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Communications Law

Rob Frieden

Next generation networks

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Full-Text Articles in Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law

Déjà Vu All Over Again: Questions And A Few Suggestions On How The Fcc Can Lawfully Regulate Internet Access, Rob Frieden Jul 2015

Déjà Vu All Over Again: Questions And A Few Suggestions On How The Fcc Can Lawfully Regulate Internet Access, Rob Frieden

Rob Frieden

This paper will examine the FCC’s March, 2015 Open Internet Order with an eye to assessing whether and how the Commission can successfully defend its decision in an appellate court. On two prior occasions, the FCC failed to convince a reviewing court that proposed regulatory safeguards do not unlawfully impose common carrier duties on private carriers. The Commission now has opted to reclassify broadband Internet access as common carriage, a decision sure to trigger a third court appeal. The FCC Open Internet Order offers several, possibly contradictory, justifications for its decision to apply Title II of the Communications Act, subject …


Network Neutrality And Consumer Demand For “Better Than Best Efforts” Traffic Management, Rob Frieden May 2015

Network Neutrality And Consumer Demand For “Better Than Best Efforts” Traffic Management, Rob Frieden

Rob Frieden

This paper assesses whether and how ISPs can offer quality of service enhancements, at premium prices for full motion video, while still complying with the new rules and regulations established by the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) in March, 2015. The paper explains that having made the controversial decision to reclassify all forms of Internet access as a telecommunications service, the FCC increases regulatory uncertainty. In particular, the FCC has failed to identify instances where “retail ISPs,” serving residential broadband subscribers, can offer quality of service enhancements that serve real consumer wants without harming competition and the ability of most content …


New Models And Conflicts In The Interconnection And Delivery, Rob Frieden Jan 2014

New Models And Conflicts In The Interconnection And Delivery, Rob Frieden

Rob Frieden

As the Internet has evolved and diversified, interconnection terms and conditions have changed between Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”). These carriers experiment with alternatives to conventional models that classify interconnection as either peering or transiting. The former typically involves interconnection between high capacity carriers whose transoceanic traffic volumes generally match thereby eliminating the need for a transfer of funds. Historically smaller carriers have paid transit fees to larger Tier-1 ISPs for the opportunity to secure upstream links throughout the Internet cloud. With the growing availability of bandwidth intensive, video content carried via the Internet, traffic volume disparities have increased between ISPs. …


Net Bias And The Treatment Of “Mission-Critical” Bits, Rob Frieden Jan 2014

Net Bias And The Treatment Of “Mission-Critical” Bits, Rob Frieden

Rob Frieden

The Internet increasingly provides an alternative distribution medium for video and other types of high value, bandwidth intensive content. Many consumers have become “technology agnostic” about what kind of wireline or wireless medium provides service. However, they expect carriers to offer access anytime, anywhere, via any device and in any distribution format. These early adopters of new technologies and alternatives to “legacy” media have no patience with the concept of “appointment television” that limits access to a specific time, on a particular channel and in a single presentation format. This paper assesses whether and how Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”) can …