Items tagged with ajit pai
Ajit Pai, Chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) who made numerous headlines over the past few years for his crusade against net neutrality regulations, announced he is departing the agency in January when President-Elect Joe Biden enters the administration. His departure leaves open the possibility that net neutrality rules imposed under the Obama administration could potentially return, though nothing is certain. Before getting into government work, Pai was a lawyer for Verizon, from 2001 to 2003. President Obama appointed him as Commissioner in 2012, then in 2017 President Trump designated him Chairman as the agency. He promptly proposed repealing existing (at the time)...
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The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been investigating the sale of users’ location data by wireless carriers for several years. This investigation now appears to be coming to a close. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai recently informed Congress that at least one wireless carrier has violated federal law and illegally sold users’ location data. Pai did not name specific companies or disclose which laws had been violated. His letter stated that, “Accordingly, in the coming days, I intend to circulate to my fellow Commissioners for their consideration one or more Notice(s) of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture in connection with the apparent violation(s).” The...
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Any year in review that covers the major events of 2018 should include the repeal of net neutrality laws that were implemented during the Obama administration. Former Verizon attorney and current Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai led the charge in rolling back net neutrality regulations, and on Wednesday he patted Congress on the back for upholding the controversial vote. Image Source: Flickr via Gage Skidmore "I’m pleased that a strong bipartisan majority of the US House of Representatives declined to reinstate heavy-handed Internet regulation. They did the right thing—especially considering the positive results for American consumers since the adoption of the Restoring...
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The backlash against the FCC has been stiff ever since the regulatory agency voted to eliminate the rules back in May 2017. Protestors tried everything to get the FCC to go back on its decision to eliminate the rules, include a “Break the Internet” day but the FCC has plowed on. This year the U.S. Senate voted to repeal the FCC’s decision on killing net neutrality, but this was seen as a largely symbolic victory. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai As of today, the end of net neutrality is official. Under the new rules, internet providers are no longer required to offer equal access to all web content. The rules had previously prevented internet providers from charging more for some...
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In the eyes of the National Rifle Association (NRA), Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Ajit Pai "saved the Internet" by shooting down net neutrality rules that were implemented under the previous administration. Apparently the NRA was so pleased by this that it felt compelled to gift Pai a real life gun, a "Kentucky handmade long gun," as part of its Charlton Heston Courage Under Fire Award. The NRA presented the award at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland on Friday. American Conservative Union (ACU) executive director Dan Schneider was part of the ceremony, telling attendees that "Ajit Pai is the most courageous, heroic person that I know" for "liberat[ing]...
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The FCC “Restoring Internet Freedom” order has been entered in the Federal Register. This is the order that makes massive changes to the Net Neutrality rules that required all internet traffic to be treated equally. The order was published this morning and opens the doors for legal battles to start in earnest. There is no doubt that intense debates and legal battles will ensue over the order and there are strong opinions and feelings on both sides of the Net Neutrality argument. FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel issued a statement today: The FCC’s net neutrality decision is a study in just what’s wrong with Washington. This agency failed the American public. It failed...
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The FCC has been catching heat in its current form for making changes to existing regulations governing broadband internet access. The big change the FCC made was to eliminate the net neutrality rules that forced ISPs to treat all traffic equally, no matter the service or application. Another place where the FCC was considering a big change was with a plan that could have weakened the definition of what speed and type connection qualifies as "broadband." Thankfully, the FCC is stepping away from a new classification that would change the definition of broadband. The draft 2018 Broadband Deployment Report has now been issued by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. The good news is that the FCC has chosen...
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It's our job to be impartial and report on the news from an unbiased perspective, but boy does the Federal Communications Commission and its chairman Ajit Pai make that difficult. Apparently it was not enough that the FCC voted 3-2 to erase net neutrality regulations, ignoring popular opinion as well as pleas from the Internet's pioneers. Now the FCC wants to lower the broadband speed standard in a roundabout sort of way. The wireless standard proposed is 10Mbps down and 1Mbps up. That's less than half of the current land-based broadband standard, which was bumped up to 25Mbps down and 3Mbps up in 2015, amid groans from ISPs. At the time, service providers argued that 25Mbps down / 3Mbps up was...
