FCC continues with net neutrality push
The Federal Communications Commission is to vote on an “Open Internet Order” that would restate the rules for upholding net neutrality. It’s also changing its tactics for giving clear legal force to the rules.
The precise details of the order haven’t been published yet, but the FCC describes the rules as establishing:
basic rules of the road to preserve the open Internet as a platform for innovation, investment, competition, and free expression. These rules would protect consumers’ and innovators’ right to know basic information about broadband service, right to send and receive lawful Internet traffic, and right to a level playing field, while providing broadband Internet access providers with the flexibility to reasonably manage their networks.
The final part of that statement is the closest thing to compromise from the FCC while still sticking to the net neutrality principle. The idea is that broadband providers would be able to “shape” traffic, for example by reducing speeds at peak times so that bandwidth is spread out more evenly, but they wouldn’t be able to target particular sites or types of traffic — which is of course what Comcast did and kicked off the entire FCC net neutrality regulation dispute.
FCC chairman Julius Genachowski has hinted at some of the other measures that would be included in the plan. He’s given the impression that wireless internet might have looser restrictions, but that providers will definitely be banned from blocking (legal) traffic and be forced to be transparent about service quality. He’s also hinted that broadband companies would be specifically allowed to have tiered pricing: that is, monthly usage limits that increase with the price you pay.
It won’t exactly be a surprise if the FCC does pass the order: the way the five-member commission operates means proposals don’t normally get as far as a vote until it’s clear they’ll be passed. But the big question remains whether or not the FCC has the power to make binding rules anyway. There are already indications that Republican congressional members will block any attempts to bring in new legislation specifically making net neutrality a legal requirement rather than a government policy.
The most important part of the proposals is that it appears the FCC has ditched the idea of reclassifying broadband as a communications rather than information service, which would have given the commission free reign to make rules. Instead Genachowski is said to be looking to take advantage of a legal loophole in the FCC’s list of powers and responsibilities which says it must prepare an annual report into whether broadband deployment across the country is happening in a timely manner, and to take steps to rectify the situation if it is not. It seems Genachowski plans to make net neutrality enforcement one of those steps.
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