Thread: F.C.C., in ‘Net Neutrality’ Turnaround, Plans to Allow Fast Lane

F.C.C., in ‘Net Neutrality’ Turnaround, Plans to Allow Fast Lane

By EDWARD WYATT APRIL 23, 2014

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission will propose new rules that allow Internet service providers to offer a faster lane through which to send video and other content to consumers, as long as a content company is willing to pay for it, according to people briefed on the proposals.

The proposed rules are a complete turnaround for the F.C.C. on the subject of so-called net neutrality, the principle that Internet users should have equal ability to see any content they choose, and that no content providers should be discriminated against in providing their offerings to consumers.

The F.C.C.'s previous rules governing net neutrality were thrown out by a federal appeals court this year. The court said those rules had essentially treated Internet service providers as public utilities, which violated a previous F.C.C. ruling that Internet links were not to be governed by the same strict regulation as telephone or electric service.

The new rules, according to the people briefed on them, will allow a company like Comcast or Verizon to negotiate separately with each content company – like Netflix, Amazon, Disney or Google – and charge different companies different amounts for priority service.

That, of course, could increase costs for content companies, which would then have an incentive to pass on those costs to consumers as part of their subscription prices.

Proponents of net neutrality have feared that such a framework would empower large, wealthy companies and prevent small start-ups, which might otherwise be the next Twitter or Facebook, for example, from gaining any traction in the market.

The new proposals, drafted by the F.C.C.'s chairman, Tom Wheeler, and his staff, will be circulated to the other four commissioners beginning Thursday, an F.C.C. spokeswoman said. The details can be amended by consensus in order to attract support from a majority of the commissioners. The commission will then vote on a final proposal at its May 15 meeting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/24/te...ules.html?_r=0

Under fire over net neutrality plans, FCC seeks early feedback

Stephen Lawson@sdlawsonmedia

• Apr 25, 2014 5:30 PM

The FCC’s upcoming net neutrality plan has already touched off such a blaze of reaction that the agency has set up an email box where the public can send comments about it.

The coming proposal has generated so much commentary, before even being released, that on Friday the U.S. Federal Communications Commission started accepting comments at openinternet@fcc.gov.

Normally, anyone who wanted to weigh in on an FCC proposal would have to wait for the agency to issue a “notice of proposed rulemaking” and start soliciting comments to its Electronic Comment Filing System. That will happen for the net neutrality issue on May 15, assuming the full Commission votes at its meeting that day to move the proposal forward.

But the email address means it will start accepting comments now. It’s not the first time the agency has sought comments early, but it suggests it’s keen to be seen as open to feedback on this issue.

Chairman Tom Wheeler circulated the proposal among his fellow commissioners on Thursday. The actual text of the plan is not yet public, but the agency has said it would let Internet service providers give preferential treatment to some content providers on “commercially reasonable” terms.

Watchdog groups say that could force consumers to pay more and squeeze out startups that can’t afford anything but the slow lane.

The FCC’s former rules on the issue were struck down by a federal appeals court in January. Now Wheeler is pushing to get the new regulations on the books by the end of this year. Wheeler has circulated the proposals among his fellow commissioners, who are set to address them at a regular agency meeting on May 15.

In a blog post on Thursday, Wheeler denied reports that his plans would abandon the FCC’s commitment to an open Internet. But numerous advocacy groups don’t buy it. Campaigns are already calling for consumers to protest the plans to the White House and lawmakers.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/21487...-feedback.html