An article in last week’s The Hill describes a move by House Commerce Committee Chair Henry Waxman to strip the FCC of power to ensure that connections to the Internet remain free of telco/cableco discrimination.
The article says,
” . . . the shifting contents of a House net-neutrality bill still includes language that would prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from reclassifying broadband services under Title II of the Communications Act . . . [and] would keep the FCC from moving to independently increase its authority over phone and cable companies . . . “
Thus the bad FCC decisions of the Bush years would be frozen in legislation. In return, the FCC would gain authority to enforce Chairman Martin’s four rather weak principles (that do not prohibit discrimination!)[**see Update for Correction**]. As a result, the Internet would be regulated as a non-essential frill — Chairman Powell’s “Mercedes gap” would be the law of the land.
Clearly, reclassification is the best near-term route to guaranteeing an open, free Internet. Waxman’s proposed prohibition is a step backwards!
The FCC should vote on reclassification now, before Congress passes a bad law. If Chairman G would get off the fence, an FCC reclassification order would pass. Challenges in court would fail, because the Supreme Court’s Brand X decision has already given the FCC the authority to classify broadband as it sees fit. Chairman G promised to keep the Internet free, in very certain terms, over a year ago. Why doesn’t he get off the fence? Why doesn’t he deliver?
UPDATE 28Sep: An article in Tech Daily Dose yesterday says that the proposed language would, indeed, block unjust or unreasonable discrimination for wired, but not wireless, Internet connections. Quoting:
. . . [the] House bill would stipulate that wireline providers may not block lawful Internet traffic and or “unjustly or unreasonably discriminate in transmitting lawful traffic over a consumer’s wireline broadband Internet access service.”
Notably, the nondiscrimination language does not apply to wireless providers. The legislation would prohibit wireless providers from blocking lawful websites, but leaves open their ability to block applications and peer-to-peer activity.
Technorati Tags: FCC, KevinMartin, MichaelPowell, NetworkNeutrality
Brett Glass says:
What you call the “bad decisions of the Bush years” — perhaps hoping to invoke partisanship — were in fact made during the Clinton years, beginning under Hundt and Powell. And they make good sense. These Chairmen recognized that to regulate the Internet would strangle regulation. You should too.
October 13, 2010, 11:54 pmBrett Glass says:
Oops…. The above should say, “strangle it WITH regulation.” And it would.
October 14, 2010, 12:15 pm