2003

Triennial Review Part IV: A Game Played Every Year Alex Goldman
[October 17, 2003] Tucked away in the FCC's triennial review is a provision that sets up an annual contest between CLECs and the local phone company. It is a high stakes game for the CLECs, but penne ante for the phone company.

Ninth Circuit Court No Friend of ISPs Alex Goldman
[October 10, 2003] While we argue that the recent decision opening up cable to competition actually harms ISPs by increasing uncertainty, Jim Pickrell points out that ISPs have to take a stand.

Judges Overturn FCC Cable Modem Rule Colin C. Haley
[October 7, 2003] The FCC wrongly exempted cable Internet service providers from competition rules, an appeals court panel rules.

Triennial Review Part III: Another Unfunded Mandate Alex Goldman
[October 3, 2003] The FCC claims that state commissions have a better understanding of local markets than the FCC, logic that conveniently justifies pass-the-buck policies.

Triennial Review Part II: The FCC's Fiber Failure Alex Goldman
[September 26, 2003] A small group of companies, hoping to sell equipment to the Bells, have manipulated FCC fiber policy, ignoring, ironically, the only entities actually deploying fiber: CLECs and municipal governments.

Triennial Review Part I: A Definition of Competition Alex Goldman
[September 19, 2003] In the first hundred pages of the triennial review, the FCC defines competition. This deceptively esoteric subject is the foundation of the effort to end line sharing.

Anti-Spammers, Please Don't Spam Alex Goldman
[September 18, 2003] We're not pointing fingers or naming names, but surely anti-spam products shouldn't be sold through. . . spam?

You Are A Socialist Alex Goldman
[September 4, 2003] The Cato Institute, an influential right wing think tank, has published a book that seems to explain current thinking in Washington, D.C. It says that network owners have a right to deny access, and that "forced access" is mere "infrastructure socialism."

The Spam Conundrum Alex Goldman
[August 29, 2003] Numerous simplistic suggestions are being touted as solutions to the difficult problem of spam. Unfortunately, one of the easiest effective spam-fighting strategies is impossible in the litigious environment of the U.S.

Bells Move to Block New FCC Rules Roy Mark
[August 29, 2003] Incumbent telecoms wait less than a week in asking court to reverse regs allowing states to determine fate of line sharing.

VoIP Gets Tangled in Regulatory Thicket Erin Joyce
[August 28, 2003] Here's a billion dollar question: are IP-enabled voice calls an information service or telecommunications service?

Flawed FCC Data Guarantees Flawed Policy Alex Goldman
[August 15, 2003] The FCC's data on broadband penetration in the U.S. is tainted by efforts to protect the interests of incumbents—and to shield the FCC itself from possible criticism.

ISPs File Antitrust Case Against SBC Colin C. Haley
[July 28, 2003] Four small California ISPs allege that the telecom is using anti-competitive tactics to gain a monopoloy in that state's DSL market.

FCC Sets Compliance Deadline for CIPA Roy Mark
[July 28, 2003] Commission gives libraries one year to comply with controversial law mandating anti-pornography filters.

Where's Your $50 Million? Alex Goldman
[July 25, 2003] Broadbandit (noun): One who padded his coffers by $50 million or more riding the bandwidth bubble.

House Panel Wants FCC Out of Broadband Roy Mark
[July 23, 2003] Tauzin and Dingell have long wanted to give the monopoly back to the Bells. On Monday, they were joined by Upton.

Spam Shuts Down Legitimate Websites Alex Goldman
[July 14, 2003] Legislative "solutions" to spam, proactive blacklists, and reactionary backbone providers only harm legitimate ISPs and their customers as the problem continues to grow.

Controlling the Network in a DMCA World Alex Goldman
[July 7, 2003] As the RIAA and the movie studios promulgate their laws in nations around the world, service providers will need to know what applications their users are running, and when.

Voices for Choices Wins Two vs. SBC Alex Goldman
[June 13, 2003] Voices for Choices, an activist coalition, has won two lawsuits against SBC in Illinois recently, even as SBC got its anti-regulation law passed in the state legislature.

P2P Technologies Strike Some Sour Notes Tony Kern
[June 4, 2003] Frustrated by file sharers downloading music for free, the industry hits up ISPs for names. So far, the industry's winning, and ISPs are losing.

Telecom & ISP Advocacy Groups Petition FCC Ted Stevenson
[June 2, 2003] With industry-altering changes looming on the federal regulatory horizon, ISPs and CLECs are striving to make their voices heard in the high-level policy debate.

