back to article It's official: Ejit – sorry – Ajit Pai is new FCC boss (he's the one who hates network neutrality)

US President Donald Trump has formally designated Ajit Pai as the new chairman of America's powerful broadband and telly regulator, the Federal Communications Commission. Pai was already a serving FCC commissioner, so by stepping him up to the chair, what should be a five-person panel at the top of the agency is now just three …

  1. JeffyPoooh
    Pint

    There will be Frequencies...

    ...and Alternate Frequencies.

    1. Kevin McMurtrie Silver badge

      Re: There will be Frequencies...

      There's healthy competition too. Remember that you can look up a business in a phone book and ride your horse to their address to conduct business. That's an option for anyone who says that their internet service provider is too unreliable and expensive.

    2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      Re: There will be Frequencies...

      You forgot the "Fake Frequencies". And the superfast WiFI that will use "yuuuuuge" frequencies!

  2. J.Smith

    Pah

    It's only 4 years, what damage could they do in 4 years?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Pah

      Only four years.

      Time to travel to Mars and back; time to get a degree; the First World War; time to overthrow Soviet/Communist rule and occupation (*).

      No, nothing important can be done in four years.

      ---------

      * this does not in any way mean to make less of the decades of work and of sacrifice of others, but a specific example where political protests became public in 1987, leading to re-independence in 1991. The Soviet, then Russian armed forces, left within the next four years.

    2. Jedit Silver badge

      "It's only 4 years, what damage could they do in 4 years?"

      Look at how much damage they've done in four days. Multiply by 365, and there's your baseline.

    3. Chemical Bob

      Re: Pah

      "what damage could they do in 4 years?"

      Enough.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    if you want to help protect Net Neutrality you should support groups like ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Free Press who are fighting to keep Net Neutrality.

    https://www.aclu.org/

    https://www.eff.org/

    https://www.freepress.net/

    also you can set them as your charity on https://smile.amazon.com/

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Corporate Welfare

      "also you can set them as your charity"

      All three are Google-funded outfits. (Yes, even the ACLU).

      Don't they get enough money already?

  4. Richard Bennett

    Oh my, we seem to be a bit overexcited by the expected pick. Pai has been in the communications game for 15 years and at the FCC as a commissioner for four. He does have a reputation for working across the aisle at the Commission, although that is something that Mr. Bombast Tom Wheeler didn't appreciate. In one example, Pai and O'Riely made a deal with Commissioner Clyburn to expand universal service for broadband and raise the cap on contributions. Mr. Psycho Wheeler held up the meeting where the vote was to be taken by four hours so that members of Congress, including her dad, could twist her arm so as not to make Captain Google Wheeler look bad.

    You can look it up.

    Similarly, blaming Pai for Chmn. Puppet Wheeler's partisanship is like blaming hooker victims for making Jack the Ripper want to gut them.

    1. Mikel

      Please bookmark this comment

      For the next four years I would like to avoid pasting this on every discussion, so please make a note of it. On behalf of all the Normal Americans, and to all the people of the world - but here specifically The Register and it's readers, I would like to apologise for the incoherent babble you are about to be exposed to. We have no idea how these wingnuts crawled out of their holes and managed to get their man elected, but we suspect that hacker 4chan had something to do with it. Also, Reagan turned out the asylums and those people have been without their medication for a very long time. Anyway, everybody's drunk uncle is suddenly a prolific commenter and occasionally a US Ambassador or Cabinet member.

      It is as revolting to us as it is to you, and as embarrassing as toilet paper trailing from your shoe. We hope you forgive us for this brief lapse. We should have it under control again in about four years.

  5. bombastic bob Silver badge
    WTF?

    from article: "President Snowflake"?

    "President Snowflake"? I think not.

    file THAT one under "you have been brainwashed by the lamestream media" and consider who the 'snowflakes' REALLY are...

    http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/11/14/university-michigan-cancels-plan-to-help-students-cope-with-trump-using-coloring-books-play-doh-and-bubbles.html

    And the screaming, and the whining, and the tantrums, oh my!

