Pai, Clyburn Aides Encouraged by Aspects of Wheeler’s Net Neutrality Plan
LOS ANGELES -- Aides to FCC Commissioners Ajit Pai and Mignon Clyburn said they themselves were encouraged by aspects of Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposed net neutrality NPRM (CD May 1 p3), they said on a panel at the Cable Show. Clyburn aide Adonis Hoffman, clarifying that he was speaking only for himself, said he is “encouraged” that Wheeler’s plan is designed to prevent a “haves and have nots scheme.” Though Pai aide Matthew Berry said those in his office believe net neutrality “is a solution in search of a problem,” he said Wheeler’s plan is more palatable than other net neutrality proposals. “We need to recognize there’s some progress being made here,” Berry said. “The ball is moving in our direction.”
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Wheeler’s plan is superior to any plan that uses Title II reclassification, Berry said. Though Wheeler’s proposal doesn’t reclassify the Internet using common-carrier rules, he has said he will do so if he needs to. “I really hope the hysteria and all of the venom we see directed at the chairman now doesn’t cause him to go to Title II reclassification,” Berry said. Hoffman also praised Wheeler’s proposal for taking into account the many different stakeholders the NPRM will affect and making sure consumers don’t get “trampled.” The market “is going to take care of itself,” Hoffman said.
Commissioner Mike O'Rielly’s aide Courtney Reinhard said her boss wasn’t sure of Wheeler’s argument that the FCC has the authority to regulate the Internet. That wasn’t the intent of Congress, she said. More information about Wheeler’s proposal is likely to be available soon, said Wheeler aide Maria Kirby. “You can expect dispatch in this area.”
The agency shouldn’t try to regulate peering deals such as the one between Comcast and Netflix (CD April 30 p4), said Berry. The evidence shows that the free market has worked very well when it comes to peering, Berry said: “We should be very, very reluctant to get involved in this deal.”
The commission needs to make more spectrum available for licensed use, and the cable industry needs to make better use of the spectrum already available, Berry said. He also expressed concerns about plans to increase the pool of available spectrum through spectrum sharing. Plans involving sharing in the 3.5 GHz band and the 5 GHz bands have not had the advertised results, Berry said: “The theory of spectrum sharing needs to catch up to the practice of spectrum sharing.”
The FCC should encourage minority participation in the spectrum market, Hoffman said. O'Rielly wants to increase the amount of both unlicensed and licensed spectrum available, and views them as complements. For the 600 MHz auction, the Media Bureau is working on issues of the post-repacking reimbursement process for broadcasters and multichannel video programming distributors, said Deputy Media Bureau Chief Michelle Carey on another panel Wednesday. That includes a process for those repacked entities to bring concerns about the repacking to the FCC, she said.
The technology transition has become a priority for the Public Safety Bureau, said Deputy Chief Lisa Fowlkes. With many aspects of the communications industry shifting to IP, the bureau is working to determine the public safety implications of the change, she said. The bureau is also preparing for a second nationwide Emergency Alert System test, Fowlkes said. The test will also include the Integrated Public Warning and Alert System, and may use a nationwide location code, Fowlkes said.