The Federal Communications Commission moved forward with its notice of proposed rule-making for rules to preserve an open Internet. Comments are due Jan. 14 and reply comments are due March 5, an extended timeframe for the agency that takes into account the complexity of the issue.
Two pages of draft rules are available as the starting point for commentary. In addition, Julius Knapp, a veteran at the FCC in charge of its Office of Engineering and Technology, will head a technical advisory group to address the technical issues of an open Internet. Republican FCC commissioners Robert McDowell and Meredith Attwell Baker both dissented in part on the proceeding, and expressed concerns that top-down government regulation could hinder the evolution of the Internet ecosystem.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski reiterated his promises of a balanced discussion that would give weight to facts, be flexible and use common sense. He also said, however, that people should be able to access the same information from their laptops as their smartphones.
Along with the major additions of nondiscrimination and transparency, the commission also is asking how some specialized IP-based services, such as smart grids, telemedicine and e-learning, should be regulated.
FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, who has championed more Internet regulation to stop what he calls “gatekeepers,” said he will support reasonable network management, which means one thing to an Internet service provider offering 768 kilobit per second speeds, and one offering 50 Megabit per second speeds. Further, reasonable network management means something different to wireless and wireline broadband access providers, Copps noted. He also said the commission is charged with serving consumers’ best interests, not to mediate between corporate giants.
CTIA issued the following announcement after the meeting, with a bit of a warning about potential litigation. “We agree wireless is different, and believe that whatever the case may be for applying rules to other platforms, applying these rules to mobile wireless broadband services during a period of dynamic innovation and change in the wireless ecosystem could have significant unintended consequences. Consumers benefit when innovation can occur BOTH at the edge and in the network. Rules that could impact the ecosystem from continuing to evolve, such as the ability of wireless carriers, device makers, and applications developers to optimize their devices, applications, and networks to work together will stifle innovation and harm consumers.
“Further, the imposition of net neutrality rules will degrade the value of unencumbered licenses purchased in the most recent auctions and threaten the integrity of the auction process. The FCC considered ‘openness’ requirements in the 700 MHz auction and chose to apply those requirements to a single block of spectrum. To extend that requirement, and more, now would raise serious legal issues and threaten the integrity of future auctions.”
The FCC’s McDowell said he does not think the Internet is starting to show breaks and cracks. Further, McDowell questioned whether top-down federal regulation would be the best way to address any potential cracks, and finally if the commission even has the authority to address any perceived cracks in the Internet. McDowell and Attwell Baker also noted that foreign governments will closely watch the FCC’s actions and that any restrictions the United States applies could be seen as reasons for more restrictive governments to further regulate the Internet. Attwell Baker said she was prepared to dissent in full three weeks ago, but decided to only dissent in part.
Innovation must be allowed to take place at the core of the network, McDowell noted, not just at the application edge. Also, the FCC’s proceeding should not further divide network operators from application providers. On a side note, Verizon Wireless and Google Inc. issued a joint statement on six principles they both agree are important for an open Internet.
FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said the Internet was the great equalizer and pointed to her experience trying to run an African-American focused newspaper that couldn’t compete with larger publications in the area because her distribution method – 1992 GMC Jimmy – couldn’t compete with the larger newspaper’s distribution methods.