    (yeah you'll just say Trump does those things, I know, and I see NO evidence of Trump behaving like the 'snowflakes' so devastated by him being in the White House - nothing like a big fat lie to distract, typical lefty trick, and re-enforcing the lie by repeating it over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over and I'm sure you'll say "Trump does that too" which of course is NOT the case, but those who WANT to believe it will say it and quote one another so they can FEEL better, yeah - so WHO is the snowflake then?)

    Looking forward to a more REASONABLE FCC that doesn't try to REGULATE CONTENT.

    1. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

      Re: from article: "President Snowflake"?

      Personally, I'm looking forward to a more reasonable FCC that will regulate over-use of caps lock.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: from article: "President Snowflake"?

      Might want to quote a source of facts rather than alternative facts?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: from article: "President Snowflake"?

        Might want to quote a source of facts rather than alternative facts?

        Come on, this is Bombastic Bob. In every way like his idol the Trumpmeister but without the charisma or money.

    3. Mystic Megabyte
      Mushroom

      Re: from article: "President Snowflake"?

      Hey Bob here's something you can try, pull up a picture of your hero and keep looking at it. After a while what do you see.....

      FAKE tan...

      FAKE tan...

      FAKE tan...

      FAKE tan...

      FAKE tan...

      FAKE...

      FAKE...

      FAKE...

      FAKE...

      FAKE...

      FAKE...

      Then when you realise that Agent Orange is working for Putin you really need to be scared. He will divide and destroy the USA. How easy it will be to create a "state of emergency" and suspend democracy. Like Mugabe's "war veterans" all you need is a private army of armed nutjobs to dissuade any form of insurrection. Good luck in your new world, you will need it.

      P.S. No media or leftie leaning involved in making this discernment, just open eyes.

    4. druck Silver badge
      Facepalm

      Re: from article: "President Snowflake"?

      Last night my 3 year old had exactly the same reaction to being called snowflake as Bombastic Bob, he called me a "poo face" and bagged the keyboard until a lot of capitals letters came up.

  6. JWG

    "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."

    I suspect the author of this piece believes whole-heartedly in the title quote from Karl Mark as well. Name calling is not good journalism, nor even good opinion writing. As your hero, the FORMER president, "The Big Zero" was fond of saying: " Elections have consequences." Yes, yes they do. As a retired IT Engineer (a real one, with a BSEE and everything), who worked at Microsoft, Intel, Xerox and Symantec (just to drop a few names) "net neutrality" ain't. It puts undue burdens on ISP's to make sure all have access to sell their wares, kind of like a socialist internet paradise. There is a real reason why the Internet continues to be the "Wild and Wooley West" of technology, is it supports real innovation and change at a more rapid pace than "net neutrality" would allow for. Small startups would become buried is all the noise. They have to be willing to pay for play. There never would have been room for a Hulu, Netflix or even a Google if net neutrality had been in place. So, please, just get over yourself and understand not all technologists agree with you. The "President Snowflake" was as uncalled for as my "Big Zero" reference to Mr. Obama. Besides, as far as I know, the U.K. doesn't have a First Amendment that fully protects you from unwanted law suits.

    1. Barry Mahon

      Re: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."

      @jwg ????

      Don't quite see what dirigisted net neutrality would do to stop Hulu, etc.

      Congrats on the gongs you got, makes for a preconceived notion of what should be done with technologies, in my experience.

      Prior to TCP/ip we had CCITT standard setting, a closed shop of PTT techies, moving at snail's pace. If we hadn't broken the monopolies we would still be using ISDN.

      Post Trump FCC will be in line with big business interests, not neutrality, but more opportunities to make money will be the norm.

      1. JWG

        Re: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."

