'Overwhelmed' FCC extends Net neutrality comment period

[kcjenkins]

'Overwhelmed' FCC extends Net neutrality comment period

 

A surge of traffic is crashing the agency's electronic filing system, so it's bumping the feedback deadline on the controversial proposal from Tuesday to Friday.

 

"The deadline for filing submissions as part of the first round of public comments in the FCC's Open Internet proceeding arrived today," said FCC spokeswoman Kim Hart. "Not surprisingly, we have seen an overwhelming surge in traffic on our website that is making it difficult for many people to file comments through our Electronic Comment Filing System."

 

"Please be assured that the commission is aware of these issues and is committed to making sure that everyone trying to submit comments will have their views entered into the record," Hart said, adding that the new deadline for submitting comments is midnight Friday.

 

The proposal, spearheaded by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, would reinstate regulations over how Internet traffic is treated by Internet service providers. The FCC's prior open Internet rules were tossed out by a federal appeals court in January. This latest effort has ignited a firestorm of protest among consumer advocates who feel it caters to big broadband companies by allowing so-called fast lanes for priority traffic on the Internet.

 

The FCC's online comment system has been vulnerable in the past -- and, if nothing else, is old. Last month the site stumbled under heavy traffic after comedian John Oliver capped a 13-minute segment about Net neutrality. Chairman Wheeler appealed to Congress in March to increase the agency's funding so that it could pay for more staff and upgrades to its outdated information technology systems.

 

"We have more than 200 relic IT systems that are costing the agency more to service than they would to replace over the long term," Chairman Wheeler said in his testimony to the US House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations. "We must overhaul, upgrade, secure and replace IT systems that are antiquated relics - costly to maintain and harmful to agency productivity."

 

Recognizing its technological limits, the FCC is also offering another option for those who don't want to mess with the official online submission process. Hart said the public can also send an email to [email protected] and it will be entered into the public record.

 

As of last night, the FCC had received more than 677,000 comments on the proposal. Today, the agency said that number has topped more than 780,000 comments.

 

 

CNET senior writer Marguerite Reardon contributed to this story.

 

[kcjenkins]

Yesterday The Hill reported, "The House on Wednesday approved a proposal to prohibit funding for the Federal Communications Commission to implement regulations preempting state laws on Internet access." The measure passed by 233-200 in the House...

 

I'm in full support of slashing the amount of taxpayer money we give to the FCC. But why is the issue of reducing the FCC's budget related to preempting state laws on Internet access? The two are very different issues. You might wonder what preempting state laws on Internet access even means.

 

This is nothing more than an effort by the same big companies like AT&T and Comcast to prevent "community broadband networks" i.e., competition. But this time they are going through a Republican to try to solidify their position.

 

Let me briefly share some background, and then we will get to the individual who merged the two in-congruent issues into singular legislation.

 

According to Motherboard, "Across the country, major cable and telecom companies have battled attempts to create community broadband networks, which they claim put them at a competitive disadvantage. Some 20 states have laws on the books that pose barriers to community broadband efforts­−laws that in many cases were pushed by cable and telecom industry lobbyists.”

 

These community broadband networks would probably provide you with faster, cheaper internet access. And surprisingly, Wheeler has indicated he would use FCC authority to preempt any states' laws that prohibit the furthering of community broadband access. But Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) spearheaded an amendment to a key appropriations bill to prevent the FCC from preempting state laws on Internet access, and the bill passed.

 

Blackburn made a statement about how this goes against states' rights, but Motherboard adds…

What Blackburn did not mention in her statement was that the nation's largest cable and telecom companies, which have repeatedly funneled buckets of money through political action committees into her reelection campaign coffers, vehemently oppose community broadband efforts. These corporate giants, which already dominate most markets, claim that such initiatives represent unfair competition.

 

Over the last decade, AT&T and Verizon have been Blackburn's second and third largest donors, pouring $66,750 and $59,650 into her campaigns, respectively, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. She's also received $56,000 from the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, an industry trade group, and $36,000 from Comcast, the nation's largest cable company.

 

 

So we've got another instance of crony capitalism on our hands. And I'm more and more convinced our lawmakers on both sides of the aisle don't really understand innovation. Today and every other day, Americans stand together saying, "No Thanks" to crony capitalism.

 

Keep the feedback coming to [email protected]. I don't have time to respond to everything, but I do read it all.