Shapiro is being either overly diplomatic or disingenuous. There is no "nuance"
involve here, and this Chairman couldn't care less about "the most fundamental
basic principle that consumers should be able to get whatever they want." The
FCC Chairman's own staffers even called him out on just that.
"O'Rielly said that a new law would mean that FCC wouldn't have to 'parse out
meaning' from the 1934 communications legislation and subsequent laws."
Unclear whether we are talking basic technical illiteracy, or phony
disingenuous BS. Truly, I can't tell. There is no parsing needed to understand
that the telecoms have been guaranteed neutral, for 110 years. There is no
ambiguity as to what constitutes "telecom" and what constitutes "a business
that uses telecoms." None of this is ambiguous, except in the minds of those
who must be crooks.
"From the advent of the internet until 2015, the FTC played an active role,"
[Ohlhausen] said. "Now that the Open Internet order was put out, eventually the
authority is going to come back to the FTC."
All the FTC had to worry about, in the dialup era, with plenty of ISP
competition, was the kind of issues that apply to the FTC charter. Title II
telephone lines ensured that ISP competition remained adequate, and ISP service
was merely another business using the phone lines. By extension, the FTC has
that same role to play now, wrt web sites and Internet-based business in
general. But the FCC Chairman is stubbornly, and mostly single-handedly, trying
to sweep under the rug the reality now: access is provided directly from ISP to
homes. Inadequate or non-existent competition, but he wants to remove the
neutrality guarantee anyway. And is going about it just like a crook would.
"Clyburn called the net neutrality decision and its aftermath as a 'teachable
moment.'"
Indeed. Too bad that, try as you might, you can't teach a brick wall.
Bert
-----------------------------------------------
http://www.tvtechnology.com/events/0025/ces-2018-fcc-members-restate-net-neutrality-stances/282541
CES 2018: FCC Members Restate Net Neutrality Stances
FTC Chief ready for open internet oversight
January 11, 2018
By Gary Arlen
LAS VEGAS-Five federal policymakers offered their familiar visions of core
regulatory issues, including spectrum policy and net neutrality, during CES
sessions. With the FCC Chairman absent because of death threats he has recently
received, and Democratic Commissioner opting to skip the program, the sessions
were largely status reports on activities at the FCC, NTIA and FTC. The
on-stage discussion did not address the Commission's split decision in November
on ATSC 3.0 rules.
David Redl, who heads the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration, opened the session by reading very quickly through prepared
remarks, touching on spectrum policy, cyber-security, international governance
and the development of telecom infrastructure, including sharing of bandwidth
assigned to federal agencies. He promised that spectrum policy will be a major
focus of NTIA this year, and the agency will work with industry to develop
procedures to make better use of the airwaves.
"We must do everything we can this year and beyond to accelerate America's 5G
leadership," he said. "With 5G set to drive demand for more access to spectrum,
we've been looking at bands across NTIA's notorious spectrum chart." Citing the
37 GHz band, he said NTIA is "optimistic" that "if we can get this right, it
will serve as a model on how to handle sharing in other bands."
Redl also emphasized NTIA's prioritization of cybersecurity.
After Redl's speech, Julie Kearney, CTA's VP-regulatory affairs, sat down for a
chat with FCC Commissioners Mignon Clyburn, Brendan Carr and Michael O'Rielly.
O'Rielly said he expects a "busy and exciting year" in which the Commission
will eliminate rules "that no longer make any sense," citing Pai's intent to
delete aging regulations.
Commissioner Brendan Carr predicted, "We'll unleash more innovation and greater
investment." He also said he expects that the policies will lead to broadband
expansion.
Clyburn called the net neutrality decision and its aftermath as a "teachable
moment."
Kearney sought to extract opinion from the Commissioners about the need for or
likelihood of an update of the Communications Act that steers their
decision-making. Analysts acknowledge that Congressional action on such
legislation is not currently on the drawing board.
O'Rielly said that a new law would mean that FCC wouldn't have to "parse out
meaning" from the 1934 communications legislation and subsequent laws.
Clyburn said she is hopeful that Congress will move in a way to recognize what
the FCC, although she acknowledged that, "We're not going to get a blueprint of
everything that comes before us."
At an earlier session, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen
assured the audience that the FTC is ready to play a larger role in enforcing
Open Internet regulations that are part of the FCC's repeal of Title II
classification.
"From the advent of the internet until 2015, the FTC played an active role,"
she said. "Now that the Open Internet order was put out, eventually the
authority is going to come back to the FTC."
CTA President Gary Shapiro, who interviewed Ohlhausen on stage, said that, "No
other session in CES history has gotten as much pre-show attention" as the
expected Pai participation.
Shapiro characterized CTA's stance on neutrality as 'very complex in terms of
nuance." He said that he believes Republicans and Democrats agree on "the most
fundamental basic principle" that consumers should be able to get whatever they
want.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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