        I'll see your experience and raise yòu COBOL coding in 1973 (I'm an original Bastard, kid). Prior to Ethernet we had IBM's token ring (disaster). As I said, net neutrality isn't. There is no such thing as a level playing field, so take off your libtard, rose colored glasses. And, no, I'm not a Trump supporter, I just believe net neutrality is a crock.

    2. cd / && rm -rf *
      FAIL

      Re: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."

      "I suspect the author of this piece believes whole-heartedly in the title quote from Karl Mark as well"

      That's Karl Marx, idiot. Such a fundamental mistake puts the rest of your swivel-eyed Trumpian diatribe into perspective.

      1. JWG

        Re: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."

        Damned Autocorrect. Actually, Groucho was my favorite Marx.

    3. John Smith 19 Gold badge
      Unhappy

      @JWG

      I regret I have but one downvote to give.

      But I give it gladly.

    4. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      Re: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."

      "As your hero, the FORMER president,"

      As an outsider, I find it rather amusing that the assumption is always made that anyone who dislikes Trump must be a Clinton or Obama fanbois. There were other candidates too, even I know that. And then there's the people so disgusted by the choices on offer that they simply didn't vote because they found it too difficult to choose which was the lesser of the evils. (not forgetting those who don't care too)

      And then there's the "popular vote". No, there isn't. It doesn't exist. It's a media fantasy. We get it here too in the UK. Add up the votes at each separate election and "prove" the other side might have "won". Except that's not how the vote works so is irrelevant. In fact it;s even less relevant here in the UK since we simply don't vote for a Prime Minister at all. We *only* vote for the local MP. I'm sure all US citizens here know how their own voting system works, especially since it's been explained a number times in various comment sections on this very site.

  7. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Unhappy

    "What he does after that is anyone's guess."

    A nice little non-exec Board membership at one (or more) of the companies he has done so much for, by helping them f**k their customers.

  8. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Megaphone

    The Age of President Hair!

    Meanwhile, some Good News from Trumpland: The Neocon Lament: Nobody wants them in Trump's Washington.

    Predictably this will be spun as anti-semitism.

    1. breakfast Silver badge

      Re: The Age of President Hair!

      In a few years I suspect that not having dived face-first into the raw effluent of the Trump administration - even if not by choice - will make them seem like principled and legitimate luminaries of the American right once the public get tired of lies and kleptocracy. So it may serve them well after future elections, which there almost certainly will be.

      1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
        Unhappy

        " not having dived face-first into the raw effluent of the Trump administration -"

        True.

        They will probably spin it (in hindsight) as a "principled stand" against his views.*

        *Although currently a number seem quite shocked their services have not been called upon.

  9. Crazy Operations Guy

    Comcast employee appoints anti-net-neutrality FCC commisioner

    That was hardly surprising.

    Yes, Trump is an employee of Comcast, he is still under contract for his role in 'The Apprentice' a show that is wholly owned by NBC/Comcast. His contract was never cancelled, just amended in the same way other actor's get their contracts amended when they get thrown in prison/rehab where their jobs are waiting for them when they are free again.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Smoke the liberal pipe much?

    "While many Americans have been increasingly appalled by the habit of Congressmen, particularly Republicans, to paint an alternate reality and puff themselves up with righteous indignation..."

    US government is all about power hungry people that look and talk down to everyone else. Hardly limited to either side of the isle; more than enough to go around. To call out one side or the other these days is ridiculous. Not sure what you are smoking but it is certainly clouding your judgement.

  11. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

    President Snowflake

    Whoa there, hang on! Now I'm even more confused!

    When did "snowflake" become this type of insult and is it pro-Trump, anti-Trump or Trump-Neutral?

    Last I heard, it was used in Love Thy Neighbour by Rudolph Walker when he was winning the race insult battle with Jack Smethurst. So, is it being used with racial overtones here? Or racial overtone in general? Or are the users too young to understand the racial overtones at all?

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