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FCC Sides With Google Fiber Over Comcast With New Pro-Competition Rule (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: The Federal Communications Commission today approved new rules that could let Google Fiber and other new [ISPs] gain faster access to utility poles. The FCC's One Touch Make Ready (OTMR) rules will let companies attach wires to utility poles without waiting for the other users of the pole to move their own wires. Google Fiber says its deployment has stalled in multiple cities because Comcast and AT&T take a long time to get poles ready for new attachers. One Touch Make Ready rules let new attachers make all of the necessary wire adjustments themselves. Comcast urged the FCC to "reject 'one-touch make-ready' proposals, which inure solely to the benefit of new entrants while unnecessarily risking harm to existing attachers and their customers." FCC Chairman Ajit Pai rejected this argument, saying that startups are unnecessarily delayed when they have to wait for incumbent ISPs before hanging wires. Here's what Pai had to say: "For a competitive entrant, especially a small company, breaking into the market can be hard, if not impossible, if your business plan relies on other entities to make room for you on those poles. Today, a broadband provider that wants to attach fiber or other equipment to a pole first must wait for, and pay for, each existing attacher to sequentially move existing equipment and wires. This can take months, and the bill for multiple truck rolls adds up. For companies of any size, pole-attachment problems represent one of the biggest barriers to broadband deployment."
For once anyways.
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
I feel dirty. Good for him though; I guess they're really trying to make good on that whole expand competition thing.
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... About now is a good time to realize that world isn't fucked up beyond recognition. We take steps forward and back all the time. Let's celebrate that the FCC took a huge step forward. They've done enough back steps recently...
Paid for by Comcast and AT&T.
And maybe some hookers, etc, too.
The solution to net neutrality is more ISP competition.
"Tempers are wearing thin. Let's just hope some robot doesn't kill everybody." --Bender
Do you honestly think Google or whoever else is going to do a decent job relocating the existing wires on the poles? They'll likely be ripping them off brute force and hammering them back on with bent nails. What a clusterfuck this is going to become. I don't know why they would be allowed to touch anything up there that is not theirs. They should be building underground anyway. Everything should be moving off the poles.
...just where is the real Ajit Pai and what have you done with him?
What are you doing? First you vote against the Sinclair-Tribune merger and now you side with Google.
Stop trying to make me like you.
Zebras don't change their stripes. Ajit Pai is an asshole, clearly and objectively, therefore Google must have bribed him in some way to get this 'ruling'. The question remains: how much?
they wont bury the fiber across my yard FOR SIX MONTHS NOW.
my dog and my tegu keeps trying to EAT IT.
While I applaud that the little guys, or anyone for that matter, don't have to wait for the existing tenants on the pole to do something, there is a fairly large risk to have someone move someone else's equipment and/or wires. Sure, maybe 99% of the work that the new guy does is AOK, and no issue, but what about that 1%? People are trained specifically I would guess to work on/in the environment for their company and its particular resources. If someone comes along, that doesn't have the same training, or cuts corners, and messes something up, who gets to pay for that? If "New Guy Cable" comes along and dorks with the pole outside my house because he's hanging some new wire and causes me an internet outage, I'm going to call my cable company. They'll have to send out a truck, check it out, incur all of the costs to get things going again. What if the dingaling for New Guy Cable causes an outage for my whole neighborhood? What then?
Anyway, all for easing restrictions and making it easier for competition to get things done, but the risk averse side of me cringes.
Time will tell.
In Comcast vs. Google the GOP has no predetermined outcome. Both companies are not considered friendly to their interests.
Net neutrality is just a catchy phrase. It meant little when it was in place, and won't do anything if brought back. We need to erase the franchise agreements with cities and allow other ISP providers a way in to a service area to compete.
Maybe he might be wrong about one thing, but not other things? How is this possible???
Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
Don't worry - Pai isn't suddenly getting a conscience. Remember that Pai is basically beholden to Verizon (where he will end up at after his "public service"). Verizon is not a wireline provider (like AT&T, Comcast, Cox etc...) When 5g starts to roll out, one of the key battles is going to be over telephone poles. There are going to be tens of thousands of mini-cells mounted on poles to support this rollout - and if you don't own the poles (like Verizon), you're going to be at a disadvantage compared to the companies who do (like AT&T)
This vote isn't pro-internet or pro-freedom or anti-monopoly - it's entirely about ensuring that Verizon isn't at a competitive disadvantage in rolling out their 5g network.
Karma: SELECT `karma` FROM `users` WHERE `userid`=138474;
There is absolutely no reason why telecom companies should own poles within cities/states/country limits. These should be owned and maintained by the city, in order to let any who wish to make use of the poles, actually use them without having to pay extra fees to a company that would be their main competitor.
Why am I in hell, and why is it so damned cold?
THE SOFTWARE, IT NO WORKY!!!
not true i have verizon fios
It isn't like Comcast does do this already when convenient. The power pole here was just replaced. The power company came and put up a new pole and moved their wires. 3rd party came out and moved the rest and even cleaned up the mess from USWEST/Qwest/CenturyLink over the decades. I believe the same crew then took down the old pole and patched the hole even. It is not like Comcast feels the need to do it themselves then.
So this would just be Google hiring the 3rd party crew instead of power company. Seems reasonable enough.
...and if you don't own the poles (like Verizon)...
Verizon, the telephone company, does not own telephone poles? That seems...wrong.
To be fair, they own a lot less than they used to.
I live ze unknown. I love ze unknown. I am ze unknown.
Comcast will just cut their competitors' cables anyway.
FC Closer
Pretty sure Verizon is focused on doing wireless service now and any physical lines they would love to just do away with.
While it makes sense to reduce the amount of people touching the infrastructure, the telecom companies seem to have considered delay as an entry barrier. This decision is what they deserve.
Gonna need this or 5G will never ever happen as a viable protocol.
You're predicting Pai's next job? Really?
Having said that at the very beginning of you note, I suppose the rest of your comments have as much validity....
I remember hearing early last year that they had indefinitely stopped all growth/expansion/new installs. I remember thinking at the time, "So typical of Google, come up with an awesome product that people actually want and then completely bail for no good reason."
Have the incompetent fucks calling the shots over there finally been replaced with capable people again who are ready to get back to making American internet great (not again, but for the first time)???
Koch vs Trump ?
Low-frequency 5G (which Verizon and T-Mobile have heavily invested in the past for UHF spectrums) has much larger bandwidth and equal range to 3G and 4G. No way will Verizon set up hundreds of million mini-cells on telephone poles just because. Sure they purchased millimeter wave companies, but that is an entirely different market. 26GHz transmitters in cell phones are going to be bulky and prone to dropouts.
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This is just Ajit Pai keeping his post-government employment options open.
Or he'll end up "consulting" for both....
Verizon is working with Spectrum to roll out using their fiber, poles, and outdoor wifi in all areas for the "5g" service.
Comcast owns NBC. NBC owns MSNBC. MSNBC is a left-wing shill constantly attacking Trump and Republicans. Why would the Republicans want to help Comcast?
Pai's overlord Verizon needs this for 5G cell rollouts so this makes sense. I'm sure he'll find a way to prevent Google and newcomers from benefitting.