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Obama refutes 'fast lane' aspect of FCC net neutrality proposal
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MacNN Staff
Join Date: Jul 2012
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President Obama, fielding a question at a press event, has decried part of US Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler's "net neutrality" proposal. Speaking before the US Africa Leaders Summit, the president claims that "you don't want to start getting a differentiation in how accessible the Internet is to different users" and that the proposal needs to "leave it open so the next Google and the next Facebook can succeed."
Wheeler's proposal for net neutrality prevents companies from downgrading Internet traffic in their own favor, but also opens up the opportunity for Internet service providers to charge extra for faster content delivery, codifying such deals as those penned by Netflix with Comcast and Verizon. Wheeler claims that the FCC will not tolerate actions by ISPs that "degrade the service for all for the benefit of a few," despite the inherent contradiction in having "fast lanes" in the first place. The chairman has threatened to regulate the Internet under common carrier "Title II" laws, should the ISPs fail to abide by regulations set forth by the FCC, or if they abuse the "fast lane" concept in any way. Providers have strongly bristled at the notion.
Ignoring the possibility of Title II regulation of Internet service providers, the President noted that "one of the issues around net neutrality is whether you are creating different rates or charges for different content providers. That's the big controversy here. You have big, wealthy media companies who might be willing to pay more and also charge more for spectrum, more bandwidth on the Internet so they can stream movies faster."
The president has been mostly silent during this net neutrality debate and during previous court rulings overturning it, despite making it an underpinning of his initial presidential campaign. The FCC has made no statements regarding the president's disapproval of the "fast lane" concept.
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Last edited by NewsPoster; Aug 9, 2014 at 09:54 PM.
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Senior User
Join Date: Jun 2000
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If you're serious Mr. President, then kick Wheeler out of the FCC chair.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Aug 2001
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If Wheeler keeps trying to have it both ways (unsuccessfully), the problem you perceive may take care of itself, Butcher ...
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Charles Martin
MacNN Editor
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Junior Member
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Originally Posted by TheGreatButcher
If you're serious Mr. President, then kick Wheeler out of the FCC chair.
I agree with you on the policy question. However, the FCC is an autonomous Government agency that is supposed to be above politics. If the President forces the Chairman out over this issue, then he will have set a terrible precedent that we may regret for decades to come. Let us hope that the other Commissioners reject the Chairman's position on net neutrality.
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Ham Sandwich
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When my neighbors get the heck off Netflix I'll be able to check my email and upload attachments on my 30 Mbps connection...
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