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FCC chairman Ajit Pai was supposed to be receptive to public feedback on his proposal to repeal net neutrality rules that are currently in place, rules that prevent ISPs and wireless carriers from blocking or throttling Internet traffic based on content, among other things. Instead, he has repeatedly made it clear that the whole process is a farce. The latest example of that is a cheeky video featuring Pai in a Santa Claus suit telling us all the things we can do on the web once is no longer neutral. This would be fine, if someone else or some other agency put together the video, and it didn't star Pai. The gist of the argument is that net neutrality advocates are overreacting, and that once...
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In case you've been living under the proverbial rock, then you know that December 14th is a big day for anyone in the United States that uses the internet on the daily basis (meaning, the vast majority of Americans). FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has made it clear that the current net neutrality rules that govern how internet traffic is regulated are unnecessary, anti-business, and a prime example of government overreach. As a result, the vote late this week will in effect kill net neutrality as we know it. In a last-ditch effort to save the internet, defenders of net neutrality are staging a "Break the Internet" campaign tomorrow, December 12th. The purpose of the campaign is to prompt Congress...
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The net neutrality debate is hard upon us, but not everyone understands what's at stake. Most tech-savvy folks understand the issues and have a thoughtful position based on their understanding of the technology and how it's used. But some have no position, mainly because they simply don't follow the tech press on a daily basis. This may be especially true when we're speaking of folks who are somewhat older or younger, or who simply don't have a tech background. The following is provided mostly as a resource for those folks. We have always had an "open Internet." In the old days (i.e., the early 2000s), we thought of the Web as an "information superhighway," and that was an apt analogy: the Internet...
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It's official. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has officially penciled in December 14th as the date that it will roll back the net neutrality provisions that were ushered in under former Chairman Tom Wheeler. A procedural vote was held earlier this year paved that the way for this dramatic action to be taken by the FCC. Current FCC Chairman Ajit Pai claims that dismantling net neutrality rules is a pro-business move that will be boon for innovation and in fact, he calls his plan the "Restoring Internet Freedom Order". In his opinion, regulation of the internet should be handled with a "light touch" with fewer, rather than more regulations. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai (Image Source: Department...
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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), led by Chairman Ajit Pai, is set to vote on whether it should dismantle net neutrality rules that were put in place under the Obama administration. As this has become a political issue, the FCC is assuredly going to proceed with Pai's plan to withdraw the rules, after having voted 2-1 back in May of this year to advance the process. A final vote is scheduled for December 14.In case you are not aware, net neutrality rules were put in place to ensure that all Internet traffic is treated equally and fairly. Through government regulation, wireless carriers and Internet service providers (ISPs) are prohibited from throttling or blocking online content,...
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It's amazing just how fast politics can move when corporate interests are at risk. Merely two years ago, we reported on the Federal Communication Commission's approval of clear net neutrality rules - a major win for the open Internet. It didn't take long before parties inside and outside the FCC got to work on trying to derail that win. Today, newly appointed FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's proposal to undo these rules and regulations has been given a favorable vote. It's important to note that just because Pai's proposal has been given an initial collective nod, doesn't mean that net neutrality rules immediately cease to exist, as the details still need to be examined closely before a final vote...
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FM radio — is that still a thing? We’re mostly kidding, but many of us don’t have (or miss having) FM radio functionality on our smartphones these days, not when we have services like Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music and Tidal to satisfy our music needs. However, did you know that your smartphone probably has support for FM broadcast built-in, but it just isn’t enabled by the manufacturer? And it could be available to you, totally free of charge. Newly installed Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai wants to change this situation. Pai took over the position from Tom Wheeler once President Donald Trump came into office, and he wants smartphone OEMs to enable FM radio functionality...
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While nothing is yet official, word inside Washington is that President Donald Trump will assign GOP commissioner Ajit Pai to serve as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Pai was nominated to the FCC by former President Barack Obama and was confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate in 2012. Since he has already been confirmed by the agency, he could step right into the role without approval by the Senate. Pai met with Trump on Monday and is widely viewed as the top contender for the job based in part on his experience as a telecom law expert and comfortable demeanor in front of the camera. However, choosing Pai to be Chairman of the FCC would not be without controversy,...
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