FCC Says Gutting ISP Oversight Was Great For Broadband (vice.com)

Earlier this week, the FCC proclaimed that broadband connectivity saw unprecedented growth last year thanks to the agency's policies like killing net neutrality. But, as Motherboard points out, that's not entirely true. The lion's share of improvements highlighted by the agency "are courtesy of DOCSIS 3.1 cable upgrades, most of which began before Pai even took office and have nothing to do with FCC policy," the report says. "Others are likely courtesy of build-out conditions affixed to AT&T's merger with DirecTV, again the result of policies enacted before Pai was appointed head of the current FCC." Also, last year's FCC report, which showcased data up to late 2016, "showed equal and in some instances faster growth in rural broadband deployment -- despite Pai having not been appointed yet." From the report: The broadband industry's biggest issue remains a lack of competition. That lack of competition results in Americans paying some of the highest prices for broadband in the developed world, something the agency routinely fails to mention and does so again here. [...] Still, Pai was quick to take a victory lap in the agency release. "For the past two years, closing the digital divide has been the FCC's top priority," Pai said in a press release. "We've been tackling this problem by removing barriers to infrastructure investment, promoting competition, and providing efficient, effective support for rural broadband expansion through our Connect America Fund. This report shows that our approach is working." One of those supposed "barriers to broadband investment" were the former FCC's net neutrality rules designed to keep natural monopolies like Comcast from behaving anti-competitively.

"Overall, capital expenditures by broadband providers increased in 2017, reversing declines that occurred in both 2015 and 2016," the FCC claimed, again hinting that the repeal of net neutrality directly impacted CAPEX and broadband investment. A problem with that claim: the FCC's latest report only includes data up to June 2018, the same month net neutrality was formally repealed. As such the data couldn't possibly support the idea that the elimination of net neutrality was responsible for this otherwise modest growth. Another problem: that claim isn't supported by ISP earnings reports or the public statements of numerous telecom CEOs, who say net neutrality didn't meaningfully impact their investment decisions one way or another. Telecom experts tell Motherboard that's largely because such decisions are driven by a universe of other factors, including the level of competition (or lack thereof) in many markets.

Comments

Habitual liars run the government?

[Futurepower(R)]

Lying has become a standard policy in the U.S. government.

Re:don't forget

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually he nominated Pai AT THE DIRECT SUGGESTION OF MCCONNEL to keep the bipartisan makeup of the panel, as was the custom just those few short years ago before Trump's treasonous autocratic gambles.

Pai was the Republican choice and Obama obliged them. One can question the wisdom of catering to that spineless dick cozy Mitchy bitch, but in the end it was SOP to keep the panel bipartisan and Obama did that.

(Your dishonesty does not surprise anyone, GOP cowards.)

Even Washington lied.

[Anonymous Coward]

Likely why that cherry tree story is so important.

Washington was the first president to march on his own citizens to 'quell' a rebellion over unfair taxation... the Whiskey Tax, which favored large eastern industrial manufacturers with flat taxes over a certain volume over western and poorer subsistence farmers who used whiskey as a form of barter, easier to transport goods, and a savings fallback for when harvests were bad (and they often were back in those days.) The Appalachian farmers could never produce enough individually to benefit from the flat tax, and the percentage tax was considered too high, and more importantly a sign of things to come. Since most of those same farmers had served in the revolutionary army and were in heavy debt, some with interest waived, but many with interest accrued during the War, most found it infuriating that they were now paying the very taxes they'd fought a war to end.

American has never lived up to its ideals, only on occasion had them pulled kicking and screaming to the forefront when its citizenry has had enough.

Re:don't forget

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually he nominated Pai AT THE DIRECT SUGGESTION OF MCCONNEL to keep the bipartisan makeup of the panel, as was the custom just those few short years ago before Trump's treasonous autocratic gambles.

The problem was, that while Obama tried to reach out, be reasonable, get buy in from the republicans for things, they didn't bother. Their idea of bipartisanship was give us 95% of what we want.

I can blame, yet forgive Obama for not speaking out more forcefully towards the end of the election about what was going on. I'm not entirely sure it was the wrong decision, since it might have been spun as desperation on his part. Still, if there are two choices, and one better informs the voters, then I'll be biased to that one every time.

I can blame and never forgive McConnell for the way he treated the attack on our country. It was McConnell that refused to act, when Obama wanted to send a bipartisan statement. Basically its SOP for republicans. Anything to win, period. The correct thing congress should have done is be open with the public. They also should have released Trump's tax returns, since how can the American people make an informed decision without data?