CORRUPTION WATCH-The recent FCC ruling that limited the ability of broadband and cable television to control the Internet would seem to bode well for the public. Do not be deceived! The battle is far from over.
The cable television companies have now instituted litigation in numerous judicial districts of the United States seeking to find a judge that will limit the power of the Federal Communications Commission. These giant multibillion-dollar companies and their high-priced lawyers are seeking protection from the action of the FCC and the United States government.
Cable television companies, including Comcast and AT&T, are spending tens of millions of dollars in order to prevent the actions federal government. The fact that these same companies have grown rich based upon the protection afforded them by the federal and state governments does not concern them anymore. The question becomes once again what you done for me lately.
The rules, recently imposed by the FCC, do little more than limit the ability of cable television and broadband operators to bypass the concept of net neutrality. The same companies claim that they are in favor of net neutrality but how they define net neutrality is beyond comprehension. It is not neutral to take one Internet and create two Internets from it. It is obvious that the creation of a second Internet, which has come to be known as the fast Internet, is a direct contradiction of the concept of net neutrality.
These little details not seem to bother cable-television companies because they have been having their way with us from their very inception. The most important factor to remember is that the Internet is the primary competitor for cable television and broadband is the delivery method. It is basic economics that for a company to control its competitor is a restriction of the free market. Cable television companies would have you believe the exact opposite.
Shortly after the FCC ruling that protected net neutrality, Comcast decided to terminate its attempt to merge with Time Warner Cable. Time Warner Cable is the second-largest cable-television company in the United States and the second-largest provider of broadband services. Without the ability to control the Internet the cost to acquire Time Warner would be non-economical for Comcast. Since millions of people each year are abandoning cable-television for access to programs delivered by services such as Netflix.
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The cable television providers now threaten not to invest in future broadband systems unless the laws are changed to give them control over the Internet. The statement is so ridiculous that it almost does not warrant response. However, to be clear, as long as there is a demand for service someone will provide that service. That is the free market. If companies choose to no longer invest in broadband services, someone will come in and provide that service at a market rate because demand creates supply. Comcast and its allies seem to think that by allowing them to control demand, high speed and low speed Internet, supply will be more expensive and therefore more profitable for them. They are right except for one thing, the FCC will not allow it because it is cheating.
The cable television industry has managed to fast track all of its legal wrangling so that it can gain hearings faster than the average person would be able to. Their legal position hinges on a very simple concept that the laws enacted by the FCC are arbitrary. Nothing could sound more ridiculous than a 300 page document being declared arbitrary after years of evaluation and public comment. The real problem, for the cable companies, was that the public became aware, mainly through the Internet, of what the document represented when initially put forth for comment by the FCC.
Tom Wheeler and the FCC should be congratulated for acceding to the public's wishes for the net neutrality that has comprised the Internet since its creation. The FCC changed its own position after the public comment was so strong that more than 90% of those registering comments, including the President of the United States, that the FCC supported a strong net neutrality policy.
The continued whining by such large billionaire corporations merely shows a lack of integrity that exists within these organizations. Their willingness to oppose the overwhelming desire of Americans to keep the net neutrality policy strong clearly indicates their lack of concern about what the public wants.
They want to maximize their profits and we want to maximize our freedom. The battle is far from over because greed will always have an enemy in freedom.
(Clinton Galloway is the author of the fascinating book “Anatomy of a Hustle: Cable Comes to South Central LA”. This is another installment in an ongoing CityWatch series on power, influence and corruption in government … Corruption Watch. Galloway is a CityWatch contributor and can be reached here.)
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 13 Issue 39
Pub: May 12, 2015
