Free Press Calls for FCC Investigation of MetroPCS’s New Low-Cost Wireless Broadband Plan
MetroPCS’s changes to its 4G service plans make clear why all FCC net neutrality rules should apply to wireless, Free Press said Tuesday. MetroPCS’s $40 per month service, unveiled Monday, allows Web browsing and use of YouTube, but appears to create a “walled garden,” excluding such popular services as Skype and Netflix, the group said.
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The FCC’s net neutrality rules, approved Dec. 21, offer fewer protections against discrimination by wireless (CD Dec 22 p1) as opposed to wired connections, though the agency committed to continue to monitor wireless. A MetroPCS spokesman didn’t respond to messages seeking comment. The company also is offering at higher costs other plans that provide more complete access to the Web (CD Jan 4 p7).
"In December, the FCC chose to disregard wireless protections in its Net Neutrality order, and MetroPCS’s new scheme is a preview of the wireless future in a world without protections on the mobile Web,” said Free Press Policy Counsel Chris Riley. “Such blocking of websites, services or applications would clearly be prohibited and deemed unreasonable on a cable or DSL network. Are these the kinds of restrictions the FCC really wants to promote on wireless networks?” Riley noted that the rules do not “implicitly approve” wireless carrier practices that violate its rule against unreasonable discrimination. “Now we'll see whether the agency is willing to do anything about such practices,” he said.
The MetroPCS announcement was greeted with similar warnings from officials at other public interest groups. Free Press and many of these groups had asked the FCC to treat wireless the same as wireline under the rules. “This is just the beginning,” said Andrew Schwartzman, senior vice president at the Media Access Project. “As we have been saying, the loopholes and uncertainties in the commission’s order invite carriers to test its limits. The resulting litigation will unsettle affected parties and stifle innovation."
Public Knowledge staff attorney John Bergmayer quoted from the MetroPCS plan at length in an article on the group’s blog. “It’s sort of like apocalyptic literature for net neutrality fans,” he wrote. “Preferential access to certain sites, blocking of applications and categories of use, vague and contradictory terms that are subject to change at any time -- it’s all in there! Roughly translated, I think it means that you get ‘unlimited access’ to something like the world’s worst buffet."
If Free Press is correct about the MetroPCS plan, “this could be a quick test of how the FCC will interpret its order, and what freedom and openness will really mean in the wireless space,” said Parul Desai, policy counsel at Consumers Union. “This could have harmful implications for consumers, especially consumers who tend to rely mainly on wireless connection to access the Internet.”
Netflix “aspires to be ubiquitous on whatever device you watch TV shows and movies on, including more and more mobile devices,” a spokesman said. By our deadline, other companies that could be affected had not returned calls seeking a response.