New America Raises Concerns on Slicing and Net Neutrality
A representative of the Open Technology Institute (OTI) at New America complained that T-Mobile wants to use network slicing as an excuse to exempt from net neutrality rules any specialized application or service that a mobile carrier delivers. The argument…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
was made during a Jan. 26 meeting with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. In a December filing, T-Mobile defined slicing as offering “customized, software-defined, virtual networks -- or ‘slices’ -- that are each logically separated and individually optimized to meet the specific needs of each application.” The problem is T-Mobile “leaps” from the fact that network slices can be customized to create non-broadband internet access services “for a purpose that cannot function on the regular internet (e.g., factory automation, auto safety, precision agriculture) to the general claim that anything a mobile carrier labels as a ‘slice’ of its network should by definition be treated as a non-BIAS data service and be exempt from the open internet rules,” OTI said in a filing posted Wednesday in docket 23-320. T-Mobile said in December that “with the advent of network slicing that can offer applications tailor-made to particular use cases, the services broadband providers can support are richer and more diverse than ever.” OTI made similar arguments in a meeting with an aide to Commissioner Anna Gomez, a second filing said.