[Cybertel-Ann] 7.28.8 :: Hey Buddy, Wanna Buy some Dialup?? :: "FCC to Hammer Comcast" :: The Internet Will Stop If.... :: Vaguely Creepy ::

Mon Jul 28 19:37:01 PDT 2008

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             CyberTelecom News  
      Federal Internet Law and Policy
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"History is bunk." – Brave New World

Earthlink Pins Future Hopes On......Dial-Up? - Now that they've tried absolutely everything else to stay relevant, dslreports
I remain morbidly fascinated in seeing what the barely animated corpse of Earthlink plans to do next. The company lost $80 million on Muni-Fi last year, their investments in broadband over powerline have gone nowhere, they can't share access to next-generation broadband networks, and their effort to run an MVNO (Helio) flamed out spectacularly. Earthlink's latest effort to stay alive? Re-focus on the dial-up market, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Earthlink-Pins-Future-Hopes-OnDialUp-96493
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/broadband/dialup.htm

FCC Rejects Qwest Forbearance Request - Who are you and what have you done with the FCC?, dslreports
Most line sharing regulation was gutted by the FCC's deregulation of the DSL industry back in 2005, but some agreements remain grandfathered. Qwest has been arguing the last few years that the markets they serve are just so competitive, they should no longer be mandated to share network access with competitors at protected, affordable rates. In a rare act of non-solidarity with a baby bell, the FCC has rejected Qwest's request (pdf) for forbearance from such
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/FCC-Rejects-Qwest-Forbearance-Request-96469
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/broadband/forbearance.htm

Winston-Salem, NC puts Wi-Fi network on hold, Muni
Winston-Salem has decided to shelve its citywide wireless project. The city reposted its Request for Proposals, but failed to receive any credible bid. Azulstar, the company that won the initial bid, pulled out of the project in March this year. They have a 1 square mile demonstration site running in the downtown area. The equipment has since been removed. According to Lynda Goff, IBM and Cisco
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/muniwireless/~3/348467908/
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/broadband/muni.htm

Philly Wi-Fi Network Use Skyrockets - Who knew that people prefer free services?, dslreports
After Earthlink pulled out of the muni-fi business, the company couldn't find anyone to buy their network in Philadelphia. Just as it appeared the project would be shuttered, several local investors stepped in and purchased the network. They've since been offering free access, so not surprisingly the network's daily user base has jumped from 6,000 (while it was a pay service from Earthlink) to 17,000 now that access is free. The new owners hope to actually
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Philly-WiFi-Network-Use-Skyrockets-96416
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/broadband/muni.htm

The FCC's Kindergarden-Approved Wireless Broadband - National plan involves potentially futile content-filtering effort…, dslreports
Last year the FCC denied a request by M2Z Networks that involved giving M2Z free spectrum in exchange for 5% of M2Z revenues. The company promised to offer 384kbps free service and a $20-$30 3Mbps tier to 95% of the country in ten years. The FCC instead proposed auctioning that spectrum with the 95% coverage condition attached. It's worth noting that both the original M2Z proposal and the FCC plan involve filtering any content on the free tier that could prove "harmful" to a five year old. From the FCC proposal (pdf), the company who wins the spectrum must implement a system that
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/The-FCCs-KindergardenApproved-Wireless-Broadband-96478
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/broadband/waws.htm

Kevin Martin, champion of Net Neutrality?, Wetmachine
According to Freepress.net, Martin joins a “Bipartisan FCC Majority” to punish Comcast for its peer-to-peer blocking funny business, already discussed here lots of times. Like everybody else, I'll await the in depth analysis sure to...
http://www.wetmachine.com/item/1261
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ci/neutral.htm

Adelstein and Copps: Voices at the FCC for a Free and Open Internet, Save the Internet
It’s unusual for federal bureaucrats to achieve rock star status, but two commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission have amassed an enthusiastic fan base among the emerging “Open Internet” movement.
http://www.savetheinternet.com/blog/2008/07/25/adelstein-and-copps-voices-at-the-fcc-for-a-free-and-open-internet/
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ci/neutral.htm

My FCC Presentation on the Future of Digital Media, Maverick
Its hard to get much said in a 5 minute limit, but hopefully I made a few points that got people thinking.
http://www.blogmaverick.com/2008/07/22/my-fcc-presentation-on-the-future-of-digital-media/
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ci/neutralfcc.htm

