NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] AT&T: The Internet is awesome, so let's get rid of phone regulations
AT&T: The Internet is awesome, so let's get rid of phone regulations
Astroturf group pushes AT&T agenda to deregulate telecom
http://j.mp/160Gm7U (Ars Technica)
Expanding fiber access is a worthy goal, of course. But many
Americans still rely on copper-based DSL for Internet access, and
telecoms have proven themselves uninterested in replacing copper
with fiber in all parts of the country. After Hurricane Sandy
wiped out phone service in parts of Fire Island, Verizon's
solution was to abandon its traditional phone lines and replace
them with wireless-only service that residents complained was
worse than what they had before the storm. After complaints from
the New York Attorney General that the company was trying to
"depart from a century of telephone service regulation," Verizon
caved in and agreed to deploy fiber. The victory for consumers
demonstrated the importance of regulatory oversight. But the
concerns about reliability and battery life of wireless
replacements for copper were dismissed by the Internet Innovation
Alliance report ... The Internet market already suffers from a
lack of competition that could be exacerbated by a loss of
regulation, according to no less an authority than Vint Cerf,
co-creator of the Internet Protocol. "If no regulation leads to
your loss of choice of access to applications and content, then
that is not an acceptable outcome," Cerf told Ars last year. "If
that's what the telcos are trying to accomplish, I am opposed. If
all they're trying to accomplish is to make sure the Internet
stays as widely open as possible and they are willing to provide
competitive access and give us choice, that's another story."
- - -
Frankly, AT&T and Verizon, et al., are full of bull on this. When
emergencies hit, the first systems that fail are wireless and
Internet, for a variety of reasons (mostly having to do with
oversubscribed circuits, limited or no backup topologies, and minimal
backup power systems. On the other hand, while copper isn't a panacea
by any means, circuits with engineered in backup capacity powered from
central offices have been lifelines again and again (take it from
someone who has lived through two major L.A. earthquakes and just as
many wildfire evacuation warnings). AT&T denies it, but this is all
about trying to get out from under protective regulations that save
lives -- and transfer all the risk to their captive subscribers.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Founder:
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://google.com/+LaurenWeinstein
Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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