FCC to study need for more Net neutrality regulation

[Brian Warkoczeski]

FCC to study need for more Net neutrality regulation

By Marguerite Reardon, CNET News.com

March 22, 2007, 11:52 AM PT

The Federal Communications Commission said Thursday that it will study 
whether stronger language is necessary in its policy on protecting Net 
neutrality, but consumer groups and Democratic commissioners criticized 
the move for not being bold enough.

At its monthly open meeting in Washington D.C., the FCC voted to issue a 
notice of inquiry on "broadband industry practices" that will include a 
discussion of an open Internet. A notice of inquiry allows people to 
file public comments about a particular issue.

Net neutrality refers to the idea that network operators such as AT&T 
and Verizon should not be allowed to prioritize content or services that 
traverse their networks. The issue has been hotly debated since 
telecommunications executives began arguing that they should have the 
right to charge extra for premium placement on their networks to recoup 
vast investments in their infrastructure.

Internet companies quickly mounted grassroots campaigns calling for 
federal regulations barring such a practice. Lawmakers have answered the 
call, introducing legislation that would prohibit network operators from 
blocking or degrading access to Internet content and services.

The FCC adopted four Net neutrality principles in 2005 to show that the 
commission is committed to supporting open access on the Internet. But 
Chairman Kevin Martin, a Republican, has said repeatedly that he doesn't 
see a need to draft specific regulations or legislation to protect the 
openness of the Internet.

Martin said Thursday that the notice of inquiry will allow the FCC to 
collect evidence of abuses and information about business practices on 
the Internet for the public record. This data will foster a more 
informed debate, he said.

Democratic Commissioners Michael J. Copps and Jonathan Adelstein said 
they supported the measure, but expressed disappointment in the FCC for 
not doing more. Copps said stronger action is needed as the 
telecommunications market consolidates and market power is concentrated 
among only a few large players. He said the FCC should add another 
principle to its Internet policy statement that incorporates a new 
principle of nondiscrimination.

"It is time for us to go beyond the original four principles and commit 
(the) industry and the FCC unequivocally to a specific principle of 
enforceable nondiscrimination, one that allows for reasonable network 
management but makes clear that broadband network providers will not be 
allowed to shackle the promise of the Internet in its adolescence," 
Copps said.

He also chided the commission for not doing more to push this principle 
forward. While notices of inquiry might help gather information, he also 
said they "tend to disappear into a regulatory dust bin."

Instead he urged the commission to, at the very least, put a time frame 
on the inquiry to make sure it doesn't get lost in the bureaucratic shuffle.

"We should be building on what we have already approved and going with 
at least a notice of proposed rulemaking with a commitment to move to an 
order within a time certain," he said.

Republican commissioners Deborah Taylor Tate and Robert McDowell 
cautioned colleagues not to push for legislation that might have 
unintended consequences that could stifle development of the Internet. 
They each pointed out that the Commission has not yet received any 
complaints of abuse.

"We must resist the temptation to impose regulation based merely on 
theory," McDowell said.

But consumer groups supporting regulation or new laws supporting Net 
neutrality said that waiting until the phone companies develop 
discriminatory business models could mean waiting until the damage is 
already done.

"Simply because telephone and cable companies are on their best behavior 
today, while the commission and Congress examine the issue, is no reason 
to delay action to protect consumers and content providers in the future 
from the actions of network operators which have said they will split 
the Internet into a privileged fast lane, and a dirt road for everyone 
else," Gigi Sohn, president and co-founder of the consumer advocacy 
group Public Knowledge, said in a statement.

"Waiting until the network operators have implemented those plans and 
then trying to regulate after the fact, as some have suggested," she 
added, "will not be effective in protecting consumers and protecting 
innovation."