FCC Commissioner: Free Mobile Video Streaming Might Violate Agency Rules

Here comes the Net Neutrality!

I know we had all kinds of debates on this subject and many here felt it was a good thing. Well, now that the government is more firmly in control of the Internet and broadband, here come the rules that dictate what service providers can and can't do, the expansion of free Internet/broadband for those who can't afford it, and the taxes to pay for it all!

Pai explained that programs such as T-Mobile’s “Binge On” program, which does not count video streaming toward users’ data plans, is currently under investigation by the agency for violating its “Internet conduct standard.”

Pai had sounded the alarm on the Internet conduct standard during the net neutrality debate, arguing that it would give the FCC a mandate to review business models and “upend” pricing plans that benefit consumers.

“It was a marked shift away from the era of permission-less innovation and, sure enough, the FCC is now hauling companies into our headquarters to justify their service plans,” Pai said at the Heritage Foundation.

How dare you buy a plan that gives you access to free streaming is discriminatory. It also limits your user choice somehow.

Pai also warned the public to prepare for the FCC to impose a national broadband tax in the near future. He explained that every American with a phone bill currently pays a universal service fee, which is a tax on voice service collected by every telecommunications carrier. He said the same could happen for broadband.

You noted above that it is unfair to have access to free streaming through your data plan? Yes, some of those same folks also argue that bropadband access is a "human right" now, so in order to make sure everyone has their "right," basic broadband for the poor (Lifeline) has been dramatically expanded and that has to be paid for somehow. By changing the classification of Internet to a public utility like the phone, it opens the door to a universal access tax like every American with a phone bill pays. Thus far, we have not seen that levied, but it's basically only a matter of time before that shows up on your ISP bill.

“As I said one year ago, read my lips: The money to fund this spending spree will come from a broadband tax. The only question is when,” he said. “Thus far, all we’ve been told is that no decision on broadband taxes will be made until after the D.C. Circuit decides whether the FCC’s regulations are legal.”

So, there you go. An update on what Net Neutrality is getting us - less access and more taxes! I am excited to be a part of this plan.

Bureaucrats are so predictable it's laughable...

Net neutrality is an absolute abomination and obvious move at completely nullifying free speech rights granted to us in the bill of rights...

Liberals and communists are indelibly disposed to silence all non-regulated entities...heck, they seem intent now on silencing all thought not consistent with their progressive sensibilities....

Congratulations to the FAA for at least having the decency to own up to their unamerican fascist desires...this is normally not the case with such entities(I'm looking at you EPA)

-Christosterone

Ket, Can I start the "told you so" tour yet? Or should I wait?

a reply to: ketsuko

But government control over the internet was supposed to be a good thing!

It was unfair to purchase a plan that might have been better than someone else's plan.

This is a perfect example of socialism. Instead of free enterprise and free market decisions, we can all enjoy equally crappy internet.

Will i also get a fine on my taxes every year that i don't sign up for the free broadband and pay my tax like a good free democratic citizen?

a reply to: roaland

If you like your internet, you can keep your internet.

a reply to: DBCowboy

starting to get deja vu... i think i need a

If you like your money, you can keep your money.

-Accept for health insurance, and internet, and auto insurance, and utilities, and propery taxes, and income taxes, and tolls, and gas tax, and well, whatever else we can think of. We will just skim of the top and spend it on what we want.
Don't worry, we gave ourselves raises and made it legal to bribe us, and if anyone complains, we have the internet shutdown button.

Trust us, we are here to help.

Iis the fn twilight zone? These guys suck.

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: roaland

If you like your internet, you can keep your internet.

Just not anything that allows unlimited streaming ... 'cause that's not fair.

So basically all the other carriers moaned about T-Mobile offering something everybody else is to cheap to offer, so they call old uncle FCC and have him put an end to it. all because of greed.

Wonderful. just awesome. Government control of everything is out of control.

This is a strange twist. I don't want the provider to choose which website to favor, but I would like having free access to streaming service. How much time they will give you a true better access, without sabotaging the rest? I don't tink it would be long befor they start limiting access to competing services.

Ajit Pai has almost finished his tour.

Ajit Pai was nominated to the Federal Communications Commission by President Barack Obama and on May 7, 2012 was confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate. On May 14, 2012, he was sworn in for a term that concludes on June 30, 2016.

originally posted by: ketsuko
Here comes the Net Neutrality!

