Net Neutrality

2016 US Presidential Election Likely to Have Major Impact on Broadband Expansion and Regulation

"The 2016 presidential election is likely to have a major impact on how the US government tries to expand broadband deployment and how it regulates Internet service providers," writes Jon Brodkin in Ars Technica. more

U.S. Court Urged to Reverse Net Neutrality Rules, FCC Chair Says Petition ‘No Surprise’

Several wireless, cable and broadband trade associations today called on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to reverse the net neutrality ruling that passed last month in a 2-1 decision by a three-judge panel. more

T-Mobile Gives Free Unlimited Data for Pokemon Go - Raising Net Neutrality Concerns

T-Mobile announced today that as a part of its "T-Mobile Tuesdays" promotion it will give its customers unlimited data to play Pokemon Go until August 2017. Move called Net Neutrality violation. more

Berners-Lee Urges Citizens to Comment: “Four Days to Save the Open Internet in Europe”

In an open letter released today, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Professor Barbara van Schewick, and Professor Larry Lessig are urging citizens, lawmakers and regulators, to speak up. more

U.S. Appeals Court Upholds FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules

The US broadband industry has lost its lawsuit attempting to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules and the related reclassification of Internet service providers as common carriers. more

The Hill: FCC Response to Sen. Cruz Reveals Hidden ICANN Agenda in Net Neutrality Order

Fred Campbell reporting in The Hill writes: "It's no secret that controversy has plagued the Obama Administration's plan to surrender U.S. oversight of the Internet domain naming and numbering systems from the current U.S.-based ICANN to the 'global multistakeholder community.' But the reason the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) declined to exercise its statutory jurisdiction over Internet numbering inside the United States was indeed secret until Senator Ted Cruz forced the FCC to explain itself." more

H.R. 2666 Bill Proposes Deregulating U.S. Broadband Rates, Obama Threatens to Veto

President Obama has threatened to veto a backdoor attempt by a Republican-backed bill that would undermine net neutrality protection measures. The "No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act", or H.R. 2666, proposes to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from regulating the rates charged for broadband Internet access service. more

Council of Europe Releases Strong Net Neutrality Guidelines

The net neutrality guidelines released today by the Council of Europe has laid out significant principles which, although not legally binding, could "almost certainly result in legislation that follows its lead being passed across Europe," reports Kieren McCarthy in The Register. more

Net Neutrality Can Be Taken Too Far, Says Zuckerberg in Defense of Internet.org Project

While speaking at a town-hall-style meeting in India on Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended the company’s controversial Internet.org project, insisting on how the project can help connect parts of the country that otherwise wouldn’t have access to the Internet. more

FCC Chairman: It’s Time to Settle Net Neutrality Questions

Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Chairman, Tom Wheeler, today in an open letter in the Wired Magazine writes: "After more than a decade of debate and a record-setting proceeding that attracted nearly 4 million public comments, the time to settle the Net Neutrality question has arrived..." more

FCC Expected to Propose Regulation of Internet as Utility

Sources are reporting that Tom Wheeler, the Federal Communications Commission chairman, is widely expected this week to propose regulating Internet service similar to a public utility -- a move certain to unleash another round of intense debate and lobbying about how to ensure so-called net neutrality, or an open Internet. more

Obama Urges FCC to Treat the Internet As a Utility

President Obama released a letter today stating that Internet services -- including both wired and wireless Internet -- should fall under Title II of the Telecommunications Act. Reclassifying broadband this way would prevent providers such as Comcast from charging fees to companies like Netflix in exchange for faster delivery speeds. more

FCC Receives 3.7 Million Comments on Net Neutrality

The Federal Communications Commission has finished accepting comments on the controversial net neutrality proposal closing out as by far the most-commented issue in agency's history with a total of approximately 3.7 million replies. The commenting period has been open for five months and was even extended for several days due to frequent issues with the agency's website. more

Major Web Companies Reiterate Opposition to Paying ISPs for Fast Lane Access

The Internet Association -- a trade group that represents 36 companies including Google, Netflix, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, eBay, Yahoo, and PayPal -- submitted comments (PDF) to the Federal Communications Commission on Monday to formally oppose a proposal to let Internet service providers charge content providers for priority access in their networks. The FCC is currently weighing a proposal to establish guidelines to protect the open Internet. more

Group Launches Coalition for Local Internet Choice

A new coalition of public and private entities was launched today with the mission to support the rights of local communities to make their own decisions regarding broadband Internet networks - "unhindered by state laws or other policies that attempt to stifle or preclude local innovation and investment." more