Chill out about net neutrality, says FCC head, because mobile phones are great

The head of America's telecom watchdog the FCC, Ajit Pai, didn't mention net neutrality by name once during his keynote at the Mobile World Congress in San Francisco. Which is pretty remarkable given that it is pretty much the only issue that people outside the telecom policy bubble care about. In fact, if you didn't know …

[Comments are attributed to your handle]

Conspiracy time: Pai is playing the fool thus reinforcing the (absurd) notion that the FCC has no business in the net neutrality debate (or non-mobile internet in general). He's said many times he'd like the FTC to handle it (e.g. https://www.theverge.com/2017/4/7/15215316/fcc-ajit-pai-net-neutrality-title-ii-plans-roll-back).

I doubt that's quite it, though. I really do believe that Pai is incompetent enough to flounder as he did.

[Anonymous Coward]

Pai must have "floundered," because the author of this article says so. Yah.

Also, FTA: "The strange thing is that while Pai is understandably nervous about even saying the words "network neutrality" given the enormous and widespread support for the concept..."

It appears to me that someone is (as usual) trying way too hard here. Enormous. Widespread. Why stop at enormous when there's ginormous? That bit of slang is pretty widespread, ain't it?

[Throatwarbler Mangrove]

I'm genuinely curious, Big John, do you have an actual opinion about net neutrality on its merits apart from it being opposed by a Trump appointee, or is the fact that Pai was appointed by Trump enough to make you march in lock-step with his decision?

[Anonymous Coward]

@ Throatwarbler Mangrove Go easy on the politics - it's not as simple as "Trump supporter == net neutrality hater". I consider myself closer to the Republican position on most issues than the Democrat one, and even I think Pai's a duplicitous sack of excrement for trying to stitch up net neutrality to the benefit of his Big Telco buddies. I respect Big John's views on a lot of things, but on this one we disagree.

OK, enough with the reasoned and nuanced positioning. We now return you to our regular scheduled tribal politics and if-you're-not-with-us-you're-against-us manicheaism...

[Comments are attributed to your handle]

Big John, did you come by to add anything useful to the conversation? Or just the usual diversions? I'm betting on the second, given that you have repeatably demonstrated a tenuous grasp of net neutrality. Exhibit A: https://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/containing/3254920

[john.jones.name]

no FM in mobile phones...

no FM receivers in mobile phones and 3/4/5 G is all packet switched data

America is going to wake up and find the rest of the world has moved on...

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: no FM in mobile phones...

no FM receivers in mobile phones ...

My last three smartphones all had an FM receiver built in. Sadly, two of them used headphones as an antenna, and refused to send the sound anywhere else while the headphones were plugged in. The third used a dedicated external antenna, but plugged it in the power socket - so it had to run on the battery power to listen to FM broadcasts.

So in effect they were/are all useless as an FM radio, and I haven't used any of them as such after trying it once - but still, the receiver was there :-P

[Throatwarbler Mangrove]

On a related note

If the current President and the head of the FCC had a love child, would they name it Pumpkin Pai?

[jimdandy]

I have only one answer to this - http://www.montypython.net/scripts/architec.php

Guess who's who?

[Anonymous Coward]

Once while serving in a shop

I got talking to the manager for mobile communications at a regional UK police force, it was obvious he had scant understanding of radio propagation. He knew Motorola had been the best phones for his lads and that sometimes on the coast they would end up connecting to some foreign network, I talked a little to him about atmospheric ducting and he got his wife to come in and pick up his snaps while he waited outside.

The guy in charge is often in charge because he doesn't threaten others on the gravy train, none of them know the train driver.

[Trigonoceps occipitalis]

Re: Once while serving in a shop

"He knew Motorola had been the best phones for his lads ... "

At least one radio was preferred by "the lads" because it was inside a substantial metal case. Draw your truncheon and there were several forms to complete and a record that could (possibly) be used against you. Hit a scrote with your radio and no one noticed and nothing was recorded.

[ma1010]

"...it's just part of a comprehensive strategy ... for expanding next-generation networks. keeping the current oligopolies firmly in control and not endangering their profit margins, regardless of the terrible cost to the country and consumers."

There, FTFY, Ajit.

[Col_Panek]

This guy's name is "A Shit Pie"? Awkward.