Jon Brodkin

The Federal Trade Commission is worried that it may no longer be able to regulate companies such as Comcast, Google, and Verizon unless a recent court ruling is overturned.

The FTC petitioned the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals for a rehearing in a case involving AT&T’s throttling of unlimited data plans. A 9th Circuit panel previously ruled that the FTC cannot punish AT&T, and the decision raises questions about the FTC’s ability to regulate any company that operates a common carrier business such as telephone or Internet service. While the FTC's charter from Congress prohibits it from regulating common carriers, the agency has previously exercised authority to regulate these companies when they offer non-common carrier services. But the recent court ruling said that AT&T is immune from FTC oversight entirely, even when it’s not acting as a common carrier. It isn’t clear whether the ruling sets an ironclad precedent preventing the FTC from regulating any company with a common carrier business. But the FTC’s petition for a rehearing (full text) describes that outcome as a real possibility.

The 2016 presidential election is likely to have a major impact on how the US government tries to expand broadband deployment and how it regulates Internet service providers. But while we have a pretty good idea of how a President Hillary Clinton would approach the broadband industry, there’s very little to go on when predicting broadband policy under a President Donald Trump.

Clinton’s technology plan includes several initiatives designed to “deliver high-speed broadband to all Americans,” and it promises to defend network neutrality rules that prevent ISPs from discriminating against online services. There are questions about how Clinton would implement the plan and whether it's aggressive enough to achieve 100 percent broadband deployment, and her campaign has declined to provide more specifics. But the mere fact that Clinton has outlined some clear broadband goals sets the Democratic nominee apart from the other candidates. Republican nominee Donald Trump doesn’t seem to have any plan for increasing access to broadband, and there are indications that he would not support new consumer protection regulations.

T-Mobile USA has begun throttling mobile hotspot data when its network is congested while giving priority to smartphones and other devices that connect directly to the cellular network. T-Mobile has been notifying customers of the change with a message that says, "We just made your network better again" and that "T-Mobile device data comes first." "We've primed the network for on-device use," the carrier says on its website. "So now when there's congestion, you may notice higher speeds for data on your T-Mobile devices versus Smartphone Mobile Hotspot (tethering)."

Prioritization of on-device data is triggered "at times and at locations where there are competing customer demands for network resources, which may result in slower tethering speeds," T-Mobile also says. That means your smartphone should still be fast, but devices like laptops that connect to the phone's mobile hotspot will get slower Internet access. T-Mobile is making this change as it tries to shift customers from data buckets to plans that are nominally "unlimited" but in reality have several limits. The recently unveiled T-Mobile One plan has no monthly data cap or overage fees, but it throttles video to 1.5Mbps (enough for about 480p resolution) and throttles other data usage when customers who have used more than 26GB in a month connect to congested cell towers.

Verizon has told its field technicians in Pennsylvania that they can be fired if they try to fix broken copper phone lines. Instead, employees must try to replace copper lines with a device that connects to Verizon Wireless’s cell phone network. This directive came in a memo from Verizon to workers on September 20. “Failure to follow this directive may result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal,” the memo said.

It isn't clear whether this policy has been applied to Verizon workers outside of Pennsylvania. The memo and other documents were made public by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union, which asked the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to put a stop to the forced copper-to-wireless conversions. The wireless home phone service, VoiceLink, is not a proper replacement for copper phone lines because it doesn’t work with security alarms, fax machines, medical devices such as pacemakers that require telephone monitoring, and other services, the union said. “Field technicians are required to have VoiceLink units on their trucks and to refuse to repair copper plant serving voice-only customers,” CWA local President James Gardler wrote in testimony presented to the state Utility Commission. "Our members are being told that if they actually try to repair copper plant instead of using VoiceLink, they will be subject to disciplinary action by Verizon." The memo to field technicians says that in order to give customers the “best possible network performance in non-FiOS areas, Verizon will migrate as many customers experiencing trouble on their line to VoiceLink as possible.”

Verizon’s plan to deploy fiber to 900 homes and fix problems with its DSL network in South New Jersey is “haphazard” and fails to “address the systemic problems” faced by Verizon customers, an independent government agency said. The New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel, a watchdog agency that advocates on behalf of utility customers, wants state utility regulators to move forward with an investigation into Verizon’s plan to fix service problems. Division of Rate Counsel Director Stefanie Brand made the agency’s position clear in a letter to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU).

