When the FCC kicked-off its net neutrality proceeding in 2009, it labeled the proceeding “Preserving the Open Internet.” But to “preserve” means to “make lasting” or “maintain” rather than “change,” and that’s what many public interest advocates really want to do – change the way the Internet currently operates. For them at least, renaming “change” as “preservation” is classic doublespeak designed to disguise the real intent of net neutrality regulation. Read the rest of this entry »
Posts Tagged ‘ Google ’
Smartphone OS Is Critical to the Future of the Mobile Broadband Platform
I’m not the only one that thinks smartphone operating systems (OS) are “critical to the future of the mobile broadband platform.” Fierce Wireless recently reported that “cell phone operating systems are becoming the deciding factor, not the hardware platform itself.” The article, written by Fierce Wireless: Europe editor Paul Rasmussen, also noted that “the alliance between Microsoft and Intel” produced an “utterly convincing victory [in] the desktop/laptop OS battle.” After noting that Android has surpassed the iPhone OS in global smartphone sales, Rasmussen asks whether Google is looking to achieve the same dominance in smartphones that Microsoft/Intel enjoy in the PC market. The obvious answer is “yes.” The more interesting question is whether Google will succeed – a question that yields no easy answer.
Google’s Win-Win-Win Net Neutrality Agreement with Verizon
It’s not often that a company wins the triple-crown like Google did in its recent “agreement” with Verizon regarding net neutrality. But, then again, it’s not often that the FCC is betting so publicly for a particular company’s horse as the FCC has been with Google and net neutrality. So what are the three wins for Google? Read the rest of this entry »
Google Stops Selling Nexus One Directly to Consumers
In a March post, I used slow sales of the Nexus One as an example of a disconnect between actual consumer behavior and the arguments of “consumer groups” in Washington. I noted that these consumer groups advocate against subsidized handsets subject to early termination fees based on their belief that consumers would be better off paying full price for handsets without an early termination fee. And I noted that Google’s attempt to prove the viability of a market for full-price handsets sans termination fee through direct sales of its Nexus One wasn’t faring very well. Google has now conceded the point. Read the rest of this entry »
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early termination fees Google
An Analysis of the FCC’s Proposed Net Neutrality Rules: Discriminatory in Scope
“These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.” Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars (1977).
Here begins an analysis of the FCC’s proposed net neutrality rules. Because the topic is so large, I’m breaking this analysis into a series (although I haven’t yet decided how many parts there will be). I won’t promise that the analysis will be comprehensive, as I intend to focus on the points I find most interesting, but I will try my best to keep using some of my favorite Star Wars quotes as bookends.
I begin with the scope of the proposed rules. According to the NPRM, the proposed rules are merely a “codification of the existing Internet policy principles,” albeit with two additions. But the rules as proposed are vastly more limited than the existing Internet principles. The existing principles are broad and consumer-centric. They say that “consumers are entitled” to (1) access lawful content of their choice, (2) use the applications and services of their choice, (3) connect their choice of legal devices, and (4) competition among network providers, application and service providers, and content providers.
The proposed net neutrality rules don’t mention consumers. Instead of focusing on what consumers can do, the proposed rules focus on what providers of “broadband Internet access service” can’t do. The FCC says this “would make clear precisely who must comply and in what way.” What the FCC doesn’t say is that the rules would also make clear that all of the other essential participants in the Internet ecosystem would have no obligations at all.
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FCC Google Google Voice Net Neutrality NPRM