I know we had all kinds of debates on this subject and many here felt it was a good thing. Well, now that the government is more firmly in control of the Internet and broadband, here come the rules that dictate what service providers can and can't do, the expansion of free Internet/broadband for those who can't afford it, and the taxes to pay for it all!

Pai explained that programs such as T-Mobile’s “Binge On” program, which does not count video streaming toward users’ data plans, is currently under investigation by the agency for violating its “Internet conduct standard.”

Pai had sounded the alarm on the Internet conduct standard during the net neutrality debate, arguing that it would give the FCC a mandate to review business models and “upend” pricing plans that benefit consumers.

“It was a marked shift away from the era of permission-less innovation and, sure enough, the FCC is now hauling companies into our headquarters to justify their service plans,” Pai said at the Heritage Foundation.

How dare you buy a plan that gives you access to free streaming is discriminatory. It also limits your user choice somehow.

Pai also warned the public to prepare for the FCC to impose a national broadband tax in the near future. He explained that every American with a phone bill currently pays a universal service fee, which is a tax on voice service collected by every telecommunications carrier. He said the same could happen for broadband.

You noted above that it is unfair to have access to free streaming through your data plan? Yes, some of those same folks also argue that bropadband access is a "human right" now, so in order to make sure everyone has their "right," basic broadband for the poor (Lifeline) has been dramatically expanded and that has to be paid for somehow. By changing the classification of Internet to a public utility like the phone, it opens the door to a universal access tax like every American with a phone bill pays. Thus far, we have not seen that levied, but it's basically only a matter of time before that shows up on your ISP bill.

“As I said one year ago, read my lips: The money to fund this spending spree will come from a broadband tax. The only question is when,” he said. “Thus far, all we’ve been told is that no decision on broadband taxes will be made until after the D.C. Circuit decides whether the FCC’s regulations are legal.”

So, there you go. An update on what Net Neutrality is getting us - less access and more taxes! I am excited to be a part of this plan.

Then why not change the bloodly agencies rules then for christ sake!!!!!!!!! ?????????

a reply to: Mikeyy

You didn't read did you? Binge On is very similar to services offered by other carriers, so no, T-Mobile isn't the only carrier to offer this kind of thing, nor are the only one to be called on the carpet. The article says three other services have been called in to answer for similar practices. T-Mobile is simply the only one mentioned by name.

a reply to: Azureblue

They did. It was called Net Neutrality. A lot of us cautioned that allowing these kinds of rules changes would open the door to this, but many here said otherwise.

Now look, we were right after all.

a reply to: Semicollegiate

Yep, and then no one will tell us what they're planning to do. They'll simply do it.

a reply to: ketsuko

This is because under Net Neutrality you're not allowed to give preferential treatment to specific packets of data. Making data packets from particular providers not count towards a data cap is a violation of that. It's not a bad thing that things are this way because you really don't want a world where ISP's are able to divide up the internet based on what sites they choose to favor or not favor.

Here's a better article on the subject
www.wired.com...

a reply to: DBCowboy


But here in America we already have cappy internet so....?

a reply to: Aazadan

In other words, how dare we the provider find ways to benefit you, the consumer, in ways they, the government, do not approve of because other people might object ...

So much for innovative business practices over the broadband networks the government didn't actually pay to build.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Aazadan

In other words, how dare we the provider find ways to benefit you, the consumer, in ways they, the government, do not approve of because other people might object ...

So much for innovative business practices over the broadband networks the government didn't actually pay to build.

But it's not benefiting the consumer, it's being spun as benefiting the consumer but the reality is that it limits choice and fosters an anti competitive atmosphere. When prohibitive data caps are in place, offering zero rating content is exactly the same thing as blocking websites. The whole point of Net Neutrality is that the internet doesn't devolve into a handful of service providers that offer their own competing content packages, but rather that the internet remains open for all. Zero rating destroys that.

Oddly enough, this whole issue goes back to the compromise ruling the FCC gave in I believe it was 2008 which basically destroyed our mobile network by allowing data caps like this in the first place (the compromise was that it could happen to wireless but not wired networks), and if you don't remember there was a HUGE push to do this very same thing to wired networks a few years ago.

The only silver lining in this whole thing is that the problem will solve itself within 10-15 years when Bitcoin or a competing cryptocurrency finally offers up enough incentive to run payment processing, that your device can process payments while displaying your data and pay for the data usage. So, assuming we don't actually destroy the marketplace before then all of these issues will go away.