The BPU has been considering whether to launch an investigation of Verizon as requested by 17 cities and towns who say the company “has, through neglect, abandoned and retired its copper landline infrastructure in most of South Jersey.” Verizon attempted to prevent a formal investigation by submitting a plan to improve service on September 19, but Rate Counsel argued that the BPU should investigate instead of simply taking Verizon’s word that it will fix the problems.

AT&T is getting rid of Internet Preferences, the controversial program that analyzes home Internet customers' Web browsing habits in order to serve up targeted ads.

“To simplify our offering for our customers, we plan to end the optional Internet Preferences advertising program related to our fastest Internet speed tiers," an AT&T spokesperson spoketh. "As a result, all customers on these tiers will receive the best rate we have available for their speed tier in their area. We’ll begin communicating this update to customers early next week.” Data collection and targeted ads will be shut off, AT&T also confirmed. Since AT&T introduced Internet Preferences for its GigaPower fiber Internet service in 2013, customers had to opt into the traffic scanning program in order to receive the lowest available rate. Customers who wanted more privacy had to pay another $29 a month for standalone Internet access; bundles including TV or phone service could cost more than $60 extra when customers didn't opt in.

The Federal Trade Commission will appeal a court decision that let AT&T avoid punishment for throttling the Internet connections of customers with unlimited data plans. The FTC sued AT&T in October 2014, seeking refunds for customers. But in August, a three-judge panel at the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of AT&T, overturning a District Court decision that had gone in the FTC's favor. The FTC's options include seeking a rehearing of the case in front of the entire Ninth Circuit appeals court, and that is what the commission will do. "We are going to be seeking a rehearing in that matter," FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez told US senators during an FTC oversight hearing Sept 29. If the FTC fails at the appeals court level, it could take the matter to the US Supreme Court, but Chairwoman Ramirez did not address that possibility.

If you were worried that the debate over Internet data caps would get bogged down in technical mumbo-jumbo, fear no more—it's actually much simpler than you think. Mediacom, a US cable company with a little over 1.1 million Internet subscribers in 22 states, has put the matter to rest by explaining to the Federal Communications Commission that its customers shouldn't get unlimited data because using the Internet is just like eating Oreos. "You have to pay extra for double-stuffed," Mediacom Senior VP and General Counsel Joseph Young wrote in a filing with the FCC. Young went into more detail, just to make sure the nation's broadband regulators fully understand how Internet data is just like sandwich cookies.

AT&T has sued Nashville (TN) to stop a new ordinance designed to accelerate the deployment of Google Fiber. The lawsuit was filed in US District Court in Nashville Sept 22, only two days after the Nashville Metro Council passed a “One Touch Make Ready” rule that gives new Internet service providers faster access to utility poles. The ordinance lets a single company make all of the necessary wire adjustments on utility poles itself, instead of having to wait for incumbent providers like AT&T and Comcast to send work crews to move their own wires. Google Fiber says it is waiting on AT&T and Comcast to move wires on nearly 8,000 poles. AT&T’s lawsuit claims that the ordinance is preempted by Federal Communications Commission pole attachment regulations and violates AT&T’s 58-year-old pole attachment contract with Nashville. The company seeks a declaration that the ordinance is unlawful and a permanent injunction preventing the local government from enforcing it.

Charter is trying to convince the Federal Communications Commission to backtrack on a plan that would force cable providers to charge a separate fee for cable modems.

Charter is unusual compared to other cable companies in that it doesn’t tack on a cable modem rental fee when offering Internet service. But FCC officials don’t think that’s good for consumers, because the price of Charter Internet service is the same whether a customer uses a Charter modem or buys their own. Charter argues that it doesn’t pass the cost of the modem on to consumers. “Our pricing is competitive and comparable to other providers,” Charter told Ars. In addition to the base price, other providers "charge a modem fee of around $10. Our service isn’t $10 more expensive. We don’t bake in a modem fee, we include it for free with the service." Charter said, "If transparency is the ultimate goal of the FCC’s provision, we would be more than happy to specifically note on our customers’ bills that our modems are free."