DSL Prime: Cheaper Equipment Dave Burstein
[May 22, 2003] Cheaper equipment means that telcos around the world can deliver faster and cheaper and more varied services to subscribers, as shown in North Carolina, Italy, and the UK—but that's no guarantee that they will do so.

Spam Economics: Who's the Real Sucker? Mark Sakalosky
[May 19, 2003] People will continue to risk jail time for the comfortable living afforded by spam's 0.00036 percent conversion rate.

A Critical Year for ISPs Ted Stevenson
[May 8, 2003] In his keynote address at ISPCON spring 2003 in Baltimore, telecom reformer Bruce Kushnick delivered a strident call to arms for small independent ISPs.

FTC Spam Forum Dispatch Rebecca Lieb
[May 5, 2003] A report from the landmark session convened by the FTC to define the problems of spam so that lawmakers in Washington can fight it.

Students to Pay in RIAA Song-Swapping Suit Erin Joyce and Ryan Naraine
[May 5, 2003] Four students who were sued over file-swapping sites they operated on campus have agreed to pay damages ranging from $12,000 and $17,500 each.

Morpheus: 'We're Back' Michael Singer and Roy Mark
[May 1, 2003] After recent legal decisions on copyrights, the DMCA, and file trading, ISPs find even more areas of uncertainty as they struggle to understand the law. Meanwhile, Morpheus is launching a new version of its file sharing software.

DSL Prime: Politics Dave Burstein
[April 28, 2003] As the FCC realizes it gets nothing for handing the Bells everything, some last minute negotiations might mitigate the anti-competitive damage of the recent FCC ruling.

Anti-Spammer Claims Court Victory Brian Morrissey
[April 9, 2003] A Maryland anti-spam activist accused of harassment by an alleged spammer claims victory.

Editorial: States' Rights Killed My ISP Alex Goldman
[March 13, 2003] Conservative thinkers who want to reinterpret the Constitution have won a test case, making broadband regulation a laboratory for their policies.

Copyrights: More Work, More Headaches Bob Liu
[March 12, 2003] The RIAA is spending a lot of money on lawyers, but the true cost of its anti-file sharing drive is born by network administrators at colleges, ISPs, and businesses.

Appeals Court: COPA 'Unconstitutional' dc.internet.com Staff
[March 10, 2003] A U.S. District Court grants an injunction against the enforcement of the 1998 Child Online Protection Act (COPA) on the grounds that it violates First Amendment rights of adults.

DSL Prime Reports from the FCC Dave Burstein
[February 26, 2003] Extra! Extra! U.S. telcos get DSL monopoly, must share some local voice! Early comments, mine included, were wrong. Rather than a setback, the Bells won a massive victory.

FCC Axes Bells' Broadband Restrictions Roy Mark
[February 21, 2003] A sharply divided commission rules the Bells will no longer have to share their high-speed fiber lines with broadband competitors.

No News From the FCC Alex Goldman
[February 19, 2003] Small businesses, CLECs, and independent ISPs anxiously await an announcement of changes to regulation that may or may not occur tomorrow.

FCC Delays Controversial UNE-P Vote Roy Mark
[February 12, 2003] As a crucial vote on the future of telecommunications regulation is delayed once more, it seems likely that behind the scenes, a power stuggle is under way within the FCC.

Telecom Analysts Say FCC Reform Needed Roy Mark
[February 7, 2003] A group of telecommunications analysts agreed with House Energy and Commerce Chairman Billy Tauzin that UNE should be scrapped, but disagreed about why.

A Case for Structural Separation Best of ISP-Lists
[January 24, 2003] Current rule changes being considered by the FCC—and favored by its chariman—may threaten the very existence of many CLECs. Members of the ISP-CLEC list offer a novel twist on the concept of separate versus shared infrastructure.

Report: E-Rate Riddled With Fraud Roy Mark
[January 13, 2003] A new study cites abuses ranging from simple paperwork and reporting errors to false billing in the program that helps schools and libraries pay for Internet connections.

Rural Broadband Coalition Is Born Alex Goldman
[January 13, 2003] The Federal government is funneling $2 billion through the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help jump-start rural Internet Service Providers. One group of lobbyists wants help make sure you get yours.

Regulatory Future? More Uncertainty Alex Goldman
[January 10, 2003] As the FCC conducts its triennial review of rules for the telecommunications industry, glimpses into the secretive process give hints of deep ideological and political divides within the commission, with little apparent room for agreement or compromise.

DSL Prime: Please Talk to Kevin Martin Dave Burstein
[January 9, 2003] FCC Comissioner Kevin Martin has asked for comments from those in the business. Answer his call and contact the FCC. In other news—surely Tauzin could dangle some lure to get Bell service in Louisiana?