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 Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler on Wednesday
said he plans to circulate his proposed rules among other
commissioners on Thursday, teeing them up for a vote at the FCC's
May 15 meeting. The draft rules will then be formally proposed and
available for public comment.
The rules are expected to ensure that network operators disclose
exactly how they manage Internet traffic and do not restrict
consumers as they surf the Web. Wheeler has also said he planned to
take a case-by-case approach to reviewing the practices adopted by
Internet providers.
However, the rules are not expected to address the issue of
interconnection, or agreements in which content companies pay
network providers for faster access to their sites or services.
That issue was recently brought into the spotlight by a tussle
between video streaming service Netflix Inc and cable company
Comcast Corp.
Wheeler in the past has reaffirmed that net neutrality rules would
not regulate deals between businesses on connections before they
reach the user as the scope of the rules is limited to the last leg
of the network that reaches the consumer.
Virtually all large Internet service providers, such as Verizon
Communications Inc and Time Warner Cable Inc, have pledged to abide
by the principles of open Internet reinforced by these rules.
But critics have raised concerns that, without a formal rule, the
voluntary pledges could be pulled back over time and also leave the
door open for deals that would give unequal treatment to websites or
services.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in
January for the second time struck down the FCC's previous version
of the open Internet order.
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However, the court did affirm that the FCC had authority to regulate
broadband, giving the agency new legal opportunity to bring back
non-discrimination and no-blocking regulations for Internet service
providers.
Comcast, through conditions placed on its 2011 merger with NBC
Universal, is the only Internet provider still bound by the earlier
FCC net neutrality rules through 2018.
Comcast has now proposed to buy its biggest rival Time Warner Cable
Inc and Netflix has come out in opposition of the $45.2 billion
merger, arguing that the Internet provider should be banned from
charging fees for delivering its content.
Comcast has said that Netflix's opposition was "based on inaccurate
claims and arguments."
Netflix, which accounts for much of Internet traffic during peak
hours, in February struck a deal to pay Comcast for faster online
delivery of its movies and TV shows.
Some companies pay Internet service providers or other firms that
serve as intermediaries to better deliver traffic to users.
(Reporting by Alina Selyukh; editing by Ros Krasny, Jonathan Oatis
and Lisa Shumaker)
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