FCC to Hammer Comcast on Throttling Shenanigans, Ecommerce Times
Reports continue to circulate that the FCC has enough votes to rule that Comcast illegally blocked traffic between peer-to-peer Internet applications and that the government will soon set down guidelines for the Internet service provider that could serve as a precedent regarding the hotly debated topic of Net neutrality. The FCC could issue a ruling later this week, following reports in national media that Democratic commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps have joined Chairman Kevin Martin in deciding that Comcast should face some kind of action or sanction.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/rsstory/63966.html
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ci/neutralp2p.htm

FCC probably can't police Comcast's BitTorrent throttling, CNET
On Friday, the Federal Communications Commission is planning to rule that Comcast violated Net neutrality rules. The problem is that the FCC's rules may be illegal.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10000821-38.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ci/neutralp2p.htm

FCC's McDowell: The Internet Will Stop If You Regulate Comcast - Guess we know which way he's going to vote on Friday…, dslreports
With three of his colleagues likely to vote to "sanction" (whatever that means) but not fine Comcast on Friday for misleading consumers, FCC Commissioner and former telecom lobbyist Robert McDowell pens an editorial for the Washington Post. McDowell trots out the tired "Internet apocalypse" talking point favored by cable and phone lobbyists, while arguing that government should stay out of such debates about fairness and honesty -- because carriers have things
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/FCCs-McDowell-The-Internet-Will-Stop-If-You-Regulate-Comcast-96484
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ci/neutralp2p.htm

Possible First Attacks on DNS Flaw Have Been Reported, CircleID
The existence of the DNS flaw was revealed earlier this month by security researcher Dan Kaminsky and the code that could act as a blueprint for an attack via the flaw was published last week by Metasploit. On Friday, a user named James Kosin posted an excerpt from a server log to a Fedora Linux mailing list, claiming it proved attacks based on the DNS flaw had begun.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/possible_first_attacks_on_dns_flaw/
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/dns/security.htm

Can Congress tweet? Should bloggers care?, Tech Liberation Front
Continuing my campaign to bring attention to congressional web use rules, I have an article up at Ars Technica today. Bottom line:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techliberation/~3/348770134/
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/egov/

AT&T Will Disconnect Wireless P2P Users, IP Democracy
AT&T will jettison wireless users that engage in P2P file-sharing over its network, the company said Friday in a letter PDF  filed at the FCC (and flagged today by Ted Hearn at Multichannel News). Senior lobbyist Robert Quinn answered a question posed at hearing last week by Republican FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell about the company's policies of managing P2P network traffic on its broadband wireless platform.
http://www.ipdemocracy.com/archives/2008/07/28/#003035
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/industry/att.htm

Comcast Hit With Another Throttling Lawsuit - This time starring the individual who first discovered it…, dslreports
In May of last year, Broadband Reports user Robb Topolski posted in our forums that Comcast appeared to be forging TCP packets in order to throttle upstream P2P traffic for all users, regardless of consumption. That finding ultimately led to a wave of press coverage, an FCC investigation, and forced (or will by the end of 2008) Comcast to embrace a more transparent way of managing their network (most likely 250GB caps and very targeted throttling). Topolski has since gone on to work with consumer advocacy
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-Hit-With-Another-Throttling-Lawsuit-96412
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/industry/comcast.htm

Comcast Cares…In a Vaguely Creepy Sort of Way, PK
It's no secret that Comcast is a company with a bit of an image problem. If you're a regular reader of this blog, chances are that you already know this, given the frequency with which Comcast is discussed around these parts. And even if you're not a policy geek, chances are fairly high that you see America's largest cable company in a less than favorable light. As the most recent American Customer Satisfaction Index survey reveals, Comcast is one of the least trusted cable providers out there. So you can't blame the company for
http://feeds.publicknowledge.org/~r/publicknowledge-main/~3/346011991/1679
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/industry/comcast.htm

China Internet Users Pass 250 Million, Surpassing U.S. as Largest Internet Population, CircleID
China reports that the number of its Internet users has reached close to 253 million, surpassing United States as the world's leading Internet market, despite heavy government controls. The estimate, based on a national survey, shows that the number of Internet users jumped more than 50 percent, or by about 90 million, during the past year, suggesting that China could soon have more than 300 million people using the Internet for everything from news to online
http://www.circleid.com/posts/china_internet_users_pass_250_million/
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/intl/china.htm

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