Nielsen Urges FCC to Pause Mobile Transparency Safe Harbor, Seek Comment
Nielsen pressed the FCC to pause implementation of a mobile safe harbor for broadband provider compliance with net neutrality transparency rules. Nielsen said the commission should seek comment on the standards for safe harbor designations before allowing mobile providers to…
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disclose Measuring Broadband America (MBA) network performance results as a safe harbor under the rules. "While safe harbors provide certainty and clarity to providers, the mobile [MBA] program may not be capable of providing the robust disclosures that the 2015 Open Internet Order requires and that consumers and edge providers deserve," said a Nielsen filing Wednesday in docket 14-28 on a meeting with Wireless Bureau Chief Jon Wilkins and others. Mobile broadband internet access providers can "disclose their results from the mobile MBA program as a sufficient disclosure of actual download and upload speeds, actual latency, and actual packet loss of a service" if the results satisfy sample size criteria and if the MBA program has provided certain network performance metrics, said May 19 guidance from the FCC's chief technologist, Office of General Counsel and Enforcement Bureau. Nielsen said: "Carriers may feel compelled to use the mobile MBA program as the basis of their required disclosures -- despite the flaws the record reflects -- to avoid the risk of severe enforcement action." CTIA and the Competitive Carriers Association criticized the quality of the mobile MBA data (see 1606210022).