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MetroPCS Sues FCC Over Neutrality Rules
Follows In The Footsteps Of Verizon
You'll recall that MetroPCS recently unveiled new pricing for LTE service that while certainly offering value to a certain segment of customers, upset consumer advocates who say the new pricing violates many core tenets of network neutrality -- such as applying caps only to your competitors' content, crippling handsets so your own content sees priority, and discriminating against certain content by locking some smartphone users in walled gardens. Concerned that the FCC's new neutrality rules could someday be modified to ruin their pricing "creativity," MetroPCS has followed in Verizon's footsteps and has also sued the FCC. A MetroPCS statement simply states the company has "concerns regarding the jurisdictional basis for the net neutrality rules."
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zed2608
Premium Member
join:2007-09-30
Cleveland, TN

zed2608

Premium Member

supreme court

i suspect that before long net netruilty ends up in supreme court may be only end to the endless chaos it has turned into

SimbaSeven
I Void Warranties
join:2003-03-24
Billings, MT
·StarLink

1 recommendation

SimbaSeven

Member

Just yank their licenses..

I think it's about time for the FCC to grow a pair and say

"You don't like what we agreed on? We'll just revoke your wireless licenses then."

I'm sure the wireless companies will shut the hell up rather quickly when they start loosing large chunks of spectrum for each "whine".
jjeffeory
jjeffeory
join:2002-12-04
Bloomington, IN

jjeffeory

Member

Re: Just yank their licenses..

Kudos...

If there's any doubt about who the regulatory body is, that should settle it....
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9 to SimbaSeven

Premium Member

to SimbaSeven
And that would give these companies even more fodder in the courtroom. The courts have already questioned the FCC's authority in this realm and Congress has told the FCC to tread carefully. These legal challenges come as a surprise to nobody, including the FCC. It'll be interesting to see if the FCC has any more of a legal foothold now than it did when sued by Comcast.
gorehound
join:2009-06-19
Portland, ME

gorehound to SimbaSeven

Member

to SimbaSeven
never happen.welcome to the united corporate states of amerika.

fifty nine
join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ

fifty nine to SimbaSeven

Member

to SimbaSeven
Can't do that. The FCC has specific guidelines to follow. Granting wireless licenses is in the public interest and the FCC has to follow that directive.

SimbaSeven
I Void Warranties
join:2003-03-24
Billings, MT
·StarLink

SimbaSeven

Member

Re: Just yank their licenses..

said by fifty nine:

Can't do that. The FCC has specific guidelines to follow. Granting wireless licenses is in the public interest and the FCC has to follow that directive.

I call BS on that one. It's in the corporate interest. The public will probably never see most of that spectrum.
jcremin
join:2009-12-22
Siren, WI

jcremin to SimbaSeven

Member

to SimbaSeven
said by SimbaSeven:

I'm sure the wireless companies will shut the hell up rather quickly when they start loosing large chunks of spectrum for each "whine".

The FCC can't do that. The FCC is in charge of regulating spectrum in the sense that it allocates it and ensures that one license holder doesn't interfere with another. With the exception of objectional content on public broadcast TV and radio, they do not have any authority to tell the license holders what content they can or can't allow on their private networks.

Like it or not, there are specific rules that were in place when these companies paid for their spectrum. The FCC can't just write a new rule and then take the spectrum back if the companies don't follow the new rule. It just doesn't work like that.