In a strict 3-2 party line vote, the Federal Communications Commission has voted to begin the process of reclassifying broadband Internet service so that ISPs have to comply with specific “common carrier” obligations borrowed from communications law so that all Internet traffic gets treated equally. The move is the first step on the “third way” outlined by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski after a court ruled in favor of Comcast, finding Congress had not granted the FCC sufficient authority to require ISPs adhere to its stated principles of net neutrality.
Genachowski’s proposal aims to regain the FCC’s regulatory authority over broadband Internet service, reseting it to roughly the level it believed it had before Comcast’s court win. In essence, the proposal would classify the transmission component of broadband service as a telecommunications service akin to landline phones, rather than an an lightly regulated information service. However, the FCC would explicitly omit broadband service from parts of telecommunications regulation, including requirements that companies share lines and facilities with competitors.
Genachowski’s proposal has met with resistance from broadband providers, including the likes of AT&T and Verizon, who claim the regulatory burden would discourage ISPs from building out and upgrading their networks. If they’re forced to treat all traffic equally, they argue, they will be subject to abuse by their customers, be unable to mange the impacts of high-bandwidth applications, and will not be able to develop competitive advantages and unique services relative to their competition.
On the other hand, major Internet companies like Amazon, Google, and Skype argue net neutrality provisions are essential to protect consumers from predatory and discriminatory practices of broadband operators. Without net neutrality provisions, they argue, cable operators could hold their customers hostage, arbitrarily degrading or blocking access to particular sites or services, or perhaps demanding higher fees if they want to connect.
The FCC’s national broadband plan also has the agency finding broader access to high-speed Internet service by tapping into the Universal Service Fund, a program intended to subsidize phone service in rural and impoverished areas.
