big tech issue: Copyright.
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Happy Thanksgiving. I’ll be very brief, because it’s Thanksgiving.
The FCC is going to vote on the Internet takeover next month. Defying the law and the courts, the FCC will make a power grab, or at least will try to. There’s still time to get loud, get people informed, and get enough popular opposition to this thing going that the FCC might back off. I’m not counting on it, so plan B becomes aggressive legislative action in January. So talk to your members of Congress as well.
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Some may know I enjoy the various stories of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth very much, and beyond just having re-read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings several times each. Some of those who know that were surprised I hadn’t watched Peter Jackson’s movie versions, but I had good reasons for avoiding them: I’d heard plenty about what was done in the movies. It bothered me. Important plot points were left out and others were changed in important ways.
I’ve still had voices telling me I should see them anyway though, and the thought of buying the series was rolling around in my head. So, finally, a couple of weeks ago I broke down and bought the Bluray set. And last night I watched all 9 hours of movie in one, long marathon. Here are my thoughts on the series. Yes I will spoil freely. You should have read the books by now, but if you haven’t, don’t read on.
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