1. Monthly archive
  2. January 2018

January 2018

How Washington Helps Tehran Control the Internet

When thousands of Iranians streamed onto the country’s streets the week of Dec 25 to protest government corruption and the dilapidated economy, authorities in Tehran reverted to a well-known playbook. On Dec 31, the government shut down Telegram, a messaging platform used by more than 40 million Iranians. Instagram and other social media soon followed. The mullahs’ intentions were clear: to block access to digital platforms used by protesters to spread information about the uprising. But the government’s crackdown found support from a surprising source — the American sanctions regime.

Comcast fired 500 despite claiming tax cut would create thousands of jobs

Apparently, Comcast fired about 500 salespeople shortly before Christmas, despite claiming that the company would create thousands of new jobs in exchange for a big tax cut. Comcast apparently tried to keep the firings secret while it lobbied for the tax cut that was eventually passed into law by the Republican-controlled Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in late December. The Philadelphia Inquirer revealed the Comcast firings this week in an article based on information from an anonymous former employee, Comcast documents, and other sources in the company.

Net Neutrality and Transparency in the Regulatory Process

[Commentary] Releasing the network neutrality draft order early had some unintended consequences. It created a flurry of activity when everybody with an opinion felt they had to re-litigate their arguments. Far too many chose it as an opportunity to hurl invectives at those with differing opinions, contributing to the downfall of productive debate. Despite the increasing vitriol during the weeks before the vote, releasing the draft order prior to the Federal Communications Commission’s vote is one key to making the FCC regulatory process more transparent.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai canceled his appearance at CES because of death threats

Apparently, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai canceled his scheduled appearance at a major upcoming tech industry trade show after receiving death threats. It’s the second known incident in which Chairman Pai’s safety may have been at risk, after a bomb threat abruptly forced the chairman to halt his controversial vote to scrap net neutrality rules in December 2017.

Frontier, Consolidated and Windstream plead for flexible rural wireless spectrum rules

Frontier, Consolidated and Windstream told the Federal Communications Commission that to leverage wireless spectrum bands like 3.5 GHz to address rural broadband gaps, the current license size should be changed. In a recent joint FCC filing, the three service providers, which are all recipients of the regulator’s CAF II program, say that the larger license sizes—specifically partial economic areas (PEAs)—are too big and too expensive. As a result, the trio added that PEAs would preclude “potential participation from carriers considering deploying fixed wireless in very rural areas.”

Differing Perspectives on Deregulation – Looking at Comments on FCC’s Proposal to Modify Rules on Public Notice of Broadcast Applications

While some might think that the business of deregulation is easy, that usually is not the case, as comments on the Federal Communications Commission’s proposals to modify the public notice requirements for broadcast applications make clear. In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, as part of its initiative on the Modernization of Media Regulation, the FCC looked to modify the rules governing public notice that broadcasters must give when they file certain types of broadcast applications – particularly license renewals and applications for the assignment or transfer of broadcast stations.

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