FCC vs. ISP'shttps://ca.us.biz.yahoo.com/ap/100406/us_tec_internet_rules.html?.v=4
good news for ISP's and SVC. The battle b/w the FCC and ISP's (Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, etc.) continues and it'll be interested to see what happens next.
I'm a believer in regulation but only to the extent where and when it's required. Moreover, regulation should, imo, adhere to a minimalist approach - regulate only as much as is necessary to protect the public. In this case, the FCC, amongst others, are quite literally going overboard with their aims and intentions with respect to net neutrality. In other words, while I respect the role entities such as the FCC play in society, the FCC is getting in the way market forces and if it succeeds, would very likely impede innovation and competition in ways that one cannot know. The internet continues to evolve, relationships amongst ISP's, content providers, consumers, and governments continue to evolve and will forever be evolving and changing. Strict and inflexible rules is not the way to go. It's interesting Google, a general thorn on the side of ISP's, has come out on the side of ISP's and agree that the FCC should not really be interfering with ISP's ability to manage it's network on the wireless side. For those that haven't researched Google's stance on net neutrality, one would think they're all about net neutrality for the protection of the public; in fact, imo, Google, like any corporation, is acting in its own best interests and is trying to prevent ISP's from doing (preferencial treatment/revenue generating contracts) what Google already does. In other words, Google wants to continue generate revenue while taking away sources of revenue from ISP's (which could possibly include revenue from Google). At the end of the day, net neutrality for Google is, imo, about the bottom line - which is fine since Google is doing what is must be doing for shareholders - attempting to maximize profits.
I was definitely surprised by today's Q1 results. Coupled with the legal news, this is a very very good day for SVC and the trend remains positive.
Notwithstanding, the battle b/w the FCC and ISP's will continue and the uncertainty around net neutrality in the US hasn't abated but it gets clearer. Common sense tells me the gov't and FCC will adopt a minimalist approach, eventually and obviously, it would be ideal for the marketplace if that happened sooner than later. The fact is all packets are not created equal and it is not in our interests, as consumers, to have all packets treated equally. Reasonable network management is the way to go coupled with full disclosure from ISP's of their network management practices.
If the US adopts an approach similar to most of Europe and Canada on net neutrality, it would likely be very very positive for SVC and naturally, its competitors.