Netflix CEO: Net Neutrality Key to AT&T-Time Warner Merger | Variety

Netflix CEO: Net Neutrality Key to AT&T-Time Warner Merger | Variety: "Hastings cautioned that the deal is still very new, and that not all the implications are clear yet. But he also argued that it’s all about preserving an equal playing field. “As long as HBO’s bits and Netflix’s bits are treated the same, that would be a starting point,” he said. “The key thing is with us net neutrality.”

 Netflix has in the past been a vocal opponent of some big media and telco mergers, notably opposing the proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable by Comcast; however, the company subsequently spoke out in support of Charter’s acquisition of Time Warner Cable." 'via Blog this'

T-Mobile agrees to pay FCC $48m over misleading data plans: Endgadget 19.10.2016

T-Mobile agrees to pay FCC $48m over misleading data plans: "The main bone of contention centered around T-Mobile's "top three percent" condition, where those who were on unlimited plans and in the top three percent of data usage would get throttled at times of high congestion. That throttling would take place even if they were on a plan that said they could use as much data as they wish.

 Of that $48 million fine, only $7.5m million is in actual cash. T-Mobile will additionally pay out $35.5 million in a "consumer benefit" program that consists of a 20 percent off discount for any accessory as well as 4GB of additional data if they have a "mobile internet line" -- presumably that's what you have for tablets or hotspots, although T-Mobile isn't super clear on that point.

T-Mobile says it'll also start using the FCC's "consumer broadband label" -- a chart showing exactly how much plans cost and what to expect in terms of speed." 'via Blog this'

European Net Neutrality – Regulation and guidelines - Nkom

European Net Neutrality – Regulation and guidelines - Nkom: "The European net neutrality rules provide a solid basis for regulation of net neutrality the next years. However, due to the novelty of the rules, there will most probably be challenging questions to resolve. With a view to preserve the value of the Internet for upcoming generations, it is important to continue the work to maintain the net as an open and non-discriminatory platform for everyone.

 The current high-profile net neutrality question about zero-rating has not achieved a clear answer under the European net neutrality Regulation. However, a general assessment methodology is provided, with a possibility for national regulators to intervene if necessary.

Over time the development of the market under this regulatory regime will gather experiences that can be used to feed into any future legislative processes." 'via Blog this'

Salvaging Google Fiber's Achievements | diffraction analysis

Salvaging Google Fiber's Achievements | diffraction analysis: "Google’s acquisition of Webpass however is interesting. Few journalists took the time to try and understand what Webpass does. Webpass uses wireless solutions for urban aggregation, not access. In other words, it doesn’t connect homes wirelessly, it connects multi-tenant buildings wirelessly and uses existing in-building wiring to connect the homes from the rooftop antenna.

 It’s a clever approach that solves two fundamental deployment issues:
– it eliminates the need to pull fiber along street poles or bury ducts in the pavement to pull fiber along the streets. This is both costly and time consuming;
– it eliminates the need to deploy fiber inside the homes, also expensive and time-consuming, by reusing the existing wiring.

 However, that approach does not seem to me to be so universal as to be usable in any deployment scenario. There are a number of potential issues that I see with it:

first, you need to target multi-tenant buildings to make the economics work. I suspect (again, not knowing the exact costs of their solution) that the equipment necessary to install this on single homes would make the price point too high. Furthermore, you need line of sight between rooftops which is comparatively easy when people live in high downtown MDUs, not so easy when they live in detached homes.
second, you need to be able to reuse the existing cabling in the house.

I haven’t had time to look into the specific regulatory aspects of this (and particularly to see if this varies from state to state or county to county in the US) but my bet is you can’t always bank on being able to reuse the cabling, especially if it’s been deployed by an incumbent or a cable operator. I may be wrong here, and I will be doing my homework on this, but I’m flagging it as a risk.

This doesn’t mean that Webpass doesn’t open up opportunities. I don’t think you’d get as good and stable a service as you’d get with FTTH but you might get a service that’s good enough for most customers’ needs.

Would it be good enough to compete with AT&T’s FTTC ? Most likely. Good enough to compete with Cable’s Docsis 3.1 as it gets deployed ? Less likely." 'via Blog this'

Broadband advert rule changes come into effect - 15 years too late

Broadband advert rule changes come into effect - BBC News: "To comply with the new rules, broadband providers will now have to:
Show all-inclusive, upfront and monthly costs, with no separating out of line rental prices
Give greater prominence to the contract length and any post-discount pricing
Give greater prominence to upfront costs
Digital and Culture Minister Matt Hancock welcomed the ASA's move." 'via Blog this'

Luca Belli: Net neutrality, zero rating and the Minitelisation of the internet

Net neutrality, zero rating and the Minitelisation of the internet: Journal of Cyber Policy: Vol 0, No 0: "This paper starts by exploring the NN debate, stressing that the NN rationale is to preserve an open and decentralised internet architecture, empowering end-users and protecting their rights. Subsequently, it argues that the combination of reduced data caps and zero-rating (ZR) schemes may create artificial scarcity, raise the price of the open internet and jeopardise the achievement of the NN rationale. It provides a taxonomy of ZR models and emphasises that several ZR practices might impose on the internet a centralised configuration that characterises less innovative networks, such as the Minitel. The phenomenon that I define as ‘Minitelisation’ of the internet consists of the shift from a user-centric, general-purpose network to one with predefined purposes, thereby creating passive consumers of predetermined services, rather than active internet users." 'via Blog this'

Blocking VoIP in the MENA region: the worst net neutrality violations of all

Blocking VoIP in the MENA region: "From Morocco to Jordan, governments throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have blocked access to voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services, such as Skype, WhatsApp calling, and others.

VoIP blocking often occurs to protect the profits of the incumbent telecom operators, many of which have a monopoly and are at least partially owned by the government. 


Recently, a member of the Internet governance community asked iGmena if there was a resource that tracked and mapped where VoIP is blocked in the MENA region. After searching for such a resource and coming up empty handed, we decided to make our own such resource based on our previous research (e.g., see here and here), and upload it to our website. We officially unveiled the map at iGmena Summit 2016, but now we are very excited to post it here as well." 'via Blog this'