Good News, Everybody!

Kevin Martin, chairman of the FCC, recently told the New York Times that the FCC plans to end exclusive deals between telecom companies and apartment communities.  This is good for a variety of reasons.  First, hopefully this would mean that there will be more choices to consumers.  As Ars points out, that usually just means one or two more choices, that is still better than nothing.  Secondly, and closer to home, assuming that this would apply to all telecom companies and not just cable providers, I could switch over from using AT&T.  As I've mentioned before, the irony is that AT&T is one of the major backers of this proposal.  I have had nothing with problems with AT&T since moving into my new apartment a few months ago.  The service is horrible, with my getting disconnected multiple times a day.  I can't manage to keep a solid connection more than a day or two.  Not to mention that this service is costing me more than my cable internet and TV combined cost me.  Also, I just plain don't like AT&T and really don't want to do business with them.  The issue is expected to be discussed in a few days at the FCC meeting.  Martin said that it is possible that they may even strike down existing contracts before they expire.  While I don't think we can expect anything to actually have an effect in the immediate future, I'm hoping for something in the next year or so.  Then again, that might just be wishful thinking.

Redefining Broadband

The House is currently looking at just how messed up the current data the FCC has is. In a hearing that opened today, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) stated that he'd like to see the US be able to get closer to countries like Japan that are aple to offer significantly faster speeds for the same amount of money. Ars Techica reports on the issue in more detail.
One of the ideas proposed is to reclassify broadband as being anything above 2 Mbps instead of the current 200 Kbps. This would make a significant number of broadband offerings (most notably the majority of DSL) no longer broadband. The thought is that this would incentivize the providers to boost speeds in order to still be able to call their service broadband. Some providers argue, though, that in certain areas they are not able to provide speeds that high, and this would be unfair. Personally, I just say too bad.
Another thing is that the FCC currently counts a ZIP code as having broadband even if there is only one person in the entire ZIP that has it. This is something that I've been wishing they'd change for a long time. It makes no sense to say that a whole area has broadband based on just one person. If we're going to start using this kind of system, lets start just looking at one person to determine everything about a ZIP code. That makes sense, right? Idiots.