Google-Verizon: Proposal Critics Say Companies Want Loophole For ‘New Entertainment Options’

“We want the broadband infrastructure to be a platform for innovation,” the chief executives of Google and Verizon state in a joint proposal, announced yesterday, for how the U.S. government should regulate Internet services. To this end, the two companies press for broadband providers’ right to develop “new entertainment and gaming options,” among other new products, that are separate from traditional Internet access and hence not subject to the same government regulations.

Google and Verizon stress that under their proposal, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would monitor the development of these new online services, to ensure that “they don’t interfere with the continued development of Internet access.”

But the proposal has been met with outcry from media watchdog groups, along with a terse response from the FCC.

Andrew Jay Schwartzman, SVP and policy director at advocacy group Media Access Project, sees in the new-services proposal potential for a loophole that “may make some services unaffordable for consumers and access to those services unavailable to new start-ups” (in an interview with the New York Times).

The FCC, for its part, bridles at the corporations’ attempt to redefine the government’s role in net neutrality.

“Some will claim this announcement moves the discussion forward. That’s one of its many problems,” FCC Commissioner Michael Copps says in a statement (.pdf). “It is time to move a decision forward — a decision to reassert FCC authority over broadband telecommunications, to guarantee an open Internet now and forever.”

FCC Gives Nod To Studios’ Secure VOD Scheme

The FCC has granted a request by the Motion Picture Association of America to make use of VOD technology that essentially disables analog signal outputs on digital TVs and set-top devices. The MPAA spins the “selectable output control” technology as paving the way for distribution of more films via cable, satellite and IPTV before their release on DVD or Blu-ray. The LA Times considers further implications, noting the technology also makes possible pay-per-view film premieres. Bottom line: greater potential leverage for studios in their ongoing negotiations with theaters, rental services, and retailers over release windows. By the Los Angeles Times

FCC Suspends Comcast-NBCU Review Deadline

The FCC has asked Comcast and NBC Universal for two additional economic reports — one on the claimed economic benefits from the proposed $30 billion joint venture and the other on its impact on online video distribution, reports Broadcasting & Cable. The agency has suspended a May 3 deadline for comments and petitions to deny, giving Comcast and NBCU additional time to comply with the request. By Broadcasting & Cable

FCC Chairman Warns Of Mobile Internet Crisis At NAB

”On our current trajectory, the demand for spectrum for mobile Internet access will outstrip the supply — by a lot,” Julius Genachowski told his NAB audience. TheWrap has Genachowski’s bullet points on the FCC’s proposed solution: broadcasters would share or sell their unused broadband spectrum via “voluntary incentive auctions.” By TheWrap

Net Neutrality: Comcast Wins Court Battle With FCC

A U.S. appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Federal Communications Commission exceeded its authority when it censured Comcast for restricting Internet access to certain of its file-sharing customers. In 2008 the FCC had ordered Comcast to stop blocking subscriber access to BitTorrent sites.

The new court ruling has Democrats in Congress mulling the introduction of new legislation that would expressly empower the FCC to regulate Internet service providers. By The Wall Street Journal

FCC Prepares To Submit Broadband Plan

The 10-year plan, which will be submitted to Congress on Tuesday, is likely to generate debate in Washington and a lobbying battle among the telecommunication giants, which over time may face new competition for customers. Already, the broadcast television industry is resisting a proposal to give back spectrum the government wants to use for future mobile service. By The New York Times

Netflix Warns FCC Of Net Neutrality Loophole

In recent comments to the Federal Communications Commission, Netflix said the “managed services” portion of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s open-Internet rules could be a loophole for the biggest Internet service providers to gain unfair advantage for their own applications over those of competitors. “If left unchecked, the “managed services” category could engulf the Commission’s open Internet policies altogether. As such, the Commission must carefully circumscribe the network operators’ ability to exempt certain services from the openness rules by classifying them as managed services,” Netflix wrote in its filing. By The Washington Post

MPAA Urges Copyright Protection As Part Of ‘National Broadband Plan’

In comments filed last week with the Federal Communications Commission, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) looks for Congress to “encourage ISPs to work with the creative community to implement the best available, commercially practicable policies and technological solutions to diminish the theft and unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials online.” The full text PDF of the MPAA’s comments is here. Motion Picture Association of America

Net Neutrality Still Faces Political, Legal Hurdles

As the Federal Communications Commission votes unanimously to begin the process of creating open Internet regulation, Congress gets ready to join the debate. By CNET

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